n./3.2$ 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


Presented  by 


"Ilae.VVic^e>v/  ot  Cxeor<5e]3udb\n  ^     % 

Divisio  n . .  .rUJOt!\    \  "^ 
Section .\f..j..\..'2-. 


Q,Qc»jt-' 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/bookofprophetjer121ng 


A 

COMMENTARY 


ON  THE 


HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 

CRITICAL,  DOCTRINAL  AND  HOMILETICAL, 

WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  MINISTERS  AND  STUDENTS. 


BY 

JOHN  PETEE  LAKGE,  D.  D. 

IN  CONNECTION  WITH  A  NUMBER  OF  EMINENT  EUROPEAN  DIVINES. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN,  REVISED,  ENLARGED,  AND  EDITED 

BT 

PHILIP  SCHAFF,  D.D. 

ASSISTED  BT  AMERICAN  SCHOLARS  OF  VARIOUS  EVANGELICAL  DENOMINATIONS. 

VOL.  XII.  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT:   CONTAINING  JEREMIAH  AND  LAMENTATIONS 


NEW  YORK: 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS, 

1899 


THE  ;  , 


BOOK 


OF  THE 


PEOPHET  JEREMIAH. 


THEOLOGICALLY  AND  HOMILETICALLY  EXPOUNDED 


BIT 


/ 

Dk.  c.  w.  eduard  naegelsbach, 


Pastoe  in  Batreuth,  Bataria. 


TRANSLATED,  ENLARGED,  AND  EDITED 


BY 


Si^MUEL  R^LFH  ^SBURY, 

Rector  op  Trinity  Church,  Moorestown,  N.  J.  ' 


NEW  YOKK: 
CHAELES    SCRIBKER'S    SONS, 

1899 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New  York. 


TROWS 
r^rNT'Nu  AND   bOOKBINDING  COMPAKY, 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 


Jeeemiah  was  the  most  prominent  personage  in  a  period  of  deepest  distress  and  humiJiatlon 
of  the  Jewish  theocracy.  He  witnessed  one  by  one  the  departure  of  all  prospects  of  a  reforma- 
tion and  deliverance  from  impending  national  ruin.  Profoundly  sympathizing  with  the  calami- 
ties of  his  people  and  country,  he  is  emphatically  the  prophet  of  sorrow  and  affliction.  The  first 
quotation  from  him  in  the  New  Testament  is  "  a  voice  of  lamentation  and  weeping  and  great 
mourning"  (Matt.  ii.  17,  18).  In  his  holy  grief  over  Jerusalem  and  his  bitter  persecutions 
he  resembles  the  life  of  Christ.  Should  he,  instead  of  David,  be  the  author  of  the  xxii. 
Psalm,  as  HiTZia  plausibly  conjectures,  the  resemblance  would  even  be  more  striking ;  but  the 
superscription  is  against  it.  Standing  alone  in  a  hostile  world,  fearless  and  immovable,  he  de- 
livered for  forty  years  his  mournful  warnings  and  searching  rebukes,  dashed  the  false  hopes  of 
his  deluded  people  to  the  ground,  counselled  submission  instead  of  resistance,  denounced  the 
unfaithful  priests  and  false  prophets,  and  thus  brought  upon  himself  the  charge  of  treachery 
and  desertion ;  yet  in  the  midst  of  gloom  and  darkness  he  held  fast  to  trust  in  Jehovah,  and  in 
the  stormy  sunset  of  prophecy  he  beheld  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  of  a  new  covenant  of  the 
gospel  written  on  the  heart  (xxxi.  31).  He  is  therefore  the  prophet  of  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit  (Hebr.  viii.  13 ;  x.  16,  17).  The  character  and  temper  of  Jeremiah  is  reflected  in  his 
strongly  subjective,  tender,  aflfecting,  elegiac  style,  which  combines  the  truth  of  history  with 
the  deepest  pathos  of  poetry.  It  is  the  language  of  holy  grief  and  sorrow.  Even  his  prose 
is  "  more  poetical  than  poetry,  because  of  its  own  exceeding  tragical  simplicity."  Jeremiah  has 
proved  a  sympathizing  companion  and  comforter  in  seasons  of  individual  suffering  and  national 
calamity  from  the  first  destruction  of  Jerusalem  down  to  the  siege  of  Paris  in  our  own  day. 

The  elaborate  Commentary  on  Jeremiah  and  the  Lamentations,  which  appeared  in  1868,  as  a 
part  of  Dr.  Lange's  Bibel-werk,  was  prepared  by  Dr.  C.  W.  Edward  Naegelsbach,  pastor  in 
Bayreuth,  Bavaria,  the  author  of  a  Hebrew  Grammar,  of  several  small  monographs,  and  im- 
portant articles  in  Herzog's  Theol.  EncyclopsEdia. 

The  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  the  Prophet  Jeremiah  was  translated  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
R.  AsBURY,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Moorestown,  N.  J. 

The  Commentary  on  the  Lamentations  was  translated  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Hornblower, 
D.D.,  of  Paterson,  N.  J. 

Considerable  additions,  amounting  to  147  pages,  were  made  in  both  works,  especially  the 
latter.*  Dr.  Hornblower  justly  dissents  from  Dr.  Naegelsbach's  opinion  concerning  the 
authorship  of  the  Lamentations,  and  defends  the  old  tradition  which  assigns  it  to  Jeremiah. 

•  The  German  Commentary  on  Jeremiah  has  401  (xxii.  and  379),  that  on  Lamentations  94  (xvii.  and  77),  both  4fi5  pages. 
The  English  edition  has  446  pages  on  the  Book  of  Jeremiah,  196  on  Lamentations,  in  all  642  pages. 

i 


ii  PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 

In  justice  to  the  German  author,  I  extract  from  his  Preface  what  he  says  concerning  hia 
views  on  Biblical  criticism  : 

"  With  reference  to  the  critical  principles  I  have  adopted  I  ought  perhaps  to  say  something. 
There  is  inconsiderate  criticism ;  there  is  also  inconsiderate  hostility  to  criticism.     Between  these 
two  I  have  endeavored  to  preserve  the  golden  mean.     The  absolute  integrity  of  the  received  text 
cannot  be  maintained,  and  indeed  is  now  held  by  none.     But  once  granting   that  the  original 
has  undergone  corruptions,  and  the  right  of  criticism  is  admitted  in  principle.     Of  this  right, 
however,  a  very  unrighteous  use  may  be  made,  as  is  the  case  whenever  criticism  sets  itself  in 
opposition  to  the  spirit  in  which  a  work  was  produced.     Such  criticism  may  possibly  hit  the 
truth,  it  may  discover  errors,  which  the  eye  of  love  and  reverence  has  failed  to  observe.     It  has 
done  undeniable  service  in  this  regard.     But  this  effect  is  accidental  and  exceptional,  not  neces- 
sary and  universal.     Criticism  proceeding  from  adverse  opinions  will  do  more  to  render  the  good 
and  genuine  suspicious  than  to  purify  it  from  spurious  elements.     We  must  correct  it,  not  with 
a  denial  of  its  righi  per  se,  but  on  the  one  hand  with  a  rejection  of  the  principles  which  govern 
the  application  of  this  right,  and  on  the  other  with  a  rigid  examination  of  the  objective  results. 
In  the  latter  respect  it  is  important,  above  all,  not  to  confound  the  eternal  truth  with  human 
traditional  conceptions  thereof.     The  eternal  truth  is  not  prejudiced,  even  though  an  interpola- 
tion or  a  lacuna  may  be  discovered  here  and  there  in  a  canonical  book.     Did  such  discoveries 
inflict  a  vital  injury,  care  would  have  been  taken  that  not  a  single  variation  should  creep  into 
the  sacred  archives.     But  such  variations  do  exist  in  number  ;  there  are,  as  we  have  said,  un- 
questionable distortions  of  the  original  text  of  greater  or  less  extent.     It  is  thus  seen  that  the 
Almighty  was  not  concerned  at  a  little  dust,  a  slight  rent,  or  a  small  piece  of  patchwork,  affixed 
by  an  unhallowed  hand,  on  the  hem  of  the  majestic  garment  of  His  holy  oracles.     There  is 
always  enough  of  the  unassailable  sacred  text  remaining  intact,  which  to  some  may  be  a  '  foun- 
tain of  living  water,'  to  others  the  '  sword  of  the  Spirit.'     Now  would  it  be  of  any  advantage  to 
the  good  cause  if  we  admitted  no  critical  suspicion,  but  warded  off  every  such  attack  at  any 
price  ?     Would  it  be  well — would  it  be  right — to  ward  off  such  attacks  by  artificial  expedi- 
ents ?    We  should  thus  be  in  danger  of  defending  the  truth,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  with 
lies,  so  that  the  good  cause  would  be  rather  injured  than  subserved.     For  thus  we  should  under- 
mine the  citadel  we  were  defending ;  we  should  induce  in  our  readers  the  conviction  that  we 
were  acting  on  the  principle  that '  the  end  justifies  the  means,'  and  were  anxious  not  so  much  for 
truth  as  for  victory.     I  have  from  the  first  guarded,  for  God's  and  my  conscience'  sake,  against 
such  unspiritual  knight-errantry. 

"And  yet  I  consider  that  there  is  great  advantage  in  criticism  exercised  with  conscientious 
care.  In  the  first  place,  the  good  cause  is  thus  spared  the  miserable  testimonium  paupertatis  to 
which  a  paltry  fear  of  criticism  exposes  it,  and  it  receives  a  testimonium  opulentix,  that  is,  we 
thus  testify  that  we  know  the  cause  we  espouse  to  stand  on  an  impregnable  basis  and  to  be  able 
to  withstand  every  trial  of  critical  fire.  In  the  second  place,  we  afford  to  ourselves  a  testimo- 
nium honestatis,  that  is,  we  cause  it  to  be  understood  that  we  have  to  do  with  the  truth,  and 
will  contend  for  it  only  with  honorable  means.  In  the  third  place,  if  the  unquestionable,  but 
relatively  insignificant,  corruptions  do  no  harm,  still  a  knowledge  of  the  correct  text  is,  directly 
for  exegesis  and  indirectly  for  doctrinal  theology,  always  of  some  importance.  In  the  fourth 
and  last  place,  a  right  exercise  of  criticism  is  an  exemplification  of  the  -^TitKia  rov  Trh/puftaToc  roS 
Xpiarov  (Eph.  iv.  13)  and  the  a'la-^TjTrjpLa  yeyvfivaafieva  irpbs  didicpiaiv  KoAoi  re  kuI  kukov  (Heb.  V.  14)." 

Philip  Schafp. 
New  York,  40  Bible  House,  April,  1871. 


THl 


PROPHET    JEREMIAH 


INTRODUCTION. 

2  1.    THE   HISTORICAL   BACKGROUND   OF   JEREMIAH's   PROPHETIC   LABORS. 

The  Old  Testament  theocracy  in  its  external  relations  suffered  two  disastrous  shocks  ;  the  de- 
struction by  Nebuchadnezzar  and  that  by  Titus.  Both  culminated  in  the  demolition  of  the  tem- 
ple and  the  holy  city,  and  the  carrying  away  of  the  people.  Each  of  the  two  catastrophes  had 
its  prophet:  the  latter,  as  definitive,  forming  the  first  act  of  the  judgment — Christ,  the  Judge, 
Himself  (Matth.  xxiv.):  the  former,  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 

It  is  however  noteworthy  that  Jeremiah  began  his  dirge  at  a  time  when  the  sick  nation  ap- 
peared to  have  been  healed.  The  abomination  of  apostasy  reached  its  acme  m  the  act  of  Ma- 
nasseh,  the  son  of  Hezekiah  (2  Kings  xxi  1-17),  who  placed  idols  and  idol-altars  in  the  temple, 
dedicated  to  the  exclusive  worship  of  Jehovah.  After  the  short  reign  of  his  like-minded  son 
Amon  (2  Kings  xxi.  18-25)  Josiah  ascended  the  throne  of  Judea,  a  prince  of  whom  the  book  of 
Kings  declares  (xxiii.  25)  that  neither  before  him  nor  after  him  was  there  a  king  like  him,  who 
turned  to  the  Lord  with  his  whole  heart,  according  to  all  the  law  of  Moses.  This  pious  king 
cleansed  the  land  from  all  the  abominations  of  idolatry,  and  restored  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
with  a  completeness  which  had  not  before  existed  (vers.  22-24,  etc.).  Unfortunately,  notwith- 
standing his  earnestness  and  good-will,  Josiah's  reform  was  only  partial.  The  good  soil  was  want- 
ing for  the  seed,  and  hence  his  reformation  was  but  a  sowing  among  thorns.  He  had  cleansed 
the  land  but  not  the  hearts  of  the  people  (Jer.  iv.  1-4.  Heezog,  Real-Enc.  XII.  S.  227)  and 
after  his  death  the  weeds  shot  forth  again  in  fell  luxuriance.  From  its  geographical  position  the 
theocracy  was  placed  between  two  great  powers,  that  of  Egypt  on  the  South,  that  of  Assyria  on 
the  North.  Assyria  was  about  to  succumb  beneath  the  heavy  blows  of  the  Babylonians  and 
Medes,  and  Pharaoh  Necho,  King  of  Egypt,  regarded  this  as  a  favorable  opportunity  to  conquer 
Syria.  If  he  succeeded  in  this,  Judea  would  be  surrounded  and  in  constant  danger  of  being  over- 
powered by  him.  Josiah  attempted  to  repel  P.  Necho,  and  made  the  independence  of  Syria  the 
final  object  of  his  policy  (see  Niebuhr,  Ass.  u.  Bab.  S.  364).  But  he  was  defeated  and  slain  at 
Megiddo,  and  Necho  conquered  Syria  as  far  as  the  Euphrates.  (2  Kings  xxiv.  7).  In  the  mean- 
time Nineveh  had  fallen,  B.  C.  606.  Nabopolassar,  king  of  Babylon,  sent  the  army  thus  set  at 
liberty,  under  the  command  of  his  son  Nebuchadnezzar,  against  the  Egyptians,  with  whom  a 
decisive  and  victorious  battle  was  fought  at  Carchemish  B.  C.  605-4  In  the  same  year  his 
father  died,  and  the  youthful  conqueror  mounted  the  Babylonian  throne.  In  Judea,  after  Jo- 
siah's death,  the  people  had  elected  king  not  the  eldest  but  second  [surviving]  son,  Jehoahaz, 
probably  fearing  the  despotic  character  of  Jehoiakim.  But  Jehoahaz  did  not  prove  to  be  a  good 
sovereign.  He  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  according  to  all  that  his  fathers 
had  done  (2  Kings  xxiii.  32).  In  Riblah,  where  he  had  probably  gone  to  treat  with  Necho,  be 
was  taken  prisoner,  and  was  afterwards  carried  away  as  captive  to  Egypt,  since  Necho  did  not 

1 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


desire  a  ruler  in  Jerusalem,  who  would  pursue  a  national  policy  (2  Kings  xxiii.  32,  3-i ;  Jer. 
xxii.  10-12).  Jehoiakim  was  appointed  by  the  Egyptian  king  in  his  place,  and  thus,  as  the 
creature  of  the  latter,  laid  under  obligation  to  serve  hira.  The  fears  entertained  as  to  his  cha- 
racter were  realized.  He  ruled  despotically ;  his  love  of  splendid  architecture  leading  him  to 
oppress  the  people  severely  (Jer.  xxii.  13  sqq.) ;  he  shed  much  innocent  blood,  (ver.  17)  and  served 
idols  like  the  ungodly  kings  before  him.  The  overthrow  of  the  Egyptian  power  in  consequence 
of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  involved  his  fall  also.  Although  Nebuchadnezzar  did  not  immedi- 
ately take  possession  of  Judea,  his  father's  death  necessitating  his  hasty  retun  to  Babylon,  his 
supremacy  over  Syria  and  Egypt  was  secured.  It  was  four  years  after  the  ba  lie,  in  the  eighth 
year  of  Jehoiakim,  that  he  took  Judea  and  Jerusalem  (2  Kings  xxiv.  1).  The  circumstance  that 
the  book  of  Kings  makes  no  mention  of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  indicates  that  this  made  no 
perceptible  difference  in  the  condition  of  the  kingdom  of  Judea.  If  Nebuchadnezzar  had  then 
invaded  Judea,  besieged  and  taken  Jerusalem,  and  carried  off  prisoners  and  booty,  it  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  mentioned.  The  book  of  Jeremiah  also  contains  no  trace  of  Judea  having  then 
come  into  the  actual  possession  of  the  Chaldeans.  Jeremiah  is  always  exhorting  to  submission. 
Jehoiakim  reigns  undisturbed  in  his  fourth  and  fifth  year  at  Jerusalem  (comp.  Jer.  xxv.  and 
xxxvi.)  The  fasting  mentioned  in  xxxvi.  9,  may  as  well  have  been  occasioned  by  a  danger  threat- 
ening from  a  distance  as  any  other, — least  probably  by  the  burden  of  a  foreign  rule  then  weigh- 
ing on  the  people,  since  there  is  not  a  syllable  intimating  such  an  occasion.  I  therefore  agree 
with  those,  who  assume  with  Josephus  [A')itiq.  X.  6,  1)  that  Nebuchadnezzar  took  Jerusalem  for 
the  first  time  in  the  eighth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  Comp.  Duncker,  Gesch.  d.  Alierih.,  I.  *S'.  825,  on  the 
other  side  Fr.  R.  Hasse,  De  Prima  Neb.  adv.  Hierosol.  expediimie,  Bonn.,  1856.  Niebuhr, 
Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  370,  373  sq.  Niebuhr  seems  to  me  to  make  too  much  of  the  passage,  Dan.  i.  1,  2, 
as  well  as  of  a  notice  in  the  Seder  Olam  Rabba,  c.  24,  and  on  the  other  hand  too  little  of  the  tes- 
timony of  the  book  of  Kings  and  of  Jeremiah.  But  however  this  may  be,  Jehoiakim,  as  well  as 
the  large  majority  of  the  people,  took  no  heed  to  Jeremiah's  exhortation  to  submit  willingly  to 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  the  consequence  was  that  they  were  compelled  to  do  so  (2  Kings  xxiv.  1). 
Three  years  afterwards  Jehoiakim  again  revolted.  A  Chaldean  army,  with  auxiliaries  from  Sy- 
ria, Moab,  and  Ammon,  reduced  the  rebellious  people  again  to  submission.  At  this  juncture 
Jehoiakim  lost  his  life,  but  whether  in  consequence  of  the  capture  of  the  city  (Josephus  Antiq. 
X.  6,  3,  speaks  of  a  voluntary  admission  of  the  Chaldeans  into  the  city)  or  being  taken  prisoner 
outside  the  walls  (so  Vaihinger  in  Herzog,  Real-Enc.  VI.  8.  790,  as  it  appears,  on  the  basis 
of  Ezek.  xix.  8  sq.)  is  uncertain.  According  to  the  book  of  Kings  the  Chaldeans  do  not  appear 
to  have  taken  the  city  immediately  after  the  death  of  Jehoiakim,  for  his  son  Jehoiachin  succeeded 
by  right  of  inheritance,  not  by  the  will  of  the  Babylonian  monarch.  As  heir  to  his  father's  obli- 
gations he  is  indeed  made  war  upon  and  punished,  but  not  so  severely  as  Zedekiah  (comp.  2 
Kings  xxiv.  15  ;  and  xxv.  27  sq.,  with  xxv.  6  sq.  ;  Jer.  lii.  9-11).  Whether  the  siege  of  Jerusa- 
lem began  before  Jehoiakira's  death  or  after  cannot  be  ascertained  ;  certainly  not  long  after,  for 
Jehoiachin  (who  had  also  reigned  in  a  manner  displeasing  to  Jehovah)  only  three  months  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  had  to  yield  to  the  besieging  forces  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  latter 
carried  hira,  his  family,  the  princes,  the  soldiers,  and  the  smiths,  all  who  could  make  or  bear 
arms,  captives  to  Babylon.  (2  Kings  xxiv.  14  sq.).  This  was  the  first  deportation,  and  did  not 
attain  its  object  of  rendering  the  people  incapable  of  resistance.  Nebuchadnezzar  seems  not  to 
have  been  aware  of  the  amazing  tenacity  of  the  Jewish  character,  or  he  would  have  done  then 
•what  he  was  obliged  to  do  afterwards.  He  allowed  the  kingdom  of  Judah  to  remain,  but  ap- 
pointed a  king  of  his  own  choice,  Mattaniah,  the  youngest  son  of  Josiah.  He,  like  Eliakim,  had 
to  change  his  name,  and  perhaps  with  reference  to  the  promise  given  in  xxiii.  5,  ('JP"'.^  mrr) 
assumed  that  of  ^H^pIV-  This  sounds  like  mockery  when  we  read  the  actual  history  of  this 
king.  He  was  not  indeed  inaccessible  to  better  feelings,  and  seems  to  have  been  by  no  means 
80  barbarous  and  cruel  as  Jehoiakim,  but  he  was  weak,  and  from  dread  of  his  too  powerful  no- 
bles permitted  every  kind  of  transgression  of  the  laws  of  Jehovah  and  injustice  towards  His  pro- 
phet. The  whole  fanatical  national  party  of  the  Jews,  supported  by  a  number  of  false  prophets, 
united  to  induce  him  to  break  his  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king  of  Babylon  (Jer.  xxiii.  9),  and  an 
impulse  to  this  from  without  also  was  not  wanting.    In  Zedekiah's  fourth  year  ambassadors  came 


2  1-  THE  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND  OF  JEREMIAH'S  PROPHET  LABORS.  8 

from  Tyre,  Sidon,  Ammon,  Moab,  and  Edom  (Jer.  xxvii.)  to  consult  together  concerning  a 
united  revolt  against  the  Babylonian  rule.  Then  indeed  Jeremiah  appears  to  have  stayed  the  re- 
volt. The  same  year  Zedekiah  made  a  journey  to  Babylon  to  do  homage  (Jer.  li.  59sqq.),  on 
which  occasion  by  a  strange  turn  Jeremiah  gave  to  the  king's  marshall  his  great  prophecy 
against  Babylon,  that  he  might  read  it  to  his  master  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  and  then 
sink  it  in  the  stream.  But  scarcely  had  the  Jews  received  intelligence  that  Pharaoh  Hophra, 
grandson  of  Necho,  who  ascended  the  throne  B.  C.  589,  was  preparing  to  make  war  on  Babylon 
than  they  thought  themselves  strong  enough  to  venture  on  a  revolt.  But  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
not  to  be  trifled  with.  Quickly,  before  the  Egyptians  could  come  up,  he  appeared  with  his  army 
before  Jerusalem,  in  the  ninth  year  of  Zedekiah  (B.  C.  588).  He  was  indeed  compelled  by  the 
appro.ich  of  the  Egyptian  army  to  raise  the  siege,  but  he  succeeded  in  repulsing  the  Egyptians, 
and  Jerusalem  was  at  once  invested  and  sorely  pressed.  After  being  devastated  by  famine  and 
pestilence,  the  citj'  was  taken  in  the  11th  year  of  Zedekiah.  The  king  fled  with  a  part  of  his 
army,  but  was  overtaken  in  the  plain  of  Jericho,  brought  before  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Riblah,  in 
the  land  of  Hamath,  and  after  his  children  and  the  captive  princes  of  Judah  had  been  slain  in  his 
presence,  his  eyes  were  put  out.  He  was  then  laden  with  chains,  and  carried  to  Babylon,  where 
he  remained  in  prison  till  his  death  (Jer.  lii.  11 ;  2  Kings  xxv.  7).  Yet  it  appears  that  towards 
the  end  his  imprisonment  was  less  rigorous,  and  that  he  was  honorably  interred  (Jer.  xxxiv.  1- 
5).  A  month  after  the  capture  of  the  city,  in  the  4th  month  of  the  9th  year  of  Zedekiah,  came 
Nebuzaradan,  the  captain  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  guard,  to  Jerusalem,  and  caused  the  city  and  tem- 
ple to  be  completely  destroyed,  and  the  people  carried  away.  A  few  of  the  common  people  only 
remained  in  the  country,  over  whom  Gedaliah,  the  son  of  Ahikam,  was  appointed  governor. 
Concerning  him  see  the  article  by  Oehler  in  Hebzog's  Beal-Enc,  IV.  8.  699.  To  his  care  Je- 
remiah, who  was  given  his  option,  and  preferred  to  remain  in  the  country,  was  committed.  Ge- 
daliah was  however  soon  afterward  murdered  by  a  certain  Ishmael,  a  descendant  of  the  royal  fa- 
mily, at  the  instigation  of  Baalis,  King  of  Ammon.  The  remaining  Jews  feared  the  vengeance 
of  the  Chaldeans,  and  although  Jeremiah  promised  them  safety  and  exemption  from  punishment 
if  they  stayed  in  the  country,  they  removed  with  their  wives  and  children  and  whole  possessions 
to  Egypt,  whither  the  prophet  was  compelled  to  follow  them.  In  Egypt  they  appear  to  have 
settled  in  different  places  (xliv.  1)  and  to  have  continued  the  worship  of  the  queen  of  heaven 
(the  Moabitish  goddess,  Astarte,  see  on  vii.  18).  At  a  festival  of  this  deity,  for  which  all  the 
Jews  in  Egypt  assembled  in  Pathros  (upper'Egypt)  Jeremiah  for  the  last  time  raised  his  pro- 
phetic voice  in  warning  and  rebuke.  From  an  intimation  of  the  approaching  death  of  Pharaoh 
Hophra,  which  he  gave  to  his  countrymen,  as  a  prophetic  sign,  and  which  we  can  only  regard  as 
shortly  preceding  the  death  of  that  monarch,  we  may  infer  that  he  continued  his  prophetic  la- 
bors till  towards  the  year  B.  C.  570. 

If  now  we  survey  at  a  glance  the  whole  character  of  the  historical  position  in  which  Jeremiah 
was  placed,  we  see  in  him  the  herald  of  the  first  precursory  catastrophe  of  the  external  theocracy. 
At  the  same  time  he  had  also  a  mission  to  Babylon,  the  power  which  was  appointed,  after  Egypt 
and  Assyria,  to  engulf  the  theocracy,  and  thus  in  a  certain  sense  to  be  the  first  universal  mo- 
narchy. He  was  first  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  divine  mission  of  this  power  as  the  instrument 
of  judgment  on  the  theocracy,  and  then  to  announce  its  appointed  judgment,  after  a  brief  respite 
of  seventy  years,  and  the  redemption  of  the  theocracy.  This  he  could  do  only  in  the  form  of 
that  perspective  fore-shortening,  which  is  peculiar  to  prophetic  pictures  of  the  future,  and  which 
has  to  be  rectified  by  the  fulfilment.  Thus  we  may  say  that  Jeremiah  stands  at  that  epoch  in 
universal  history,  at  which  the  first  precursory  judgment  is  inflicted  by  worldly  power  on  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  here  he  has  to  announce  to  both  judgment  and  redemption;  to  the  king- 
dom of  God  first  judgment  and  afterwards  redemption,  to  the  world  first  victory  and  glory,  but 
afterwards  judgment  (chaps.  1.  li.). 

§  2.    THE   PERSON    AND   MINISTRY   OF   JEREMIAH. 

The  name  'H^O*?'  (abbreviated  and  later  form  n'rp"i'  xxvii.  1  ;  xxviii.  5,  10,  11,  15 ;  xxix.  1  ; 
Dan.  ix.  2)  is  not,  with  Jerome  and  many  since  (comp.  Neumann,  Jer.  v.  Anai.  I.,  8.  8),  to  be 
derived  from  ^n^  D^'.  a  rad.  Dl''=Dn  with  the  meaning  of  elatio,  elatus,  Doviini,  but  (accord- 


THE  PROPHET  JEPvEMIAH. 


iri»  to  many  analogies  H'JD",  n'"73',  H'n^'IN  etc.)  from  nO"),  and  the  only  possible  meaning  is 

Jovajacit,  projicit,  dejieit  or  ejicit  (see  Hengstenbeeg,  Christology,  Edinb.  Trand.  II.  p.  362). 
It  is  probable,  as  Hengstenbeeg  supposes,  that  the  name  is  based  on  the  passage  Exod.  xv.  1 

T-  TT  ::  T-  T-T 

As  to  his  origin,  Jeremiah  is  called  (i.  1)  "a  son  of  Hilkiah,  of  the  priests  who  were  at  Ana- 
thoth,  in  the  land  of  Benjamin."  From  this  it  is  seen  that  he  was  of  the  sacerdotal  race.  It  is 
possible,  but  cannot  be  proved,  that  his  father  was  the  same  with  that  high-priest  Hilkiah,  who, 
in  the  15th  year  of  Josiah,  found  the  book  of  the  law  in  the  temple  (2  Kings  xxii.  3  sq.),  as 
maintained  by  Clem.  Alex.,  Jerome,  Theodoret,  Kimchi,  Abarbanel,  Eichhorn,  Von 
BoHLEN,  and  Umbreit.  Comp.  Neumann,  Gommentar.  S.  16  sqq.  [Henderson  :  ''  The  opi- 
nion that  his  father,  Hilkiah,  was  the  high  priest  of  that  name  who  discovered  the  book  of  the 
law,  can  only  have  originated  in  the  identity  of  name ;  for  if  that  exalted  official  had  been  his 

father,  he  could  not  have  failed  to  be  designated  by  the  appellative   /^JH  {niin,  the  high  priest, 

or  at  least  |ni)ri,  the  priest,  by  way  of  eminence ;  whereas,  he  is  merely  spoken  of  as  belonging 

to  the  priests  who  resided  at  Anathoth." — S.  R.  A.] 

Anathoth,  the  birth-place  of  our  prophet,  is  mentioned  Josh.  xxi.  28  ;  1  Kings  ii.  26  ;  Isa.  x. 
30  ;  1  Chron.  vii.  60  ;  Neh.  ii.  32.  In  the  Talmud  the  place  is  called  HJJ'  in  which  we  may  per- 
ceive the  transition  to  the  present  Anata,  which,  according  to  Robinson  {Bibl.  lies.  II.  109, 
comp.  Zeitschr.f.  d.  K.  d.  Morgenl.  II.  S.  354  f.;  Tobler,  Topog.  II.  S.  395;  Ritter  [Palestine, 
Gage's  Transl.  IV.  217 ;  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Pal,  p.  212.  Thomson,  The  Land  and  the 
Book,  II.  548. — S.  R.  A.]),  is  situated  about  three  miles  to  the  north-east  of  Jerusalem.  This 
agrees  pretty  accurately  with  the  statement  of  Eusebius  [Onomast,  s.  v.)  and  of  Jerome  (on  i. 
1 ;  xi.  21  ;  xxxii.  7),  according  to  which  Anathoth  was  three  Roman  miles,  and  of  Josephus 
{Antiquities,  X.  7,  3),  according  to  which  it  was  twenty  Roman  stadia  distant  from  Jeru- 
salem. 

According  to  i.  6,  Jeremiah  was  called  to  the  prophetic  office  while  still  young,  and  according 
to  i.  2  ;  XX v.  3,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  Josiah,  therefore  B.  C.  627.  This  was  the  time  in  which 
Josiah  had  commenced  his  work  of  reformation  (2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3),  and  also  that  in  which  the 
overthrow  of  Syria  by  the  united  forces  of  the  Medes  and  Babylonians  wa?  impending.  Jeremiah 
thus  appeared  at  a  moment  when  the  chief  internal  and  external  enemies  of  the  theocracy,  ido- 
latry and  Assyria,  had  been  sensibly  checked.  Apparently  excellent  auspices  for  the  success  of 
his  ministry  !  But  it  is  noteworthy  that  in  his  book  we  do  not  find  the  trace  of  an  allusion  to 
these  two  circumstances.  From  xi.  21  it  is  probable  that  Jeremiah  prophesied  for  a  while  in  his 
native  place,  but  afterwards  we  find  him  fixed  in  Jerusalem,  where,  in  the  temple  {e.  g.,  vii.  2  , 
xxvi.  1  sq.),  in  the  gates  of  the  city  (xvii.  19),  in  prison  (xxxii.  2),  in  the  king's  house  (xxii.  1  ; 
xxxvii.  17),  and  in  other  places  (xviii.  1  ;  xix.  1),  by  word,  by  writing  (xxix.  1  ;  xxxvi.  2),  and 
by  signs  (xviii.  1 ;  xix.  1  ;  xxvii.  2),  he  proclaims  the  word  of  the  Lord.  The  first  twenty-two 
years  of  his  ministry  flow  by  without  any  special  personal  experiences,  and  the  quintessence 
only  of  his  life  at  that  time  is  preserved  in  the  earlier  prophetic  sections.  The  year  605-4  how- 
ever forms  a  turning  point  in  the  prophet's  career.  This  was  the  year  of  the  battle  of  Carche- 
mish  and  the  succession  of  Nebuchadnezzar  to  the  throne,  two  facts  which  involve  a  new  epoch 
in  history,  the  founding  of  the  Babylonian  universal  monarchy,  and  its  subjugation  of  the  Jewish 
theocracy.  Jeremiah  had  long  before,  even  in  the  commencement  of  his  labors  (i.  13),  prophe- 
sied evil  to  the  theocracy  from  a  people  coming  from  the  north,  but  he  had  not  said  that  these 
people  were  the  Chaldeans.  It  has  been  much  debated  what  nation  Jeremiah  understood  by 
these  enemies  to  be  expected  from  the  north,  and  in  recent  times  the  view  has  been  almost  uni- 
versal that  they  were  the  Scythians  (see  Comm.  on  i.  14),  but  it  is  plain  that  the  prophet  did 
not  himself  know  the  name  of  the  enemies  announced  by  him.  If  he  knew,  why  should  he  not 
have  named  them  ?  He  names  them  first  in  that  most  important  prophetic  discourse  (ch.  xxv  ), 
which  may  properly  be  regarded  as  central  to,  and  presenting  in  outline,  the  whole  of  his  prophe- 
cies. The  highly  important  events  of  that  year  had  manifestly  given  the  external  historical 
occasion   to  this  extension  of  the  prophet's  vision.     Although  Nebuchadnezzar  did  not  invade 


§  2.  THE  PERSON  AND  MINISTRY  OF  JEREMIAH. 


Judea  till  four  years  later,  yet  the  facts  of  liis  victory  over  the  Egyptians  and  his  accession  to 
the  throne  furnished  to  the  prophet  sufficient  support  for  a  prophetic  programme,  which  he  pro- 
posed for  the  next  seventy  years,  and  which  ran  thus :  "  Since  ye,  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  and 
Judea,  to  whom  I  have  proclaimed  the  word  of  the  Lord  for  twenty-three  years  from  the  thirteenth 
year  of  Josiah,  would  not  hear,  ye  shall  be  given  into  the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of 
Babylon,  and  not  ye  only,  but  Egypt,  Uz,  the  Philistines,  the  Phoenicians,  Edora,  Moab,  Am- 
mon,  the  Arabians,  Elamites  and  Medes  (xxv.  19-25).  Resistance  to  this  instrument  of  God 
will  not  avail,  but  lead  to  greater  misery  (xxvii.  8).  Hence  the  only  remedy  for  entire  overthrow 
will  be  voluntary  submission.  Those  who  yield  will  at  least  be  allowed  to  inhabit  the  land  and 
cultivate  it  (xxvii.  11).  For  seventy  years  all  these  nations  will  serve  the  king  of  Babylon,  but 
at  the  expiration  of  this  period  the  king  and  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans  will  themselves  be  visited 
(xxv.  11  sq.  with  xxvii.  7  ;  xxix.  11),  and  Israel  will  be  freed  from  their  dominion." 

This  is  the  great  prophetic  programme  which  Jeremiah  proposed  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoia- 
kim  for  the  next  seventy  years  ;  for  it  is  evident  that  he  reckons  the  seventy  years  from  this 
epoch.  Though  he  does  not  expressly  say  so,  it  is  plain  from  this  circumstance  that  from  this 
moment  he  regards  the  supremacy  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  with  remarkable  distinctness,  as  a  fait 
accompli.  Though  it  was  not  so  outwardly,  it  was  so  according  to  the  inner  reality  known  only 
to  the  prophet.  To  him  the  victory  at  Carchemish  seemed  the  principle,  which,  as  the  mani- 
festation of  a  divine  purpose,  infallibly  involved  all  the  subsequent  successes  of  that  prince. 
Hence  it  was  settled  in  his  mind  that  from  the  moment  of  victory  at  Carchemish,  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, if  not  de  facto,  yet  de  jure,  and  moreover  de  jure  divino,  was  lord  and  ruler  of  all  the  nations 
mentioned  in  xxv.  11  sqq.     (See  the  Comm.  on  xxv.  1-11). 

In  the  same  year  Jeremiah  received  the  command  of  the  Lord  to  write  out  his  prophecies,  which 
is  evidence  that  his  prophetic  labors  were  about  to  close.  The  twenty-fifth  chapter  and  the 
chapters  pertaining  to  it  are  the  kernel  and  centre  of  his  prophecies.  Having  reached  this  point, 
they  were  ripe  and  ready  to  be  committed  to  writing,  and  at  the  same  time  a  final  assault  was 
to  be  made  on  the  hard  hearts  of  the  people  by  the  powerful  impression  of  all  the  discourses 
combined  into  a  single  whole  (xxxvi.  3,  7).  This  object  was  attained  with  respect  neither  to  the 
people  nor  their  leaders.  At  this  time  indeed  Jeremiah  had  many  patrons  among  the  princes, 
and  the  majority  seem  to  have  been  well  disposed  toward  him.  For  when,  after  hearing  the 
great  discourse  (ch.  vii. — x.),  priests,  prophets  and  people  threatened  Jeremiah  with  death,  the 
princes  brought  the  people  over  to  their  side,  and  took  the  prophet  into  their  protection  from  the 
priests  and  prophets  (xxvi.  8,  16).  And  when  the  existence  of  Jeremiah's  writing  was  commu- 
nicated to  Jehoiakim,  who,  according  to  xxvi.  22,  had,  before  this,  caused  the  prophet  Urijah  to 
be  brought  from  Egypt  and  executed,  the  princes  instructed  Jeremiah  and  Baruch  to  hide  them- 
selves, without  doubt,  on  the  correct  presumption  that  the  king  would  cause  them  to  be  appre- 
hended. After  reading  the  book,  the  king  did  indeed  give  the  order  for  their  apprehension,  "  but 
the  Lord  hid  them  "  (xxxvi.  26).  The  writing  and  reading  of  the  collected  discourses  passed 
over  without  the  desired  effect,  though  the  destruction  of  the  book  produced  a  slight  feeling  of 
respectful  awe  in  some  of  the  princes.  The  catastrophe  took  place.  Jehoiakim  and  Jehoia- 
chin  came  to  the  miserable  end  predicted.  Jeremiah's  period  of  suffering  began  in  the  reign  of 
the  feeble  Zedekiah.  The  princes  who  had  taken  him  under  their  protection  from  the  priests  and 
prophets,  now  appear  to  be  his  bitterest  enemies.  They  seem  to  have  regarded  his  constant  ex- 
hortation to  submit  to  tlie  Chaldeans  as  in  the  highest  degree  dangerous  and  treasonable  (xxxviii. 
4).  DuNCKER  {Gesch.  d.  Alterth.  I.  5.  831)  is  disposed  to  think  that  they  were  right.  But  he 
forgets  that  the  Jews  persevered  in  their  opposition  with  impenitent,  criminal  and  superstitious 
obstinacy  (vii.  4),  and  that  Jeremiah  rebuked  not  their  patriotism,  but  their  ungodliness.  Once 
indeed  it  seemed  as  though  they  would  enter  on  the  oath  of  obedience  to  the  commands  of 
their  God,  when,  in  accordance  with  the  law,  they  proclaimed  the  emancipation  of  the  Hebrew 
slaves  (xxxiv.  8).  But  their  conscientiousness  was  only  apparent:  it  was  to  subserve  the  inte- 
rest of  defence,  and  when,  in  consequence  of  the  temporary  withdrawal  of  the  Chaldeans,  this  in- 
terest seemed  less  important,  the  emancipation  was  i-evnke  1.  About  this  time  Jeremiah  was  ap- 
prehended on  a  false  pretext  (xxxvii.  11),  beaten  and  kept  in  close  confinement  until  the  cily  was 
taken.     The  king  indeed  was  compelled  repeatedly  to  seek  counsel  from  the  despised  and  hated 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


prophet  (xxxvii.  17;  xxxviii.  11  sq. ),  but  the  weak  monarch  could  accomplish  nothing  against 
the  will  of  his  nobles,  who  cherished  the  fiercest  resentment  toward  the  prophet  who  had  hum- 
bled so  severel}'  their  carnal  disposition  of  pride  and  stubbornness.  Since  Jeremiah,  even  in 
prison,  persisted  in  proclaiming  the  decree  of  the  Lord  that  Jerusalem  must  be  given  up  to  its 
enemies,  and  that  he  only  would  escape  with  his  life,  who  should  surrender  himself  to  the  Chal- 
deans, they  caused  him  to  be  thrown  into  a  pit  full  of  slime,  from  which  he  was  rescued  only 
through  the  intercession  of  a  royal  eunuch,  Ebed-melech,  the  Cushite  (xxxviii.  1-13].  This  was 
the  lowest  point  in  the  personal  sufferings  of  Jeremiah.  How  fearful  they  were,  is  evident  from 
the  representation  of  ch.  xxxviii.,  which,  though  uncomplaining,  is  all  the  more  eloquent  from 
its  silence.  It  is  highly  significant  that  it  is  just  in  this  most  terrible  period  of  the  prophet's 
life,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  immediate  preparation  for  the  entire  destruction  of  the  theocracy, 
that  we  find  the  glorious  prophecy  of  The  Lord  our  Pi.ighteousness  (ch.  xxxiii.).  In  the 
deepest  affliction  the  Lord  here  also  bestows  the  highest  consolation. 

Finally,  in  the  11th  year  of  Zedekiah  Jerusalem  was  taken.  There  seems  to  be  a  double 
account  of  the  fate  of  the  prophet  at  this  juncture.  According  to  xxxix.  11-14,  Jeremiah  ap- 
pears to  have  been  liberated  at  Jerusalem,  while  according  to  xl.  1  sqq.,  he  was  first  dragged  in 
chains  to  Rama  and  then  set  at  liberty.  Yet  the  contradiction  is  only  apparent,  for  if  after  he  had 
been  declared  free  by  the  commander  he  remained  among  the  people  (D^n  :|'in3  3iy^l,  xxxix. 
14)  he  might  in  the  confusion  have  been  treated  like  the  rest  by  the  common  soldiers  After 
his  liberation  Jeremiah  betook  himself  to  Mizpah,  to  Gedaliah,  the  governor  appointed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  (xl.  1-6),  but  the  latter  being  soon  after  murdered,  the  people  compelled  the 
prophet  to  accompany  them  to  Egypt,  although  he  had  most  emphatically  advised  against  their 
course,  as  displeasing  to  Jehovah  (xli.  17 ;  xliii.  7).  The  Jews  settled  first  in  Tahpanhes  [a 
strong  boundary-city  on  the  Tanitic  or  Pelusian  branch  of  the  Nile.  Hend.]  Here  and  attain 
in  Pathros,  ten  years  later,  Egypt  heard  the  voice  of  the  prophet  admonishing  and  rebuking  his 
people  (xliii.  8-13;  xliv.).  This  is  the  last  that  we  learn  of  Jeremiah  from  biblical  sources. 
Further  we  have  only  traditions  concerning  him.  Neither  the  time,  place  nor  manner  of  his 
death  is  known.  It  may  be  inferred  that  he  lived  to  a  great  age,  from  the  fact  that  he  was  still 
alive  about  the  year  B.  C.  570  (see  |  1).  It  is  a  common  assumption  that  at  the  time  of  his 
call  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  Josiah,  he  was  twenty  years  old  (i.  6,  "^ii^),  so  that  in  586,  the  year 
of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  he  was  61,  and  16  years  after  was  77.  But  this  calculation,  resting  on 
a  mere  assumption,  is  only  problematic.  With  respect  to  the  place  and  manner  of  his  death, 
the  tradition  of  the  fathers,  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  Romish  church  and  fixed  in  the 
Marty rologium  Romanum  1  May,  is  that  he  was  stoned  by  the  people  at  Tahpanhes  [a  ■populo 
lapidibus  obrutus  apud  Taphnas  occubuii,  ibique  sepultus  est).  Comp.  Tertullian  IScorp.  8, 
coll.  c.  Marcion,  6,  in  which  latter  passage  he  says  :  "  nulla  morte  virum  constat  neque  caede  p)erem- 
tum."  liiERO'N.  adv.  Jovin2,  S7;  FiViFUAi!.  TT-epl  Tuv  ■n-po(i)7/Tup,  etc.  Op]:).  II.,  pag.  239.  Accord- 
ing to  another  Jewish  tradition,  Nebuchadnezzar  having  subdued  Egypt  in  the  27th  year  of  his 
reign,  took  Jeremiah  and  Baruch  with  him  to  Babylon  (Seder  Ulam  Rabba,  c.  26). 

Greatly  persecuted  during  his  life-time,  Jeremiah  was  as  greatly  honored  by  his  fellow-coun- 
trymen after  his  death.  It  was  natural  that  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  captivity  should 
become  in  an  eminent  degree  the  objects  of  reverence  and  study  to  the  captive  Jews.  Comp.  Dan. 
ix.  2;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  21  ;  Ezra  i.  1.  The  destruction  of  the  holy  city  and  the  captivity  were 
themselves  the  most  brilliant  justification  of  the  formerly  despised  and  hated  prophet.  As  it 
not  rarely  happens  in  such  cases,  a  complete  revolution  gradually  took  place  in  the  estimate  of 
the  prophet.  His  person  was  transfigured  into  a  purely  ideal  character ;  multitudes  of  murvel- 
lous  legends  contributed  to  his  glorification  (2  Mace.  ii.  1  ;  xv.  12-16.  Comp.  Herzog,  Real- 
Enc.  VII.  S.  245)  and  to  his  countrymen  he  appeared  so  much  the  greatest  of  all  the  prophets 
that  they  called  him  o  -ixxpijTijg  (in  which  sense  also  Deut.  xviii,  15  was  interpreted)  and  believed 
that  he  would  return  at  the  end  of  days.  Allusions  to  this  belief  are  found  even  in  the  New 
Testament,  Matt.  xvi.  14;  John  i.  21;  coll.  vi.  14;  vii.  40.  Comp  Wisd.  xlix.  6-8.— Carpzov 
Introd.  P.  III.  C.  3,  ^  2 ;  Fabricius,  Codex pseudep .  V.  T.  p.  1110  sqq.  ;  Bertholdt,  Chrk'ol. 
Jud.  §  15,  pp.  61-67  and  his  Eird.  IV,  8.  1415  sq. ;  De  Wette,  B'M.  Dogmatik,  ?  197.— Con- 
cerning an  apocryphal   Jeremiah   in   the   Hebrew   language,  from  which    the  quotation    Matt. 


{}  iJ.  THE  PERSON  AND  MINISTRY  OF  JEREMIAH. 


xxvii.  9,  is  alleged  to  have  been  made,  see  Fabric,  p.  1103,  etc.;  Herzog,  Real-Enc.  XII. 
S.  314.  For  a  very  full  synopsis  of  the  material  relating  to  this  subject,  see  Neumann,  Jer.  v. 
Anat.  Einl.  I.  AG?. — On  the  supposed  influence  of  Jeremiah  on  Grecian  philosophy,  see  espe- 
cially Ghislerus,  In  proph.  Jerem   Comment.  I.  Praef.  cap.  5. 

From  this  historical  sketch  it  may  be  perceived  under  what  difficult  external  conditions  Jere- 
miah had  to  exercise  his  prophetic  office.     If  we  compare  with  these  his  mental  constitution, 
the  task  appears  still  more  arduous.     By  nature  of  a  mild  and  timid  disposition,  more  of  a 
John  than  a  Peter,  a  Baptist  or  an  Elijah,  he  had  yet  to  conduct  a  life  and  death  struggle  against 
powerful  and  imbittered  foes.     The  deep  degradation  of  his  people  m  the  carnal  lust  of  idolatry 
and  their  almost  inconceivable  presuming  on  the  privileges  of  the  chosen  race,  and  the  seemino-ly 
mdestructible  safeguard  of  the  T\^rv  h^^T)  (vii.  4),  and  in  consequence  their  stiff-necked  refusal 
to  obey  the  Lord's  command  to  submit  to  the  Chaldeans  as  the  only  means  of  escape — all  this 
Jeremiah  had  to  combat.     And  as  though  he  did  not  suffer  enough  from  the  enmity  of  his  own 
people  he  was  also  obliged  to  denounce,  with  threatening  words  and  signs,  the  judgments  of  the 
Lord  on  foreign  nations  (chapters  xxv.,  xxvii.  ;  xlvi.-li.).     Thus  on  all  sides  arose  fearful  hatred 
and  likewise  fearful  scorn  of  the  prophet,  who  on  his  part  was  impelled  by  no  other  motive  than 
a  most  hearty  love  for  his  people,  which  in  the  hour  of  his  deepest  affliction  he  never  renounced 
(comp.  viii.  21  sq.),  on  which  account  he  is  called  in  the  second  book  of  Maccabees,  (piyMSeT^og 
and  Tvo'X7,a  npoaEvxofiEvoi:  -rrepl  tov  laov  nai  r^f  dyiaQ  TvoltuQ  (xv.  14),  and   by  Gregory  Nazianz. 
[Orat.  X.)  cvfiTTadearaTo-:  tuv  Tvpo(pr]7cdv.     Comp.  Ghisler,  Prsef.  Cap.  1.     His  life  was  exposed  to 
constant  danger,  his  honor  to  constant  insult  (xi.  21  ;  xx.  7-10  ;  xxxviii.  4  ;  Lam.  lii.  14).    Like  a 
second  Job  he  curses  the  day  of  his  birth  (xx.  15),  and  longs  to  be  free  from   the  office,  which 
he  accepted  only  with  fear  and  trembling  (xx.  9*).     But  the  consciousness  of  his  vocation  leaves 
him  no  rest.     "  But  it  was  in  my  heart  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones,  and  I  was  weary 
with  forbearing  and  I  could  not."     Comp.  Hebzog,  [Real-Enc.  XVII.  8.  628,  634).     But  the 
Lord's  strength  was  mighty  in  his  weakness.     "  For  behold  I  have  made  thee  this  day  a  de- 
fenced  city  and  an  iron  pillar  and   brazen  walls  against  the  whole  land"  (i.  18).     He  needed 
this  the  more  since  he  was  deprived  of  all  human  aid.     He  had  not  even  a  fellow-prophet  to 
stand  by  him,  at  least  not  in  the  time  of  his  greatest  distress.     For  of  the  prophets  contempo- 
rary with  him,  Zephaniah  and  the  prophetess  Huldah  (2  Kings  xxii.  14 ;  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  22) 
lived  in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  Habakkuk  and  Urijah  (xxvi.  20)   in  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim   that 
is,  in  the  first  and  calmer  period  of  his  ministry.     Ezekiel  and  Daniel  indeed  survived  with  him 
the  great  catastrophe,  but  they  lived  at  a  distance,  themselves  already  in  exile.     Jeremiah  could 
derive  no  support  from  them. 

It  has  been  correctly  inferred  from  xvi.  2  that  our  prophet  was  unmarried,  and  his  virginitas 
has  therefore  been  extolled,  especially  by  Jerome,  in  his  Praefatio  and  Gomm.  on  chap,  xxiii. 
We  read  that  here  and  there  among  the  people,  and  in  earlier  times  among  the  princes  (xxvi. 
16,  24;  xxxvi.  19),  a  favorable  disposition  towards  him  was  manifested;  even  King  Zedekiah 
was  secretly  inclined  to  favor  him,  and  besides  these  he  may  have  had  many  friends,  as  Baruch 
(chap,  xlv.)  and  his  brother,  Seraiah  (li.  59),  the  royal  eunuch,  Ebedmelech  (xxxviii.  7sq. ),  and 
Ahikam,  the  son  of  Shaphan,  with  his  son  Gedaliah  (xxvi.  24  ;  xxxix.  14  ;  xl.  5),  but  what  were 
these  to  the  hostility  with  which  he  was  persecuted  by  the  great  mass  of  the  proud  princes, 
prophets,  priests,  and  the  people  led  by  them  !  We  see  Jeremiah  standing  alone  in  the  midst  of 
that  great  catastrophe  which  forms  the  lowest  point  in  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  theo 
cracy  and  resisting  the  attacks  of  ungodly  power,  not  in  the  strength  of  natural  ability,  but 
wholly  in  the  strength  of  Him  who  had  chosen  him,  against  his  will,  to  the  prophetic  office. 
We  behold  here  "  the  servant  of  God,"  as  represented  in  the  sphere  of  a  prophet's  personality, 
on  the  highest  stage  of  his  Old  Testament  history.  He  was  the  type,  not  of  John  the  Baptist 
(as  Hengstenbebg,  Christol.  Eng.  Tr.  II.,  p.  362),  but  of  Christ,  the  Lord,  Himself.  I  do  not 
mean  this  in  the  sense  of  the  older  theologians  (comp.  Neum.  8.  28,  etc.,  and  Ghisler,  cap.  1, 
etc.,  "  Jerem,.  Christum  praefiguravitvitae  puritate,  innocentia,  sanctitate,  aerumnarum  pierpessione, 


*  IsiDOR  of  Peluslum  has  therefore  correctly  styled  him,  TroAuTraSeVTaTos  ruii'  n-po^ijTii'   {Epistl.  Lib.  I.,  EpCst.  •2'M\ 
Comp.  Ghislgr. 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


consignatione  doctnnx  sicas  per  proprii  sanguinis  effusionem ")  for  the  points  of  resemblance 
which  they  trace  are  not  specific,  but  in  the  sense  that  Jeremiah  and  Christ  stand  at  two  cor 
responding  epochs  in  history,  as  their  divine  witnesses  and  heralds,  their  inner  resemblancH 
being  also  manifested  outwardly,  as  when  (xi.  19)  Jeremiah  calls  himself  a  sheep  brought  to  the 
slaughter,  when  he  weeps  over  Jerusalem  (xi.  1 ;  xiii.  17  ;  xiv.  17),  and  when  again  our  Lord, 
at  the  crowning  point  of  His  life,  utters  the  opening  words  of  Psalm  xxii.,  the  composition  of 
which  by  Jeremiah  is  opposed  by  nothing  but  the  superscription.  Comp.  also  H'iller,  Neues 
System  oiler  Vorbilder  J.  Chrisli,  1858,  S.  522. 

I  3.    THE  LITERARY  CHARACTER  OF  JEREMIAH. 

The  peculiarities  of  his  person  and  official  work  are  fully  reflected  in  the  literary  character  of 
our  prophet.  Jeremiah  as  an  author  is  like  a  brazen  wall,  and  at  the  same  time  like  soft  wax. 
Brazen,  since  no  power  on  earth  could  induce  him  to  alter  the  tenor  of  his  proclamation  ;  but 
soft,  in  that  we  feel  that  a  man  of  gentle  disposition  and  broken  heart  has  given  utterance  to 
these  powerful  words.  His  style  is  wanting  in  the  noble,  bold  Conciseness  and  concentration 
which  we  so  much  admire  in  the  older  prophets,  Isaiah  and  Hosea.  His  periods  are  long,  the 
development  verbose.  Even  when  he  quotes  the  language  of  others,  he  does  it  in  such  a  way 
that  it  is  robbed  of  all  that  is  harsh  or  incisive,  and  moulded  over,  as  it  were,  into  a  milder  form. 
"  Ssepius  complura  epitheta  adduyifur  et,  difficiliora  velaudaciora  aut  fusius  explicantur  aut  for- 
viis  aetate  Jeremise  usitatiorihus  receptis  in  specifin  levioreni  abeunt,"  says  Kueper  {Jer.  libr.  ss. 
interpr.,  p.  xiv.).  The  same  peculiarity  is  displayed  in  the  prophet's  logic.  While  he  maintains 
his  fundamental  thoughts  with  such  undeviating  monotony  that  the  contents  of  his  discourses 
seem  almost  meagre,  yet  on  the  other  hand  there  is  such  luxuriance  in  the  development  that  the 
unity  and  the  consecutiveness  of  the  thoughts  seem  to  suffer.  For  one  is  not  deduced  logically 
from  another,  but  we  see,  as  it  were,  a  series  of  tableaux  pass  before  us,  of  which  each  presents 
the  same  stage  and  the  same  persons,  but  in  the  most  various  groupings  (see  my  work  Der 
Proph.  Jer.  u.  Bab.  S.  32,  etc.).  This  peculiarity  of  his  logic  refutes  the  objection  which  has 
been  made  and  constantly  repeated,  that  Jeremiah  springs  analogically  from  one  thing  to  another 
("  non  ad  cerium  quendam  ordinem  res  dispositse  sunt  et  descriptx,  sed  libere  ab  una  senteiilia 
transitur  ad  alteram,"  Matjrer).  The  transitions  are  frequently  abrupt,  but  there  is  still  a 
logical  progression,  and  the  repetitions  are  a  necessary  feature  of  the  tableauesque  style.  There 
is,  however,  another  kind  of  repetition  very  frequent  in  Jeremiah  : — he  not  only  quotes  himself 
very  often  (there  is  a  table  of  these  self-quotations  in  ray  work,  ^S".  128,  etc.),  but  he  likes  also  to 
introduce  the  sayings  of  others.  Jeremiah  is  especially  at  home  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  most 
of  all  in  Deuteronomy.  (Comp.  Kueper,  ut  supra,  and  Konig,  Alttest.  Studien  2  Theil:  das 
Deuteronomium  u.  d.  Prophet  Jeremia).  It  is  on  account  of  this  reproduction  of  the  thoughts  of 
others  that  he  has  been  reproached  with  a  want  of  originality  (see  Knobel,  Prophetismus  der 
Hebraeer  II.,  S.  367).  But  this  is  as  true  as  that  he  was  deficient  in  poetry.  In  power  he  is  cer- 
tainly not  equal  to  Isaiah.  But  he  is  not  wanting  in  originality,  for  who  could  say  that  he  has 
himself  produced  nothing  or  only  an  insignificant  amount?  To  lose  himself  in  his  predecessors  is 
necessary  even  for  the  most  original  author.  As  to  a  deficiency  in  poetry  I  point  to  Umbreit, 
who  says  {Prakt.  Comm.  S.  XV.)  :  "The  most  spiritual  and  therefore  the  greatest  poet  of  the 
desert  and  of  suffering  is  certainly  Jeremiah.  But  we  have  maintained  yet  more  than  this, 
having  boldly  asserted  that  of  all  the  prophets  his  genius  is  the  most  poetical."  I  fully  sub- 
scribe to  this  judgment.  For  assuredly  universal  sympathy  and  deep  and  pure  emotion  are  the 
qualities  of  a  poet,  and  we  undoubtedly  find  these  elements  of  poetic  inspiration,  in  the  highest 
degree,  in  the  finely-strung  nature  of  Jeremiah.  The  circumstances  of  his  life  caused  his  emo- 
tions to  be  predominantly  sad,  hence  in  the  whole  range  of  human  composition  there  is  scarcely 
a  poetical  expression  of  sorrow  so  thrilling  as  that  of  this  prophet  (viii.  23,  Eng.  Bib  ix.  1)  : 
"  0  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and 
night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  "  Umbreit  remarks  {S.  XIV.,  etc.)  that 
these  words  form  the  portrait  of  the  prophet,  and  Bendemann,  in  painting  his  celebrated  pic- 
ture, .seems  really  to  have  had  this  passage  especially  in  view. 

It  cannot  he  dr-nied  that,  in  form,  Jeremiah,  though  not  discarding  art  altogether,  has  far  less 


'  2  4.  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PROPHET. 


polish  than  Isaiah.  Jerome  refers  to  this  in  his  Praefatio:  "Jeremias  propheta  sermoiie  quldem 
apud  Hebraef  s  Isaia  et  Hosia  et  quibusdam  aliis  prophetis  videlwr  esse  rusticior.  Sed  senslbus 
par  est,  qiiippe  qui  eodem  spiritic  prophetave7'it.  Forro  simpUcilas  eloquii  a  loco  ei,  in  quo  natus 
est,  accidit.  Fait  enim  Anatotites."  This  charge  of  rusticity  has,  however,  been  exaggerated. 
Let  us  also  regard  the  counter-testimony  in  the  word  "  sensibus  par  est,"  and  which  is  given 
still  more  strongly  in  expressions  like  that  of  SiXTUs  Senensis  (in  Ghisler.  Kap.  III.,  etc.), 
"  sermone  quidem  inculto  et  paene  subrustico,  sed  sensuum  majestati  sublimo''  —and  of  Cun^eus 
[De  rep.  Hebr.  III.  7),  "Jeremias  omnia  majestas  posita  m  verborum  nejlectu  est,  adeo  ilium 
decet  rustiea  dictio."  Finally,  in  respect  to  language,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  influence  of 
the  Aramaic  idiom  on  Jeremiah  may  be  detected,  but  not  in  the  degiee  usually  supposed. 
Conip.  Knobei,,  Jeremias  Qhaldaizans  dissert.  Vratisl.,  1831 ;  Haevernick,  Einl.  I.  1,  8. 
231  sq.;  Staehelin,  Spez.  Einl.  in  die  kan.  Buch.  des  A.  T.,  S.  279  sq.;  comp.  Umbreit,  S. 
XV.-yl??,OT.,  etc. 

I  4.    THE   BOOK   OP   THE   PROPHET. 

1.  Concerning  its  origin,  the  book  itself  gives  us  some,  but  not  complete,  information.  Ac- 
cording to  xxxvi.  2,  Jeremiah,  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  dictated  to  Baruch  the  discourses 
which  had  then  been  delivered.  In  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim  (xxxvi.  9)  the  writing  was 
finished  and  publicly  read.  Jehoiakim  burned  it,  upon  which  the  prophet  was  commanded  to 
re- write  it,  and  this  time  it  was  severer  than  before.  This  writing  consisted  of  prophecies  which 
had  been  spoken  in  denunciation  and  threateniicg  against  Israel.  Historical  and  consolatory 
passages,  with  prophecies  against  foreign  nations,  were  excluded.  This  is  clear  both  from  the 
object  of  the  writing  (comp.  Comm.  on  xxxvi.  7)  and  the  fate  to  which  Jenoiakim  consigned  it 
(xxxvi.  23).  When  the  second  transcription  was  finished,  we  are  not  informed,  but  it  is  evident 
from  i.  3,  "  It  came  [the  word  of  the  Lord  to  Jeiemiah]  unto  the  end  of  the  eleventh  year  of 
Zedekiah,  unto  the  carrying  away  of  Jerusalem  cs.ptive  in  the  fifth  month,"  that  it  was  after  the 
destruction  of  the  city  and  the  deportation  of  the  people.  For  the  superscription,  i.  1-3,  is  suita- 
ble only  for  a  writing  which  contains  nothing  of  later  date  than  the  period  mentioned.  But  the 
book  does  contain  prophecies  relating  to  the  time  subsequent  to  this  epoch,  which  even  pertain 
to  the  residence  of  the  prophet  in  Egypt  toward  the  close  of  his  life.  If  now  it  is  possible  that 
Jeremiah,  during  the  two  months  that  he  spent  with  Gedaliah  in  Mizpah  (comp.  on  i.  2  sq.),  or 
perhaps  still  better  (on  account  of  the  allusions  to  the  journey  to  Egypt  in  li.  16,  36),  on  the  way 
to  Egypt,  or  in  Egypt  itself,  continued  the  writing  begun  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  to  the 
time  mentioned  in  i.  3,  and  concluded  it,  it  follows  that  this  writing  forms  the  main  body  of  the 
book,  written  and  edited  by  the  prophet  himself,  to  which  the  superscription,  i.  1-3,  refers.  The 
subsequent  portions  of  the  book,  though  the  genuine  pioduction  of  Jeremiah,  were  added 
by  a  later  editor,  who  did  not  venture  to  alter  the  original  title,  though  it  was  no  longer 
suitable. 

Thus  it  is  evident,  as  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  present  form  and  arrangement  are  not  those  of 
Jeremiah,  for  he  would  certainly  have  given  the  whole  a  title  corresponding  to  its  contents.  Some 
other  circumstances,  to  be  mentioned  hereafter,  also  favor  this  view. 

2.  As  to  the  arrangement  or  plan  of  the  book,  as  we  have  it,  it  has  been  accused  of  endless 
confusion,*  and  the  most  various  theories  have  been  broached  to  account  for  this  confusion. 
Compare,  to  name  only  the  most  eminent,  Eichhorn,  in  the  Repeat  fur  bibhsche  u.  morgenldnd. 
Lit.  Th.  l,S.  141;  Einleit.  III.  S.  157,  etc.;  Bertholdt,  Einl.  IV.  S.  1457;  Movers,  De  ut- 
riiosque  recensionis  vatic.  Jer.  indole  et  origine.  Hamb.,  1837;  Hitzig,  Comm.,  S.  XII.  flf.;  then 
the  attempts  of  Ewald,  Umbreit  (in  their  commentaries),  Haevernick  (Einl.  II.  2,  8.  206 
fF.),  Keil  (who  follows  Haevernick  almost  entirely,  Ei)d.,  S.  252  fF.),  Schmieder  (in  Ger- 
lach's  Bibelwerk),  Staehelin  (on  the  principle  at  the  basis  of  the  arrangement  of  Jeremiah's 
prophecies,  in  the  Zeitschr.  der  deutsch  morqenl.  Gesellsch,  1849;   Heft  2  and  3,  S  216  ff.;  and  in 


*  Even  Luther  (Preface  to  the  prophet  Jeremiah)  says:  "We  often  find  some  of  the  first  part  in  the  following  chapter, 
which  happened  before  that  in  the  previous  chapter,  wliich  looks  as  though  Jeremiah  did  not  arrange  these  books  hiraself, 
but  that  they  were  composed  piecemeal  from  his  di.scourses,  and  compiled  in  a  book.  We  must  not  trouble  ourselves  iibout 
•lie  order,  or  allow  the  want  (^f  order  to  hinder  us." 


10  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


his  Spez.  Einl.  in  die  kan.  Backer  des  A.  T.,  1862,  S.  260  ff.) ;  Neumann  {Comm  S.  81  ff.  and 
S.  III.  ff.).  In  my  opinion,  the  case  is  not  so  bad  as  represented,  but  a  reasonable  arrangement 
will  at  once  present  itself,  if  we  only  take  the  following  points  into  con.sideration.  1.  In  gene- 
ral, the  principle  of  chronological  order  is  followed,  but  admitting,  in  some  cases,  a  certain  order 
of  subjects,  which  is  sometimes  suggested  by  external  occasions  (comp.  ch.  xxi.  1-7).  2.  With 
respect  to  the  chronological  order  in  particular,  we  have  a  safe  guide  in  the  fact  that  before  the 
fourth  vear  of  Jehoiakim,  viz.,  before  the  battle  of  Carchemish  and  Nebuchadnezzar's  accession 
to  the  throne,  Jeremiah  never  mentions  the  latter  or  the  Chaldeans,  while  after  this  time  he 
presents  them  constantly  in  all  his  discourses  as  appointed  by  God  to  be  the  instrument  of  His 
judgments  on  Israel  and  the  nations.  Until  shortly  before  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  Assyria 
was  at  war  with  the  Medes  and  Babylonians,  and  it  was  undecided  which  of  the  three  would  ob- 
tain the  supremacy.  After  the  fall  of  Nineveh  and  tbe  defeat  of  Pharaoh  Necho,  the  star  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  rose  above  the  horizon  like  an  all-prevailing  sun.  Jeremiah  now  knew  definitely 
that  the  people  coming  from  the  North  (i.  13,  etc.)  were  the  Chaldeans  under  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  he  could  no  longer  speak  to  the  people  without  counselling  submission  as  the  only  means  of 
safety.  I  think,  then,  that  I  may  lay  down  this  canon  distinctly,  that  all  parts  of  the  book  in 
which  the  threatening  enemies  are  spoken  of  generally,  without  mention  of  Nebuchadnezzar  or 
the  Chaldeans,  belong  to  the  period  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  %>iz.,  before  the  time  re- 
presented in  ch.  XXV.  as  that  of  Jeremiah's  first  acquaintance  with  them  ;  while  all  the  portions  in 
which  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  Chaldeans  are  named  belong  to  the  subsequent  period ;  so  that 
a  passage  which  mentions  the  Chaldeans  and  is  yet  dated  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoia- 
kim (ch.  xxvii.),  may  be  safely  regarded  as  bearing  a  false  superscription,  as  likewise  one  that  is 
dated  in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  and  does  not  mention  the  Chaldeans  (xlix.  34  sqq.).  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  quite  clear  that  our  Hebrew  recension,  omitting  chapters  i.  and  lii.  as  introduction 
and  conclusion,  falls  into  two  principal  divisions :  1.  The  portions  relating  to  the  theocracy  (ch. 
ii.— xlv.).  2.  The  prophecies  against  the  nations  (ch.  xlvi. — U.).  Chapter  xlv.,  the  promise  given 
to  the  writer  of  the  book,  the  faithful  Baruch,  is  to  be  regarded  (as  it  is  by  Keil)  as  an  appen- 
dix to  the  first  division.  To  attach  this  chapter  to  the  second  division,  as  Haevernick  does, 
is  entirely  unsuitable.  The  first  division  may  evidently  be  divided  again  into  two  subdivisions, 
the  collection  of  discourses,  with  appendices,  ch.  ii. — xxxv.,  and  the  historical  portions,  ch. 
xxxvi. — xliv.  In  speaking  of  a  collection  of  discourses,  it  should  be  remarked  that,  according  to 
the  intention  of  the  arranger  of  the  book,  we  must  not  always  understand  by  a  discourse  one 
which  forms  a  rhetorical  unit,  but  also  a  complexus  of  rhetorical  and  historical  passages,  if  in  its 
fundamental  thought,  its  form  or  its  chronology,  it  presents  a  connected  whole.  In  this  sense  our 
collection  contains  eleven  (or  ten)  discourses-,  the  beginning  of  each  of  which  is  designated  by  a 
superscription  (comp.  iii.  6;  vii.  1;  xi.  1,  etc.).  The  first  two  pertain  to  the  reign  of  Josiah 
(ch.  ii.  and  iii. — vi.).  It  is  natural  that  in  the  earliest  period  the  proportionally  smallest  amount 
of  matter  should  be  committed  to  writing,  so  that  in  the  passages  mentioned,  e.specially  in  ch.  ii., 
only  the  quintessence  of  the  discourses  of  the  earliest  period  is  given.  The  third  discourse  per- 
tains to  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  (ch.  vii. — x.).  These  two,  ch.  iii. — vi.  and  ch.  vii. — x.,  are  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest  by  their  length,  and  may  therefore,  with  ch.  xxv.,  which  is  inferior  in 
length,  but  far  superior  in  importance,  be  designated  as  the  principal  discourses.  Ch.  xi. — xiii., 
which  also  pertain  to  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  have  a  common  title,  but  only  ch.  xi  and  xii.  form 
a  rhetorical  whole.  For  ch.  xiii.  is  entirely  independent,  though  6f  the  same  date  with  the  pre- 
ceding, and  on  account  of  its  brevity,  added  as  an  appendix.  The  fifth  discourse,  though  some- 
what inferior  to  the  second  and  third,  is  still  one  of  the  most  important.  It  belongs  to  the  period 
before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  The  passage  xvii.  19-27  is  related  to  the  lifth  discourse  as 
ch.  xiii.  to  the  fourth.  I  regret  that  liv  an  oversight  I  have  not  designated  them  in  the  same 
way  in  the  text.  The  seventh  discourse  is  an  account  of  two  symbolical  occurrences,  to  which 
is  appended  that  of  a  personal  experience  and  the  outburst  of  feeling  thus  occasioned.  Although 
these  occurrences  belong  to  different  periods,  before  and  after  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  they 
are  brought  together  because  both  symbols  are  derived  from  pottery  and  on  account  of  the  unity 
of  the  subjects.  All  is  here  brought  into  connection  which  the  prophet  spoke  at  different  times 
against  the  false  shepherds  of  the  people  (kings  and  prophets).     The  opening  passage  (xxi.  ]-7l 


§  4.  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PROPHET.  11 

though  in  general,  as  oraiio  contra  regem,  not  altogether  unsuitable  for  this  place,  is  doubtless 
placed  here  chiefly  on  account  of  the  name  Pashur,  which  it  has  in  common  with  the  preceding 
The  transitional  words  (xxi.  11-14)  seem  also  to  be  a  fragment  which  is  subjoined  here  not  alto- 
gether appropriately.     But  in  what  follows  we   have  a  well-ordered  series  of  denunciations 
against  the  evil  kings  of  Judah.     The  first,  m  which  no  name  is  mentioned,  seems  to  stand  first 
as  a  collective  admonition,  though  the  king  addressed  in  ver.  2  can  be  no  other  than  Jehoiakim 
(xxii.  1-9).     The  second  is  a  prophecy  relating  to  the  person  of  Jehoahaz.     It  is  of  earlier  date 
than  that  which  precedes  it,  and  is  evidently  an  interpolation  (xxii.  10-12).     The  third  is  di- 
rected against  Jehoiakim  by  name  (xxii.  13-23).    The  fourth  relates  to  Jehoiachin  (xxii.  24-30). 
As  a  foil  to  these  dark  pictures  of  the  kings  of  the  present,  the  prophet,  by  an  antithesis  remind- 
ing us  of  ch.  iii.,  gives  us  a  bright  picture  of  the  King  of  the  Messianic  future  (xxiii.  1-8).    The 
second  part  of  the  main  discourse  (xxiii.  9-40)  is  an  earnest  rebuke  of  the  false  prophets.    The 
conclusion  is  formed  by  ch.  xxiv.,  a  vision  which  the  prophet  had  in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  and 
which  is  added  here  evidently  in  order  that  the  fourth  bad  king  Jeremiah  had  lived  to  see  might 
not  fail  to  receive  his  appropriate  denunciation.     The  ninth  discourse  is  that  highly  important 
one  which  Jeremiah  pronounced  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  after  the  great  catastrophe 
which  made  an  epoch  in  the  prophet's  ministry,  the  battle  of  Carchemish  and  the  succession  of 
Nebuchadnezzar.     To  this  are  attached  a  series  of  three  historical  appendices,  of  which  the  first 
falls  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  the  second  in  the  fourth  year  of  Zedekiah,  the  third 
somewhat  earlier  than  the  preceding.    All  three  appendices,  however,  relate  to  the  conflict  of  the 
true  prophet   (it  should  be  noted,  however,  that  Jeremiah  is  called  X'^JH  for  the  first  time  in 
XXV.  2)  with  the  false  prophets.     Here  also  is  a  pre-arranged  antithesis.     Ch.  xxvi.  standing  be- 
fore ch.  xxvii.  and  xxviii.  has  a  clear  chronological  basis,  while  ch".  xxix.,  which  in  time  is  some- 
what earlier  than  ch.  xxvii.  and  xxviii.  coming  after  them,  has  a  topical  basis,  since  thus  the 
prophet's  conflict  with  the  false  prophets  at  home  is  first  shown,  and  then  his  conflict  with  those 
at  a  distance.     The  tenth  passage  occupies  an  independent  13p,  viz.,  the  book  of  consolation, 
which  consists  of  two  discourses,  with  a  double  appendix.     Ch.  xxx.  and  xxxi.,  originally  written 
specially,  and  not  as  a  part  of  the  first  writing,  ch.  xxxvi.  2-10,  form  a  rhetorical  unit,  certainly 
contemporary  with  ch.  iii. — vi.,  and  therefore  pertaining  to  the  reign  of  Josiah.     The  second 
consolatory  discourse  consists  of  two  separate  passages,  which,  however,  are  most  closely  con- 
nected.    The  first  relates  to  the  purchase  of  a  field  which,  at  the  command  of  the  Lord,  Jeremiah 
made  while  confined  in  the  court  of  the  prison,  at  the  time  of  his  greatest  affliction.     The  second 
is  connected  with  the  demolition  of  many  houses  in  Jerusalem  for  defensive  purposes.     On  this 
double,  gloomy  background  the  prophet  presents  the  most  glorious  Messianic  salvation.     It  is 
not,  as  I  have  already  said,  a  connected  discourse ;  in  ch.  xxxii.  we  have  first  the  account  of  the 
purchase  of  land,  then  the  prayer  expressing  the  prophet's  astonishment,  then  the  Lord's  con- 
solatory promises.     Ch.  xxxiii.  is,  however,  from  beginning  to  end,  a  connected  prophetic  dis- 
course. 

This  book  of  consolation  is  followed  in  chaps,  xxxiv.  and  xxxv.  by  a  double  appendix,  the  se- 
cond half  of  which  (xxxiv.  8 — xxxv.  19)  itself  consists  of  two  independent  parts.  The  short 
passage  xxxiv.  1-7  is  only  a  more  exact  account  of  the  occurrence  narrated  in  xxxii.  1-5,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  Jeremiah  was  confined  in  the  court  of  the  prison,  and  therefore  refers  only  to 
the  contents  of  chaps,  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.  The  two  facts  however  which  are  related  in  xxxiv.  8- 
22,  and  xxxv.  1-19,  are  to  be  regarded  as  an  appendix  to  the  whole  collection.  For  they  show 
by  a  striking  example,  the  accomplished  but  immediately  revoked  emancipation  of  the  Hebrew 
slaves,  how  entirely  indisposed  the  people  of  Israel  were  to  obey  the  commands  of  their  God, 
while  a  contrast  to  this  shameful  disobedience  is  given  in  the  example  of  affecting  obedience  af- 
forded by  the  Rechabites  to  the  command  of  their  earthly  progenitor.  We  thus  see  that  the  ar- 
rangement is  by  no  means  without  plan,  and  may  in  general  have  been  made  by  the  prophet 
himself  Only  the  mere  juxtaposition  of  xxi.  1-7  for  the  sake  of  the  name  Pashur,  and  the  inser- 
tion of  the  heterogeneous  passage  xxi.  11-14  in  this  place,  seem  to  betray  a  different  hand. 

With  chap  xxxvi.  begins  the  second  subdivision  of  the  first  main  division.  Historical  pas- 
sages follow  each  other  in  chronological  order,  which  have  for  their  subject  partly  personal  ex- 
periences of  the  prophet,  and  partly  the  history  of  the  fatal  catastrophe  of  the  theocracy  in  gpiie 


12  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


ral.     There  is  no  difficulty  here.     Chap,  xlv.,  as  already  remarked,  is  an  appendix  to  the  first 
main  division.     The  second  part  contains  the  prophecies  against  foreign  nations  in  an  order  to 
which  there  is  nothing  to  object  (xlvi. — li.).     Chap.  lii.  finally  forms  the  conclusion,  which  is  not 
from  the  prophet  himself. 
The  following  table  may  serve  to  facilitate  a  review: 

I.  THE  INTRODUCTION,  CHAP.  I. 
II.  FIRST   DIVISION,    CHAPS.  II.— XLIV. 

PASSAGES   RELATING  TO   THE   THEOCRACY,    WITH   AN   APPENDIX.    CHAP.   XLV. 

A.    FIKST   SUBDIVISION. 

The  collection  of -discourses,  chaps,  ii.-xxxiii. 
With  appendices.  Chaps,  xxxiv.  and  xxxv. 
i.  First  discourse,  chap.  ii. 

2.  Second  discourse,  chaps,  iii. — vi. 

3.  Third  discourse,  chaps,  vii. — x. 

4.  Fourth  discourse,  chaps,  xi.  and  xii.  with  appendix,  chap.  xiii. 

5.  Fifth  discourse,  chaps   xiv. — xvii.  18. 

6.  Sixth  discourse,  chap.  xvii.  19-27. 

7.  Seventh  discourse,  chaps,  xviii. — xx.  (the  symbols  taken  from  pottery). 

8.  Eighth  discourse,  chaps,  xxi. — xxiv. 

9.  Ninth  discourse,  chap.  xxv.     With  three  appendices,  chaps  xxvi. — xxix. 

10.  The  book  of  consolation,  consisting  of 

a.  the  tenth  discourse,  chaps,  xxx.  and  xxxi. 

h.  the  eleventh  discourse,  chaps,  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.     With  an  appendix,  chap, 
xxxiv.  1-7. 

11.  Historical  appendix  to  the  collection — the  disobedience  of  Israel  ofi"set  by  the  obedience 

of  the  Rechabites,  chaps,  xxxiv.  8 — xxxv.  19. 

B.   SECOND   SUBDIVISION. 

Historical  presentation  of  the  most  important  events  from  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  to  the 

close  of  the  prophet's  ministry,  chaps,  xxxvi. — xliv. 

1.  Events  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  chaps,  xxxvi. — xxxviii. 

2.  Events  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  chaps,  xxxix. — xliv. 

Appendix  to  First  Division,  oh.  xlv.     The  promise  made  to  Baruch. 

III.   SECOND  DIVISION. 

« 

THE   PROPHECIES   AGAINST   FOREIGN   NATIONS.     CHAPS.    XLVI. — LI. 

1.  Against  Egypt,  I.,  chap.  xlvi.  2-12. 

2.  Against  Egypt,  II.,  chap.  xlvi.  13-26.     With  an  appendix,  chap.  xlvi.  27-28. 

3.  Against  the  Philistines,  chap,  xlvii. 

4.  Against  Moab,  chap,  xlviii. 

5.  Against  Ammon,  chap.  xlix.  1-6. 

6.  Against  Edom,  chap.  xlix.  7-22. 

7.  Against  Damascus,  chap.  xlix.  23-27. 

8.  Against  the  Arabians,  chap.  xlix.  28-33. 

9.  Against  Elam,  chap.  xlix.  34-39. 
10.  Against  Babylon,  chap.  1.  li. 

IV.   CONCLUSION,  CHAP.  LII. 

3.  The  relation  of  the  Masoretic  text  to  the  Alexandrian  translation.  It  may  here  be  pre- 
mised that  Jeremiah,  closing  his  labors  and  probably  his  life  in  Egypt,  was  on  this  account  espe- 
cially honored  by  the  Jews  residing  there.  They  regarded  him  as  peculiarly  their  own,  the 
Egyptian  prophet.     (Comp.  Chron.  Pasch.  p.  156;    Fabricius,  in  the  Cod.  pseudepigr.  V.  T.  p 


§  4.  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PROPHET.  13 

1108;  Apocr.  iV.  T.  p.  1111 ;  Haevernick,  Mnl.  I.  1,  S.  45,  11.  2,  S.  259;  Herzog,  Real-Enc. 
VII.  /S".  255.)  He  was  therefore  diligently  studied,  and  it  is  not  improbable,  as  Fabricius  says 
'"Codices  graecx  versionis  jam privata  quorundam  Apocryphis  se  delectantium  studio  interpolati, 
]am  librariorum  oscitaiitia  manci  fraudi  beato  Martyri  fuerunt."  The  difference  between  our 
Masoretic  text  and  the  Alexandrian  version  is  twofold — in  matter  and  in  form.  The  former  ex- 
tends through  the  wbple  booh,  and  consists  of  innumerable  discrepancies,  which  sometimes  af- 
fect single  letters,  syllables  and  words,  sometimes  whole  verses.  The  difference  in  form  consists 
m  a  different  arrangement  from  xxv.  15  onwards,  the  LXX.  introducing  here  (but  in  a  different 
sequence)  the  prophecies  against  the  nations,  so  that  all  in  the  Hebrew  text  from  xxv.  15  to  ch. 
xlv.  is  deferred  to  make  room  for  these  prophecies,  and  since  in  the  LXX.  these  extend  from 
xxv.  15  to  ch.  xxxi.  it  follows  that  what  in  the  Hebrew  is  from  xxv.  15  to  ch.  xlv.  is  in  the  Greek 
ch.  xxxi. — li.  It  should  be  remarked  that  the  LXX.  does  not  treat  ch.  xlv.  of  the  Hebrew  as 
an  independent  chapter,  but  as  part  of  ch.  li. — vers.  31-35.  The  following  little  table  will  exhi- 
bit the  discrepancies  more  clearly  : 

LXX.  Masor. 

xxv.  15  sqq.     The  prophecy  against  Elam,  xlix.  34  sqq. 

xxvi.  "  "        Egypt,  xlvi. 

xxvii.  28.  "  "        Babylon,  1.— li. 

xxix.  1-7.  "  "         the  Philistines,  xlvii.  1-7. 

xxix.  7-22. 
XXX.  1-5. 
XXX.  6-11. 
XXX.  12-16.  " 

xxxi.  "  " 

xxxii. 

xxxiii. — li.  • 

lii. 

I  was  formerly  of  opinion  that  these  two  kinds  of  difference  were  to  be  judged  alike,  and  were 
to  be  traced,  not  to  a  divergence  of  Hebrew  MSS.,  but  entirely  to  the  ignorance,  carelessness  or 
caprice  of  the  editor.  I  have  now  changed  my  view  in  so  far  that  I  am  convinced  that  the  case 
is  not  the  same  with  the  difference  in  form  as  with  that  in  matter.  The  different  order  is  cer- 
tainly founded  on  a  divergence  in  the  Hebrew  originals.  If  we  had  no  other  testimony  to  this 
than  the  text  of  the  LXX.,  so  far  as  this  is  the  conscious  and  intended  production  of  its  author, 
this  testimony  would  certainly  be  worthless.  But  in  the  first  place,  the  Hebrew  text  is  itself  a 
witness,  and  secondly,  we  have  in  the  LXX.  an  involuntary  and  impartial  testimony.  I  believe 
that  in  the  Coram,  on  xxv.  12-14  ;  xxvii.  1 ;  xlix.  34,  and  in  the  introduction  to  the  prophecies 
against  the  nations,  I  have  furnished  proof  that  these  verses  (xxv.  12-14)  presuppose  the  exist- 
ence in  their  immediate  vicinity  of  the  D'^JH  'V  "^30  or  rather  that  ch.  xxv.  belongs  to  this 
13D.  I  think  I  have  shown  that  the  peculiar  expression  rh  AlMfi  at  the  close  of  xxv.  13  (LXX.), 
and  the  absence  of  xxvii  1  in  the  LXX.,  with  the  strange  chronology  of  xlix.  34,  are  evidence  that 
the  prophecies  against  the  nations  must  at  one  time  have  had  their  place  immediately  after  ch. 
xxv.  and  before  ck.  xxvii.  This  rd  XlAdji  shows  that  the  superscription  of  the  prophecies 
against  Elam  originally  read  like  the  rest,  xlvi.  2 ;  xlviii.  1  ;  xlix.  1,  7.  23,  28,  D'^"';?^.  The  pe- 
culiar postscript  to  the  prophecy  in  the  LXX.,  however,  which  is  no  other  than  the  missing 
verse  xxvii.  1,  proves  that  the  Alexandrian  translator  had  an  original  text  before  him  in  which 
the  prophecies  against  the  nations  stood  before  ch.  xxvii  ,  and  in  such  wise  that  the  prophecy 
against  Elam  was  the  last,  as  at  present  in  the  Masoretic  text.  But  how  is  it  that  the  present  Ma- 
soretic text  of  the  prophecies  against  Elam  no  longer  bears  the  old  simple  inscription  dS'J^S  but 
likewise  the  words  transposed  from  xxvii.  1  ?  I  believe  that  it  can  be  explained  only  in  this 
way — that  two  originals  were  before  the  Alexandrian  translator,  of  which  one  had  the  prophecies 
against  the  nations  in  the  old  place;  the  other  agreed  with  the  present  Masoretic  recension.  The 
translator  must  have  been  guided  by  both.    He  adhered  to  the  older  recension  so  far  as  to  retain 


Edom, 

xlix.  7-22. 

Ammon, 

xlix.  1-6. 

Kedar, 

xlix.  28-33. 

Damascus, 

xlix.  23-27. 

Moab, 

xlviii. 

. 

xxv.  15-38. 

• 

xxvi. — xlv. 

, 

lii. 

14  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


its  arrangement  on  the  whole  (altering  only  the  sequence  of  the  prophecies  against  thf  nations  in 
detail).  From  this  he  adopted  the  position  of  ch.  xxvii.  ver.  1  immediately  after  the  prophecy 
against  Elam,  while  from  the  later  text  he  took  the  nepl  Allan  (C3'7'j^'-7X  Hebr.).  The  mis- 
placement of  the  prophecies  against  the  nations  must  therefore  have  taken  place  before  the  pre- 
paration of  the  Alexandrian  version.  Its  originator  must  have  first  overlooked  xxvii  1,  and 
then  altered  it  into  an  inscription  for  the  prophecy  against  Elam,  and  he  must  also  have  put  ch. 
xxvi.  in  its  present  place.  Since  in  the  LXX.  the  superscription  of  ch.  xxvii.  is  still  wanting, 
it  is  possible,  nay,  probable,  that  it  was  wanting  m  the  later  Hebrew  copy  of  the  translator. 
The  present  verse,  xxvii.  1,  of  the  Hebrew  text,  with  the  wrong  name  of  Jehoiakim,  would  then 
be  a  later  supplement.     On  the  occasion  of  this  error,  comp.  remarks  on  xxvii.  1. 

As  to  the  difference  in  matter  between  the  Alexandrian  version  and  the  Hebrew  text,  I  still 
retain  the  conviction  which  I  expressed  in  my  work,  Der  proph.  Jer.  u.  Bab.,  and  in  Herzog, 
Real-Enc.  VI.  S.  488,  that  the  far  greater  part  of  the  discrepancies  are  to  be  explained,  not  by 
a  difference  in  the  original  text,  but  by  the  caprice,  ignorance  or  carelessness  of  the  translator. 
Proof  of  this  in  detail  may  be  seen  in  the  earlier  editions  of  De  Wette's  Introduction ,  in  Kueper, 
Jer.  libr.  ss.  interpr.  atque  vindex,  p.  177  ;  in  Haeveenick,  Einl.  II.  2,  S.  250 ;  in  Wichel- 
HAUS,  De  JeremisB  versione  Alexandrina,  1847,  p.  67 ;  in  my  work,  Jer.  u.  Bab  S.  86  ;  but  es- 
pecially in  Geaf.  {Commentar.  S.  XL.  sqq.^l,  who,  as  it  seems  to  me,  by  a  thoroughly  impartial 
and  careful  investigation,  has  brought  the  matter  to  a  conclusion.  The  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  LXX.  still  adduced  in  the  later  edition  of  Bleek's  Einleitung  (1865,  S.  491)  possess  no  va- 
lidity. 

4.  The  integrity  of  the  text  has  been  relatively  but  little  questioned.  With  respect  to  some 
passages,  I  have  been  unable  to  avoid  the  suspicion  of  an  interpolation.  The  chief  of  these  are 
the  following:  x.  1-16;  xv.  11-14;  xxv.  12-14;  xxx.  23,  24;  xxxix.  114;  li.  15-19.  Ch.  Hi. 
even  according  to  the  editor,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  written  by  Jeremiah,  as  follows  from  the 
statement  in  li.  64,  "  Thus  far  the  words  of  Jeremiah."  I  formerly  regarded  the  passage  1.  43-46 
as  also  interpolated,  but,  on  closer  examination,  am  convinced  of  the  erroneousness  of  this  view. 
In  reference  to  other  passages  (especially  ch.  xxx. — xxxiii.  1.  h.),  on  renewed  investigation,  I 
am  perfectly  satisfied  of  their  authenticity.  Though  Jeremiah  was  one  of  the  most  read  of  the 
prophets,  his  text  has  been  handed  down  to  us,  on  the  whole,  pure  and  unadulterated. 

5.  The  book  of  Jeremiah  occupies  in  the  Canon  the  second  place  among  the  major  prophets, 
after  Isaiah  and  before  Ezekiel.  This  position,  being  the  historical  one,  is  the  most  natural. 
Melito,  of  Sardis,  and  Origen  (in  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  IV.  26  and  VI.  25)  in  their  lists  of  the 
Jewish  canon  make  Jeremiah  follow  Isaiah,  though  between  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  the  former 
inserts  the  twelve  minor  prophets  and  Daniel,  the  latter  (omitting  the  twelve  minor  prophets 
altogether)  only  Daniel.  But  according  to  the  Talmud,  [Tractate  Baba  baira  Fol.  14,  b)  the 
order  was  : — Reguvi  libri,  Jeremias,  Ezcchiel,  Jesajas,  duodecim  prophetarum  volumen.  And 
Elias  Levita  (in  Masoret  hammasoret  Prsef.  III.)  testifies  that  this  is  the  order  in  the  Ger- 
man and  French  MSS.  This  Talmudic  divergence  from  the  natural  order  appears  to  have  a 
genuine  Talmudic  reason.  Since  Jeremiah  treats  only  of  desolatio,  Ezekiel  first  of  desolatio  and 
thpn  of  comolatio,  Isaiah  only  of  consolatio,  they  wished,  as  the  tract  Baba  batra  informs  us,  to 
connect  desolationem  cum  desolatione  and  consolationem  cum  consolatione.  For  further  particu- 
lars see  RosENMUELLER,  Schol.  Proleg.  in  Jerem..  p.  27;  Herzog,  Real-Enc.  VII.  S.  253; 
Neumann,  Gomm.  Einl.  S.  10 ;  Delitzsch,  Oomm.  zu  Jes.  S.  XXII. 

I  5.   LITERATURE. 

Of  the  church -fathers  Theodoret  and  Ephrem  Syrus  wrote  complete  commentaries  on  Jere- 
miah. A  commentary  by  the  latter  in  Syriac  is  still  extant  ( To7n.  II.  of  the  Roman  Edition 
of  Petrus  Benedictus,  1740).  Jerome  commented  on  the  first  thirty-three  chapters  only. 
From  Origen  we  have  only  homilies.  The  edition  of  Lommatzsch  gives  nineteen  in  Greek, 
two  in  the  Latin  translation  of  Jerome  and  some  fragments.  According  to  Cassiodorus  (Lib. 
//'V^  Dn\  cap.  III.)  there  were  forty-five  homilies,  which  were  also  known  to  Rh.abanus  Mau- 
Bus  ^according  to  a  passage  in  his  Praefat.  in  Jerem.).     Comp.  Lommatzsch,  Prolegrj.  in   Tom. 


2  6.  LITERATURE.  15 

XF.,  of  hi^ edition.     Ghislerits  gives  a  catena  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  fathers  in  his  commen- 
tary, of  which  hereafter. 

Of  Rabbinical  commentaries  the  principal  are  those  of  Raschi,  David  Kimchi,  Ababbanei 
and  Solomon  ben  Melech. 

There  are  Roman  Catholic  commentaries  by  Rhabanus  Maurus,  Rupert  von  Deutz, 
Thomas  Aquinas,  Albebtus  Magnus;  by  Joachim  Floris,  Comm.  in  /er.,  Venice,  1525,  and 
Cologne,  1577  (comp.  Gieseler,  [Church  History,  Philada.  Ed.  II.,  p.  300],  etc., etc.,  and  Neander, 
[Boston,  Tr.  IV.  p.  291]) ;  Frano.  Zichemius,  Cologne,  1559;  Hector  Pintus,  Leyden,  1561, 
1584  and  1590:  Andreas  Capella,  Tarracona,  1586;  Petrus  Figueiro,  Leyden,  1598; 
Christof.de  Castro  (Jesuit),  Pans,  1609 ;  Casp.  Sanctius  (Jesuit),  Leyden,  1618:  Bened. 
Mandina,  In  pr.  Jer.  expositiones,  Neap.,  1620 ;  Michael,  Ghislerus,  In  Jer.  Commentarii 
cum  catena  PP.  grxcorwn  et  comm.  in  Lamentt.  et  Baruch,  Leyden,  1623.  (This  is  the  most  com- 
plete commentary,  and  the  'nost  distinguished  for  patristic  learning,  that  we  have  on  Teremiah, 
but  heavy  and  with  a  Romish  bias ;  comp.  Fabric,  Biblioth.  gr.  ed.  Harl.  Ill,  p.  734). 

By  Protestant  theologians  we  have  the  following  commentaries: — Zwingli,  Cornplanatio 
Jeremiae,  Ziirich,  \b2,\,  etc :  Mart.  Bucer,  Compkmationes  Jer.  proph.,  Zurich,  1531 :  Oeco- 
LAMPADius,  In  Jeremiam  irroph.  comment,  libri  Ires,  Strasburg,  1533;  Bugenhagen,  yli/»oto- 
tionesin  Jerem.,  Wittenberg,  1546;  Calvin,  Praelectiones  in  Jerem.,  Geneva,  1563,  etc.  (notes, 
of  lectures)  ;  Victorin  Strigel,  Condones  Jeremiae  proph.  ad  ebr.  verUatem  recognitae,  etc. 
Leipzig,  1566;  Lucas  Osiander,  Jes.  Jer.  et  Thr.  Jerem.,  Tiibingen,  1578 ;  Hugo  Broughton, 
Comment,  in  Jerem.  prophetiam  et  Lavientationes,  Geneva,  1606 ;  Amandus  Polanus  (Prof,  in 
Basle),  Comment,  in  Jerem.  et  exegesis  in  Tlirenos,  Basle,  1608;  Piscator,  Herborn,  1614; 
Joh.  Hulsemann,  In  Jerem.  el  Threnos  ^omme7it.  posthumus,  etc.,  Rudolstadt,  1663;  Joh. 
Forster,  Comment,  in  Proph.  Jeremiam.,  Wittenb  ,  1672  and  1699 ;  Seb.  Schmidt,  Comm.  in 
librum  prophetiarum  Jeremiae,  Strasburg,  xo85;  Jacob  Alting  (Prof,  in  Groningen,  ob.,  1697), 
Comment,  in  Jerem.  Amsterdam,  1688;  Elbert  Noordbeck  (Pastor  in  Workum),  Bekooptt 
Uitlegginge  van  de  prophetic  Jeremie,  Franeker,  1701 ;  J.  Friedrich  Burscher,  Versuch  einer 
kurzen  Erldnterung  des  propheten  Jeremid,  etc.,  with  a  preface  by  Chr.  A.  Crusius,  Leipzig, 
1756 ;  Hermann  Venema,  Comment,  ad  librum  prophetiarum  Jeremiae,  Leuwarden,  1765 ; 
Christ.  Gottfr.  Struensee,  Neue  Uebersetzimg  der  Weissagung  Jeremiae,  etc.,  Halberstadt, 
1777 ;  (the  last  volume  of  Struensee's  Translations  of  the  Prophets) ;  JoH.  Dav.  Michaelis, 
Observationes philolog .  et  crit.  m  Jeremiae  vaticinia  et  Threnos,  ed.  Schleussner,  Gottingen,  1793  ; 
Christ.  Fr.  Schnurrer,  Observationes  ad  vaticinia  Jeremiae,  Tiibingen,  1793  to  1794 ;  A.  Fr. 
W.  Leiste,  Observationes  in  vatt.  Jer.  aliquot  locos,  Gottingen,  1794,  and  extended  in  Pott  and 
Ruperti,  Sylloge  Cominentt.  Theologg,  Vol.  II.,  Helmst.,  1801 ;  Hensler,  Bemerkungen  iiber 
Stellenin  Jerem.  Weiss.,  Leipzig,  1805;  Eichhorn,  Die  heir.  Propheten,  1816-19;  Gaab,  J.  F. 
(Prelate  in  Tubingen),  Erkldrung  schwererer  Stellen  in  den  Weissagungen  Jeremiads,  Tubingen, 
1824;  Taconis  Roord^,  Commejitarii  in  aliquot  Jeremiae  loca.  Groningen,  1824;  Dahler, 
Jeremie  traduit  sur  le  texte  original,  accompagne  de  notes,  Strasburg,  1825 ;  Rosenmuelleb, 
8cholien,  1826  ;  Maurer,  1833  ;  EwALD,  Die  Propheten  des  alien  Bundes,  1840  ;  Hitzig  (part 
of  his  K'lrzgefassie  exeget.  Handbuch  uber  das  A.  T),  1841,  2te  Aufl.  1866;  and  his  Die  Proph. 
Bitch  des  A.  T  ubersetzt,  Leipzig,  1854;  Umbreit,  Praktischer  Commentar,  1842;  Wilhelm 
Neumann,  Jeremias  von  Anatot,  die  Weissag.  imd  Klagelieder  ausgelegt,  Leipzig,  1856-8  ;  Carl 
Heinrich  Graf,  Prof,  in  the  Landeschule  at  Meissen,  Der  Proph.  Jeremia  erkldrt,  Leipzig, 
1862 ;  Ernst  Meier,  Prof,  in  Tubingen,  Die  proph.  BUcher  des  A.  T.  itbersetzt  und  erldutert, 
Stuttgard,  1863.  Comp.  with  respect  to  the  literature,  Carpzov,  Introd.  ad  V.  Test.,  edit.  III. 
p.  169  sqq. ;  De  Wette.  Einl.  fi  Aufl.  S.  298 ;  Rosenmueller,  Scholien  I.  S.  32. 

[Works  in  English : — Will.  Lowth,  Coii\mentary  upon  the  Prophecy  and  Lamentations  of 
Jeremiah,  London,  1718;  Ben  J.  Blayney,  Jeremiah  and  Lamentations;  A  new  transialion 
with  notes,  etc.,  Edinb.,  2d  ed.,  1810;  Translation  of  Calvin's  Commentary,  5  vols.,  Edinburgh, 
1850;  Henderson,  The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  etc.,  London.  1851,  Andover,  1868; 
NoYES,  New  Translation  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets,  Boston,  4th  ed.,  18^8:  Davidson,  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Old  Testament,   London,    1863;  Ch.   Wordsworth,   Jeremiah,  Lamentations  and 


16  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 

Ezekiel,  with  Notes  and  Introdwctions,  London,  1869  ;  H.  Cowles,  Jeremiah  and  Lamentations, 
with  Notes,  New  York,  1869.— S.  R.  A.] 

The  following  works  may  serve  as  critical  aids  and  for  the  exhibition  of  the  prophet's  charac- 
ter : — Dr.  IkliCH.  Weber,  Intempestvva  lectionis  eraendandx  cura  e  Jeremia  illustrata  (4  Pro- 
gramme), Wittenb.,  1785, '88  and  '94;  -I.  Andr.  Mich.  Nagel,  Dissert  in  var.  Icctl.  25  capp. 
priorum  Jer.  ex.  diiobus  Codd.  JISS.  hebr.  desumtas,  Altorf,  1772;  J  oh.  Jac.  Guilcher,  Ob- 
servv.  criticee  in  quasdam  Jer.  loca.  in  the  Syynbolis  Haganis,  CL  I;  G.  L.  Spohn,  Jer.  vales  e 
versione  Judseoriim  Alex,  emendatus,  Leipzig,  1824;  KuEPER,  Jeremiaslibr.  Sacrorum  interpires 
aique  vindex  Berlin,  1837  ;  Movers,  De  utriusque  recensionis  vatt.  Jer.  indole  et  origine,  Ham- 
burg, 1837  ;  KosTER,  Die  Propheten  des  A.  u.  N.  B.,  Leipzig,  1838  ;  J.  L.  Konig,  Alttest  Sttidien, 
2  Heft,  das  Deuteronomiimi  w.  d.  Proph.  Jeremia,  Berlin,  1839;  Rodiger,  Art.  "Jeremia''  in 
Ersch  u.  Grubers  Encykl.,  Sect.  II.,  Bd.,  15;  Caspar:,  Jer.  ein  Zeuge  f.  d.  Aechtheit  v.  Jes. 
34,  etc.,  in  der  Zeilschr.  f  Luth.  Theol.  u.  Kirche,  1843 ;  Wichelhaus,  De  Jer.  versione  Alex- 
andrina,  Halle,  1847;  Naegelsbach,  Der  Prophet  Jeremias  und  Babyloji,  Erlangen,  1850; 
Jdem.  Art.  "  Jeremia'^  in  Herzog's  Real-Enc.;  Niemeyer,  Gharakteristik  der  Bibel,  Bd.  V.  S. 
472 ;  Rods,  Fuss-stapfen  des  Glaubens  Abrahams,  edited  by  W.  F.  Rods,  1838,  II..  S.  281  flf. ; 
Sack,  Apologetik,  S.  272,  ff. ;  Henqstenberg,  Christologie,  Aufl.  II.,  Bd.  II.,  S.  399  ff.  ;  E. 
Meier,  Gesch ,  d.poet.  Nat-Lit.  der  Hebr.,  1856,  S.  385  ff. ;  Reinke,  Die  Messian.  JV^issagun- 
gen  bei  den  grossen  und  kleinen  Proph.  d.  A.  B.,  Giessen,  1859-61  ;  A.  Kohler,  Die  Wirk- 
samkeit  des  Pr.  Jer.  wdhrend  des  Verfalls  des  jiid.  Staats,  in  Beweiss  des  Glatcbens.  [A.  P. 
Stanley,  Jewish  Church,  2d  series,  2d  Ed.,  London,  1866  ;  Milman,  History  of  the  Jews, 
Vol.  I,  London,  1863;  Isaac  Taylor,  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  pp.  277,  8,  New  York,  1863  ; 
The  Articles  in  Smith's  and  Kitto's  Biblical  Cyclopaedias. — S.  R.  A.] 

The  following  practical  works  may  also  be  mentioned : — Heinr.  Bullinger,  In  Jer.  Ser- 
monem  primum  (6  primis  ca2')p.  comprehensum)  condones  26,  Zurich,  1557 ;  Nik.  Ludw. 
Count  Zinzendorf,  Jer^nias  ein  Prediger  der  Gerechtigkeit  ["Jeremiah,  A  Preacher  of  Right- 
eousness"] reprinted  from  the  second  edition,  Berlin,  1830 ;  Heim  and  Hoffmann,  Die  vier 
grossen  Propheten  erbaulich  ausgelegt  aus  don  Schriften  der  Reformatoren,  Stuttgard,  1839  ; 
Biblische  Summarien  (known  under  the  name  of  "  Wnrtembergische  Summ.arien"),  newly 
edited  by  the  Christian  Union  in  North  Germany,  Halle,  1848  ;  J.  Diedrich,  Die  PropJieten 
Jeremia  und  Ezechiel  kiirz  erkldrt,  Neu-Ruppin,  1863;  E.  Huchstetter  Zwolf  Gleichnisse 
aus  dem  Propheten  Jeremia,  Kirchheim  U.  T.,  1865*  [Maurkce,  The  Prophets  a?id  Kings  of 
the  Old  Testament,  Cambridge,  1863;  and  the  commentaries  of  T.  Scott  .and  Matthew  Henry. 
— S.  R.  A.] 

I  may  also  mention  the  peculiar,  long-vanished  Literature  of  a  branch  of  the  theologia  pro- 
phetica,  which  set  itself  to  the  task  of  proving  the  Locos  Communes  of  dogmatic  theology  by 
the  prophets.  This  was  done  either  by  naming  the  locos  contained  in  each  passage,  at  the  close 
of  it  (thus  Seb.  Schmidt,  in  his  commentary,  at  the  close  of  each  chapter,  evolves  two  locos 
from  almost  every  verse)  ;  or  by  arranging  the  prophetic  utterances  according  to  the  scheme  of 
the  dogmatic  loci.  Thus  ex.  gr.  Philip  Hailbrunner  (Prof,  in  Lauingen)  in  his  work,  "  Jer. 
proph.  monumenta  in  locos  communes  theologicos  digesia,"  Lauingen,  1586,  enumerates  28  locos, 
comprising  under  each  the  appropriate  passages  from  the  prophet  in  a  Latin  translation.  The 
pame  course  is  taken  by  Joh.  Heinrich  Majus,  Prof,  in  Giessen,  who,  be.^ides  a  Theologia 
prophetica  ex  selectionibus  V.  T.  oraculis  secundwn  seriem  locorum  theolog.  disposilis,  Frank- 
fort, a.  M.  1710,  edited  a  similarly  composed  Theologia  Davidis,  Theologia  Jenajana  and  Theo- 
lojid,  Jeremiana  (the  complete  title  is:  Theol.  Jeremiana  ex  Jeremix  valiciniis  et  lament.ationi- 
bus  juxta  articulos  fidei  ordine  per  theses  coUecta,  Disput.  Resp.  Bened.  Henr.  Thering., 
Giessen,  1703). 


THB 


PROPHET   JEREMIAH 


1.  THE  INTRODUCTION. 

Chapter  I. 

1.   The  Superscription. 

I.    1-3.* 

1  The  words  of  Jeremiah,  the  son  of  Hilkiah,  [onel  of  the  priests  that  were  [LXX., 

2  dwelt]  in  Anathoth  m  the  land  of  Benjamin,  To  whom  the  word  of  the  Lord 
[Jehovah]  came  [was  communicated]'   in  the  days  of  Josiah,  the  son  of  Amou, 

3  king  of  Judah,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign.  It  came  also  in  the  days  of 
Jehoiakim,  the  son  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  unto  the  end  of  the  eleventh  yi.-ar 
of  Zedekiah,  the  son  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  unto  the  carrying  away  of  Jerusalem 
captive  in  the  fifth  month. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

*  [The  text  of  the  common  English  Version  will  be  retained  in  the  prose  portions  of  the  book,  with  occasional  corrections 
included  in  brackets ;  but  a  new  rendering  of  the  poetical  portions  will  be  given,  founded  on  a  comparison  of  the  German 
and  English  Versions  with  the  Hebrew. — S.  R.  A.] 

1  Ver.  2. — [Henderson  :  was  communicated.] 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  The  words  of  Jeremiah  .  .  .  Ben- 
jamin. We  find  a  similar  commencement  in  the 
prophetical  book  of  Amos  (i.  1)  and  in  the  Song 
of  Solomon  (i.  1).  Etymologically  "•'  '"I^T  might 
certainly  be  rendered  historia  Jeremise  (De 
Wette),  compare  ^"^Jf)   "^^.'  so  frequent  in  the 

book  of  Kings  (1  Kings  xi.  41 ;  xiv.  19,  29,  etc.). 
Since,  however,  lliis  book  is  not  liistoric,  but  pro- 
phetic, since  the  prophet's  work  consisted  essen- 
tially in  preaching,  since  the  other  prophetic 
hooks  bear  inscriptions  denoting  discourses 
('■''  131.  XtyO)  or  visions  (pfH),  and  since  finally 

llie  historic  il  narratives  contained  in  tlie  book 
are  also  the  words  of  Jeremiah  (so  Starke,  ad  h. 
I.),  it  is  more  correct  to   take  '131  in  the   sense 

of  "  words,"  which  it  certainly  has  in  Song  of 
Sol.  i.  1.  Concerning  the  name,  origin  and  birth- 
place of  the  prophet,  see  the  Inlroduction.  Be- 
sides Jeremiah  (and  Nathan,  1  Kings  iv,  5,  Vide 
Tholuck,  Die  Proph.  imd  Hire  Weiss.  S.  20,  u  32), 
the  prophet  Ezekiel  (i.  3;  comp.  Jos.  An/.  X.  5. 
1 ),  and  most  probably  Zechariah  (i.  1  ;  comp. 
KoHLER,  Suc/uirja,  S.  9),  were  of  sacerdotal  ori- 
gin.     No  special  traces  of   his  priestly  descent 


are  found  in  the  book  of  our  prophet,  unless  we 
reckon  as  such  his  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
Law,  especially  Deuieronomy,  of  which  the  ex- 
position will  furnish  proofs  in  great  number. 

Vers.  2  and  3.  To  whom  ....  in  the  fifth 
month.     The  subject  of  came  in  ver.  3  is  word 
of  Jehovah,  repeated  from  ver.  2.     Chr.  B.  Mi- 
CHAELis  falsely  renders  in   the  [Lillesche  Bibel : 
idemque  etiam  fail  prophet  a.    As  regards  the  chro- 
nological statements  in  vers.  2  and  ;i,   it   should 
first  be  noticed  that  the  two  kings  Jehoahaz  and 
Jehoiakim  are  passed  over,  without  doubt  because 
each  of  them  reigned  onlythreemonths.   SinceJe- 
remiah  labored  from  the  thirteenth  year  of  Josiah. 
consequently  eighteen   years   under  Josiuli,  and 
eleven  years  each  under  Jehoiakim  and  Zedekiah, 
he     ministered    altogether,     including    the     six 
months  under  the  two  kings  omitted,  forty  years 
in  the  midst  of  the  theocracy.      How  long  after- 
wards he   labored,  cannot  be  ascertained   with 
any  certainty.    Comp.  Introduction  and  remarks 
on  xliv.  29.      Since  the  book,  as  we  have  it,  con- 
tains not  only  those  words  of  Jehovah  which  wei\^ 
comiTiunicated    to   the   prophet  before    the    fiftu 
month    of   the  eleventh    year    of    Zedekiah,  but 
others  of  later  date  (ch.  xl. — xliv.),  this  in-crip- 
tion  does   not    comport  with  its  present  exieiu. 
Accoi'iiiig  to  xxxvi.  32.  in  place  of  the  writing 

17 


18 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


destroyed  by  Zedekiah,  Jeremiah  prepared  ano- 
ther, which  was  twice  as  large  as  the  first.  When 
he  completed  the  second  roll,  we  are  not  told. 
After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  the  fifth 
month  of  the  eleventh  year  of  Zedekiah,  Jeremiah 
remained  more  than  two  months  longer  in  the 
country  (comp.  xli.  1;  xlii.  7).  During  this 
time,  or  perhaps  after  his  arrival  in  Egypt 
(comp.  rems.  on  ii.  18,  36),  he  may  have  conti- 
nued his  writing  till  the  time  mentioned,  and 
provided  it  with  the  present  inscription,  vers. 
1-3.  Comp.  EwALU,  Die  PropheUii  des  A.  B.  II. 
S.  15.  We  have  the  contents  of  this  writing  in 
our  present  book,  though  not  in  the  same  order. 
^u  this  point  see  the  Introduction. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 
Orioen,  in  his  first  homily  on  Jeremiah,  re- 


gards the  chronological  statements  of  the  inscrip- 
tion as  a  proof  of  the  long-suffering  of  God.  He 
says,  ^  3,  "God  had  pronounced  judgment 
against  Jerusalem  for  its  sins,  and  it  was  con- 
demned to  captivity.  But  as  the  time  approaches, 
the  compassionate  God  sends  this  prophet  under 
the  third  king  before  the  captivity.  For  the 
long-sufl'ering  God  wished  to  grant  them  a  re- 
spite, and  Jeremiah  was  to  prophesy,  so  to  speak, 
the  day  before  the  captivity,  as  a  preacher  of 
repentance,  in  order  that  the  cause  of  the  cap- 
tivity might  be  removed."  ["  Dr.  Lightfoot 
observes  that  as  Moses  was  so  long  with  the 
people  as  a  teacher  in  the  wilderness,  till  they 
entered  into  their  own  land,  Jeremiah  was  so 
long  to  their  own  land  a  teacher  before  they 
went  into  the  wilderness  of  the  heathen."  M. 
Heney.— S.  R.  A.] 


2.   The  Call  of  the  Prophet  by  Word  and  Vision  (1.  4-19). 

a.  His  choice,  call  and  aggressive  destinatioa 

Chap.  I.  4-10. 

4,  5  Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  unto  me/  saying,  Before  I 
formed  thee  in  the  belly*  I  knew  thee ;  and  before  thou  camest  forth  out  of  the 
womb  I  sanctified  [separated]  thee,  <ntil  I  ordained  thee  a  prophet  unto  the  nations. 

6  Then  said  I  [But  1  said],  Ah,^  Lord  God  !  [Jehovah]  behold,  I  cannot  speak:  for 

7  I  am  a  child.  But  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  said  unto  me,  Say  not,  I  am  a  child  :  for 
thou  shalt  go  to*  all  that  [wherever]  I  shall  send  thee,  and  whatsoever  I  command 

8  thee  thou  shalt  speak.     Be  not  afraid  of  their  faces  :   for  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver 

9  thee,  saith  the  Lord    [Jehovah].     Then  the  Lord    [Jehovah]  put    forth  his  hand 
10  and  touched  my  mouth.     And  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  said  unto  me,   Behold,  I  have 

put  my  words  into  thy  mouth.  See,  I  have  this  day  set  thee  over  the  nations  and 
over  the  kingdoms,  to  root  out  and  to  pull  down  [extirpate  and  exterminate]  and 
to  destroy  and  to  throw  down,  to  build  and  to  plant. 


TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  ver.  4.— Cod.  1092,  De  Rossi,  Cod.  D.  Mosc,  LXX.,  Vatic,  Theodoret  in  Cod.  Monac,  Orioen,  read  vbx,  misled  by 

T  •* 

the  previous  context. 

2  Ver.  5.— Since  tlie  3d  pers.  masc.  imperf.  of  a  strong  verb  witli  the  suffix  H  requires  the  short  o  in  the  last  root-syllable 

(EwALD,  Ausf.  ie/ir6.  ?2.51,  b),  the  Masoretes,  deriving  1"li:fX  from  -\^%  read  ^IVX  with  the  marginal  note  '^  TjT. 

But  the  form  comes  from  •M,'i  (with  the  meaning  '•  to  form,"  Exod.  xxxii.  11 ;  1  Kings  vii.  15),  and  the  Chethibh  is  therofore 
to  be  pronounced  T'^^i'X. 

»  Ver.  G.— LXX.  6  Civ  {&i(nroTa.  xvpie),  which  Spohn  supposes  to  have  arisen  from  S>  by  the  fault  of  the  transcriber;  but 
from  the  peculiarity  of  this  translation,  which  would  presuppose  a  derivative  from  riTI  (Exod.  iii.  14),  we  may  judge  it  to 

TT 

have  been  the  original.  .  i 

*  Ver.  7.— The  preposition  ^p  might  not  unfitly  in  this  connection  be  rendered  "against"  (Maurek),  yet  elsewhere  7j; 

after  ^Sh  differs  little  in  meaning  from  Sx,  1  Sam.  xv.  20 ;  ii.  11 ;  comp.  Neh.  vi.  17  and  rems.  on  x  1 


EXEORTICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

Ver.  •').   Before  I  formed  thee     ...  to  the 

nations.      Observe  the   progre.s-s  of  tiiought  in 

the    liiree    clauses   of   this   verse — 1.     Before  I 

tormi'd  thee,  I  knew  thee:  the  Divine  idea  in  eter- 

U:ty  lies  back  of  the  creative  act  in  lime.    Comp. 


Ps.  cxxxix  15.  2.  Before  thou  camest  forth  from 
the  womb,  1  Knnctiji/-d  thee  :  the  instrument  pre- 
pared in  accordance  with  the  Divine  idea  is  set 
apart  for  the  sacred  service.  Comp.  Isa.  xlv. 
4:  xlix.  1:  Acts  ix.  15;  Rom.  i.  1;  Gal.  i.  15; 
Luke  i.  15.  3.  I  ordained  thee  n,  prophet  to  the 
nations:  it  is  expressly  stated  in  what  this  sa- 
cred service  consists  :  Jeremiah  is  to  proclaim 


CHAP.  1.  4-ir. 


10 


the  word  of  the  Lord  as  a  prophet,  not  to  one 
nation  only,  but  to  the  nations  generally. 

Ver.  6.  Then  said  I I  am  a  child. 

Jeremiah  perceives  directly  the  difficulty  and 
danger  of  this  Divine  commission.  He  therefore 
pleads  his  inability  to  speak  on  account  of  his 
youth.  By  a  similar  plea  Moses  seeks  to  escape 
tie  Divine  legation,  Exod.  iii.  11;  iv.  10.  l;^; 
but  Jonah  flees  from  before  the  Lord,  i.  3. — Many 
expositors  suppose  that  Jeremiah  was  then 
twenty  years  ot  age,  but  no  definite  age  is  desig- 
nated by  "l^J.  The  Rabbins  understand  by  the 
term  a  boy  to  his  fourteenth  year.  See  Buxtorf, 
Lez.  Ckald.  Talm.  sub  voce.  Maurer  more  cor- 
ri-ctly  concludes  from  the  long  continuance  of  the 
prophet's  ministry  (vers.  2  and  3,  coll.  xl.  1  ; 
xliii.  8j,  that  he  could  not  then  have  passed  his 
twenty-fifth  year. 

Ver.  7.  But  Jehovah  said  unto  me,  say 
not  .  .  .  thou  shalt  speak.  Jehovah  rebuts 
the  objection  of  Jeremiah  at  the  outset,  not  by 
tlie  promise  of  His  assistance,  but  by  a  categori- 
cal diclaration  of  His  will.    He  is  to  go  where  he 

is  sent,  and  speak  what  he  is  commanded.  l2  in 
itself   might  be  taken  in  a  personal  sense  [Tvphg 

navrag,  LXX. ).  But  since  the  following  12  nx 
is  certainly  to  be  regarded  as  neuter,  and  as  the 
neutral  signification,  being  the  more  general,  in- 
cludes the   other,  the  former  is  to  be  preferred 

=  wfierever.  We  should  also  expect  Dn'7j^  after 
the  verb,  and  from  its  absence  conclude  that 
Itl'X  is  intended  for  an  adverb  of  place=whither 
(Zech.  vi.  10). 

Ver.  8.  Be  not  afraid  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
Their  faces  refers  to  the  persons  indicated 
tmplicite  in  the  word  wherever,  ver.  7.  Here 
first  the  Lord  removes  Jeremiah's  scruples  by  the 
promise  of  His  protection  and  assistance.  So 
with  Moses,  Exod.  iii.  12;  iv.  15;  comp.  Ezek. 
ii.  G;  Josh.  i.  5;  vii.  9;  Judges  vi.  10;  Matth. 
X.  18-20;  xxviii.  20;  Luke  xxi.  17  ;  Acts  xviii. 
9,  10. 

Ver.  9.  Then  Jehovah  put  forth  his  hand 
....  into  thy  mouth.  The  opposition  of  the 
propliet  is  now  broken  down.  The  Lord  was  too 
stron!5  for  him.  Comp.  xx.  7  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  10. — 
So  tlie  Lord  now  proceeds  to  the  solemn  act  of 
inauguration.  In  this  we  distinguish  two  points: 
[a)  the  communication  of  the  necessary  ability, 
ver.  9  ;  (6)  the  conferring  of  the  commission  and 
privileges  of  the  office.  Both  indicate  a  vigorous 
offensive  attitude  of  the  prophet,  which  corre- 
sponds to  an  equally  strong  defensive  position, 
vers.  18and  19.  The  first  consists  in  the  symbo- 
lical ^ict  of  touching  the  lips.  We  call  this  act 
symbolical  in  so  far  as  the  touching  of  the  lips 
and  the  words  spoken  were  the  visible  and  audi- 
ble manifestation  of  a  still  deeper  spiritual 
trans  iction.  The  Lord  cannot  literally  have 
put  His  words  in  the  prophet's  mouth:  He  can 
only  have  given  him  the  charism  of  which  the 
words  were  the  necessary  result.  "Attactus  oris 
signum  est  notans  efficaciam  spiritus  sancti,  quippe, 
qui  digitus  Dei  sit,  aperiens  labia  vunisirorum 
vcrhi,  Ps.  li.  13,  14,  17:  Luc  xxi.  15"  (Fokster). 
The  transaction  is,  however,  to  be  regarded  as  an 
historical  objective  fact,  though  occurring  out- 
side  the   sphere  of  physical  or  bodily  life,  and 


therefore   as    kv   Trvsviiart,   or   a   vision.     Comp. 
Drechsler  on  Isa.  vi.  7.     We  thus  avoid  a  dou- 
ble error.      First,   that  which  apprehends   the 
transaction  as  purely  subjective  :    "as  the  mo- 
ment when  the  presentiment  first  flashed  clearly 
through  the  soul  of  Jeremiah,  that  his  prophetic 
calling  was    of  Divine   appointment"    (Ewald, 
I  Die  Proph.  des  A.  B.  II.  .S".  26).     Secondly,  that 
[  according  to  which  the    transaction    took  place 
t  in  the  sphere  of  physical  or  corporeal  existence. 
So  Starke,  who,  actually  says  that  the  "  Son  of 
God,  in  pre-intimation  of   His  blessed  incarna- 
tion, appeared  to  Jeremiah  in  a  liunian  form." 
— This  touching  of  the  lips  occurs  several  times, 
but  always  with  a  different  meaning.    In  Isa.  vi. 
6  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  expiation,  in  Dan.  x.  IG 
for  the  purpose  of  strengthening.     Here  in  Jere- 
miah   it    is    the  outward  form  of  inspiratio  (f,«- 
Tvvcvaig).     For   the  expression   "I  have  put  my 
word  in  thy  mouth"  (comp.  almost  the  same  ex- 
pression in  Isaiah  li.  16)  is,  on  the  one  hand,  an 
explanation  of  the  act  of  touching  the  lips,  on  the 
other  the  designation  of  that  operation  on  the 
human  spirit  by  virtue  of  which  "holy  men  of 
God   spake   as    they  were  moved  by  the    Holy 
Ghost"  (2  Pet.  i.  21).     From  the  following  verse 
moreover  we  perceive  that  the  prophet  was  pre- 
pared not  only  for  speaking,  but  for  acting,  or, 
that  his  words  were  to  be  at  the  same  time  deeds, 
real  exhibitions  of  power. 

Ver.  10.  See,  I  have  this  day  .  .  to  build 
and  to  plant.  These  words  represent  the  sec- 
ond part  of  the  act  of  inauguration,  the  confer- 
ring of  authority  and  of  the  commission.  Au- 
thority is  at  the  same  time  power.  The  prophet 
is  not  only  formally  authorized,  but  rendered 
physically  capable.  He  is  first  authorized  and 
empowered  to  act  vigorously  in  the  ofl'ensive. 
'^"i^'lpBri  I  have  set  thee  as  a  TpS,  i.  e.,  over- 
seer, administrator  [hniaKo-jTog,  oiKdvoiior),  conse- 
quently as  my  officer  over  the  nations  and  kins:- 
doms,  which  are  my  dominion  and  property.  In 
Tppn  is  also  included  the  idea  of  official  pleni- 
polence,  which  forms  the  legal  basis  of  the  pro- 
phet's ministry.  The  sphere  in  which  this  mi- 
nistry is  to  be  exercised  is  "  the  nations  and  the 
kingdoms."  These  are  not  designated  more  ex- 
actly, but  the  definite  article  and  the  plural  de- 
note that  not  only  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  but  all 
the  nations  and  kingdoms  are  meant  which  were 
then  present  on  the  arena  of  history.  They 
are  enumerated  xxv.  17-26.  The  commission 
which  the  prophet  received  with  respect  to  them 
has  two  sides — a  positive  and  a  negative.  First, 
he  is  to  extirpate  and  exterminate  (we  may  thus 
express  the  alliteration),  to  destroy  and  to  throw 
down,  but  then  also  to  build  and  to  plant.  The 
first  he  does  by  prophesying  the  Divine  judgment, 
the  second  by  the  promise  of   Divine  mercy  and 

grace.  WT^'i  corresponding  to  i^£3J,  is  used  of 
plants  (xii.  14  sqq.;  xxiv.  6;  xlv.  4)  |*riJ 
corresponding  to  nj3,  of  buildings  (xxxix. 
8:  Iii.  14;  Ezek.  xxvi.  9,  12).  It  is  note- 
worthy that  the  negative  side  is  expressed  by 
four  verbs,  the  positive  by  only  two.  With  this 
the  contents  of  tlie  book  correspond,  as  owing 
to  the  moral  condition  of  the  times,  it  contains 
more  threatenings  and  rebukes  than  promises  of 


20 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


grace  It  is  full  of  the  former  with  respect  to 
Israel.  The  latter  are  found  with  respect  to  the 
theocracy,  besides  in  many  scattered  passages, 
especially  in  ch.  xxx.-xxxiii.  With  respect  to 
the  heathen  nations  both  are  found  especially  in 
ch  xlvi.-li.  It  is  understood  that  the  propliet 
was  not  actually  to  destroy  and  to  build,  but 
only  by  word,  whicii  as  spoken  by  God  involves 
tlie  cci-tainty  of  the  accomplishment.  Analogous 
modes  of  expression  are  found  in  Gen.  xlix.  6; 
Isa.  vi.  10;  Ezck.  xxxii.  18:  xliii.  3;  Hos.  vi. 
5-  Rev.  xi.  5. — Comp.  Jer.  v.  14;  xxiii.  29. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  There  is  a  vocalio  inimediata,  which  is  how- 
ever restricted  to  the  bearers  of  the  prophetic 
and  apostolic  office.  AVe  know  of  no  propliet 
who  was  chosen  and  called  by  man  to  be  a  pro- 
phet. Aaron  and  Elisha  are  only  apparent  ex- 
ceptions. Comp.  Exod.  iv.  14-16,  27 ;  1  Kings 
xix.  IG.  The  apostles  also  were  all  called  im- 
mediately by  our  Lord:  Matt.  iv.  18-22;  x.  1; 
John  i.  37  ;  Acts  ix. ;  Gal.  i.  1,  11  sqq.  Since 
then  this  vocatio  immediata  or  extraor dinar ia  is  for 
those  servants  and  instruments,  of  which  the 
Lord  will  make  use  "  ad  fundandam  ecclesiam,'" 
:>ll  those  who  wish  to  bsar  office  in  the  church 
already  founded  must  be  called  thereto  rite,  i.  e. 
by  the  hum  m  organ  authorized  for  this  purpose. 
{Conf.  Aujast.,  Art.  XLV.)  Comp.  Budde,  Instit. 
theoi.  do'pn.  L.  V.,  cap.  IV.,  g  4. — Turrktin. 
Inst,  theol.  eiencht,  Loc.  XVIII. ,  Quoest.  23. 

2.  The  free  creative  act  of  the  personal  God, 
who  prepares  and  forms  His  instruments  accord- 
ing to  His  idea  even  in  the  womb,  contradicts 
both  tlie  mechanical  idea  of  development,  and  a 
one-sided  traducianisin. — It  is  simply  remarked, 
that  Catholic  theologians  (see  Corn,  a  Lapide), 
in  order  to  obtain  analogies  for  the  immaculate 
conception  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  would  conclude 
from  ver.  5  that  Jeremiah  was  conceived  without 

originalsin.   Neumann  understands  yni^lpn  of 

a  communication  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  Jeremiah 
even  before  his  birth.     Comp.  on  the  otlier  hand 

HoFMANN,  Schriftbeweis,  1,  S.  65.    ["l^^p  does  not 

primarily  signify  to  be  pure  or  holy,  but  to  be 
separated  from  a  common  to  some  special  pur- 
pose. The  idea  of  purity,  whether  physical, 
ceremonial  or  moral,  was  originated  by  that  of 
such  separation.  When,  therefore,  Jehovah  de- 
clares that  He  had  sanctified  the  prophet  before 
his  birth,  the  meaning  is  not  that  He  had  cleansed 
ium  from  the  pollution  of  original  sin,  or  that 
He  had  regenerated  him  by  His  Spirit,  as  some 
have  imagined,  but  tiiat  He  had  separated  him 
in  His  eternal  counsel  to  the  work  '\A  which  he 
was  to  be  engaged."  Henderson.  So  Calvin. 
— "In  this  respect,  as  in  many  others,  Jeremiah, 
who  was  sanctified  from  his  mother's  womb,  and 
was  known,  i.  e.  lovd,  by  God  before  he  was  con- 
ceived and  was  made  a  prophet  to  the  Nations, 
was  a  figure  of  Christ,  who  was  loved  by  the 
Father  from  the  licginiung  ....  and  who  was 
the  Prophet  of  all  Nations  ....  (see  S.  Jerome 
here  and  comp.  S.  Cyprian  c.  Judmo.i,  I.  21  ;  S. 
Ambrosk.  in  P-i.  43,  and  Origen  Homil.  1,  in 
Jer.).  S.  Jekomk  says  :  '  Certe  nullum  piilo  .imic- 
iiorem  Jereinia,  qui  virgu   prophcta,  sanctijicatusque 


in  utero,  ipso  nomine  prsefigurat  Dominum  SalvatO' 
rem.''  S.  Jerome  (who  is  regarded  as  a  saint 
and  as  a  great  doctor  of  the  church,  by  the 
Church  of  Rome)  could  not  have  written  these 
words  if  he  had  known  anything  of  the  dogma 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  (/.  e.  of  the  ori- 
ginal sinlessness)  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which 
is  now  enforced  by  the  Churcii  of  Pionic  us  an 
article  of  faith  necessary  to  everlasting  salva- 
tion."    Wordsworth.— S.  R.  A.] 

3.  The  divine  call  involves,  1.  with  respect  to 
the  called,  [a)  the  duty,  to  discharge  the  com- 
mission received  without  shyness  or  fear  of  man, 
and  without  regard  to  his  own  weakness,  (6)  the 
privilege  of  the  divine  protection  and  assistance, 
and  of  certain  success  in  his  work  ;  2.  with  re- 
spect to  those  for  whose  sake  the  divine  com- 
mission is  given,  (a)  the  duty  of  believing  obedi- 
ence, (6)  the  certain  prospect  of  the  realization 
of  the  threatenings  or  promises  addressed  to 
them.  —  ZiNZENDORF  ['^Jeremiah  a  preacher  of 
righteousness,"  S.  5  of  the  Berlin  Ed.  of  1830) 
remarks  on  ver.  10:  "A  general  promise  which 
is  adilressed  not  to  court  preachers  and  general 
superintendents  and  such  like  only,  in  their  ex- 
tended dioceses,  but  city  and  village  pastors  may 
a  majori  ad  minus,  safely  conclude  that  it  will 
apply  also  to  their  rooting  out  and  pulling  down, 
building  and  planting.  Only  [b?]  faithful !  only 
faithful  !" — I  note  that  some  have  sought  to  de- 
rive from  ver.  9  a  proof  of  verbal  inspiration, 
hence  Starke  remarks  :  "  Those  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  Himself  who  attribute  to  Jeremiah  a 
rude  style  and  solecisms,  as  Abarbanel,  Jerome, 
CuN->EUS  [De  Rep.  ebr.  III.,  7)  have  done," — fur- 
ther that  Pope  Innocent  III.,  founded  on  ver. 
10  his  claim  to  the  primacy  over  civil  rulers. 
Comp.  Decret.  L.  I.  Tit.  33,  cap.  sollicite  (Forster). 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  This  passage  may  be  suitably  employed  on 
the  tenth  Sunday  after  Trinity.  It  is  also  espe- 
cially adapted  to  (Jrdiualion  and  Installation 
sermons. 

2.  The  Lord  never  allows  His  Church  to  lack 
the  strength  which  time  and  place  demand.  He 
need  not  seek  this  or  wait  for  it.  He  makes  it. 
As  the  Lord  elsewhere  chose  that  which  was 
foolish,  weak  and  base  in  the  sight  of  the  world 
(1  Cor.  i.  19-29;  Matt.  xi.  25;  John  vii.  48;  Jas. 
ii.  5),  so  now  he  chooses  one  who  to  himself  and 
others  appears  too  young.  It  is  not  always  the 
greybeard  that  is  wanted  (Forster).  Wlien  God 
gives  office  He  gives  also  understanding. — It 
would  be  presumptuous  to  begin  a  great  work  in 
one's  own  strength.  It  is  natural  tliat  in  view 
of  a  great  and  difficult  task  one  should  at  first 
be  afraid.  (Ambrose,  De  officiis  mininlror^mi,  1,00: 
•' Moyses  et  Ilieremiax,  elect i  a  Domino,  iit  oraculi 
Dei  prpcdicarent  populo,  quod  poterant  per  gratiam, 
excusdhant  per  verecundiam.'  )  But  it  would  also 
be  wrong  if  from  pusillanimous  desjiondoncy  or 
love  of  ease,  one  should  take  no  heed  to  an  evi- 
dent call  of  God. 

"  Mark,  0  my  soul.  God's  word  to  thee. 
And  Ko  iit  Christ's  command, 
Where'er  Tie  draws  tliee  hasten  on, 
Wlien  Jle  detains  tliee,  stand,"  etc. 

"The  word  and  ;;l(irv.  Lord  divine. 
Nut  ours,  0  Christ,  but  all  are  Thine, 


CHAP.  I.  11-16. 


21 


Grant  then  Thy  gracious  aid  to  those, 
Who  swei'tly  on  Thy  word  repose." 

(  \ic..  S^i.NEKKKii,  in  the  liymn,  "  Abide  with  us, 
Loivl  .Jedu.s  Clirist,"  etc.,  ver.  7). — Since  the 
caiide  is  not  ours,  but  the  Lord's,  and  we  have 
not  undertaken  it  in  our  own  strength,  but  in 
obedience  to  His  command,  it  devolves  upon  the 
Lord  to  protect  His  cause  and  His  servant. — 
Where  one  receives  an  office  from  the  Lord  and 
conducts  it  according  to  the  Lord's  purpose  and 
in  His  Spirit,  there  the  Lord  Himself  is  present 
uitli  sliieM  and  spear,  that  is,  with  weapuns  of 
defence  and  offence. — The  word  of  the  Lord  even 
in  the  mouth  of  the  humblest  of  His  servants,  is 
!i.  liammer  which  breaks  the  rock  in  pieces,  and 
no  rock  is  too  hard  or  too  high  for  it. — The  work 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  It  must  1.  be  per- 
formed by  men,  whom  the  Lord  prepares  and 
^^'uds.  It  is  2.  a  difficult  and  dangerous  work. 
Bdt  3.  rich  in  success  and  reward. — The  office  to 
which  the  Lord  appoints  is  1.  for  the  purpose 
of  accomplishing  His  will, — needs,  2.  the  means 
which  the  Lord  Himself  provides. 

3.  Starke  : — "  He  who  is  called  by  the  Lord 
to  the  office  of  preacher  becomes  indeed  a  sacri- 
fice and  instrument  of  God,  in  that  he  regards 
only  God's  will  and  command,  and  must  without 
exception  and  without  self-conceit  do  and  pro- 
claim that  which  the  Lord  commands  him  to  do 
and  preach. — Since  the  anger  of  God  against 
sin  and  the  punishment  which  will  certainly  fol- 
low has  to  be  declared  to  whole  kingdoms,  a 
preacher  must  set  their  sins  and  the  anger  of 
God  awakened  thereby,  before  governors  as  well 
as   subjects,  the   high   as  well  as  the   low. — A 


teacher  in  view  of  gross  corruption  must  not 
proceed  softly ;  he  must  break  down,  root  out, 
pull  up  and  destroy. — When  a  teacher  has  by  the 
Law  destroyed  the  kingdom  of  Satan  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  he  must  seek  to  build  up  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  therein  by  the  Gospel." 

["  Propheia  nascitur  non  fit — A  man  is  not  edu- 
cated unio  a  prophet,  but  originally  formed  for  the 
office. — Samuel  declared  a  message  from  God  to 
Eli  when  he  was  a  little  child.  Note,  God  can, 
when  He  pleases,  make  children  prophets  and 
ordain  strength  out  of  the  mouths  of  bakes  and  suck- 
lings.— If  God  do  not  deliver  His  ministers  from 
trouble,  it  is  to  the  same  effect  if  He  support  them 
under  their  trouble — Earthly  princes  are  not 
wont  to  go  along  with  their  ambassadors,  but 
God  goes  along  with  those  whom  He  sends.'' 
Henry. — "You  need  not  fear  their /«ees — the 
thing  that  timid  young  men  are  most  wont  to 
fear.  Think  only  that  the  Lord  God  is  with 
you,  and  let  His  presence  be  your  joy  and 
strength."  Cowlbs. — Nothing  can  sustain  the 
prophet  in  His  outward  and  inward  conflicts  but 
the  assurance  of  his  divine  calling. —  Maurice 
says:  "If  Jeremiah  had  fancied  that  he  was  a 
prophet  because  there  was  in  him  a  certain  apti- 
tude for  uttering  divine  discourses  and  foreseeing 
calamities,  who  can  tell  the  weariness  and  loath- 
ing which  he  would  have  felt  for  his  task  when 
it  led  to  no  seeming  result,  except  the  dislike  of 
all  against  or  for  whom  it  was  exercised, — still 
more  when  the  powers  and  graces  which  were 
supposed  to  be  the  qualifications  for  it,  became 
consciously  feeble." — S.  R.  A.] 


b.  The  Visions,  Rehearsal  and  Programme. 
Chap.  I.  11-16. 

11  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  unto   me,  saying,  Jeremiah, 

12  what  seest  thou  ?  And  I  said,  I  see  a  [wakeful]  rod  of  an  almond  tree.  Then 
said  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  unto  me,  Thou  hast  well  [rightly]  seen,  for  I  will  hasten 

13  [be  wakeful  (Germ.,  wacker)  concerning]  my  word,  to  perform  it.  And  the 
word  of  tlie  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  unto  me  the  [a]  second  time,  saying.  What 
seest  thou?     And  I  said,  I  see  a  seething  [boiling]   pot,  and  the  face  thereof  is 

14  toward  [from]  the  north.  Then  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  said  unto  me,  Out  of  the 
north  an  evil  [calamity]  shall  break  forth  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land. 

15  For  lo,  I  will  call  all  the  families  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  north,  saith  the  Lord 
[Jehovah]  ;  and  they  shall  come,  and  they  shall  set  every  one  his  throne  [seat]  at 
the  entering  of  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  and  against  all  the  walls  thereof  round 

16  about,  and  against  all  the  cities  of  Judah.  And  I  will  utter  my  judgments  against 
them^  touching  [for]  all  their  wickedness,  who^  [because  they]  have  forsaken  me, 
and  have  burned*  incense  [sacrifice]  unto  other  gods,  and  worshipped  the  works* 
of  their  own  hands. 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL.. 

1  Ver.  16. — The  form  QmX  for  DPX  i^s  frecincnt  in  Jeromiah,  ii.  3.5 ;  iv.  12 ;  xii.  1.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  55,  3,  Anux. 
*  Ver.  16. — ItyX  beforp  'J?3T^'  ri'fers  to  tlie  sutlix  in  D"^;'"*.  and  since  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  explicative,  introducing  s 


•■>■> 


THE  PROPHET  JEUEMIAII. 


more  particular  definition  of  niH,  we  may  translate  it  by:  that,  that  namely.    Moreover  H^"^  iiere  refers  to  the  same 

TT 

expression  in  ver.  14. 

3  Ver.  10.— nOpM-      Tliis  Piel  is  frequently  synonymous  with  the  Hiphil  I'DpH.     (Comp.  1  Kings  iii.  3  ;  xi.  8  with 

xxii.  44;  2  Kings  xxii.  17  with  2  Chnin.  xxiv.  25  Chethibli)  in  the  wiiler  sense  o{  qlprinff  in  general.  (Comp.  Graf  inloc.) — 
That  Jeremiah  also  iises  the  I'iel  in  tin'  wider  sense  seems  to  tbllow  from  tlie  fact  that  he  uses  it  almost  exclusively, — every 
where  indeed  with  the  exceiition  i<{  two  |ilaces  (xxxiii.  l.S;  xlviii.  :5.5),  where  it  was  proper  to  use  the  otRcial  terminus  tech- 
nicus.  But  it  is  not  clear  whrtlier  tlic  Pirl  in  Jeremiah  has  the  wider  meaning,  in  consequence  of  a  grammatical  confusi(jn 
of  the  Hiphil  with  the  Piel,  or  of  a  rhetorical  denominatio  a  potiore. 

4  Ver.  16. — 'tyyo,  the  plural,  is  foumiagainonlyxliv.  8,  the  singular  xxv.  G,  7  ;  xxxii.30;  2  Kings  xxii.  17  ;  coll.  2Chron. 
xxxiv.  25. 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

In  general  this  section  is  the  continuation  of 
Jeremiah's  induction  into  the  prophetic  office, 
commenced  in  the  previous  section.  This  con- 
tinuation consists  in  this,  that  the  Lord  at  once 
causes  the  prophet  to  make  a  little  trial  or  exer- 
cise in  prophetic  vision,  in  which  he  shows  him 
not  only  the  manner,  but  the  main  purport  of  Ihe 
prophetic  vision  and  announcement,  /.  e.  the  pro- 
gramme in  outline  of  his  prophetic  ministry. 
The  I  wo  sections  thus  stand  in  the  closest  reci- 
])rocnl  relation.  Whether  we  are  to  assume  an 
interval  of  time  between  them,  is  not  clear  from 
the  text,  which  however  does  not  forbid  the  sup- 
position of  a  very  brief  interim. 

Ver.  11.  Moreover  .  .  .  rod  of  an  almond 
tree.  The  question,  "What  seest  thou?"  is 
found  not  only  here,  in  ver.  13  and  xxiv.  3,  but 
also  in  Amos  vii.  8;  viii.  2;  Zech.  iv.  2;  v.  2. 
It  is  the  object  of  the  inquirer  to  assure  himself 
that  the  person  addressed  has  rightly  seen,  which 
thus  presupposes  a  certain  difficulty,  as  well  as 
importance,  in  seeing  correctly.  Apart  from  the 
objective  difficulty  of  always  perceiving  the  ob- 
ject shown,  which  we  meet  with,  ex.  gr.,  in  Amos 
viii.  1\  Zech.  v.  2;  the  subjective  ability  of  be- 
holding visions,  the  seeing  power  of  the  inner 
eye,  as  it  were,  had  to  be  tested.  Hpl^  is  the 
almond  (Gen.  xliii.  11;  Num.  xvii.  8;  Eccles.  xii. 
oj.  The  word  comes  from  ^pl^,  vigilavit.  What 
the  cock  is  among  domestic  animals  the  almond 
is  among  trees.  It  awakes  first  from  the  sleep 
of  winter:  '■\fioret  omnium  prima  inense  Januario, 
Martio  vera  poma  maturat"  says  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat. 
L.  XVI.  c.  25. — The  LXX  have  (iaK-//plav  Kapvivr/v, 
bacuLum  nuceum.  It  is  questionable  whether  by 
this  they  wished  to  designate  a  nut-tree-staff 
(with  a  hint  at  the  sweet  kernel  in  a  bitter  shell, 
as  Theodoret  and  Ambkose  suppose,  the  latter 
in  Epist.  ad  Marcellinam  sororem,  the  41st  in  the 
Bened.  Ed.).  For,  according  to  Heraclius 
Ei'HESurs  [Kapva  eKaXovv  Kal  rag  a/ivySdlac:,  etc.), 
Hesycuius  (aapbac'  a/ivySd/iag  Kal  imardvovi;)  and 
others  (see  Urusius  ad  h.  I.  cfr.  Passow  :  Kapvov, 
every  kind  of  nut),  l-taKrr/pia  KapvLvrj  may  also  mean 
an  almond-tree-staff,  as  the  LXX  also  translate 

Gen.    XXX.   37,  P'7   ^pO    by   pdft^nc   Kapvtvrj   (1^7 

is  however  the  proper  word  in  Hebrew  and  the 
dialects  for  almond-tree.  See  Arnold  in  Her- 
ZOG,  Redl-Enc.,  Art.  Mandelhaum),  and  in  Gen. 
xliii.  11,  at  least  the  Cod.  Vatic  has  Kdpva  for 
Onpt!/,  while  the  Cod.  Alex,  renders  tins  word  by 
h/j.i}y()a/.a. — But  although  the  language  allows  the 
meaning  of  "almond  "'  for  "'Pu',  ii  has  not  been 

universally  admitted  iiere.  Bugenhagen,  ex.  gr. 
translates  haculum  alacrem    or  virgam  vigilantem, 


and  expressly  excludes  the  idea  of  an  almond 
tree.  For  in  another  reference  he  makes  this 
remarkable  declaration;  "  Qui  in  hebraico  nunc 
superstilio.'iius  sua  puncta  {gufe  tamen  sciunt  dim 
nan  fuissc)  sequunlur,  faciunt  hoc  loco :  baculuin 
amygdalinum.  Sed  si  hoc  placet  rpsis,  cur  noii 
postea  faciunt  etiam  sic:  bene  vidisti,  quia  ego 
amygdalabor  ad  verbum  meum  "  Most  commenta- 
tors  admit    the    idea  of  "almond-tree "  in  Tpiy> 

they  differ  only  in  this  that  some  express  this  idea 
in  the  translation  as  that  which  is  in  reality  the 
only  one  befitting  the  word,  while  the  others  for 
the    sake    of  the    similarity  with   the   following 

"^Pp  prefer  the  radical  signification  (vigilare). 
The  latter  again  are  distinguished  into  those  who 
take  ']pp=npp  in  the  substantive  sense,  "  watch- 
man "  (so  Calvin  :  baculus  vigilis;  CEcolampad.  : 
the  watchman  club),  and  those  who  retain  the 
adjectival  signification  [vigilans,  alacer). — The 
endeavor  to  recommend  the  latter  meaning  by 
the  explanation,  "  virga  viglians  pro  minaci,  in- 
cumbente,  instur  destricti  gla.dii  vibrata''  (Zwingli) 
is  wrecked  on  the  difficulty  of  a  rod  alone,  with- 
out an  arm  to  raise  it  or  an  object  over  which  it 
is  held,  being  recognized  as  vigilans.  If  on  the 
other  hand  the  staff  be  recognized  by  the  pro- 
phet as  an  almond-tree  staff,  not  only  is  this  ex- 
plicable but  the  subsequent  explanation  is  con- 
nected easily  and  naturally  with  the  idea  of  an 
almond-tree.  Ewald  has  made  the  thought 
clear  by  the  translation;  A  watch -staff  of  elder, 
for  I  will  watch,  etc. — Theodoret  says,  long-suf- 
fering is  a  sleep  (Ps.  xliv.  24;  Ixxviii.  Go); 
watchfulness  for  vengeance  an  awaking.  That 
He  will  not  sleepily  delay,  but  will  be  fresh  and 
watchful  to  own  by  speedy  fulfilment  the  word 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  His  prophet, — this  is 
what  God  says  to  the  fearful,  hesitating  Jeremiah 
for    his    comfort    and    encouragement.       But    is 

Ipn  Spd  a  branch  with  twigs  and  leaves,  or  a 
stick  stripped  of  leaves,  such  as  is  used  for 
walking  with  or  striking?  Many,  like  Starke 
and  Rosenmueller,  favor  the  former  view. 
They  appeal  to  the  circumstance  that  otherwise 
the  staff  would  not  be  recognized  as  from  an 
almond-tree.  Others,  as  Kimchi,  Vatable,  Seb. 
SciiMii),  Venema,  Gaab,  decide  for  the  latter, 
beino-  only  not  agreed  whether  the  staff  is  to  be 
unde°rstood  as  being  a  pilgrim's  staff,  a  shepherd  s 
staff,  or  a  stick  for  beating.  I  accept  the  latter 
view,  and  take  the  staff  to  be  a  threati  ning  rod 
of    castigation,    for    the    following    reasons:    1 

Although  Gesenius  and  Fuerst  derive  7p0  from 
the  root  hp2  which  in  Ethiopic,  Arabic  and  Syriac 
has  the  meaning  of  "to  sprout,  shoot  forth,"  the 
word  in  Hebrew  never  has  the  signification  of  a 
fresh,  "-recn,  leafy  branch  (not  even  in  Jeremiah 


CHAP.  I.  11-16. 


z^ 


xlviii.  17,  which  passage  is  adduced  by  Fuerst), 
but  always  that  of  a  stick  or  staff,  and  therefore 
agrees  at  least  in  signification  with  baculus, 
BaKTTjpia.     The   Hebrew  expressions  for   a  fresh 

branch  are  nt30  (Ezek.  xix.  11  sqq.),  "^i^,  f]j;;, 
nO^,  Ti^?-  -  The  connection  requires  that  au 
instrument  of  chastisement  be  meant.  The  ex- 
positors have  pointed  with  justice  to  the  climax: 
rod — boiling  pot.  '•  Qui  noluerint  percutiente  virga 
emendari,  mittentur  in  ollam  le.neam  atque  succen- 
sam,"  says  .Jerome.  But  a  leafy  branch  is  not 
an  instrument  of  punishment. — The  objection 
that  the  prophet  would  not  then  be  in  a  condi- 
tion to  recognize  the  staff  as  from  an  almond- 
tree  is  unfounded.  He  might  be  able  to  do  this 
even  if  we  had  reason  to  suppose  that  a  dry 
almnn  1  tree  was  shown  him.  To  distinguish 
betwetiii  (litfereut  kinds  of  dry  wood  is  not  difiB- 
ciilt  for  a  half-informed  man.  We  must  imagine 
a  staff  stripped  indeed  of  leaves  and  adapted  for 
striking,  but  yet  fresh,  unbarked  and  sappy. 
Since  it  is  just  in  its  being  fresh  and  full  of  sap 
that  the  point  lies,  we  may  certainly  presume 
that  it  was  an  almond  rod  in  this  stage  that  was 
shown  to  the  prophet.  Perhaps  the  recognition 
was  facilitated  by  the  circumstance  that  the 
vision  occurred  at  a  time  when  the  sap  had  just 
commenced  to  flow  in  the  almond  tree. 

Ver.  12.  Then  said  Jehovah  ...  to  per- 
form it.  Venema  remarks  on  this  verse : 
"  Visum  eo  tendit,  ut  propheta  experimentum  suse 
aptt/udi/iis  ad  munus  propheticum  caperet. — Bene 
vidisti :  capax  ergo  es  visionum  propheticarum." 
There  seems  to  be  some  truth  in  this.  In  the 
other  passages  where  the  formula,  What  seest 
thou  ?  occurs  it  is  without  the  Thou  hast 
■well  seen  of  confirmation.  When  it  is  here  said 
to  Jeremiah  after  his  first  vision  there  is  certainly 
something  encouraging  in  the  fact,  and  it  may 
not  incorrectly  be  referred  to  the  apprehension 
of  incapacity  expressed  by  the  prophet  in  ver.  6. 
At  the  same  time  it  corroborates  what  has  been 
remarked    on    TPJ2'.       If  it   were    a   leafy  twig, 

thou  hast  well  seen  appears  to  be  superfluous, 
for  tliere  would  have  been  no  skill  in  distin- 
guishing it— I  will  be  wakeful,  etc.  Comp. 
xxxi.  28,  where  the  Lord  refers  expressly  to 
this  passage.  The  paronomasia  is  the  same  as 
between  VTp  and  Vp  (Am.  viii.  2). — Observe  that 

we  have  *^3T   and  not  T13"1.     The  word  which 

■  t:  I  :|T  : 

the  prophet  has  to  proclaim  is  that  of  God,  who 
will  not  allow  His  own  word  to  be  dishonored. 
The  prophet  need  not  be  anxious  either  about  its 
impression  on  the  hearts  of  men  or  about  the 
verification  of  his  threatenings  and  promises; 
both  will  verify  themselves.  Comp.  Heb.  ii.  1  ; 
Isa.  Iv.  11. 

Ver.  18.  And  the  word  .  .  .  from  the 
north.  This  second  vision  is  closely  related 
to  the  first,  both  as  to  form  and  matter,  we  are 
therefore  not  to  suppose  a  long  pause  between 
them.  In  form  this  vision  is  like  the  first,  but 
in  matter  it  forms  a  climax,  since,  as  already  re- 
marked, the  boiling  pot  in  relation  to  the  simple 
rod  of  castigalion  appears  to  be  an  emblem  of 
an  extreme  fury  of  anger.  There  is  also  a  pro- 
gress here,  in  that  the  second  vision,  with  the 
explanation  attached,  plainly  expresses  why,  how 


and  by  whom  the  judgment  should  be  inflicted 
upon  Judah.     Thus   far  vers.  1.3-16  present  an 
outline  of  the  whole  prophecy  of  Jeremiah,  for 
the  whole  book  is  no  more   than  a  development 
of  the  great  thought  here  expressed:  Judgment 
upon  Judah  by  a  people  coming  from  the  north  ; 
and  the  consolatory  portions  are  but  exceptions, 
like  single  rays  of  light  in  the  prevailing  dark- 
ness of  the  picture. — A  boiling  pot,  etc.     Ety- 
mologicilly  it  is  a  pot   blown   upon,  i.  e.,  a  pot 
brought  to  boiling  by  blowing  the   fire.     Comp. 
niaj  nn  job  xli.  ll.     The  idea  of  Brenz,  that 
Tp  is  here  to  be  taken  as  =  spina  [spina^  quse  in 
die  ine  Domini  ab  iyne  hujus  succenditur)  is  refuted 
by  the  singular.     We  should  then  expect  D'TD. 
Comp.  Isa.   xxxiv.    13;   Hos.    ii.   8;  Nah.  i.    10; 
Eccles.  vii.  6,  in  which  place  the  word  is  used  in 
both  meanings.     The  seething  pot  is  an  emblem 
among  the  .\rabs  of  warlike  fury.    Comp.  Rosen- 
.■\iUELLER,  ad.  h.  I.     Most  expositors  understand  by 
the  pot  here  the  theocracy.     The  Chaldeans  are 
then  the  fire  inflamed   to   a  violent   heat,  which 
boils  the  Jews  in  the  pot  (comp.  Ezek.  xi.  3,  7,  11 ; 
xxii.  20),  and  tliat  which  foams  over  is  the  in- 
habitants driven  out  of  the  holy  land.     So,  ex.  gr., 
says  (EcoLAMPADius  :   "  Hierusalem  oUie  vel  lebeti 
comparatnr    [ussgesotten    Haffen)   in   qua    carnales 
homines  per  ignem  coquantur,  ut  quasi  spuma  ebulli- 
antur  per  fervorem.^'      But  they  have  been  led  by 
the  general  similarity  of  these  passages  in   Eze- 
kiel  to  overlook  the  difi'erence.     There   the   pot, 
with  the  flesh  in  it  and  that  which  is  to  come  out 
of  it,  as  well  as  the  fire,    are  expressly  distin- 
guished from  each   other.     In  reference  to  our 
passage  Venema  has  correctly  remarked  :  ''Nihil 
hie  de  tgne,  nihil  de  folle  et  sufflatione  aliunde  orta  ; 
simpliciter  memoratur  olla  suffiata,  quse    est    oUa  in 
tumorcm  erecta  et  effervescens."     And  the  prophet 
certainly    sees  nothing  more  than  a  pot  boiling 
and  foaming  from  the  north.      So  that  this  it.sclf 
is  presented   as   the    instrument    of  the    severer 
punishment,  and  therefore  symbolizes  the  Chal- 
deans.     So  BuGENHAGEN  ( "  o//a  malum  per  Chal- 
dxos  et  Assyrios  Jtidmis  paratum''),  Venema  (^''olla 
representat  regnum  Chnldmum  sub  Nebucadnezare  et 
vasta  7Holimina  coquens,  et  summe  sese  efferens,  simul 
irntum  et  ad  omnia  ahsorbenda  paralum").      With 
the  opposite  view  of  the  pot  is  closely  connected 
the  incorrect  interpretation  of  nji3}^  'J£30   VJ31, 

*  T  T  ••    :     ■  T  T 

If  we  understand  by  the  pot  the  Jewish  people, 
and  imagine  this  placed  over  a  burning  fire, 
which,  though  not  expressly  mentioned,  we  as- 
sume to  be  the  Chaldeans,  then  it  is  natural  to 
view  D'Ji)  as  the  side  of  the  pot  turned  towards 
the  fire.  But  it  is  not  the  side  turned  towards 
the  fire,  but  towards  the  prophet.  For  in  the 
first  place  in  the  vision  there  is  no  fire,  so  that 
Wis  could  denote  only  the  front  of  the  pot,  sup- 
posing it  had  one.  It  would,  secondly,  be  diffi- 
cult to  show  that  the  pot  (or  kettle,  as  some 
translate)  had  a  side  which  could  be  expressly 
marked   as   the  front.     Thirdly,  if  the  opposite 

view  were  correct  we  should  read  V  'J3  ^X  niit 
^  ^223.  For  the  prophet  certainly  sees  the  pot 
from  his  standpoint  as  in  the  north.  If  now  W3 
say  that  the  pot  was  placed  against  a  fire  burn- 
ing on  its  northern   side,  the  prophet  from  his 


24 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


southern  standpoint  would  certainly  he  unable 
to  see  the  side  towards  the  fire.  I  know  that 
frequently  in  Hebrew  the  terminus  a  quo  is  put 
where  we  should  use  the  terminus  in  quo  or  in 
quern  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Jleb.  Gram-.  2d  Ed.,  5. 
228),  but  this  mode  of  expression  is  applicable 
only  wlien  the  object  in  question  presents  itself 
from  just  that  point,  at  which  it  is  according  to 
our  conception  of  it  or  towards  which  it  is  mov- 
ing. In  the  present  case,  however,  the  side 
turned  away  from  the  prophet  and  not  visible  to 
111  III  would  be  designated  as  that  which  is  pre- 
senting itself  to  him  (from  the  north).  We 
therefore  take  D'J3  as  the  side   turned    towards 

•  T 

and  displayed  to  the  prophet,  whence  according 
to  a  frequent  idiom  (comp.  Num.  viii.  2  ;  Ex. 
xxviii.  25  ;  Ex.  xl.  44)  it  is  designated  as  the 
face  of  the  pot,  and  on  this  account  also  no  fur- 
thei-  emphasis  is  to  be  laid  on  it.  It  is  merely 
tlie  visible  side  as  opposed  to  the  invisible;  and 
we  therefore  translate  simply  "and  it  looks  from 
the  north."  The  He  locale  in  njD}f,  as  in  several 
cases  after  prepositions,  does  not  serve  to  indi- 
cate the  direction  more  definitely,  Isa.  xv.  10,  21, 

n3ji3  and  (17330  Jer.  xxvii.  16,  but  here  as  in 

T  :  •.■  -  T  V  T  • 

n 7'7  appears  to  have  lost  its  significance  as  a 

particle  and  to  be  in  transition  to  a  mere  pho- 
netic substantive  termination. 

Ver.  14.  Then  Jehovah  said  .  .  .  the  in- 
habitants of  the  land.  From  the  north  is  a 
general  and  indefinite  expression,  and  it  remains 
so  to  the  prophet  until  a  great  historical  event 
renders  it  sharply  defined.  Until  the  battle  of 
Carchemish  a  people  from  the  north  only  is 
spoken  of  (iv.  6;  vi.  1,  22;  x.  22),  after  the 
battle  this  people  appears  distinctly  as  the  Chal- 
deans under  Nebuchadnezzar  (xxv.  9,  etc).  This 
settles  the  question  whether  by  this  northern 
nation  the  Chaldeans  or  Scythians  were  meant. 
All  the  older  expositors  held  the  former  view. 
After  Eichhorn's  example  (Ileb.  Proph.  II.  9), 
Vox  BOHLEN  [Gen,  S.  165),  Dahler  {Jeremie  II. 
81).  EwALD  {Proph.  d.  A.  B.  1,  S.  361,  373;  II., 
S.  9;  Gesch.  Isr.  III.  392),  Bertheau  {Gesch. 
d.  I.ir.  S.  361),  HiTZiG  and  others  in  general, 
as  RoscH  says  {Zeitschr.  d.  morg.  Ges.  XV.,  S. 
63G)  "pretty  nearly  all  exegetical  authorities," 
maintain  the  latter.  Without  wishing  to  oppose 
that  which  Auolph  Strauss  {Valt.  Zepharijse,  S. 
XV.),  Tuoi.ucK  [Die  Proph.  u.  ihre  Weiss.,  S.  94), 
and  Graf  (D.  proph.  Jer.  erkldrt,  S.  16)  have 
urged  in  favor  of  the  older  view,  especially  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  incursion  of  the  Scy- 
thians was  made  at  least  five  years  before  the 
public  appearance  of  our  prophet,  I  am  still 
of  opinion,  that  Jeremiah  could  have  had  neither 
the  Scythians,  nor  the  Chaldeans,  nor  any  other 
people  definitely  in  mind.  He  saw  only  this 
much,  that  a  northern  people  would  visit  Judah 
as  the  rod  of  divine  discipline.  What  people 
this  would  be,  or  rather  what  people  all  the 
families  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth 
wouM  unite  under  their  leadership,  he  knew  not. 
fle  learned  this  first,  as  we  have  said,  from 
the  decisive  turn  given  by  the  battle  of  Car- 
chemish. We  shall  see  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider the  respective  passages  that  where  he 
eharacLerizes  this  unknown  people  more  particu- 


99  . 


X.   22 : 


xiu. 


larly  (comp.  iv.  11  ;  v.  15;  vi.  2 
20)  his  description  suits  the  Chaldeans,  and  that 
afterwards  when  he  names  them  (ch.  xxv.)  he  is 
not  conscious  of  correcting  an  error.  Comp. 
Graf,  S.  17,  etc. — We  thus  come  to  the  question, 
how  can  Jeremiah  call  the  Chaldeans  a  northern 
people,  since  Babylon  lay  to  the  east  or  south- 
east of  Palestine?  We  are  not  to  expect  an  ex- 
act localization  here,  since,  as  we  have  said, 
Jeremiah  has  no  definite  people  in  view.  The 
origin  of  the  Chaldeans  in  the  Koordish  moun- 
tains (J.  D.  MiCHAELis),  the  extension  of  the 
Babylonian  kingdom  to  the  north  and  the  con- 
nection with  it  of  the  Medes  and  Assyrians 
((EcoLAMPADius,  Grotius,  and  others)  are  not 
to  be  urged  as  reasons  for  this  expression  of  the 
prophet.  He  knows  only  that  they  will  come 
against  Jerusalem  from  the  north  over  Dan  and 
the  mountains  of  Ephraim  (iv.  15;  viii.  16). 
At  the  same  time  it  was  determined  that  these 
enemies  belonged  to  the  dominion  not  of  a  south- 
ern, but  of  a  (in  relation  to  this)  northern  em- 
pire, for  which  reason,  after  he  had  recognized 
the  Chaldeans,  the  prophet  does  not  cease  to 
designate  them  as  coming  from  the  north  ;  xxv. 
9,  coll.  Ezek.  xxvi.  7. — Shall  break  forth,  etc. 
Vers.  14-16  contain  the  interpretation  of  the 
second  vision,  ver.  14  giving  its  general  import. 
nn3  is  used  only  of  the  opening  of  a  closed 
gate,  but  metaleptically  of  the  dismission  or  ex- 
clusion of  what  was  enclosed  by  it,  whether  in 
bonam  partem,  ex.  gr.  of  prisoners  (Isa.  li.  14 ; 
Job  xii.  14),  or  in  malum  partem  of  a  calamity, 
as  here.  Zwingli  remarks  on  this  passage : 
'■'■  hac  metalepsi  *■  aperiri  pro  prodire^  non  temere 
utuntur  Latini,  sed  pro  'prodere'  frequentius.'" 
[Henderson:  "  Though  more  to  the  east  than 
to  the  north  of  Judea,  the  Hebrews  always  re- 
present the  Babylonians  as  living  in,  or  coming 
from,  the  north,  partly  because  they  usually  ap- 
propriated the  term  east  to  Arabia  Deserta, 
stretching  from  Palestine  to  the  Euphrates,  and 
partly  because  that  people,  not  being  able  to 
cross  the  desert,  had  to  take  a  northern  route 
when  they  came  against  the  Hebrews,  and  always 
entered  their  country  by  the  northern  frontier." 
— S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  15.  For  lo  .  .  .  the  cities  of  Judah. 
In  this  verse  the  general  idea  7^p^  is  more  ex- 
actly defined.  The  calamity  will  consist  in  this 
that  the  Lord  will  call  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
north  against  Judah.  But  all  is  not  to  be  em- 
phasized. It  is  only  meant  that  the  (in  relation 
to  Egypt)  northern  empire  will  come  with  its 
whole  force  upon  Judah.  The  expression  "and 
they  shall  set  every  one  his  throne,"  etc.,  is  very 
variously  explained.  Calvin  understands  it  as 
the  arrangement  for  a  permanent  residence  ("  ut 
consideant  tanquam  domi  suse")  which  is  entirely 
unsuited  to  the  connection.  Others  understand 
by  the  throne  the  seat  of  the  general,  from  which 
orders  are  issued  as  well  as  judgments.  The 
latter  have  been  referred  either  to  the  hostile 
soldiers  (so,  ex.  gr..  See.  Schmid),  or  to  Judah 
(Starke,  J.  D.  Michaelis,  ^^  describuntur  ut 
assessor es  ejus  judicii,  quod  v.  seq.  informatur'"). 
The  reference  to  the  hostile  soldiery  does  not 
agree  with  the  context,  the  reference  to  Judah 
is  in  so  far  unsuited  that  a  throne  for  the  pur- 
pose ut' judging  a  city,  is  set  not  before  the  gales. 


CHAP.  1.  11-16. 


but  within  the  conquered  city.  I  therefore  con- 
cur with  Venema,  Rosenmueller,  Maurer  and 
others  in  the  view,  that  the  seat  here  is  only 
a  seat  for  sitting  upon,  and  that  to  sit  down  be- 
fore a  city  is  simply  to  besiege  it,  as  in  Latin 
obsidere,  and  as  the  French  say  mettre  le  siege  de- 
vant  une  ville.  The  phrase  IXDp  t^'N  expresses 
that  Jerusalem  will  be  surrounded  by  many  such 
seats.  They  will  be  set  especially  before  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem  (Hnfl  prepositive,  as  Gen. 
xviii.  1 ;  xix.  11,  etc.)  because  it  is  the  metropo- 
lis and  because  the  siege  is  directed  against  the 
gates,  as  the  approaches  to  it.  From  the  princi- 
pal stations  before  the  gates  of  the  capital  the 
attack  may  be  directed  not  only  against  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  but  against  the  other  cities 
of  the  land. 

Ver.  16.  And  I  will  utter  .  .  .  their  own 
hands.  These  words  designate  the  visitation 
threatened  in  the  preceding  verses  as  a  divine 
judgment,  and  name  also  the  guilt  which  has 
brought  such  a  judgment  upon  Judah.  The  ex- 
pression 3   nX  D'£03tyO   ^3"!  signifies  to  discuss 

rights  with  any  one,  i.  e.  to  dispute  (^causam  agere) 
between  those  who  have  equal  rights  (Jer.  xii.  1), 
and  partly  as  a  judge  with  the  accused  (iv.  12; 
xxxix.  5).  The  expression  here  has  the  suffix 
of  a  definite  person,  which  signifies  that  the 
case  is  not  one  of  reciprocal  rights,  but  entirely 
of  the  rights  of  the  Lord,  for  the  infraction  of 
which  the  people  are  here  called  to  account. 

This  discussion  of  the  Lord  with  the  people  is 
not  to  take  place  in  words,  but  by  the  judgment 
announced  in  the  previous  verses.  ["The  idea 
conveyed  by  the  LXX  is  somewhat  diflFerent,  and 
I  believe  that  it  is  what  the  original  words  mean, 
"kahrjaid  -rrpbg  ai'Tovc  /lera  Kpiaeug — I  will  speak  to 
them  with  judgment.  The  original  literally  is, 
*I  will  speak  my  judgments  to  them;'  tnat  is,  I 
will  not  speak  words  but  judgments. — The  verse 
may  be  thus  rendered — *  And  I  will  speak  by  my 
judgments  unto  them,'  etc."  Calvin's  Comm.  I., 
68.     Tr's  note.—S.  R.  A.] 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  In  form  both  of  these  visions  are  objective 
symbols,  in  distinction  from  verbal  symbols  (para- 
bles, tropes,  etc.)  and  from  types.  The  pro- 
phetic element  is  essential  to  the  latter,  but  not 
to  symbols.  The  almond-tree  staff  is  only  an 
objective  expression  of  the  truth  that  the  Lord 
is  early  awake  to  verify  His  truth.  The  seeth- 
ing pot  also  is  only  an  actual  representation  of 
the  judgment  which  is  threatening  Judah.  The 
circumstance  that  this  is  future  is  not  essential. 
While  the  type  represents  a  future  fact  the  sym- 
bol is  only  the  emblematic  expression  of  a  speech, 
and  may  refer  to  the  present,  the  past  or  the 
future.^ — It  may  be  remarked  that  the  older  the- 


ologians used  the  expression  theologia  symbolica 
in  a  triple  sense,  (a)  =  theologia  mystica,  kabba- 
listica  (comp.  Budde,  Inst.  Dogm.  p.  186),  (6)  =r 
theology  of  the  confessions  or  creeds,  (c)  as  cor- 
relative to  revelatio  symbolica,  i.  e.  revelation  im- 
parted by  bodily  signs,  in  opposition  to  revelatio 
simplex,  which  passes  internally  from  spirit  to 
spirit  (comp.  Budde  S.  25,  etc.,  and  Starke, 
in  loc). — Concerning  the  Biblical  symbols,  comp. 
ZocKLER,  Theologia  naturalis,  S.  200.  [Faib- 
baibn's  Typology,  passim.  '''  Here  is  a  beautiful 
type  of  the  Resurrection,  especially  the  Resur- 
rection of  Christ.  '  Virga  Aaron  quse  putabatur 
emortus,  in  Resurrectione  Domini  floruit'  (S.  Je- 
rome)."    Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 

2.  It  may  be  asked  whether  the  alacritas,  vigi- 
lantia,  assiduitas,  diligentia  Dei  does  not  claim  to 
be  regarded  as  a  special  quality  in  opposition  to 
the  somnolentia,  inertia,  pigritia  of  men.  The  an- 
swer must  be  in  the  negative.  In  the  conception 
of  the  absolute  Spirit,  who  is  at  the  same  time 
the  absolute  life,  the  material  basis  is  given  for 
this  vigilantia  or  diligentia  as  truly  as  holiness, 
love,  faithfulness,  wisdom  serve  for  the  formal 
(ethical  and  intellectual)  basis  :  He  that  keepeth 
Israel  neither  slumbers  nor  sleeps.     Ps.  cxxi.  4. 

3.  The  justice  of  God  demands  the  satisfac- 
tion of  His  wounded  honor  (Isa.  xlii.  8).  The 
divine  wisdom  in  connection  with  omniscience 
selects  the  instruments  and  fixes  the  time  and 
manner  of  the  judgment. 

HOMILETIOAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  [On  ver.  12.  "  Prophets  have  need  of  good 
eyes;  and  those  that  see  well  shall  be  commended, 
and  not  those  only  that  speak  well."  M.  Henkt. 
— S.  R.  A.] 

God's  justice  is,  1.  long-suffering:  at  first  it 
uses  only  the  rod  (Rom.  ii.  4) ;  2.  recompensing 
zealously  and  severely :  when  the  gentle  chas- 
tisement is  without  result,  it  becomes  a  consum- 
ing fire  (Ex.  XX.  5;  Ps.  vii.  12;  Heb.  x.  31). 
[Ambrose  on  Ps.  xxxviii.,  quoted  by  Words- 
worth.— S.  R.  A.] 

2.  [On  ver.  16.  Maurice: — "We  perceive  as 
much  from  the  words  of  the  prophet  as  from 
the  history,  that  this  idolatry  has  now  become 
deep  and  radical. — The  state  of  mind  which  was 
latent  in  them  and  which  they  brought  forth  into 
full,  conscious  activity,  is  represented  as  an 
apostate  state ;  not  so  much  an  adoption  of  false 
gods  as  a  denial  of  the  true.  There  is  a  great 
practical  difference  between  the  frivolous,  heart- 
less taste  for  foreign  novelties,  which  was  de- 
nounced by  the  earlier  prophets,  and  the  utter 
incapacity  for  acknowledging  a  God  not  appeal- 
ing to  the  senses,  which  Jeremiah  discovers  in 
his  contemporaries.  He  boldly  sets  up  the  faith 
of  the  heathen  as  a  lesson  to  the  Israelites, 
ii.  10,|11."— S.  R.  A.] 


26 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


c.  Repetition  of  the  Commission  and  Promise  as  the  basis  of  the  impregnable 
defensive  position  of  the  Prophet. 

I.  17-19. 

17  Thou  therefore  gird  up  thy  loins,  and  arise  and  speak  unto  them  all  that  I 
[shall]  command  thee :  be  not  dismayed  [confounded]  at  their  faces,  lest  I  con- 

18  found  thee  before  them.  For,  behold,  I  have  made  [make]  thee  this  day  a  de- 
fenced  city,  and  an  iron  pillar  and  brazen  walls^  against  the  whole  land,  against'' 
the  kings  of  Judah,  against^  the  princes  thereof,  against^  the  priests  thereof  and 

19  against^  the  people  of  the  land.  And  they  shall  [may]  fight  against  thee,  but 
they  shall  not  prevail  against  thee ;  for  I  am  with  thee,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah], 
to  deliver  thee. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  18. — [Hendeeson  :  "  Instead  of  the  plural  moh)  vails,  the  singular  HDn,  waU,  is  found  in  twelve  of  De  Rossi's 

MSS. ;  it  has  been  originally  in  seven  more,  and  is  now  in  two  by  correction.  It  is  likewise  in  five  ancient  editions,  and 
occurs  in  the  defective  form  without  the  Van  in  a  great  number  of  MSS.  and  editions.  The  LXX.,  Targ.,  Syr.  and  Vulg. 
all  read  in  the  singular.  This  form  further  commends  itself  on  the  ground  of  its  being  the  less  usual,  but  at  the  same  tima 
more  appropriate  in  application  to  a  singular  subject." — S.  R.  A.] 

»  Ver.  18.— S  is  a  feebler  continuation  of  Sj7.  Comp.  iii.  17 ;  Ps.  xxxiii.  28.    Naeqelsb.  Gram,  g  112,  8. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

In  these  concluding  verses  the  general  purport 
of  section  (a)  is  first  repeated:  ver.  17  from 
speak  to  faces,  and  the  conclusion  of  ver  19, 
reproducing  the  conclusion  of  vers.  7  and  8.  Oa 
the  basis  of  this  promise  (comp.  For  I  am  with 
thee,  ver.  19),  however,  the  prophet  is  assured, 
in  antithesis  to  the  offensive  position  commanded  in 
vers.  9  and  10,  of  an  equally  strong  defensive 
position,  and  this  is  the  new  and  characteristic 
element  of  this  concluding  section. 

Ver.  17.  Thou  therefore  .  .  .  before  them. 
A  summons  to  set  vigorously  to  work.  The  ser- 
vant of  God  must  be  neither  cowardly  nor  sloth- 
ful. The  expression,  "  gird  up  the  loins,"  is 
frequently  used  in  a  proper  as  well  as  in  a  figu- 
rative sense;  1  Kings  xviii.  46;  2  Kings  iv.  29; 
ix.  1;  Job  xxxviii.  3;  Eccles.  xxxi.  17;  Luke 
xii.  35;  Eph.  vi.  14;  1  Pet.  i.  13.— Be  not 
dismayed  forms  a  climax  in  relation  to  Be  not 
afraid,  ver.  8,  as  in  Deut.  i.  21  ;  Josh.  x.  25. — 

r>np  and  '"]nnx,  On^JSO  and  OnV^'S'?  correspond. 
[This  play  upon  words  may  be  expressed  in 
English  thus:  "Be  not  dumbfounded  before 
them,  lest  thou  be  confounded  before  them." — 
S.  R.  A.]  Many  commentators  have  hesitated 
at  rendering  the  Hiphil  of  ^7)11  in  the  primary 

sense  of  '■\frangere,  to  break  to  pieces."  They 
have  thought  the  threatening  would  be  too  severe, 
"  erigendus  erat  animus  persuasione  incolumitatis 
non  minis  ac  melu  frangendus,"  says  Sohnurrer 
They  therefore  take  either  J3  in  a  reduced  and 
grammatically  inadmissible  sense  (Bugeniiaoen: 
quasi  te  (erream ;  Starke,  "I  should  terrify 
thee;"    Qrotius  :     nee    enim    timere    te   faciam; 


ScHNURRER  suppUcs  "iOK^  =  putans  concessurum 

me  esse,  ut  tibi  sit  pereundem),  or  they  understand 
the  verb  in  the  meaning  which  certainly  pertains 
to  the  word,  "  to  make  afraid."  But  what  sense 
is  there  in  this  rendering:  "Be  not  afraid  be- 
fore them,  lest  I  make  thee  afraid  before  them"? 
(CEcoLAjip.,  Maurer,  Ewald).  If  the  prophet 
was  afraid  before  his  enemies  he  did  not  need  to 
be  rendered    still    more    so.     I  take   ^T^T\,  with 

most  commentators,  in  the  sense /ran^rerg,  conterere, 
which  it  has  in  the  radical  signification  of  the 
Kal. — to  be  broken  in  pieces,  crushed  (see  Fuerst), 
and  which  it  undoubtedly  has  in  such  passages 
as  Isa.  ix.  3.  The  threatening  is  not  too  severe. 
Comp.  1  Cor.  ix.  16,  "  For  though  I  preach  the 
Gospel,  I  have  nothing  to  glory  of :  for  necessity 
is  laid  upon  me ;  yea,  woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach 
not  the  gospel."  From  this  we  see  that  the  in- 
ward pressure  which  a  man  of  God  feels  in  con- 
sequence of  the  divine  operation  is  very  strong. 
He  who  should  resist  this  divine  impulse,  like 
Jonah,  would  be  crushed  by  it.  And  it  would  be 
the  just  punishment  of  that  faint-hearted  disdain, 
which  would  reject  such  high  honor  from  a 
miserable  fear  of  man. 

Ver.  1 8.  For  behold  .  .  .  the  people  of 
the  land.  I  is  emphatic  in  antithesis  to  thou, 
ver.  17.  Thou  gird  up  thy  loins  and  do  thy  part, 
I  will  do  mine,  to  protect  thee.  In  the  words 
"a  defenced  city  and  an  iron  pillar  and  brazen 
wall,"  the  prophet  is  assured  that  for  the  difficult 
offensive  commission  which  is  given  him  he  will 
receive  a  sufficient  defensive  equipment.  Offence 
and  defence  stand  in  exact  relation  to  each  other. 
Reference  is  afterwards  made  to  this  promise, 
in  XV.  20,  21.  Comp.  Ps.  cv.  15.  —  On  the 
subject-matter  comp.  Matt.  x.  18,  19.— people 
of  the  laud.    This  expression  occurs  frequently 


CHAP.  II.  1-3. 


21 


in  the  sense  of  "the  common  people":  xxxiv. 
19;  xxxvii.  2;  xliv.  21;  lii.  6;  Ezek.  vii.  27, 
&c.  It  is  the  basis  of  the  later  Rabbinical  usage 
according  to  which  it  signifies  the  "unlearned 
and  ignorant"  (Acts  iv.  13)  comp.  Buxtokf.  Lex 
Rabb.  s.  V.  Dj;. 

Ver.  19.  And  they  shall  fight ...  to  deliver 
thee,  vj'  with  7  in  the  sense  of  preevalere,  Gen. 
xxxii.  26;  1  Sam.  xvii.  9;  Obad.  7;  Jer. 
xxxviii.  22. — For  I  am  with  thee,  comp.  ver.  8. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  It  is  fundamentally  the  same  sin,  to  labor 
in  the  Lord's  vin^ard  without  a  calling,  and 
not  to  be  willing  to  labor  when  one  has  been 
called,  for  in  both  cases  a  man  seeks  his  own,  not 
that  which  is  God's. 

2.  "  He  who  fears  nothing  and  hopes  nothing 
may  preach  the  truth.  He  who  is  unequal  to 
either  of  these  two  will  act  more  wisely  for  his 
own  repose  and  more  honorably  for  the  truth,  if 
he  keep  silence." — Dr.  Leidemit. 

3.  Behold  I  send  you  forth  as  lambs  among 
wolves.  Luke  x.  3 ;  Matt.  x.  16  sqq.  God's 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  2  Cor.  xii.  9. 

4.  Fear  not  those  who  kill  the  body,  but 
are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul.  Rather  fear  Him 
who  can  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell. 
Matt.  X.  28.  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 
Rom.  ii.  11 ;  Eph.  vi.  9;  1  Pet.  i.  17. 


HOMILETICAL    AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  Duty  and  privilege  of  the  sevants  of  God. 
1.  Their  duly:  (a)  always  to  have  their  loins 
girded,  (i)  to  proclairr  without  fear  of  man  what- 
ever the  Lord  commands.  2.  Their  privilege : 
— through  the  power  of  God  to  be  obliged  to 
yield  to  no  power  on  earth. 

2.  The  Lord's  requirements  and  promise  to 
His  servants.  1.  The  requirement,  (a)  to  be  al- 
ways ready  for  His  service,  (6)  to  accomplish 
that  which  is  bidden  without  delay.  2.  The 
promise  :  (a)  that  the  Lord  will  be  with  them, 
(b)  that  no  earthly  power  will  conquer  them. 
[M.  Henry  :  "  He  must  be  quick — Arise,  and 
lose  no  time  ;  he  must  be  busy — Arise,  and  speak 
unto  them,  in  season,  out  of  season;  he  must 
be  bold — Be  not  dismayed  at  their  faces. — In  a 
word  he  must  be  faithful;  it  is  required  of 
ambassadors  that  they  be  so.  In  two  things 
he  must  be  faithful.  1.  He  must  speak  all  that 
he  is  charged  with.  He  must  forget  nothing 
— Every  word  of  God  is  weighty.  He  must  con- 
ceal nothing  for  fear  of  offending.  2.  He  must 
speak  to  all  that  he  is  charged  against.  Two 
reasons  why  he  should  do  this.  1.  Because 
he  had  reason  to  fear  the  wrath  of  God,  if  he 
should  be  false.  2,  Because  he  had  no  reason 
to  fear  the  wrath  of  man,  if  he  were  faithful." 
— S.  R.  A.] 


II.  FIRST  DIVISION. 

The  Passages  relating  to  the  Theocracy,  Chaps.  II. — XLIV. 

(with  an  appendix,  chap,  xlv.) 


FIRST   SUBDIVISION. 
The  Collection  of  Discourses,  with  Appendices,  Chaps.  II. — XXXV. 

1.   The  First  Discourse. 

CHAPTER  II. 

This  chapter  contains  an  independent  discourse ;  it  does  not,  as  Graf  supposes,  form,  with  chap,  iii.-vi. 
a  connected  whole.  For,  as  we  shall  show,  chap.  iii.  begins  a  discourse  clearly  arranged  and  complete 
in  itself,  which  would  not  bear  any  addition  either  at  the  beginning  or  at  the  close.  The  present  dis- 
course is  of  very  general  import,  and  contains  probably  only  the  quintessence  of  several  discourses  made 
before  those  in  chap,  iii.-vi.,  since  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  in  the  course  of  nearly  two  decades 
Jeremiah  only  addressed  this  short  discourse,  besides  chap,  iii.-vi.,  to  the  people.  The  position  at  the 
beginning,  the  style,  the  non-mention  of  the  Chaldeans  (comp.  rems.  on  xxv.  1),  besides  the  command 
'■'■Go  and  cry  in  the  ears  of  Jerusalem^'  (ver.  2),  and  an  intimation  probably  to  be  referred  to  the 
timeof  Josiah  (ver.  35,  see  theComm.),  all  point  to  the  commencement  of  Jeremiah' s  prophetic  ministry . 
This  seems  to  be  contradicted  by  some  not  obscure  allusions  to  the  flight  of  the  remaining  Jews  to  Egypt 
(vers.  16,  36  and  37 ;  coll.  chaps,  xlii.— xliv).  But  since  Jeremiah,  as  was  remarked  on  i.  2,  proba- 
bly did  not  finish  the  second  writing  out  of  his  book  till  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (xxxvi.  32), 
possibly  not  till  his  arrival  in  Egypt,  it  is  possible  that  he  then  added  to  this  earliest  discourse  some 
allusions  to  the  eventful  Journey  to  Egypt.  He  may  have  added  them  to  this  discourse  for  the  reason 
that  it  contained  some  passages,  the  connection  and  purport  of  which  especially  invited  such  allusions 
to  the  emigration  to  Egypt.  Compare  ver.  15,  the  predicted  devastation  so  exactly  corresponding  to 
the  result,  andyev.  33,  the  mention  of  the  religio-political  errors  of  the  people. 

After  the  introduction  (vers.  1-3),  the  ever-recurring  theme  of  complaint  and  threatening  is  treated  in  four 
tableaux  or  acts,  the  particular  contents  of  which  may  be  designated  as  follows: 

1.  Israel's  infidelity  in  the  light  of  the  fidelity  of  Jehovah  and  the  heathen  (vers.  4-13). 

2.  Israel' s punishment  audits  cause  (vers.  14-19). 

3.  The  lust  of  idolatry  :  deeply  rooted,  outwardly  insolent,  facse  at  last  (vers.  20-28). 

4.  Whose  is  the  guilt?  (vers.  29-37). 


28 


THE  PUUPdhi'  JELIEMIAH. 


The  Introduction. 
II.  1-3. 

1.  And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  also  unto  me,  saying, 

2.  Go  and  cry  in  the  ears  of  Jerusalem,  saying, 
Thus  saith  Jehovah  ;  I  remember  of  thee. 
The  kindness  of  thy  youth, 

The  love  of  thine  espousals. 

When  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the  desert, 

In  a  land  that  was  not  sown. 

3.  Israel  is  a  sanctuary  unto  Jehovah, 
The  first-fruits  of  his  produce : 
All  who  devour  him'  incur  guilt ; 

Calamity  will  come  upon  them,  saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 


1  Ver.  3.— For  nriX13P  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gram.  S.  93,  Anm.)  some  Codd.  read  fJlNISH-  It  would  be  natnxal  to  pro. 
nounce  the  consonants  HhXOP  which  has  been  also  done  by  J.  D.  Michaelis  who  refers  the  word  to  n^lll  ith  V^N  ver. 
2,  but  the  reference  of  the  suffix  to  Jehovah  is  demanded  by  the  connection. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

These  words  form  the  introduction  both  to  the 
first  discourse  and  at  the  same  time  to  the  whole 
of  Jeremiah's  prophetic  announcements.  In- 
deed, it  may  be  said  that  they  contain  the 
thought,  which  reaches  far  beyond  the  prophe- 
cies of  Jeremiah,  and  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
the  entire  history  of  the  theocracy,  that  not- 
withstanding the  revolts  on  the  one  side  and  the 
punishments  on  the  other,  love  is  the  key-note 
of  the  relation  between  God  and  Israel,  and  the 
Lord's  inalienable  property. 

Vers.  1  and  2.  And  the  word . .  .  not  sown. 
— It  is  probable  that  in  the  opening  words  of 
ver.  2  Jeremiah  received  the  command  to  leave 
Anathoth  and  go  to  Jerusalem  as  the  scene  of 
his  prophetic  labors.  For  here  only  is  the  audi- 
ence, to  which  he  was  to  address  himself,  desig- 
nated thus  briefly  by  the  word  "Jerusalem." 
Everywhere  else  the  address  reads  differently. 
Comp.  xvii.  19  ;  xix.  3  ;  xxxv.  13. — I  remem- 
ber of  thee.  The  expression  occurs  in  malam 
partem  Ps.  Ixxix.  8;  cxxxvii.  7;  Neh.  vi.  14; 
xiii.  29  :  in  bonam  partem  Ps.  xcviii.  3  ;  cvi.  45  ; 
cxxxii.  1  ;  Neh.  v.  19  ;  xiii.  22,  31.  In  any  case 
of  thee  contains  an  emphasis  which  should  not 
be  overlooked  in  the  exposition. — The  kind- 
ness of  thy  youth.  The  commentators  dis- 
pute whetlicr  the  kindness  and  love  of  God  to- 
ward the  people  or  that  of  the  people  toward 
God  is  meant.  In  behalf  of  the  former  view  it 
is  urged,  (1)  that  in  the  following  context  the 
people  is  described  as  rebellious  from  the  first, 
and  (2)  that  with  this  the  historical  representa- 
tion of  the  Pentateuch  and  other  declarations 
of  Old  Testament  passages  accord.  (Comp.  es- 
pecially Hos.  xi.  1  ;  Ezek.  xvi.)  To  the  first  ar- 
gument it  may  be  objected  that  these  verses 
form  the  introduction  not  to  the  second  chapter 
only,  but  to  the  whole  book,  and  although  the 
greater  part  of  this  consists  of  threateiiings,  or 
rather  because  it  does  so,  the  prophet  pljices  the 


assurance  of  God's  unchangeable  fidelity  in  the 
foreground.  Though  Israel  may  have  always 
sinned,  yet  originally  he  was  united  to  God  in 
love,  and  this  fundamental  relation  is  eternal 
and  inviolable.  Comp.  Rom.  xi.  It  cannot  then 
be  disputed  that  the  infidelity  of  Israel  was  of 
an  early  date  (comp.  from  of  old,  ver.  20)  go- 
ing back  to  the  pilgrimage  through  the  desert 
(the  golden  calf,  and  even  prior  to  this,  the 
murmuring  of  the  people,  Exod.  xv.  24;  xvi.  2  ; 
xvii.  2),  but  it  must  nevertheless  be  maintained 
that  the  acceptance  by  Israel  of  the  privileges 
offered  by  the  Lord,  when  He  sent  Moses,  and 
the  people  trustingly  followed  him  into  the  Red 
Sea  and  the  wilderness,  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
binding  of  an  inviolable  and  perpetual  covenant. 
Compare  the  short  and  significant,  "  and  the 
people  believed,"  Exod.  iv.  31,  with  Gen.  xv.  6, 
"and  he  believed  in  Jehovah";  Rom.  iv.  3;  Gal. 
iii.  6.  To  this  also  point  many  prophetic  decla- 
rations, ex.  gr.  Hos.  xi.  1:  "When  Israel  was 
a  child,  then  I  loved  him,  and  called  my  son  out 
of  Egypt."  The  period  in  the  youth  of  Israel 
at  which  the  Lord  loved  the  people  was  that  in 
which  He  brought  them  out  of  Egypt.  For  imme- 
diately afterwards  (ver.  2),  it  is  said  of  them 
that  they  sacrificed  to  Baalim,  and  burned  in- 
cense to  graven  images.  But  then,  in  that  im- 
portant moment,  when  the  Lord  delivered  Israel 
from  the  encircling  power  of  Egypt,  displaying 
His  might  so  grandly,  He  concluded  a  covenant 
of  love  with  Israel ;  they  must  therefore  then 
have  not  only  been  found  "worthy  of  love,  but 
have  reciprocated  His  love.  How  sweet  and 
precious  Israel's  love  then  was  to  Him  is  ex- 
pressed by  Hosea  in  the  splendid  image  of  the 
early  figs,  which  the  pilgrim  finds  in  the  desert, 
Hos.  ix.  10.  So,  says  the  Lord,  He  found  Israel 
in  the  wilderness,  but  alas!  He  has  to  add, 
•i'  they  went  to  Baalpeor,  and  separated  them- 
selves unto  their  shame."  The  objections  are 
then  unfounded  which  have  been  raised  to  the 
rendering  of  verses  2  and  3  in  the  sense  of  Is- 
rael's love  for  God,  and  other  arguments  speak 


CHAP.  II.   1-3. 


29 


positively  in  its  favor,  viz.  (1)  'i|7  ''i']^'^3r.     This 

dative  has  everywhere  the  sense  of  a  reckoning 
to  one's  account  in  a  good  or  bad  sense.  (See 
the  passages  cited  above.)  But  since  this  is  not 
possible  here  in  a  bad  sense,  for  the  kindness 
and  love  of  the  past  are  remembered  only  as 
good,  it  can  be  meant  only  in  a  good  sense.  If, 
now,  Israel  has  a  balance  with  Jehovah  in  an 
active  sense,  he  (Israel)  must  have  done  some- 
thing,— performed  some  service.  It  might  be 
said  that  this  service  is  in  allowing  himself  to 
be  loved,  but  this  is  hims^elf  to  love.  We  are 
thus  brought  again  to  this  point,  that  Israel  in 
that  opening  period  of  his  existence  turned  to 
the  Lord  with  such  love  that,  though  of  momen- 
tary duration,  it  sufficed  to  found  an  everlasting 
covenant  and  imperishable  remembrance  of  its 

glory.  We  may  also  take  Hpn  in  the  sense  of 
"  the  kindness  of  a  maiden  towards  her  master," 
being  justified  in  doing  so  by  passages  like  Hos. 
vi.  4,  6.  Indeed,  in  view  of  Isa.  xl.  6,  it 
might  not  appear  unsuitable  to  recognize  in  HDn 

the  element  of  loveableness,  gracefulness,  which 
in  itself  is  connected  with  the  idea  of  love  and 
grace,  and  etymologically  in  gratia,  x^-pie,  grace  ; 

(2)  the  words  '[^inx  "^1^)211  favor  this  interpreta- 
tion, since  they  represent  Israel,  a  pilgrim 
through  the  desert,  walking  in  the  footprints 
of  the  Lord.  Some  indeed  would  understand 
these  words  as  denoting,  not  the  obedient  follow- 
ing of  the  people,  but  the  gracious  precedence 
of  the  divine  Leader.  This  interpretation,  how- 
ever, is  arbitrary.  The  text  expresses  only  the 
idea  of  following,  or  pushing  after  ;  we  are  not 
justified  in  exchanging  this  idea  for  another. 
(3).  The  third  verse  is  manifestly  in  favor  of 
Israel.  When  it  is  said  (Graf,  S.  23),  "  It 
should  be  so,  but  how  it  became  entirely  other- 
wise is  shown  in  what  follows,"  we  reply,  it  has 
not  become  otherwise;  but  on  this  point  we  shall 
say  more  presently. 

Ver.  3.  Israel  .  .  .  come  upon  them. — 
Though  in  the  words  remember  of  thee  it  is 
implied  that  the  kindness  and  love  of  the  espou- 
sals are  now  only  an  object  of  remembrance,  a 
lost  joy,  yet  the  third  verse  declares  what  a 
permanent  relation  was  the  result  of  that  tran- 
sient one,  an  indelible  character  having  been  im- 
pressed upon  the  people  by  that  sometime  con- 
nection with  their  Lord.  They  thus  became  a 
sanctuary  of  Jehovah,  separate  from  the  profn- 
num  vulgus  of  the  nations.  This  thought  is  fur- 
ther expressed  by  a  beautiful  image :  Israel  is 
related  to  the  Gentiles  as  the  first  fruits  sanctified 
unto  the  Lord  are  to  the  multitude  of  common 
wild  fruits,  and  as  profane  lips  were  forbidden  to 
eat  the  former  (Exod.  xxiii.  19;  Num.  xv.  20,  sq.; 
xviii-  12;  Deut.  xxvi.  1;  comp.  Lev.  xxii.  16-26), 
so  will  guilt  be  upon  those  who  touch  the  sacred 
first-fruits  in  the  field  of  humanity.  In  accord 
with  this  image  are  x.  25;  1  7;  Ps.  xiv.  4;  Ixxix. 
7. — All  who  devour,  etc.  Tlie  instruments 
of  discipline  though  chosen  by  tlie  Lord  Him- 
self, by  the  manner  in  which  they  execute  their 
commission,  bring  guilt  upon  themselves  and 
call  for  the  vengeance  of  Jehovah,  as  is  especially 
set  forth  in  reference  to  Babylon.  Hab.  i.  11  ; 
Jer.  1.  11 ;  xv.  23,  28;  11.  5   (N.  B.),  8,  11,  24. 


DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  Although  in  xxxi.  32  Jeremiah  represents 
the  covenant  made  with  Israel  at  the  exodus  from 
Egypt  as  the  worse  because  broken  by  them,  and 
that  a  new  one  in  the  future,  to  be  kept  faithfully 
by  the  people,  would  be  opposed  to  it  (comp. 
xxxii.  40;  1.  5  ;  Isa.  Iv.  3),  and  although  in  Rom. 
xi.  28  ("as  touching  the  election  beloved  for  the 
fathers'  sake")  the  steadfastness  of  God  is 
founded  entirely  on  the  promise  given  by  Him 
and  on  the  worth  of  the  fathers  in  His  sight,  it 
is  yet  evident  from  our  passage  that  the  entering 
into  covenant  relation  by  Israel  at  the  Exodus 
was  not  without  significance.  Though  the  cove- 
nant does  not  rest  positively  and  in  principle 
on  that  acceptance,  yet  this  latter  appears  to  be 
the  negative  condition  siiie  qua  non.  Had  Israel 
decidedly  rejected  Moses,  had  they  refused  to 
follow  him  into  the  wilderness,  the  promise  given 
to  the  fathers  would  have  been  nullified.  But  if 
we  should  say  that  the  people  were  obliged  to 
believe  in  and  follow  Moses,  we  should  injure 
the  law  of  freedom,  and  endanger  the  moral 
value  of  human  personality  as  well  as  the  glory 
of  God. 

2.  Every  important  historical  appearance  has 
its  paradise  or  golden  age.  It  is  thus  with  hu- 
manity in  general,  with  Israel,  with  the  Chris- 
tian Church  (Acts  ii.  41 — iv.  37),  with  the  Re- 
formation, so  also  with  single  churches  (Gal. 
iv.  14),  and  with  individual  Christians.  This 
period  of  first,  nuptial  love  does  not,  however, 
usually  continue  long,  comp.  Rev.  ii.  4. 

3.  As  Israel  is  called  the  firstling  among 
the  nations,  so  Christians  are  called  the  first- 
lings of  His  creatures,  being  regenerated  by 
the  word  of  truth  (James  i.  18,  comp.  Wie- 
siNGER  in  loc,  Rev.  xiv.  5),  in  whom  first  that 
life-principle  is  active  which  is  to  renew  heaven 
and  earth.  (Isa.  Ixv.  17;  Ixvi.  22;  Rev.  xxi.  1  ; 
2  Pet.  iii.  13).  And  since  Israel  as  the  firstling 
of  the  nations  is  called  the  sanctuary  of  God,  so 
Christians  by  virtue  of  that  principle,  implanted 
in  them  by  word  and  sacrament,  of  true,  divine, 
eternal  life,  without  regard  to  their  subjective 
constitution  are  dyioi,  ?iyiaa/j.{voi  (1  Cor.  i.  2;  Acts 
XX.  32,  etc.),  the  community  of  the  saints,  in 
antithesis  to  the  homo  communis,  i.  e.  natural, 
earthly,  profane  humanity.  Thus  as  the  firstling 
Israel  cannot  be  devoured  by  its  enemies,  so 
likewise  with  the  Church  (community  of  the 
saints).  Matt.  xvi.  18;  Luke  xxi.  17;  Matt, 
xxviii.  20;  Rev.  xii.  5,  etc. 

4.  ZiNZENBORF  :  "  Jeremiah  a  preacher  of  Right- 
eousness," [S.  148).  "Behold  this  maiden  who  is 
here  described !  Listen  to  her  leaders,  Moses 
and  Aaron !  Consider  the  rods  with  which  she 
has  been  beaten  and  that  unbelief  and  disobedi- 
ence swept  all  but  two  away  in  the  desert,  and 
compare  that  with  the  words,  'I  remember  still 
that  we  were  together  in  the  wilderness,'  quanire 
bene  ge^ta ;  and  with  tiie  others  which  we  heard 
before  from  Moses:  '  Happy  art  thou,  0  Israel: 
who  is  like  unto  thee,  0  people  saved  by  Jeho- 
vah,' (Deut.  xxxiii.  29).  The  cause  is  to  be 
found  in  this.  '  Tliou  followedst  me.'  " 

5.  Idem  (S.  l-'SO):  "In  the  application  to  the 
people  it  is  useful  and  well  to  show  them  that 


30 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


they  also  were  once  a  maiden  who  '  followed ' 
partly  in  the  beginnings  of  the  Gospel  (see  Acts 
iv.  4),  partly  in  the  beginnings  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. There  is  an  important  trace  of  this  in 
the  letter  of  Luther  to  the  Elector  Johann  Fried- 
rich.  So  it  then  appeared.  Likewise  in  the 
earlier  ages  of  the  Church,  even  so  late  as  last 
century,  since  certainly  in  the  sermons  of  an 
Arndt,  a  Joh.  Gerhard,  a  Selnecker,  a  Martin 
Heger,  a  Scriver,  aSpener,  a  Schade,  the  people 
still  made  quite  another  figure,  and  had  not 
only  another  form,  but  certainly  also  a  different 
feeling." 


HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.   The    period    of    first   love    (in   a    spiritual 
sense).     (1)   In    experience  extremely  precious. 

(2)  In  duration  relatively  brief.  (3)  In  eflFect  a 
source  of  everlasting  blessing. — 2.  The  nuptial 
state  of  Christ's  Church  in  its  stages.  (1)  The 
first  stage,  first  love,  (2)  second  stage,  alienation, 

(3)  third  stage,  return. — 3.  The  covenant  of 
Christ  with  His  Church,  (1)  its  ground,  election, 
(2)  its  condition,  faith,  (3)  its  promise,  the 
Church  an  indestructible  sanctuary. 


2.  2%e  Infidelity  of  Israel  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  Fidelity  of  Jehovah  and  of  the  Heathen. 

II.  4-13. 

4  Hear  ye  the  word  of  Jehovah,  O  house  of  Jacob ! 
And  all  the  families  of  the  house  of  Israel ! 

5  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  What  injustice  have  your  fathers  found  in  me, 
That  they  went  far  from^  me, 

And  followed  vacuity  and  became  vacuous  ? 

6  They  said  not :  Where  is  Jehovah  ? 

Who  brought  us  up  from  the  land  of  Egypt, 

Who  led  us  through  the  wilderness, 

A  land  of  deserts  and  pits, 

A  land  of  drought  and  the  shadow  of  death, 

A  land  which  no  man  traversed, 

And  where  iio  man  dwelt  ? 

7  And  I  brought  you  into  the  gaxdien-[literally,  Carmel-]  land 
To  eat  its  fruit  and  its  goodliness  ; 

But  ye  came  and  defiled  my  land. 
And  made  my  heritage  an  abomination. 

8  The  priests  said  not,  Where  is  Jehovah  ? 
And  those  that  handle  the  law  knew  me  not; 
The  shepherds  also  rebelled  against  me, 
And  the  prophets  prophesied  by  Baal, 

And  followed  those  that  cannot  profit. 

9  Wherefore  I  will  reckon  with  you,  saith  Jehovah, 
And  with  your  children's  children  will  I  reckon. 

10  For  pass  over  to  the  isles  [or  countries]  of  Chittim,  and  see. 
And  send  to  Kedar,  and  well  consider. 

And  see  if  there  has  been  anything  like  this. 

11  Has  a  people  changed'^  gods,  which  yet  are  no  gods? 

But  my  people  has  changed  its  glory  for  that  which  cannot  profit. 

12  Be  ye  astonished,  O  ye  heavens !  at  thi?. 

Be  ye  horrified,  utterly  amazed  [lit.,  shudder  and  be  withered  away],  saith  Jehovah. 

13  For  ray  people  have  committed  two  evils: 

Me  they  have  forsaken,  the  fountain  of  living  waters. 
To  hew  out  for  themselves  cisterns, 
Broken  cisterns  that  hold  no  water. 


CHAP.  II.  4-13. 


31 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  5.— ''*7J?0  [from  upon=froin  nearj.    Comp.  Gen.  xxxii.  12 ;  Exod.  xxxv.  22 ;  Jer.  iii.  18 ;  Am.  iii.  15.    The  Hebrew 

~    T    •* 

lores  to  consider  that  as  cumulation,  which  we  represent  as  association. 

-  Ver.  11. — The  form  TOTI  seems  to  reqvmre  the  root  lO',  which  occurs  besides  only  in  Hithpael,  Isa.  Ixi.  6.     Since  th« 

.       ..  -T 

form  Ton  follows  directly  afterwards,  the  present  form  may  have  originated  in  a  mere  oversight,  as  Olshausen  bupposes 
(2  39f.:255e.  i.) 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  conduct  of  Israel  is  compared  («)  with  the 
conduct  of  Jehovah  towards  him  (vers.  4-9)  (6), 
with  the  conduct  of  the  heathen  nations  towards 
their  gods  (vers.  10-13.) 

Ver.  4.  Hear  ye  .  .  .  house  of  Israel.  Al- 
though the  reformation  of  Josiah  extended  over 
the  rest  of  the  Itingdom  of  Israel  (2  Kings  xxiii. 
15-20;  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  33),  and  although  some 
from  the  tribes  of  Israel  were  present  at  divine 
service  in  Jerusalem  (2  Chron.  xxxv.  18),  the 
expression  used  here  is  too  comprehensive  to 
designate  these  only;  it  includes  the  whole  na- 
tion. Comp.  Isa.  xlvi.  3;  Jer.  xxxi.  1. — Jere- 
miah addresses  himself  not  only  to  those  who 
are  actually  present,  but  to  an  ideal  audience: 
to  the  whole  people  of  Israel  of  all  times  and 
places,  to  all  those  whose  common  fathers  had 
incurred  the  guilt  reproved  in  the  following 
verses,  and  bequeathed  it  to  their  descendants. 
Comp.  the  address  to  a  still  greater  circle  of 
ideal  hearers,  Deut.  xxxii.  1;  Isa.  i.  2;  Mic.  i. 
2;  vi.  1,  2. 


Ver.  5.   Thus  saith 


vacuous. 


Observe 


the  gradation:  your  fathers,  you  (vers.  7 and  9), 
your  children's  children;  an  historical  survey 
which  proceeds  from  the  conduct  of  the  fathers 
in  the  past  and  present,  to  the  fate  of  the  chil- 
dren in  the  future.  The  prophet  by  beginning 
with  "the  fathers,"  shows  that  Israel's  ingrati- 
tude and  disobedience  was  of  ancient  date. 
Moreover,  these  fathers  were  not  those  of  any 
definite  period,  and  therefore  not  as  Kimchi  sup- 
poses, those  who  have  lived  since  the  entrance 
into  the  promised  land.  Could  those  who  had 
accompanied  the  journey  through  the  desert  in- 
deed speak  thus? — The  expression  "What  in- 
iquity have  your  fathers  found  in  me?"  is  an 
exhibition  of  the  condescending  love  of  God,  who 
speaks  just  as  though  He  were  under  obligation 
to  Israel,  and  they  had  a  right  to  call  Him  to  ac- 
count. Comp.  Mic.  vi.  3;  Isa.  v.  3.  Theouoret: 
oil  yap  (jf  KpiTT/c;  Kplvei,  aTOC  ug  {nrevd-vvag  airoXoyiav 
irpoa(pEpEi,  nal  iXsyx^^vai  jiovTierat  elri  npd^ai  Seov 
mm  i-npa^E. — FoUow^ed  vacuity  and  became 
vacuous.    '^Zin    are    the  idols  (x.  15;  xiv.  22; 

Deut.  xxxii.  21,  etc.).  He  who  devotes  himself 
to  that  which  is  nothing  and  vanity,  becomes 
himself  vain.  LXX.  t/j.araiu^r/am',  of  which  there 
seems  to  be  a  reminiscence  in  Rom.  i.  21.  The 
words  are  found  reproduced  verbatim  in  2  Kings 
xvii.  15. 

Ver.  6.  They  said  not  ...  no  man  dwelt. 
— Comp.  ver.  8.  To  ask  "where  is  Jehovali?"  is 
to  ask  after  Him,  to  seek  Him.  To  ask  after  him 
implies  that  He  is  forgotten  or  lightly  esteemed. 
A  land  of  deserts  HDi^,  comp.  1.  12;  li.  43. 

T  T  - :  ^ 

ryiliy,  comp.  xviii.  20;  Prov.  xxii.  16;  xxiii.  27. 
They  are  pita  or  holes  in  which  man  and  beast 


sink.  Comp.  Rosenmuellek,  ad  loc. — Shadow 
of  death.  Ps.  xxiii.  4;  Job  iii.  5;  xsviii.  3; 
Isa.  ix.  1;  Am.  v.  8.  [For  a  similar  description 
of  the  Arabian  desert,  see  Robinson,  Bibl.  Res., 
II.,  502.— S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  7.  And  I  brought  you  ...  an  abomi- 
nation.— NONI  resumes  the  address  of  Jehovah 

•    TT 

from  ver.  5.  On  the  subject-matter  compare 
Deut.  viii.  If  7Ci"^2l  stood  here  in  a  merely  ap- 
pellative signification,  the  article  would  be  either 
superfluous    or  iusufl"   'ent.     We  should  expect 

either  merely  701 J  (or  fruitful  land,  or  r\1Tn  /0^2 
(in  (his  fruitful  land)  for  Palestine  cannot  be 
called  the  fruitful  land  Kar'  i^ox'jv,  since  (here 
are  many  others  more  fruitful.  To  ascribe  a 
demonstrative  signification  to  the  article  is  not 
allowable,  since  it  has  this  only  in  formulas  like 

DVn  DJ73n.  Ibelieve,  therefore,  that  the  Prophet 

here  intended  Carmel  for  a  proper  name,  with  a 
hint,  however,  at  the  appellative  meaning.  So 
the  Vulgate:  in  terrain  Carmeli.  Carmel,  in  this 
reference,  is  contrasted  with  the  desert,  as  a 
mountain  with  the  plain,  as  a  fertile  cultivated 
land  of  forests,  vineyards,  gardens,  and  fields, 
with  the  desert  sand,  as  a  place  of  springs  with 
the  land  of  drought.  Comp.  Jerome  on  iv.  26. — 
And  its  goodliness.  This  addition  is  not  super- 
fluous. The  Van  is  here  the  climactic  and  in- 
deed, Gen.  iv.  4. — But  ye  came.  After  that  has 
been  enumerated  which  the  Lord  did  for  the 
people,  we  are  told  what  the  people  did  against 
their  Lord.  Herein  a  comparison  is  instituted 
between  the  conduct  of  Jehovah  and  the  conduct 
of  the  people. 

Ver.  8.  The  priests  said  not  .  .  .  that  can- 
not profit.  That  which  in  ver.  6  was  laid  as  a 
reproach  upon  all,  is  now  declared  specially  of 
the  priests.  It  was  their  especial  duty  to  seek 
and  inquire  after  the  Lord,  comp.  '"'  ty"}1,  Jer.  x. 
21;  Ps.  ix.   11;  xxxiv.   5,  "'  ^XC?,  Judges  i.   1; 

xxviii.  5;  1  Sam.  xxii.  13;  Josh  ix.  14. — Who 
handle  the  law,  not  those  who  decide  legal 
cases,  but  those  who  handle  the  book  of  the 
law.  We  see  that  the  handling  is  intended  in 
this  external  sense  from  the  contrast,  knew  me 
not.  Comp.  xviii.  18;  Ezek.  vii.  2(5;  Mai.  ii.  7. — 
The  shepherds  ought  to  keep  the  flock  well  to- 
gether and  lead  it,  and  how  can  they  do  this 
when  they  are  themselves  in  rebellion  against 
the  chief  shejiherd?  Comp.  x.  21 ;  xii.  10;  xxiii. 
1;  1.  6. — By  Baal  (xxiii.  13)  or  through  Baal, 
that  is,  through  the  influence  and  inspiration  of 
Baal.  It  is  opposed  to  "in  the  name  of  Jehovah" 
xi.  21;  xiv.  15;  xxvi.  9,  20.  Remark  the  anti- 
thesis: They  would  be  prophets,  and  yet  are 
the  organs  of  falsehood,  they   would  be  leaders, 

yet  themselves  go  astray.  The  imperfect  ^7J,'V 
is  used  of  a  permanent  quality.  Comp.  Naegelsb. 


•82 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Gr.,  I  87  d.  There  appears,  moreover,  in  this 
expression,  to  be  an  allusion  to  7^173  (comp. 
especially  'hyv  ^3  Isa.  xliv.  9),  perhaps  also  to 
DTlSx  xS,  comp.  also  1  Sam.  xii.  21. 

Ver.  9.  Wherefore  .  .  .  wiU  I  reckon. — 
The  comparison  of  Israel's  conduct  in  the  past 
and  present,  with  that  of  Jehovah,  results  so 
much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  former,  that  in 
the  future,  remote  as  well  as  proximate,  only  ^'l 
litigatio  is  to  be  expected.  Jehovah  will  now 
prosecute  His  claims.  Isa.  iii.  13;  Ivii.  16;  coll. 
Ps.  ciii.  9. 

Ver.  10.  For  pass  over  .  .  .  anything  like 
this.  Ver.  9  divides  the  two  halves  of  the 
strophe,  belonging  to  both,  as  the  statement  of 
the  result.     It  is  affixed  to  the  first  half  by  means 

of  pS,  and  prefixed  to  the  second  by  '3.  Comp. 
Am.v.^10-12.— Chittim.  The  word  D'ri3  or  D'^^^ 
occurs  eight  times  in  the  Old  Testament:  Gen.  x. 
4  (1  Chron.  i.  7),  Num.  xxiv.  24;  Isa.  xxiii.  1,  12; 
Jer.  ii.  10;  Ezek.  xxvii.  6;  Deut.  xi.  30.  Comp. 
1  Mace.  i.  1 ;  viii.  5.  It  is  acknowledged  that  it 
denotes  primarily  the  inhabitants  of  the  "islands 
of  the  Eastern  Mediterranean"  (Knobel  on  Gen. 
X.  4).  The  name  seems  to  have  been  given  by 
way  of  preference  to  the  island  of  Cyprus,  the 
ancient  capital  of  which  was  Citium,  (Herzog, 
Real-Enc,  III.  S.  215).  We  have,  therefore, 
translated  "X  "islands"  in  preference  to  "coasts." 

It  is  evident  that  Chittim,  in  a  wider  sense,  de- 
noted Greece,  and  even  the  North-western  coasts 
of  the  Mediterranean  in  general,  since  according 
to  Dan.  xi.  30,  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  at- 
tacked by  ships  from  Chittim,  according  to  1 
Mace.  i.  1,  Alexander  the  Great,  and  according 
to  viii.  5,  Perseus  came  from  Chittim  [pronounced 
Kittim].  The  Chittaeans  are  here  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  West,  Kedar  of  the  East.  For  Ke- 
dar,  according  to  Gen.  xxv.  13,  is  a  son  of  Ish- 
mael;  Jer.  xlix.  28,  Kedar  is  reckoned  with  the 
men  of  the  East,  D"lp  'J3.  They  are  a  pastoral 
people  inhabiting  the  Arabian  desert  (Isa.  xxi. 
13-17;  xlii.  11;  Ix.  7;  Ezek.  xxvii.  21 ;  Ps.  cxx. 
5;  Song  of  Sol.  i.  5).     The  Rabbins  designate 

the  Arabians  generally  by  Kedar.     ITp  |ity  7  is 

the  Arabic  language.  Comp.  Knobel  on  Gen. 
xxv.  13.  BuxTORF,  Lex.  Talm.  et  Rabb.  p.  1976. 
— If,  in  in  the  conditional  sense  as  ex.  gr.  Exod. 

iv.  1;  viii.  22;  Isa.  liv.  15;  Jer.  iii.  1.  Hence 
it  may  also  be  used  as  an  interrogative  particle, 
like  DX  (comp.  si  in  French).     It  never  occurs 

in  this  sense,  however,  except  in  this  passage. 
The  passages,  Job  xii.  14;  xxiii.  8,  which  Fuerst 
adduces,  may  be  otherwise  explained. 

Ver.  11  Has  a  people  . .  .  cannot  profit. — 
But  my  people  has  changed,  comp.  Am.  viii. 
7. — W^hich  cannot  profit.  The  idols  are 
meant,  comp.  rem.  on  ver.  8, — xvi.  19;  Hab.  ii. 
18. — This  is  tlie  second  comparison  unfavorable 
to  Israel  which  is  instituted  in  this  strophe. 
The  heathen  nations  who  have  good  reason  to 
change  their  gods  do  not,  but  Israel,  whose  pre- 
eminence over  all  other  nations  is  founded  in 
their  possession  of  the  true  God.  exchanges  Him 
for  vain  idols. 


Ver.  12.  Be  ye  astonished  .  .  .  saith  Je- 
hovah. The  greatness  of  the  crime  can  be 
estimated  by  none  so  well  as  the  over-arching 
heavens,  which  can  behold  and  compare  all  that 
takes  place.   Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  1 ;  Isa.  i.  2.   ^I^n, 

to  be  dry,  stiff,  is  found  here  only  in  the  sense  or 
to  be  amazed.  The  imperative  with  o,  corres- 
ponds to  the  intransitive  signification :  transitive 
Oin,  Jer.  1.  27. 

Ver.  13.   For  my  people  .  .  .  -wrater.     The 

two  evils  are  a  negative  and  a  positive.  The 
Lord,  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  who  ofi'ered 
Himself  to  them,  they  have  forsaken,  and  leaky 
cisterns  they  have  dug,  comp.  xvii.  13.  In  the 
physical  sense  the  phrase  is  used  in  Gen.  xxvi. 
19;  "a  well  of  springing  water." — Fountain 
of  living -water;  Ps.  xxxvi.  10;  Prov.  x.  11; 
xiii.  14;  xvi.   22.    "Tdup  ^uv,  John  iv.   10;  vii, 

37  sqq. — The  repetition  of  m"lX3,  cisterns,  re- 
minds us  of  Gen.  xiv.  10.  Leaky  wells  are 
cisterns  dug  in  the  ground,  which,  having  cracks 
in  them  will  not  retain  the  collected  rain-water. 

IrD"  ^1  reminds  us  in  sense  and  sound  of  K? 

•  T 

^^^yr,  ver  8. 


DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  God's  love  is  "meek  and  lowly  of  heart," 
Matth.  xi.  29,  comp.  1  Cor.  xiii.  4.  It  is  not  a 
love  which  desires  only  to  receive.  It  will  take, 
but  only  on  the  ground  of  that  which  it  has 
given.  But  since  in  giving  it  has  done  its  duty, 
in  taking  it  demands  its  rights.  It  would  reap 
where  it  has  sowed,  and  not  let  the  devil  reap 
what  God  has  sowed,  Isa.  xlii.  8;  xl viii.  11.  Comp. 
Matth.  xxv.  14-30. 

2.  Only  the  true  is  the  real.  Falsehood  is  mere 
appearance,  and  all  that  is  based  on  falsehood,  is 
only  an  apparent  life.  It  disappears  in  the  fire 
of  judgment,  Ps.  Ixii.  11;  cxv.  9;  cxxxii.  18. 

3.  When  God  tells  us,  I  am  doing  this  for  thee, 
what  art  thou  doing  for  me?  we  cannot  answer 
Him  one  for  a  thousand.  Every  sin  is  at  the 
same  time  the  basest  ingratitude  towards  the 
greatest  benefactor  and  the  most  disgraceful  re- 
bellion against  the  truest,  most  gracious  and 
wisest  Lord. 

4.  Since  priests,  pastors,  and  prophets,  who 
have  been  regularly  inducted  into  office  may  be 
deceivers,  it  is  necessary  to  try  the  spirits  ac- 
cording to  the  criterion  given  in  1  John  iv.  1  sqq. 

5.  As  we  read  here  that  the  heathen  adhere 
more  faithfully  to  their  false  gods  than  Israel 
to  the  true  God,  so  is  it  generally  confirmed  by 
experience  that  men,  as  a  rule,  pursue  a  bad 
cause  with  more  zeal,  devotion  and  wisdom,  than 
a  good  one.  Comp.  the  case  of  the  unrighteous 
steward;  Luke  xvi.  1-8;  1  Kings  xviii.  27,  28; 
Jer.  iv.  22. 

6.  "His  people,  the  nation  on  which  He  has 
bestowed  the  true  religion,  have  the  fountain, 
they  can  obtain  water  without  difficulty,  as  much 
as  they  want,  but  they  choose  in  preference, 
means  difficult,  new,  insufficient,  deceptive,  re- 
jected on  trial  and  even  in  daily  experience, 
rather  than  be  willing  to  do  as  they  shou'ld. 
Hence  come  the  works  of  supererogation,  the 
many    ceremonies,  vows,    ecclesiastical    regula- 


CHAP.  II.  14-19. 


33 


tions,  which  unquestionably  are  twice  as  difficult 
as  to  follow  the  Saviour,  and  have  no  promise  for 
this  life  or  for  the  life  to  come.  .  .  .  The  sin  is 
twofold;  (1)  they  do  not  obey  the  Lord.  (2) 
They  will  labor  tooth  and  nail,  if  only  they  may 
not  obey  Him."  Zinzendorf,  utsup.,  S.  162, 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  ii.  4  sqq.  The  ingratitude  of  man  to- 
wards God:  (1)  It  is  not  to  be  laid  to  the  charge 
of  God  (2).  It  consists  in  this,  that  men  (a)  for- 
get the  divine  benefits,  (6)  they  adhere  to  idols 
(both  coarse  and  refined),  (3).  It  does  not  remain 
unpunished. 

2.  On  ver.  12.  ["These  strongest  terms  in  the 
language  show  how  intensely  amazed  all  the 
holy  in  heaven  are  at  the  monstrous  folly  of  hu- 
man sinning.  That  when  men  might  have  the 
infinite  God  for  their  Friend,  they  choose  to 
have  Him  their  enemy;  that  when  they  might 
have  Him  their  exhaustless  portion  of  unmeasured 
and  eternal  good,  they  spurn  Him  away  and  set 
themselves  to  the  fruitless  task  of  making  some 
ruinous  substitute:  this  ia  beyond  measure 
amazing!  Verily,  sin  is  a  mockery  of  human 
reason !  It  defies  all  the  counsels  of  prudence  and 
good  sense,  and  glories  only  in  its  own  shame 
and  madness:"     Cowles. — S.  R.  A]. 

3.  On  ver.  13.  All  hunger  and  thirst  is  a  de- 
sire for  nourishment  by  those  elements  which 
are  necessary  to  life.  Thia  brings  us  to  the 
question : 


What  can  quench  the  thirst  of  the  soul? 

1.  It  cannot  be  quenched  by  drawing  from  the 
broken  cisterns  of  earthly  good. 

2.  It  can  be  quenched  only  by  drawing  from 
the  fountain  of  life,  from  which  the  soul  origi- 
nally sprang,  even  from  God. 

4.  On  ii.  13.  "Our  double  sin.  It  consists  in 
this,  that  we(l)  have  forsaken  the  Lord,  the  living 
fountain,  and  (2)  have  dug  for  ourselves  cisterns 
which  hold  no  water."  Genzken,  Epistelpredig- 
ten,  1853. — "How  is  it  that  the  Lord  has  to  say, 
they  have  forsaken  me,  the  living  spring?  It 
arises  from  this,  that  the  hewn  cisterns  please  us 
better.  The  creature  attracts  us  so  powerfully, 
all  that  is  below  has  such  an  influence  on  the 
wavering  heart,  that  it  is  drawn  away  from  the 
living  spring,  and  finds  the  cistern-water  of  thia 
world  more  to  its  taste  than  the  living  water, 
the  living  God  and  His  word."  Hochstetter. 
^'■Twelve  Parables  from  the  prophet  Jer."  1865, 
S.  6,  sq.  ["  This  may  be  applied  to  every  sinner : 
qui  relicto  fonte  fodit  sibi  cisternas  rimosas ;  and  to 
heretics :  qui  purum  doctrmne  fontem  in  Scripturis 
et  Ecclesia  Dei  deserunt  et  fodiunt  sibi  cisternas 
coenosas  falsorum  dogmatum  (S.  Iren^us,  III.  40; 
S.Cyprian,  Ep.  40;  a.  Lapxde).  Comp.  Ecclus. 
xxi.  13,  14,  and  Bp.  Sanderson,  I.  361."  Words- 
worth. Comp.  Thomson,  The  Land  and  the 
Book,  I.  443.— S.  R.  A.] 

5.  Those  who  have  forsaken  the  true  God,  the 
Creator  of  all,  and  serve  false  gods,  are  worthy 
that  all  creatures  should  refuse  them  service. 
Deut.  xzviii.  23.     Siabks. 


3.  IiraeVs  Punishment  and  its  Came. 
IL  14-19. 

14  "Was  Israel  a  slave  ?    "Was  he  a  house-born  (slave)  ? 
Why  then  is  he  become  a  spoil  ? 

15  The  young  lions  roar  over  him, 
They  raise  their  voice, 

And  they  made  his  land  desolate : 

His  cities  were  burned  up^  without  an  inhabitant.* 

16  Even  the  children  of  Noph  and  Tahpanhes^ 
Will  depasture  the  crown  of  thy  head. 

17  Did  not  thy  forsaking*  of  Jehovah,  thy  God,  procure  thee  this, 
At  the  time  when  he  was  leading  thee*  in  the  way  ? 

18  And  now  what  hast  thou  to  do®  in  the  way  to  Egypt, 
To  drink  the  water  of  the  Black  river  [Nile]  ? 
And  what  hast  thou  to  do  in  the  way  to  Assyria, 
To  drink  the  water  of  the  river  [Euphrates]  ? 

19  Thine  own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee. 
And  thine  apostasies  shall  punish  thee, 

That  thou  mayest  know  and  see'  how  evil  and  bitter  it  is. 
That  thou  hast  forsaken  Jehovah  thy  God, 
And  that*  the  fear  of  me^  is  not  in  thee, 
Saith  the  Lord  Jehovah  of  Hosts. 
3 


84 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  15. — The  Keri  ^r\2f  J  is  an  unnecessary  correction  by  the  Masoretes,  who  here  as  in  xxii.  6,  regarded  the  plural  at 

necessary  with  V^J,'-     But  the  singular  may  be  used,  in  accordance  with  the  capacity  of  the  3d  Per.  Fem.  Sing.,  to  iuTolve 

an  ideal  plural.     Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  105,  4,  6.    Ewald,  §  317,  a.    Whether  Pin-^J  is  derived  from  HV  (comp.  Ewald,  g  140,  a. 

T  :  •  T 

JoERST,  8.  V.  m)f)  nV  to  kindh  (Olshausen  regards  it  as  a  derivative  from  a  root  13,  Lehrb.  d.  Hebr.  Spr.,  5.591),  or  nif  J 

to  destroy  (iv.  7 ;  ix.  11 ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  20 ;  2  Kings  xix.  25)  is  undecided. 

»  Ver.  15. — 2U''  ■" /3D.    tD  is  not  to  be  taken  as  causal  but  local  =  away  from  vnthout.    Comp.  iv.  7  ;  ix.  9, 10, 11. 

There  are  two  negatives  :  without  no  inhabitant.    Gesen.,  g  152,  2. 

3Ver.  16.— The  reading  DJiSriil  for  Dnjpnn  {vide  Jer.  xliii.  7,  8,  9;  xliv.  1;  xlvi.  14,  DPUf  njl ;  Ezek.  xxx.  18 

OnjSnn)  is  probably  no  more  than  an  ancient  clerical  error. 

*  Ver.  17. — The  Infinitive,  in  accordance  with  its  abstract  signification,  is  regarded  as  feminine,  and  therefore  has  the  predi- 
cate in  the  fem.  (comp.  1  Sam.  xviii.  23)  as  for  the  same  reason  it  frequently  assumes  a  fem.  termination,  tx.gr.  nj^J,  riNJty. 
4fc.    Comp.  N.VEOELSB.  Gr.,  §  22,  Anm.  3. 

6  Ver.  17. — 'HD' 7lD  71^3.  we  should  expect  'HD^  7in.    The  participle  is  used  in  a  somewhat  unusual  manner,  as  ccm- 

cretum  pro  abstracto.  .        . 

6  Ver.  18. — The  construction  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  formula   Till   '^    HDi  for  this  means  :  What  have  I  and  thou  in 

'tt      •        - 
common  ?    The  construction  here,  without  the  Vau,  expresses  only  having  to  do  with,  having  reference  to.    Comp.  Ps.  1. 
16  ;  Hos.  xiv.  9. 

7  Ver.  19. — 'X'^l  'J^^1.  The  intended  consequences  are  represented  as  a  command.  Comp.  Ps.  cxxviii.  5;  Gen.  xx.  7: 
xii.  2 ;  Kuth  i.  9  ;  Ewald,  g  347,  a.    Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  90,  2. 

*  Ver.  19. — TiH  ''mn3  Hn  is  to  be  regarded  as  one  conception,  and  as  the  subject,  co-ordinate  with  "ii^t^  to  the 
predicate  101  J^l.  Comp.  v.  7 ;  Isa.  x.  15 ;  xxxi.  8.  This  passage  moreover. has  this  specialty,  that  besides  the  negation, 
the  preposition  with  the  suflBx  also  pertains  to  the  one  conception. 

9  Ver.  19. — ■'jTinS  might  be  taken  in  an  objective  sense  like  03X"lb,  Qen.  ix.2  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  64,  4:)=timor 

mei.    7X    would  then  have  to  be  taken  as  a  fortified   7   as  it  in  fact  occurs,  ex.  gr.,  after  verbs  like  JHJ   (Exod.  xxv.  16) 

7iyOJ  (Isa.  xiv.  10)  H/JJ  (1  Sam.  ii.  27).    But  the  suffix  may  also  be  regarded  as  the  genitive  of  subject  =  terror,  quern 

injicio.    Then  the  construction  would  be  entirely  like  that  in  Job  xxxi.  23,  ^7X  nn£3  and  7X  would  be  taken  in  ita 

proper  sense :  my  fear  enters  not  into  thee.    The  latter  view  seems  to  me  the  more  correct,  because  in  this  the  preposition 
receives  its  full  significance. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  a  new  picture  the  prophet  sees  Israel  in  the 
form  of  slaves,  evil  entreated  and  dragged  away 
by  enemies,  their  land  desolated,  their  cities  de- 
stroyed. He  asks  the  question:  Why  is  this? 
The  answer  is:  This  is  the  consequence  of  their 
revolt  from  Jehovah,  and  their  devotion  to  their 
idols. 

Ver.  14.  "Was  Israel  a  slave  ?  . . .  become 
a  spoil  ?  Who  is  the  interrogator?  God,  the 
people,  the  prophet,  or  some  other  ?  Not  the 
people ;  for  this  condition  of  misery  is  still  fu- 
ture, perceived  only  prophetically,  therefore  still 
hidden  from  the  people.  It  would  then  also  read 
'V?^  '^J^.  God  also  is  not  the  questioner,  for 
He  it  is  who  is  asked,  and  who  answers,  (vers. 
17,  18).  A  third  person  at  a  distance  cannot  be 
the  interrogator,  since  the  subject  of  inquiry 
being  still  future  is  not  known  by  him.  The 
prophet  only  can  be  the  questioner.  He  per- 
ceives prophetically  the  future  calamitous  condi- 
tion of  his  people,  and  he  implores  from  God  a 
disclosure  concerning  it. — As  to  the  import  of  the 
question,  it  cannot  possibly  be  regarded  as  re- 
quiring an  affirmative  answer,  as  Hitzio  sup- 
poses, explaining  the  meaning:  "for  is  not  Is- 
rael the  servant  of  God   or  son  of  the  house?" 

For,  1.  We  must  then  read  xSH;  2.  We  must 
then  have  niH'  n:?;?,  or  '"^2^  ■  3.  r\'3  tS' 
never  signifies  the  son  of  the  house,  but  always 
the  house-born  slave  in  opposition  to  one  who  is 


bought.  Gen.  xiv.  14:  xvii.  12,  13,  23,  27; 
Lev.  xxii.  11. — The  question  must  then  be  one 
requiring  a  negative  answer  ;  Israelis  not  a  pur- 
chased slave  but  one  born  in  the  house.  But  how 
then  could  he  be  left  like  a  mere  thing  for  a  spoil 
to  the  enemy  ?  How  far  this  has  taken  place  is 
shown  in  the  following  verse. 

Ver.  15.  The  young  lions  roar  .  .  .  with- 
out an  inhabitant.  This  is  the  condition  of 
Israel  which  the  prophet  sees  with  prophetic 
glance,  and  from  which  it  seems  to  proceed  that 
Israel  has  ceased  to  be  God's  son  (comp.  Ex.  iv.  22 ; 

Deut.  xxvi.  18;  xxxii.  9sqq.).   VtJ^  Graf  renders 

=affai7)st  him,  because  the  lion  only  growls  Cilill 
Isa.  xxxi.  4)  over  prey  that  is  slain.  Strange  ! 
As  though  the  lion  could  not  roar  for  joy  and 
from  a  desire  for  more,  etc.  Comp.  Am.  iii.  4. 
The  connection  requires  the  sense  of  "over," 
since  Israel  appears  to  have  already  become  a 
prey ;  his  land  is  wasted,  his  cities  destroyed. 
On  this  account  the  inquiry  is  made,  whether 
then  he  is  a  slave  and  no  longer  Jehovah's  first- 
born son.  The  imperfect  ^i^p]  denotes  that  the 
fact  is  not  yet  an  objective  reality  but  still  per- 
tains to  the  subjective  conception  of  the  pro- 
phet. What  further  follows  is  nevertheless  re- 
presented as  present  or  past.  Comp.  Naeglsb., 
Gt.  I  84,  h. 
Ver.  16.  Even  the  children  of  Noph  .  .  . 

thy  head. — f]j  (Isa.  xix.  13;  Jer.  xliv.  1  ;  xlvi. 

14,  19;  Ezek.  xxx.  13,  16)  or  ^p   (only  in  Hos. 
ix.  0:   both  forms  are  explained  by  the  Egyptian 


CHAP  II.   14-19. 


35 


Mon-nufi,  see  Arnold  in  Herzog  Real-Enc.  Art. 
Memphis),  is  the  Hebrew  name  for  Memphis,  the 
ancient  capital  of  lower  Egypt.  Tahpanhes 
(Adcpvai  TleXovaiai,  Herod.  II.  30.  Tdcoi'af  not 
Td(pvat,  LXX.  Jer.  xliii  8,  9;  xliv.  1),  was  a 
fortified  border  city  to  the  east.  In  these  two 
cities  especially,  the  Jews  who  fled  to  i^gypt 
after  the  murder  of  Gedaliah,  appear  to  have 
settled  (xliii.  7;  xliv.  1  ;  xlvi.  14).— Depasture 
the  crown,  etc.  Triple  explanation:  1.  The 
LXX  and  translations  dependent  upon  it  appear 
to  have  read  ^-li^T  or  ']^i;T.     For  they  translate 

Eyvuadv  ae  /cat  Kartnat^dv  ae  (the  latter  probably 
KaTa  a'vvEGLv).  The  Vulgate  also  has  constuprave- 
runt  te  usque  ad  verticem.  2.  Most  expositors  up 
to  the  time  of  the  Reformation  follow  the  Pe- 
schito  version  in  translating  affligent,  con/undent, 
conterent.     They  derive  the  word  from  ^^"1  con- 

fregit.  3.  The  only  grammatically  admissible 
derivation  from  T\^'\  pascere,  depascere  is   found 

first  (according  to  Seb.  Schmidt)  in  Luther  (but 
not  in  his  translation).  He  is  followed  by  most 
of  the  modern  commentators.  But  it  is  deci- 
dedly wrong  to  take  the  imperfect  here  in  the 
past  sense,  as  Graf  does.  If  a  definite,  past 
fact,  viz.,  the  incursion  of  Shishak  (1  Kings 
xiv.  25  sq.)  were  alluded  to,  we  should  have  the 
perfect  here.  For  there  is  no  occasion  to  render 
this  act  of  depasturing  as  taking  place  in  the 
past  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  87,  3).  We  are 
rather  led  by  the  mention  of  Noph  and  Tahpanhes 
to  the  conclusion  that  something  in  the  future, 
resulting  from  the  residence  of  the  Jews  in  the 
places  named  (xliii.  7;  xliv.  1)  is  alluded  to. 
We  read  in  xlii.  15-22,  that  Jeremiah  predicted 
complete  destruction  to  the  Jews  who  were  propos- 
ing to  flee  from  the  vengeance  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
into  Egypt.  Particularly  in  xliv.  12  he  insists 
that  the  last  remnant  of  the  fugitives  in  Egypt 
would  be  destroyed  (ver.  14,  "none  of  the  rem- 
nant of  Judah,  which  are  gone  into  the  land  of 
Judah  to  sojourn  there,  shall  escape  or  remain  "). 
To  this  I  refer  the  depasturing  of  the  crown. 
The  last  and  only  covering,  the  natural  covering 
of  the  hair,  shall  be  taken  from  .Judah,  he  shall 
be  made  entirely  bald,  that  is,  he  shall  be  en- 
tirely swept  away  :  "  and  they  shall  all  be  con- 
sumed," xliv.  12.  ["  The  hair  of  the  head  being 
held  in  high  estimation  among  the  Hebrews,  bald- 
ness was  regarded  as  ignominious  and  hum- 
bling." Henderson. — S.  R.  A.]  In  the  mean- 
time I  confess  that  the  definite  mention  by  name 
of  these  places  is  remarkable.  The  prophet  has 
hitherto  mentioned  no  names.  As  was  shown 
abiive  on  i.  44  sqq  ,  he  does  not  yet  know  what 
nation  is  appointed  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  divine  judgment  on  Judah.  Why,  when  he 
is  ignorant  of  the  northern  enemy,  should  he 
know  so  exactly  the  southern,  who  in  compari- 
son with  the  former  is  of  almost  no  importance  ? 
Although  I  cannot  agree  with  Ewald  that  vers. 
14-17  did  not  originally  belong  here,  since  if  we 
divide  correctly,  there  is  no  break  in  the  connec- 
tion, yet  ver.  IG  may  possibly  be  an  addition 
which  the  prophet  himself  made  when  writing 
out  his  book  the  second  time  (xxxvi  32),  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  in  Palestine  or  in 
Egypt.  (Comp.  Comm.  on  i.  3  and  ii.  30,  and 
the  Introduction  to  chapter  ii).     ["  I  render  it. 


'The  children  of  Noph  and  Tahpanhes  have  joa«- 
tured  doivn  the  crown  of  thy  head.' — Mem- 
phis and  Daphne,  distinguished  cities  of  Egypt, 
are  here  put  for  Egypt  herself.  Jehoiakim  made 
a  league  with  Egypt,  but  was  subjected  to  severe 
and  shameful  taxation.  Such  a  process  of  shav- 
ing, taxation  and  consequent  disgrace  our  pas- 
sage forcibly  describes.''     Cowles. — S.  R.  A.] 

Ver  17.  Did  not  thy  .  .  .  leading  thee  in 
the  way  ?  The  fate  of  the  people  described  in 
vers.  14-16,  so  directly  contradictory  to  the  filial 
relation,  is  explained  by  their  revolt  from  Jeho- 
vah. Comp.  iv.  18. — This,  is  without  doubt  the 
object,  forsaking,  the  subject.  As  here  the 
leader  is  put  for  the  leading,  so  elsewhere  the 
proclaimer  for  the  message  (Isa.  xli.  27),  the  de- 
stroyer for  the  destruction  (Exod.  xii.  13),  the 
shooter  for  the  shot  (Gen.  xxi.  16),  the  retractor 
for  the  retraction  (Gen.  xxxviii.  29).  Comp. 
Naeglsb.  Gr.,  g  50,  2;  61,  2  b,  and  below,  ver. 
25  ^n''0  and  the  remarks  thereon. — The  expres- 
sion leading  thee  points  back  to  led  thee, 
ver.  6.  It  is  not  then  God's  leading  in  general 
whichismeant,  but  His  leading  through  thedesert, 
the  rather,  as  the  following  verse  shows  that  their 
forsaking  of  Him  was  not  confined  to  the  time 
of  their  pilgrimage.  ["Most  of  the  moderns 
take  nXT  to  be  the  nominative  to  the  verb  and  in 
opposition  to  ^3T^  and  render:  'Is  it  not  this 
that  hath  procured  it  to  thee, — thy  forsaking,' 
etc.;  but  the  common  rendering  seems  more  ap- 
propriate, as  it  includes  both  the  agent  and  the 
act,  charging  directly  on  the  former  the  guilt 
contracted  by  the  latter. — By  the  way  is  meant 
the  right  way,  the  way  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the 
leading  of  the  Jews  therein  denotes  the  whole 
of  the  moral  training  which  they  enjoyed  under 
the  Mosaic  dispensation.  In  spite  of  every  mo- 
tive to  the  contrary,  they  forsook  Jehovah  as  the 
object  of  their  fear  and  confidence."  Hender- 
son.—S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  18.  And  now  what  hast  thou  to  do 
in  the  way  to  Egypt  ...  to  drink  the  wa- 
ter of  the    river?     TM^^]  is  in  antithesis  to 

P'VlO  n^3  ver.  17.  The  latter  points  to  the 
ancient  time,  the  former  to  the  present.  The 
way  to  Egypt  according  to  the  analogy  of 
Am.  viii.  14,  is  not  the  Egyptian  idol-worship. 
We  see  this  from  the  statement  of  its  object, — to 
drink  the  water  of  Shihor.  The  sense  is,  what 
will  the  way  to  Egypt  (or  Assyria)  avail  thee, 
which  thou  takest  in  order  to  drink  the  water 
of  the  Nile,  &c. :  that  is,  to  draw  from  this  source 
power  and  re-invigoration,  i.  e.  to  procure  help 
in  Egypt  (or  Assyria)  ?  Here  the  question 
arises,  whether  the  facts  experienced  by  the 
prophet  were  the  occasion  of  this  mode  of  ex- 
pression. Josiah  so  far  from  seeking  to  obtain 
help  from  the  Egyptians  lost  his  life  in  contend- 
ing against  them  (2  Ki.  xxiii.  29;  2  Cliron. 
XXXV.  20).  He  did  not  undertake  this  contest 
as  an  ally  of  Assyria,  for  his  object  undoubtedly 
was  to  prevent  these  powers  from  encountering 
each  other.  Comp.  the  Article  "  .Tosia "  in 
Herzog,  Real-Enc. — Subsequently,  indeed  (,Ter. 
xxxvii.  5;  comp.  2  Ki.  xxiv.  20,  and  Jer.  xliii.), 
we  find  Jeremiah's  contemporaries  laying  claim 
to  aid   from   Egypt,   but  at  the  same  time  the 


S6 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


northern  empire,  by  which  we  must  understand 
Assyria,  was  the  enemy  which  menaced  them. 
Hence  it  appears  that  Jeremiah  does  not  here, 
as  in  ver.  16  and  probably  also  in  ver.  3,  allude 
to  definite  facts  of  recent  date,  but  that  he  has 
in  view  only  in  general  the  propensity  repeat- 
edly manifested  in  the  later  history  of  Israel 
since  Phul  to  seek  help  from  the  two  heathen 
empires  between  which  it  was  placed,  instead  of 
from  Jehovah.  In  this  period  Egypt  and  As- 
syria are,  as  it  were,  two  poles,  which  are  al- 
ways mentioned  together  in  a  stereotyped  form 
in  the  most  various  connections.  (Hos.  xi.  11  ; 
Isa.  vii.  28;  x.  24;  xix.  23  sqq.;  xxvii.  13; 
lii.  4;  Ezek.  xxxi.)  Particularly  the  seeking  aid 
from  Egypt  and  Assyria  is  a  reproach  made  both 
by  the  older  prophets  (Hos.  vii.  11,  "They  call 
to  Egypt,  they  go  to  Assyria,"  xii.  2,  comp.  xi. 
5)  by  his  contemporaries  (Ezek.  isvi.  26  sqq.  ; 
xxiii.  2)  and  by  Jeremiah  himself  elsewhere 
(Lam.  V.  6).  There  is  therefore  no  reason  here 
for  the  inquiry  whether  by  Assyria  Jeremiah 
meant  Babylon,  for  he  has  really,  at  least  in  the 
first  intention,  the  true  Assyria  in  mind. — '^intJ' 
here  as  in  Isa.  xxiii.  3  is  the  Nile.  The  name  sig- 
nifies "the  black,  black-water"  (Leyrer,  Art. 
Sichor  in  Herzog  R.-Enc);  hence,  also,  among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  the  name  Mtlaq,  Melo, 
from,  the  black  mud  of  the  Nile  (Comp.  Servius 


on  Virg.  Georg.  IV.  288  sqq.  ^n.  I.  745,  IV. 
246).  "inj  the  Euphrates,  as  in  Gen.  xxxi.  21  ; 
Exod.  xxiii.  31  ;   Numb.  xxii.  5,  &c. 

Ver.  19.  Thine  own  -wickedness  shall 
correct  thee  .  .  .  Jehovah  of  hosts.  There 
is  here  a  reference  to  vers.  17,  18.  The  wick- 
edness described  in  these  verses  will  correct  Is- 
rael, that  is,  will  produce  the  etfects  portrayed 
in  vers.  14-16,  and  this  correction  will  lead  Is- 
rael to  shameful  but  yet  wholesome  knowledge. — 

Apostasies  iJ^2W'!2)  is  a  word  used  especially 

by  Jeremiah.  Except  in  this  book  it  occurs  in 
only  three  passages  (Prov.  i.  32  ;  Hos.  xi.  7  ;  xiv. 
5),  the  plural  only  in  Jer.  iii.  22;  v.  6;  xiv.  7. 
With  this  the  train  of  thought  in  this  strophe 
seems  to  conclude.  It  begins  with  astonishment 
at  the  desolate  condition  of  the  people  (ver.  14 
to  ver.  16),  then  explains  why  it  must  be  so 
(vers.  17,  18),  and  finally  designates  salutary 
knowledge  as  the  intended  effect  of  this  severe 
discipline  (ver.  19).  The  full  form,  "  Saith  the 
Lord,"  &c.,  seems  to  denote  the  close  of  a  sec- 
tion. The  following  strophe,  though  an  inde- 
pendent tableau,  is  closely  connected  with  the 
preceding,  opening  a  deeper  insight  into  the 
source  of  the  apostasy  described  in  vers.  17- 
19. 


3.   The  lust  of  idolatry :  deeply  rooted,  outwardly  insolent,  faltt  at  latt. 

II.  20-28. 


20  For  from  of  old  thou  hast  broken  thy  yoke/ 
Thou  hast  burst  thy  bonds, 

And  hast  said,  I  will  not  serve. 
For  upon  every  high  hill 
And  under  every  green  tree 
Thou  stretchest  thyself  as  a  harlot. 

21  And  yet  I  had  planted  thee  a  noble'*  vine, 
It  was  wholly  of  genuine  seed.' 

But  how  art  thou  changed*  with  respect  to  me 
Into  bastards  of  a  strange  vine  ! 

22  For  though  thou  wash  thyself  with  alkali 
And  take  thee  much  of  the  soap, 

Yet  thine  iniquity  is  a  stain  before  me, 
Saith  the  Lord  Jehovah. 

23  How  canst  thou  then  say  :  I  am  not  polluted, 
I  have  not  followed  the  Baalim. 

Look  at  thy  way  in  the  valley  ! 

Know  what  thou  hast  done  ! 

A  she  camel,  young,  fast,  involving  her  courses; 

24  A  wild  she-ass,^  accustomed  to  the  desert ; 
In  the  desire  of  her  soul  she  gasps  for  air, 
Her  leaping,®  who  can  repel  it  ? 

All,  who  seek  her,  become  not  weary ; 
In  her  month  they  find  her. 


CHAP.  II.  20-28.  87 


25  Guard  thy  foot  from  the  loss  of  shoe, 
And  thy  throat ''  from  thirst ! 

But  thou  sayest :  In  vaiu !     No  ! 

26  For  I  love  strangers,  and  after  them  I  will  go. 
As  a  thief  is  ashamed  when  caught, 

So  the  house  of  Israel  is  put  to  shame, 

They,  their  kings,  their  princes,  their  priests,  their  prophets : 

27  Who  say  to  a  block.  My  father  thou ! 
And  to  a  stone.  Thou  hast  begotten  me.^ 

For  they  turn  to  me  the  back  and  not  the  face, 
But  in  the  time  of  their  calamity 
They  say.  Up  and  deliver  us ! 

28  But  where  are  thy  gods  which  thou  madest  for  thyself? 

Let  them  arise,  if  they  can  save  thee  in  the  time  of  thy  trouble. 
For  as  many  as  thy  cities 
Are  thy  gods,  O  Judah ! 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  20.— The  Masoretes  take  ''^'^31?  and  '•jlpnj  as  in  the  first  person.    So,  also,  the  Chaldee  and  Syriac  versions  and 

most  of  the  Jewish  expositors.  As  *i3yX,  then,  does  not  give  a  good  meaning,  unless  with  the  Syriac,  we  arbitrarily  assum* 

the  false  gods  to  be  objects  of  service,  the  Keri  reads  "li3_^N  which  must  then  be  taken  in  the  senBe—tramgredi  verbum  dm- 

num.  But  neither  does  13_y  occur  in  this  sense  without  an  accusative  of  the  object,  nor  does  this  explanation  suit  the  foUow- 

"  T 

ing  ''2- — The  Masoretic  punctuation  is  therefore  erroneous,  and  the  words  are  to  be  punctuated  as  2nd  Pers.  Fem.  according 

to  the  analogy  of  ver.  33 ;  iii.  4, 5 ;  iv.  19 ;  xiii.  21 ;  xxii.  23 ;  xlvi.  11  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  18,  20,  22,  31,  36,  43,  44,  47,  51,  etc.  Comp. 
on  this  form  Ewald,  ^  190  c ;  Olshausen,  g  226,  b :  232,  h  ;  and  Naegelsb.  Gr.  g  21.    Anm.  3. 

3  Ver.  21.— pi'liy  only  here  and  in  Isai.  v.  2.    The  fem.  form  Hpltj?  Gen.  xlix.  11. 

8  Ver.  21.— r\I3X  ^1T  literally  :  seed  of  truth,  t.  e. genuine  seed,  (Comp.  Prov.  xi.  18),  opposed  to  H^l^  J   TBJ. 

4  Ver.  21.— "IID.  The  passive  participial  form  (Comp.  Ewalb,  §  149,  f)  occurs,  except  here,  only  in  the  fem.  form  miD 
(Isai.  xlix.  21)  and  as  Keri,  Jer.  xvii.  13.    (Chethibh  '"110'.)    The  meaning  is  not  doubtful,— anontaJoMs,  alienated,  bastard. 

6  Ver.  24.— Instead  of  7113,  many  editions  read  X13,  which  we  usually  find  elsewhere,  Qen.  xvi.  12 ;  Job  vi.  5  ;  xi.  12  • 
xxxix.  5 ;  Hos.  viii.  9. — It  is  clear  that  the  female  is  meant,  both  from  the  connection  and  the  construction  of  the  following 
sentence.  The  masc.  stands  in  "^121  and  W32,  under  the  immediate  influence  of  the  form  X"13.  but  further  on,  the  gender 

which  the  prophet  has  in  mind,  comes  to  light,  hence,  713X1!',  etc. — The  Masoretes  would  incorrectly  read  nt5'3J      The 

T":  |T  T  :  -' 

Hebrew  language  is  much  freer  with  respect  to  gender,  number,  and  person  than  our  modern  languages.    Comp  Naegelsb 
Gr.  i  60,  4.    Comp.  xiv.  6. 
6  Ver.  24.— nnJXn  is  also  an  air.  \ey.— There  is  a  double  root  njX  :  I-  respirare,  suspirare,  ejulare  (Isai.  iii.  26 :  xix.  8), 

T  T-:  ~  TT  ■" 

from  which  the  substantive  forms  H'JXI  iTJXP  (groan,  and  groaning,  Isai.  xxix.  2  ;  Lam.  ii.  5)  are  derived.    From  this 

T--:|-     T--:|- 
derivation  we  obtain  for  lUXH  the  meaning  of  deep  breathing,  snorting,  catching  for  air,  which  is  usually  a  symptom  of 

excited  passions.  II.  Kal  inus.  Piel.=a  meeting,  to  prepare  to  meet  (Exod.  xxi.  12) ;  Pual,  to  be  made  to  meet,  occurrere 
(Ps.  xci.lO;  Prov.  xii.  21) ;  Hithp.  to  prepare  a  meeting  for  one's  self,  to  seek  occasion  (2  Ki.  v.  7). — From  this  root  is  de- 
rived njXn  (Comp.  njXn,  Judges  xiv.  4)  encounter,  occursus.    Etymologically  both  are  possible.    The  connection  favors 

T-:|-  T-: 

the  latter  view. 

1  Ver.  25. — The  Chethibh  ^J'^IJ  is  an  anomaly  which  is  by  no  means  to  be  traced  back  to  a  form  p'lj  for  j'pj  as  ptyw 
(xxi.  12)  for  pl'U?;;  (xxii.  3),  but  as  frequently  (xvii.  23 ;  xxvii.  1 ;  xxix.  23 ;  xxxii.  23)  through  an  oversight,  a  displace- 
ment of  the  mater  lectionis  seems  to  have  occurred.    See  on  xvii.  23. 

8  Ver.  27.— '' jni 7\     So  according  to  xv.  10  the  Chethibh  is  to  be  spoken.    The  Keri  lUrinS'  is  occasioned  by  D''TDJ< 

but  needlessly,  for  the  sing,  may  be  used  collectively.    Those  who  pronounce  'J^liT  overlook  the  fact  that  jlX  precedes 

and  that  this  second  member  is  doubtless  intended  to  designate  the  part  of  the  mother.  Wood  my  father,— a  stone  my 
mother ! 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Israel's  propensity  to  idolatry  is  ancient  (ver. 
20),  deeply  rooted  (vers.  21,  22),  yet  at  the  same 
time  betraying  itself  outwardly  by  the  most  pas- 
sionate behaviour  (vers.  23-25),  but  finally  causing 
deep  shame  on  account  of  the  nothingness  of  its 
objects  (vers.  26-28).  The  connection  with  the 
previous  strophe  is  this,  that  here  the  forsaking 
of  Jehovah  (ver.  17),  and  the  wickedness  and  apos- 
tasies (ver.  19),  are  more  particularly  explained. 


The  '3  is,  therefore,  to  be  regarded  as  explica- 
tive. 
Ver.  20.  For  from  of  old  ...  as  a  harlot. 

D7ij;  here  as  frequently  (comp.  Isa.  xlii.  14;  xlvi. 
9;  Ixiii.  16;  Ps.  xxiv.  7,  etc.).  is  used  of  incon- 
ceivable duration. — Israel  is  compared  with  wild 
refnictory  draught  cattle  ('a  bullock  untrained,' 
xxxi.  18;  a  'backsliding  heifer,'  Hos.  iv.  16), 
because  they  refuse  the  discipline  and  guidance 
of  the  Lord  (comp.  v.  5;  Prov.  ii.  3),  and  are 
obstinate  in  carrying  out  their  own  carnal  will. 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


— I  •will  not  serve.  The  second  '3  is  also  expli- 
cative. It  forms  the  transition  to  the  explana- 
tion of  the  imagery  employed  in  Hemist.  a. — 
Every  high  hill,  etc.,  a  frequent  designation  of 
the  places  especially  sacred  to  the  worship  of 
nature.  Comp.  1  Kings  xiv.  23;  2  Kings  xvi.  4; 
xvii.  10;  Isa.  Ivii.  5;  .Jer.  iii.  6,  13;  xvii.  2; 
Ezek.  vi.  13.— Stretchest  thyself,  n;?^  oc- 
curs only  in  Isa.  li.  14  of  one  who  is  bound  and 
thus  bent  crooked,  in  Isa.  Ixiii.  1  of  the  strong 
man,  who  bends  proudly  backwards;  Jer.  xlviii. 
12  of  the  vessel,  which  we  bend  over  in  order  to 
pour  from  it.  Hence  it  seems  to  be  used  in  the 
sense  of  TvapaKliveai^ai  or  inclinari  of  the  bending 
of  the  body  in  a  woman  who  lies  with  a  man. 
Comp.  J.'^3  of  the  man,  in  Job  xxxi.  10. 

Ver.  21.  And  yet  I  had  planted  thee  .  . 
strange  vine. — And  I  stands  in  strong  anti- 
thesis to  thou,  ver.  20. — The  antithesis  is  simi- 
lar, which  Isaiah  sets  forth  between  the  vine- 
yard for  which  all  has  been  done,  and  the  pro- 
prietor, whose  hope  is  disappointed^  Isa.  v.  1  sqq. 
Comp.  Ps.  Ixxx.  9  sqq. — That  we  are  not  to 
translate  (with  Ewald):  "I  have  planted  thee 
with  noble  vines,"  as  in  Isa.  v.  2,  is  clear  from 
the  identity  of  the  object  of  'r\J^£3J  with  the  sub- 
ject of  noani — Noble  vine,  properly  reddish 
from  p^t^  splendere,  subrubicundum  esse,  comp. 
Isa.  xi.  8 ;  Zech.  i.  8,  and  Koehler,  ad  loc. — 
That  the  red  wine  was  considered  the  nobler, 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  it  was  pre- 
scribed for  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  See 
LiGHTFOOT,  ffor.  Hebr.  p.  478. — But  how  art 
thou  changed,  etc.  It  is  not  inadmissible  to 
regard  "'^10  as  the  accusative,  as  Gkaf,  Hitziq, 

and  others  suppose.  The  mere  accusative  fre- 
quently stands  in  apposition  with  the  object,  (or 
in  passive  construction  with  the  subject,  where 
we  use  a  preposition  of  motion,  and  the  Hebrew 
more  commonly  uses    /,  comp.  '^'^'^^^  T\rl_  DV. 

Am.  V.  8;  vi.  11 ;  Isa.  xxviii.  88;  xxxvii.  26.  See 
Naegelsb.,  (rr.  §  69, 3. — The  absence  of  t lie  article 
before  H'^pj  is  certainly  abnormal,  but  not  with- 
out example:  xxii.  26;  Isa.  xxxvii.  4,  17;  2 
Sam.  vi.  3.   See  Naeoelsb.  Gr.  ^  73,  2.   Anm. 

Ver.  22.  For  though   thou  wash  thyself 
.  .  .  thy  iniquity  is  a  stain  before  me.  ''2  is 

causal.  Israel  is  to  be  compared  with  degen- 
erate vines ;  their  depravation,  therefore,  is  essen- 
tial, since  it  cannot  be  removed  by  outward 
means. — This  figure  of  speech  is  based  on  the 
■work  of  the  fuller.  For  simple  washing  is  VH"*  i 
D33  properly  to  tread,  to  stamp,  is  the  technical 

expression  for  the  work  of  the  fuller.  Hence, 
also,  we  liave  Piel  here,  comp.  Naege>lsb.,  Gr. 
I  41,  2;  61,  2,  c.  'pS^Jil  is,  therefore,  properly. 
even  if  thou  doest  the  luork  of  a  fuller,  comp.  Mai. 
iii.  2.  The  reflexive  meaning  is  implied  in 
the  connection,  and  is  sufficiently   indicated  by 

the  following '^7. — ir\3  virpov,  is  a  mineral,  iT''^3 
(13  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  also  called 
nitrum)  is  a  vegetable  alkali.  The  former  is  ob- 
tained from  water,  the  latter  from  the  soap-plant. 
Comp.  Winer,  R.  B.  \V.,  s.  v.  Laugensalz.  [Thom- 
son, The  Land  and  the  Book,  II.  pp.  302,  303.— 
8.  R.  A.] — Qj^pJ    is    an  dTof  Xeydjuevov.       Some 


commentators  render  it  (=3r\3)  "ingrained,  in- 
delibly engraven  is  thy  guilt."  Some  render, 
"hidden,  laid  up,"  others;  "spotted,  dirty,  a 
stain."  The  last  meaning,  which  is  certified  by 
the  dialects  (Aram.  XOHi)  macula,   Wr\2  maculo- 

sus)  is  also  required  by  the  connection.  Comp. 
Ps.  li.  3,  9. 

Ver.  23.  How  canst  thou  then  say  ?  .  .  . 
involving  her  courses.  The  prophet  has  in 
mind  an  assertion  actually  made  and  often  re- 
peated by  his  contemporaries.  This  is  the  sense 
of  the  imperfect,  comp.  Naegelsb.,  Gr.  |  87,  c. — 
Thy  way  in  the  valley,  N'J  must  mean  a 
definite  valley,  since  hills,  and  not  valleys  were 
the  places  usually  appropriated  by  the  Israelites 
to  idolatrous  worship.  In  the  vicinity  of  Jerusa- 
lem there  was,  however,  a  valley  celebrated  as  a 
place  of  worship;  the  vale  of  Hinnom  (vii.  31 ; 
xxix.  2,  6;  xxxii.  35;  Josh.  xv.  8;  2  Kings  xxiii. 
10). — That  the  valley  might  be  called  absolutely 
X]jn  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  gate  leading 
to  it  was  called  absolutely  K'jn  ':yp  (2  Chron. 
xxvi.  9;  Neh.  ii.  18,  15),  comp.  Raumeb,  Palas- 
tina,  4  Aufl.  S.  291.— A  she-camel,  etc.,  mD3 

T  :  • 

and  n^3  stand  in  apposition  to  the  subject  of  the 
preceding  sentence,  viz.,  Israel.  The  former  is 
feminine  of  "133  (Isa.  Ix.  6),  camel-foal.  The 
(unused)  root  *133  signifies  "  to  be  early  there," 
hence  1133,  133 — rip^ti'?  is  found  here  only  as  a 
verb.  It  means  to  "  weave,  cross,  involve." 
Hence  Y^Tty  shoestring.  Gen.  xiv.  28 ;  Isa.  v.  27. 

Ver.  24.  A  wild  she-ass  .  .  .  they  find 
her.  It  is  clear  that  the  female  is  meant  both 
from  the  connection  and  the  construction  of  the 
following  sentence: — Accustomed  to  the  de- 
sert, (Job  xxiv.  5;  xxxix.  5),  therefore,  in  ge- 
neral shy,  wild  and  unconfined. — All  who  seek 
her,  etc.  Since  they  meet  her  half-way,  there 
is  no  need  to  weary  themselves  with  seeking 
her.  Inhermonth,  that  is,  in  her  period  of  heat, 
they  find  her.  This  is  the  natural  rendering. 
Other  artificial  explanations  are  found  in  J.  D. 
MiCHAELis,  Obsv.,  p.  17,  and  in  Rosenmueller, 
ad  h.  loc. 

Ver.  25.  Guard  thy  foot .  .  .  after  them  I 
will  go.  As  a  further  proof  of  the  intensity  of 
this  proneness  to  idolatry  (vers.  21  and  22),  the 
prophet  adduces  the  answer  of  the  people  to  all 
warnings  against  it,  their  decided  declaration 
that  they  would  not  relinquish  it.  The  words  of 
admonition,  "Guard,"  etc.,  are  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  spoken  by  commission  from  the  Lord. 
The  figure  of  passionate  running  is  continued, 
but  man  is  now  understood  as  the  subject. — Tlie 
construction  is  that  of  the  concrete  for  the  ab- 
stract. Comp.  1  Sam.  xv.  23,  where  it  reads 
"hath  rejected  thee  from  king,"  while  afterwards 
it  is,  "hath  rejected  thee  from  being  king,"  ver. 
26  and  viii.  7;  in  xvi.  1,  it  is  "from  reigning." 
Comp.  further  ver.  17  and  1  Kings  xv.  13;  Ezek. 

xvi.  41. — ^rV  is  not  of  the  same  gender  as  "!)  /J"]. 
being  feminine,  but  this  variation  is  of  no  ac- 
count. See  remark  on  ver.  24. — We  might  as 
well  translate:  "Hold  back  thy  foot,  to  be  some- 
what unshod,"  as  in  Ps.  Ixxiii.  2,  'SjT  'IDJ 
means  inclinatum  aliquid  sunt  pedes  mei. — On  the 


CHAP.   11.   29-87. 


39 


general  subject,  comp.  xxxi.  16;  Prov.  i.  15. — 
As  to  the  import  of  the  warning,  we  are  certainly 

not  to    take   7J"1  withScHNURB,ER,R0SENMUELLER 

and  others,  as  in  Gen.  xlix.  10;  Deut.  xxviii.  57; 
Ezek.  xvi.  25  in  the  sense  of  crura  et  pudenda, 
and  the  discalceatio  as  denudatio.  The  prophet 
would  merely  say,  'Cease  from  thy  mad  running 
after  idols,  from  which  nothing  accrues  to  thee, 
but  wounded  feet  and  a  dry  throat,  i.  e.,  bitter 
injury  instead  of  the  expected  advantage.' — 
l^NU  Part.  Niph.,  from  t^X'  (comp.  1  Sam.  xxvii. 
1;  Job  vi.  26;  Isa.  Ivii.  10;  Jer.  xviii.  12)  = 
desperatum,  perditum.  The  sense  is:  the  warn- 
ing is  in  vain.  Xw  No!  as  in  Gen.  xlii.  10; 
Numb.  xxii.  30,  etc. — The  following  verses  por- 
tray the  contrast  between  the  passionate  striving 
of  Israel  after  the  favor  of  their  gods,  and  the 
results  thereof. 

Vers.  26  and  27.  As  a  thief  .  .  .  deliver  us. 
Comp.  Exod.  xxii.  1,  6,  7.  Tlie  thief  is  ashamed 
not  merely  because  he  is  caught  in  his  wicked- 
ness, but  because  at  the  moment  of  discovery  he 
makes  a  ridiculous  figure.  Israel  also  plays  this 
ridiculous  part  when  the  "poodle's  heart"  is  dis- 
played.— Put  to  shame.  Comp.  vi.  15 ;  viii.  9, 


12  — Who  say,  D''10X,  apposition  to  the  nomen 
determinatum  without  the  article,  as  frequently  in 
the  later  books.  See  Naegelsb.,  Gr.  §  97,  2  a. — 
For  they  turn  to  me  the  Isack,  etc.  Thig 
period  to  the  end  of  ver.  28.  shows  in  three  clauses 
the  shameful  character  of  idol- worship:  (a) 
they  turn  their  back  on  me;  (6)  in  the  time  of 
calamity  I  am  yet  to  help  them ;  (c)  I  cannot 
then  do  so,  but  must  direct  them  to  their  gods. 
These,  however,  are  nowhere  to  be  found,  though 
as  numerous  as  the  cities  in  Israel. 

Ver.  28.  But  where  are  thy  gods. — O 
Judah!  This  inquii-y  is  made  of  the  idolaters 
as  a  punishment  for  their  having  previously  made 
it  in  scorn  of  the  faithful,  comp.  Ps.  xlii.  4,  11 ; 
Ixxix.  10;  cxv.  2. — If  they  can  save.  We 
are  reminded  of  Deut.  xxxii.  37,  38.  See  Kue- 
PER,  S.  6.  Comp.  xi.  12.  The  indirect  interro- 
gative sentence  is  best  understood  as  dependent 
on  a  verb  to  be  supplied :  let  us  see  f  For  as 
many  as  the  cities,  etc.,  is  repeated  verbatim 

in  xi.  13.  '3  is  causal.  One  would  think  they 
could  save  thee,  since  they  are  so  numerous. 
The  close  of  this  strophe  corresponds  to  tht 
close  of  the  preceding,  (ver.  19). 


5.  Whose  is  the  guilt  f 
II.  29-37. 

29  Why  do  you  contend  against  Me  ? 

Ye  have,  all  of  you,  offended  against  Me,  saith  Jehovah. 

30  In  vain  have  I  smitten  your  children, 
Chastisement  they  have  not  accepted. 
Your  sword  has  devoured  your  prophets 
Like  a  ravening  lion. 

31  0  ye  generation !  see  the  word  of  Jehovah : 
Have  I  been  a  desert,  O  Israel  ? 

Or  a  land  of  deepest  night  ?^ 

Why  do  my  people  say :  We  ramble,* 

No  more  will  we  come  to  thee  ? 

32  Can  a  virgin  forget  her  ornaments  ? — 
A  bride  her  girdle? 

But  my  people  have  forgotten  Me  days  without  number. 

33  How  well  trimmest  thou  thy  way  to  seek  love  intrigue ! 
Therefore  also  to  wickedness  thou  hast  accustomed^  thy  waya. 

34  Even  on  thy  skirts  [wings]  has  been  found 
The  blood  of  the  souls  of  poor  innocents. 
Not  at  the  place  of  burglary  have  I  found  it, 
But  on  all  these. 

35  Yet  thou  sayest,*  I  am  innocent,^ 
Surely  His  anger  is  turned  from  me. 

Behold,  I  enter  into  judgment  with  thee  concerning  this, 
That  thou  sayest :  I  have  not  sinned. 

36  How  goest  thou  asunder*  much  in  changes  of  thy  ways  ? 
Even  by  Egypt  shalt  thou  be  put  to  shame, 

As  thou  hast  been  put  to  shame  by  Assyria. 


40 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


37  Also  from  thence''  wilt  thou  go  forth,  thy  hands  on  thy  head, 
For  Jehovah  rejects  thy  supports, 
And  thou  wilt  have  no  success  with  them. 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  31.— ri'SaXD  is  aTrof  \ey.    Composed  of    73X0    and   rf  =  caligo  Jovx,  as  iT'D^nSt^  ==  God's  flame  (of 

At  :  •.■  :  -                                                                    •"  :   -                    t                                             t  r.-  v  :  - 

love)  Cant.  viii.  6.     H'    serves  to  enhance  tlie  force  of  the  expression  according  to  the  analogy  of  7  J<    'Tin    "  great  deep," 

T                                           I  ■."       — ;  I' 

Ps.  xxxvi.  6.    <"•  nOTIp    1  Sam.  xxvi.  12,  7X    H'l'in   1  Sam.  xiv.  15.— iT"    is  also  punctuated  ,T   in  connections,  ei.  ^., 

xxvii.  1,  etc.    The  Masoretes  have  given  two  accents  to  the  whole  word  in  the  text,  because  they  were  uncertain  as  to  the  ety- 
mology of  the  syllable  H'  and  consequently  as  to  its  accentuation.  Kimchi  found  n''73XO  in  some  codices,  which  EwALl 
T  T  •    ■  :  - 

also  accepts  and  translates  simply  "darkness"  ad /WW.   flU/^O    Tiii.  18,  coll.    rT'7'''7J^.    iTS'Sb. 

2  Ver.  31. — 1JT1,    ^1'^    only  in  Qen.  xxvii.  40;  Ps.  Iv.  3;  Hos.  xii.  1.    Radical  signification  rapam".    We  are  not  with 
RoSENMUELLER  to  translate  vagabimur.    Tlie  perfect  is  used  expressly  to  designate  an  accomplished  fact. 

3  Ver.  33. — T\nD /•    On  this  form  comp.  rem.  on  ver.  20.— On  the  double  accusative  comp.  Ewald,  §  283,  c;  Naegelsb, 
Cfr.,  I  69,  2,  c. 

■«  Ver.  35. — "'3    before  a  direct  address,  as  frequently,  ex.  gr.,  Josh.  ii.  24 ;  1  Sam.  x.  19.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  109, 1,  a. 

6  Ver.  35.— 'JT'pJ  Niph.    Comp.  Num.  v.  28,  31. 

»  Ver.  36.— 'StP     contracted  from   "'SlNn    as    3nX    from   anXN   (PrOY.  viii.  17),  inX  from  "inXK  (Qen.  xxxii 

6),  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  10,  II.,  Anm. 

1  Ver.  37.— ni    Masc.  referring  to  the  people.    Comp.  Naeqeisb.  Gr.,  g  60,  3,  Anm. 


EXEQETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

As  in  the  beginning  of  the  discourse  (ver.  5), 
the  prophet  proceeds  on  the  ground,  that  Israel's 
revolt  cannot  be  excused  by  any  neglect  on  the 
part  of  Jehovah,  but  Israel  is  alone  to  blame 
(ver.  20).  The  Lord  has  allowed  nothing  to  fail: 
neither  discipline  (ver.  30),  nor  the  necessaries 
of  life  (ver.  31),  not  even  ornament  and  splen- 
dor (ver.  32).  But  the  people  have  shown  a 
taste  and  fitness  only  for  the  service  of  idols 
(ver.  33a).  The  consequence  is  two-fold:  (1) 
deep  moral  corruption  (ver.  33  6-34)  which  at 
the  same  time  affords  the  most  striking  proof  of 
the  rebellion  of  the  people,  which  they  boldly 
deny  (ver.  35) ;  (2)  the  shame  of  the  people  re- 
sulting from  their  political  and  religious  wan- 
derings (vers.  36,  37). 

Ver.  29.  Why  do  you  contend  .  .  .  saith 
Jehovah.  Israel's  propensity  to  complain  of 
the  Lord  was  displayed  even  in  the  wilderness  at 
Meribah  (Exod.  xvii.  2,  3,  7),  and  that  Jere- 
miah's contemporaries  manifested  the  same  dis- 
position is  evident  from  v.  19';  xiii.  22;  xvi.  10. 
Not  I,  saith  the  Lord,  towards  you  have  failed, 
but  you  towards  Me,  even  all  of  you.  Comp. 
ver.  26. — The  following  verses  enumerate  what 
the  Lord  has  done  for  Israel.  Three  things  are 
mentioned ;  first,  di.'^ciplme. 

Ver.  30.    In   vain  .  .  .  ravening    lion — 

XltS'j  in  vain,  used  only  by  Jeremiah  among  the 

prophets,  iv.  30;  vi.  29;  xlvi.  11.  Comp.  be- 
sides, Exod.  XX.  7:  Deut.  v.  11  ;  Ps.  xxiv.  4; 
cxxxix.  20. — Dp'JS-nx    cannot   be    taken    in    a 

proper  sense  =  your  young  men,  as  Hitzig 
maintains,  for  Jehovah's  blows  were  upon  the 
whole  people.  When  we  reflect  that  the  persons 
smitten  by  the  Lord  are  those,  who  instead  of 
accepting  chastisement,  slay  God's  servants,  and 
further,  that  these  same  are  afterwards,  ver.  31, 
addressed  as  generation,  and  previously,  in  ver. 
28,  as  Judah,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
prophet  lias  here  in  view  the  abstract  communi- 
ties, the  people  being  designated  as  their   chil- 


dren. Comp.  V.  7;  Lev.  xix.  18;  Joel  iv.  6; 
Zech.  ix.  13. — The  smiting  had  not  the  intended 
effect  (comp.  v.  3)  but  was  answered  by  the  mur- 
der of  the  prophets,  1  Ki.  xviii.  4,  13  ;  2  Chron. 
xxiv.  20  sqq.  Comp.  Matth.  xxiii.  35,  37  ;  Luke 
xi.  47,  etc. — The  second  fact,  with  which  the 
charge  is  indignantly  repelled,  is  Jehovah's  li- 
beral provision  for  all  the  wants  of  the  people. 

Ver.  31.  O  ye  generation  .  .  .  come  to 
thee  ?  The  first  words  of  this  verse  are  at- 
tached by  Jerome  and  Maurer  to  the  preceding 
verse :  tanquam  leo  vastator  est  hsec  vestra  setas. 
But  the  beginning  of  the  following  sentence  is 
then  altogether  too  bald.  It  is  better  to  take 
them  as  in  the  vocative,  and  the  subject  of  the 
following  verb.  On  the  article  with  the  voca- 
tive, comp.  EwALD,  §  327,  a;  Naegelsb.  Gh:,  g 
71,  Anm.  4. — It  is  disputed  whether  "TIT  is  to 
be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "  age,  generation " 
(EwALD :  "  The  present  people  ")  or  in  the  sense 
of  "  race,  kind,  breed."  It  is  not  clear  why  the 
generation  then  living  should  be  rendered  so  ex- 
pressly prominent,  in  does  not  occur  again, 
at  least  not  alone  in  a  bad  sense.  But  from 
passages  like  vii.  29;  Deut.  i.  35;  xxxii.  5;  Ps. 
Ixxviii.  8;  Prov.  xxx.  11  it  is  evident  that  the 
word  is  at  any  rate  capable  of  such  a  determina- 
tio  in  malam  partem. — 1X"1  See,  comp.  ver.  19,  is 
a  stronger     HJn.    The  word  of  the  Lord  is  held 

before  them  with  the  demand  that  they  regard  it. 
— Desert,  /.  e.,  barren  land,  where  no  bodily 
nourishment  or  necessaries  are  found. — Here 
follows  the  ?A«>rf  point,  which  the  Lord  has  not 
neglected ;  glory  and  adornment.  He  is  Him- 
self His  people's  highest  glory,  Israel's  crown  of 
glory  is  He  (Gen.  ix.  27 ;  Isa.  xxviii.  5).  But 
they  have  forgotten  this  emblem  of  royalty, 
which  causes  them  to  rank  above  all  other  na- 
tions. The  Lord  is  however  Israel's  jewel  as 
her  husband.  This  is  the  thought  which  sug- 
gests the  figure  in  ver.  32. 

Ver.  32.  Can  a  virgin  forget  .  .  .  without 
number  ?     D'^C'P    besides  only  in  Isa.  iii.  20. 

Comp.  Isa.  xlix.  18.  Is  it  a  girdle  or  a  fillet? 
Drechsler  on  Isa.  I.  c.  translates  "  a  small  gir- 


CHAP.  II.  29-37. 


41 


die  of  fine  material,"  which  unites  both  mean- 
ings.— The  failure  then  is  not  in  this,  that  the 
Lord  has  forgotten  to  make  provision  for  the 
adornment  of  His  bride,  but  that  the  bride  has 
forgotten  to  make  use  of  the  ornament.  Comp. 
xviii.  14. — Days  w^ithout  number.  Comp.  of 
old.  ver.  20. 

Ver.  33.  How  Tvell  trimmest  thou  .  .  . 
accustomed  thy  w^ays.  ^'^'H  cannot  here 
be  rendered  in  the  sense  of  bonnm  simulare,  ezor- 
nare,  as  many  of  the  ancients  rendered,  because 

then  the  following  HinX  K'p^/  does  not  af- 
ford a  suitable  meaning.  It  is  therefore  neces- 
sary to  take  it  in  the  sense  of  scite  instituere 
(Maurer)  according  to  the  analogy  of  vii.  3  ; 
Isa.  xxiii.  16;  Deut.  ix.  21,  etc.  Observe  the 
contrast:  i  ;  people  in  criminal  frivolity  for- 
get Jehovah,  their  highest  glory,  but  with  the 
greatest  diligence  employ  means  and  ways  to 
procure  illicit  love  (with  foreign  nations  and 
their  idols).     The  effects  of  this  are  shown  in 

what  follows.— |D^  is  neither  =  but,  as  De  Wette 
proposes,  nor  :^  1 3n 7  (Venema,  Dathe:  ut  con- 
firmes  malitiam,  assuefacis  vias  tuas),  but  simply  == 
therefore,  thus,  in  this  way. — To  ■wickedness. 
The  article  before  mj^T  (comp.  iii.  5)  is  gene- 
ral. Israel  has  accustomed  his  ways  not  to  par- 
ticular wickedness,  but  to  wickedness  in  general, 

to  wickedness  of  every  kind. — H^/    to  teach,  to 

accustom,  as  ^^ /»  ^®^'  •^4-  ^^  meaning  the  ex- 
pression is  coincident  with  that  in  xiii.  23,  "ac- 
customed to  do  evil." — On  the  subject-matter, 
comp.  Rom.  i.  24sqq. — In  what  follows  the  state- 
ment is  verified  by  an  instance. 

Ver.  84.  Even  on  thy  wings  ...  on  all 
these.     The    DJ   here  resumes  the    Ul    in  ver. 

~  T 

33  b.  The  special  fact  is  introduced  by  the 
same  particle  as  the  general  statement.  In  Ger- 
man "  ndmlich"  [videlicet,  namely]  would  be  used. 
^13     is  used  here,  as  frequently  of  the  skirts, 

(wings)  of  a  coat,  1  Sam.  xxiv.  6;  Hagg.  ii.  12; 
Zech.  viii.  23,  etc. — Has  been  found.  The  plu- 
ral '^^?J  is  explained  thus,  (1)  an  ideal  plural  is 
contained  in  Dl,  namely,  the  idea  of  innocent 
blood,  in  which  sense  D'OI  is  usually  employed 
(the  sing,  ex.gr.  .Jer.  xix.  4;  Lam.  iv.  13).  The 
same  construction  in  Ezek.  xxii.  13,  comp. 
Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  |  61,  2,  e,  (2)  with  connected  sub- 
jects the  predicate  may  be  governed  in  number 
by  the  main  grammatical  or  logical  idea.  So 
also  here  the  conception  of  the  multiplicity  of 
what  has  been  stained  by  blood  may  have 
determined  the  number  of  the  predicate.  Comp. 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  105,  6. — Not  at  the  place, 
etc.  n^pnp  occurs  only  in  Exod.  xxii.  1  (2),  and 
our  passage  may  be  explained  by  this.  "If  a 
thief  be  found  breaking  up  [or  at  the  place  of 
burglary)  and  he  be  smitten  and  die,  he  (the 
doer)  shall  incur  no  guilt."  Jeremiah  alludes  to 
this  both  in  words  and  sense.  The  Lord  has 
/ound  the  blood  of  the  murdered  (and  we  may 
here  understand  the  blood  of  the  prophets,  ver 
30)  not  in  the  place  of  the  crime  committed  by 
them.    In  this  case  their  murderers  would  accord- 


ing to  the  law  quoted  above,  be  without  guilt. 
But  he  says,  "On  all  these  have  I  found  it." 
These  words  have  given  much  trouble  to  the  com- 
mentators. Disregarding  the  circumstance  that 
the  LXX,  the  Syriac  and  Arabic  translations  in- 
stead of  nSx  read  n'7X,  and  therefore  translate 

,  _  V  T-' 

enl  naarj  Spvt  or  sub    quacunque  arbore,  and  that 
Jerome  combines  the  two   renderings:   "m  om- 
nibus istis  quse,  supra  mrmoravi,  sive  sub  quercu,^' 
having  in  mind  the  often  denounced  hill-worship 
(comp.  ver.  20), — omitting  those  interpretations 
which  are  based  on  a  wrong  reading  we  mentioa 
only  three  proposed    by  eminent   modern    com- 
mentators :   (1)   EwALD    translates    after  Abak- 
banel,  "not  in  the  murderer's  den  found  lit, 
but  on  all  these,  viz.,  summits."     The  objection 
to  this  is,  that  the  word  does  not  signify  "  deu 
of  murderers,"    and  that  the  reference  to  Exod. 
xxii.  1  (2)  is  wholly  ignored.   (2)  Venema,  Dathe, 
VoQEL,    Gaab,    Maurer,    Umbreit    and    others 
attach  the  final  clause  to  the  next  verse  and  take 
7j;   in  the  sense  of  "  notwithstanding — notwith- 
standing all  this  \  10U  sayest."     ihis  rendering 
leaves  both  the    '3   and    the    Vau   cons,    before 
■''nOXn    without    any    satisfactory    explanation. 
(3)  Graf:   "  not  for  the  sake  of  a   crime  didst 
thou  kill  the  poor   ones,  but   on   account  of  all 
this,"  i.  e.  because  they  stood  in  the  way  of  thy 
harlotry  and  opposed  thy  revolt.     But  it  must  be 
objected  to  this  that  we  cannot  say,  "  not  at  the 
breaking  in  hast  thou  met   them   (Graf    takes 
D'nxVD    as  2d   person),  but   on  account   of  all 
this."     For  here  the  verb  "met"  does  not  suit 
the  second  clause  of  the  sentence.      We  should 
have  to  supply  a  suitable  verb  "  hast  thou  killed 
them,"  which  would  be   arbitrary,  because  the 
author,  if  he  had  this  verb  in  mind,  could  not 
have  omitted  it.     The  whole  question  seems  to 
me  to  turn  on  the  correct  rendering  of  /Tlf^nO, 
namely,    not   as   burglary  in    general,    but   the 
place  of  burglary.     It  is  well  known  that  sub- 
stantives with    D  [Mem  loci)  have  this  meaning, 
EwALU,  §  160  b. — In  the  original  passage  Exod. 
xxii.  1,  we  may  indeed  translate  "  at  the  break- 
ing in,"  but  in   the   text,   where   it   is    not   the 
seizure   of  the  thief,  but  the  subsequent  disco- 
very of  blood-stains,    which  is    spoken   of,    the 
place   of  burglary  must    be   meant.     Traces    of 
blood  are  subsequently  discovered,  not  at  a  bur- 
glary, but  at  the  place  where  the  surprised  thief 
was  wounded.     If  this  is  the  correct  rendering 
of  this  word,  the  final  clause  must  also  designate 
a  place.     If  we  consider  that  in  the  first  clause 
the  Lord  has  rebuked  Israel   for   the   murder  of 
the  innocents,  it  is  appropriate  that  in  the  second 
He  should  bring  a  proof  of  this  heavy  charge. 
This  proof  is  afforded  in  this  way; — the  Lord  says 
He  found  the  blood   of  the  slain  not  in  places 
where  they  had  commuted  burglary,  but  on  the 
persons  of  those   He    addresses.      Thus  "  on   all 
these  "  refers  back  certainly  to  thy  skirts,  but 
only  indirectly.     n7X  refers   primarily  to   per- 
sons.    We  may  suppose  that  the  prophet  pointed 
with  his  hand  to  his  hearers. — In   spite  of  this 
flagrant  proof  of  guilt,  Israel   is  so   bold    as   to 
continue   to   maintain    his   innocence,  and  darea 
even  to  boast  that  the  divine  anger  is  already 
turned  away  from  him, 


42 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Ver.  35.  Yet  thousayest  .  .  .  not  sinned. 

2^  'nX.  The  translation  of  the  LXX.,  anooTpa- 
<l>^Tai  and  of  the  Vulgate,  aversatur  would  suit 
very  well  in  the  connection,  if  it  were  gramma- 
tically justifiable.  As  the  words  read  they  make 
declaration  of  a  fact,  not  a  wish.  ■:jX=nothing 
but,  only,  i.  e.  sure,  certain.  Comp.  Gen.  xxvi. 
9  •  xxix.  14,  etc. — To  what  historical  fact  this 
erroneous  assumption  of  Israel  refers,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  say  ;  perhaps  to  the  narrative  of  2  Ki. 
xxiii.  26  (observe  also  the  resemblance  of  the 
words).  Josiah's  reforms  might  have  given  rise 
to  the  idea  that  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  formerly 
threatened  (comp.  2  Ki.  xxii.  17)  was  now  turned 
away  from  Judah.  The  people  are  here  assured 
that  this  was  not  the  case,  because  the  reform 
was  more  outward  than  inward  (at  least  among 
the  masses).— I  enter  into  judgment.  Comp. 
i  16  ;  XXV.  31.  He  who  denies  the  sin  he  has 
committed  adds  to  his  guilt  and  provokes  a  new 
manifestation  of  the  divine  judgment. 

Vers.  36  and  37.  How  goest  thou?  ...  no 

success  with  them.  StX  (in  Aramaic  Sl« 
frequently  =  "^^H)  has  in  Hebrew  throughout  the 
meaning  of  to  melt,  dissolve,  go  asunder.  So 
of  yielding  to  a  misfortune  (Prov.  xx.  14),  of  the 
flowing  away  of  water  (Job  xiv.  11),  of  the  run- 
ning out  of  the  means  of  subsistence  (1  Sam. 
ix.   7),    of  the   disappearance   of  power    (Deut. 

xxxii.  36).  The  infinitive  TS^lt^  designates  not 
the  end  but  the  mode  of  the  going  asunder : 
quid  diffluis  mutando  viam  f  The  h  is  the  particle 
of  the  Infin.  modalis.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  | 
95,  e.  On  the  meaning  comp.  iii.  13. — As  vers. 
34'  and  35  are  dependent  on  ver.  33  b,  so  vers. 
36  and  37  on  33  a.  The  inquiry,  "  how  trim- 
mest thou  thy  ways?"  is  resumed  here  more 
definitely. — In  respect  to  the  historical  bearing 
of  the  passage,  as  we  have  already  remarked  on 
Ter.  18,  it  is  not  known  that  Josiah  ever  sought 
aid  from  the  Egyptians.  From  the  time  of  Je- 
hoiakim,  who  was  an  Egyptian  vassal  (2  Kings 
xxiii.  33  sqq.),  much  aid  was  continually  sought. 
To  this  ver.  36  may  refer.  The  expression  "also 
from  thence  wilt  thou  go  forth,"  seems  even  to 
imply  a  residence  in  Egypt.  Comp.  on  ver.  1(3. 
As  was  remarked  on  this  passage  we  admit  the 
possibility  of  Jeremiah's  having  made  this  addi- 
tion on  the  completion  of  his  second  writing. 
Comp.  Graf,  ad  Zoc— HI  Masc.  referring  to  the 
people.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Or.  ^  60,  3,  Anm. — 
It  appears  as  if  the  story  of  Tamar  and  Absa- 
lom hovered  before  the  prophet's  mind.  Comp. 
KuEPER,  S.  55;  2  Sam.  xiii.  19,  ''Est  ibi  nostra 
nanus,  in  qua  nos parte  dolemus"  (Bugenhagen). 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ii.  14:  "Whoever  makes  himself  a  ser- 
vant of  sin  makes  himself  also  a  servant  of  pun- 
ishment, for  sticks  and  cudgels  are  for  a  bad 
servant.  Malitiie  comes  individua  est  miseria." 
Cramer. 

2.  On  ii.  14:  ''■  Peccalum  ex  hominibus  liberis 
facit  miserrimos  servos  ;  ex  filiis  Dei  mancipia  di- 
aboli."     Seb.  Schmidt. — "  Is  then  Israel  a  ser- 


vant or  a  bondman  ?  So  that  get  him  who  may, 
except  the  one  father,  whose  son  he  is,  he  may 
starve  him  ?  A  noble  question  to  lead  the  souT 
to  reflect  what  it  is  ;  a  subject  on  which  Joh. 
Arndt  much  labored  and  in  which  Fr.  Richter 
of  Halle  lived  altogether.     He  wrote  a  book  on 

the  exceeding  nobility  of  the  soul We  can 

also  form  an  idea  from  his  poems,  '  The  soul  is 
born  to  enjoy,  something  that  is  divine,' — '  Hc"iy 
bright  the  Christian's  inner  life." — '  0  how  hap- 
py are  the  souls,'  etc.,  how  important  this  subject 
was  to  him.  And  it  is  a  great  subject  even  if 
we  leave  aside  all  exaggerated  mystical  or  still 
more  loftily  conceived  ideas.  It  is  enough  that 
we  are  '  His  workmanship,  created  in  Christ 
Jesus  unto  good  works.'  We  must  indeed  be 
ashamed,  and  a  preacher  may  well  grieve  his 
whole  life  long  (as  Spener  is  said  to  have  done), 
that  our  glory  is  so  departed."     Zinzendorf. 

3.  On  ver.  17:  Sin  is  the  destruction  of  a 
people,  Prov.  xiv.  34.  But  the  Lord  is  not  wil- 
ling that  any  be  lost  but  that  all  should  come  to 
repentance  (2  Pet.  iii.  9).  He  therefore  chasti- 
ses them,  not  to  destroy  them,  but  by  bodily  suf- 
ferings to  save  the  soul  (1  Pet.  iv.  1). 

4.  On  ver.  15 :  "  The  sins  of  men,  especially  of 
God's  people,  strengthen  the  arm  of  their  ene- 
mies, encourage  them  to  their  hurt  (Judith  v. 
22)."     Stakke. 

5.  On  ver.  16:  "If  God  wishes  to  chastise 
His  people  He  usually  employs  the  ungodly  for 
this  purpose  (Deut.  xxviii.  49,  50)."     Idem. 

6.  On  ver.  16:  "  It  often  happens  that  those 
redound  to  the  injury  and  destruction  of  the 
ungodly,  from  whom  they  have  promised  them- 
selves the  greatest  help  (Judges  xv.  3)."     Idem. 

7.  On  ver.  17:  What  a  man  soweth  that  will 
he  also  reap  (Gal.  vi.  7).  They  sow  wind  and 
reap  the  whirlwind  (Hos.  viii.  1).  "What 
they've  done,  that  they've  won."  Bullinoee. 
Comp.  Micah  vii.  9. 

8.  On  ver.  19:  '' Sanitatis  initium  immo  dimi- 
dium  est  agnoscere  morbum."     Seb.  Schmidt. 


"  O  si  ista  videremus 
Quantum  flere  deberemus." 


Thom.  Aquinas. 


9.  On  ver.  20:  Although  the  Lord's  yoke  is 
easy  (Matt.  xi.  29),  it  seems  intolerable  to  our 
flesh,  and  we  would  rather  sacrifice  our  children 
to  Moloch  and  cut  ourselves  with  knives  and 
lancets  (1  Kings  xviii.  28)  than  bow  to  the  chas- 
tisement of  the  Spirit  and  renounce  carnal  free- 
dom. 

10.  On  ver.  21 :  "  Peccata  tarn  contra  sanam 
hominis  naturam  sunt  quam  labruscse  contra  natu- 
ram  bouse  vitis."     Seb.  Schmidt. 

11.  On  ver.  21 :  Whatever  comes  from  God's 
hand  is  good  and  welcome.     Man  was  originally 

nox  J^^T  7X12.  He  bore  no  principle  of  cori-up- 
tiori  within  him.  This  came  from  without. 
Ilenue  such  depravity  has  become  possible  [ac- 
tual, S.  R.  A.],  as  oti  its  side  renders  necessary 
a  complete  remoulding  (regeneration)  of  man. 

12.  On  ver.  22:  "We  gee  in  nature  that  af- 
fected beauties,  which  are  intended  either  to  hide 
deformities  or  give  new  adornments  not  proper 
to  the  person,  only  render  one  uglier  than  be- 
fore."    Zinzendorf. 

13.  On  ver.  25:    ["  The  passage  suggests  that 


CHAP.  II.  29-37. 


4S 


in  many  cases  the  plea  of  despair  is  not  half 
honest.  The  heart  takes  it  up  simply  as  an 
apology  for  rushing  madly  and  headlong  into 
sin  To  quiet  conscience  and  to  seem  to  lend 
soiiK'  ear  to  reason,  men  try  and  even  pretend  to 
think  there  is  no  longer  any  hope  from  God,  and 
heni;p  that  they  may  as  well  get  all  the  good 
fro  Ml  sin  they  can  while  they  can  get  any." 
Cowi..;-;.— S.  R.  A.] 

14.  On  ver.  26:  "  It  often  occurs  in  the  office 
of  a  preacher  that  he  sees  poor  humanity  in  its 
nakedness.  He  must  be  on  his  guard  that  he 
use  his  victory  with  moderation  and  in  such  a 
way  that  the  souls  ashamed  may  see  more  hearty 
love  and  compassion  than  tyranny  and  assump- 
tion. .  .  .  There  ought  not  to  be  mere  Hildebrands 
or  mere  Henry  Fourths  ;  a  village  schoolmaster 
may  also  show  to  one  of  his  scholars  that  he  is 
more  concerned  about  his  own  authority  than 
the  pupil's  salvation;  and  this  has  no  better 
eflfact  on  the  youth  than  his  penance  in  the  court 
at    Canossa  had    on  the   Emperor    Henry    IV." 

ZiNZENDORF. 

15.  On  ver.  28.  Necessity  teaches  prayer. 
Necessity  compels  men  to  cast  away  all  false 
props  and  to  stay  themselves  on  Him,  who  alone 
endures  everlastingly.  Yet  this  may  be  done 
with  insincerity,  merely  for  outward  advantage. 
Then  will  God  say :  He  who  will  not  serve  Me, 
but  will  only  serve  himself  with  Me,  has  nothing 
to  hope  from  Me.  He  may  serve  himself  with 
those  whom  only  he  wishes  to  serve. 

16.  On  ver.  30:  Mich.  Ghislerus,  in  his  com- 
mentary, discusses  the  question  at  length  : — In 
how  far  it  may  be  said  that  the  Lord  has  smitten 
Israel  in  vain,  since  the  means  which  God  uses 
always  correspond  exactly  to  the  end  in  view, 
and  therefore  the  application  of  means  without 
the  attainment  of  the  object  is  inconceivable. 
He  answers  in  the  words  of  Petrus  a  Figueira  : 
"  Dicitur  autem  Deus  frustra  percussisse  quantum 
ad  finem  extrinsecum,  qui  erat  emendatio  percus- 
sorum,  non  quantum  ad  internum,  qui  erat  ipse- 
met.  Idea  enim  percutiebat  eliam  eos,  quos  sciebat 
non  recepiuros  disciplinam  nee  emendationem,  ut 
omnibus  se  bonum  medicum,  bonumque  parentem  de- 
monstraret,  utpote  omnia  faciendo  ad  xgrotorum  sa7ii- 
tatem  et  filiorum  disciplinam  necessaria.  At  que 
quoad  hunc  finem  non  frustra  percussit,  sed  finem 
conseculus  est."  Ghislerus  more  correctly  dis- 
tinguishes between  a.  percussio  ffratix  and  a,  pei-- 
cussio  Justitife,  the  former  for  salvation,  the  latter 
for  judgment.  We  must,  indeed,  say  that  the 
strokes  of  God  are  relatively,  but  not  absolutely 
in  vain.  If  they  do  not  attain  the  end  of  conver- 
sion, they  show  at  least  that  God  has  done  His 
part,  which  is  the  meaning  also  of  this  passage; 
and  they  serve  for  "a  testimony  against  them." 
Comp.  Gal.  iii.  4. 

17.  On  ver.  30.  In  order  that  the  divine  chas- 
tisement may  have  the  desired  result,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  man  enter  into  the  divine  purpose,  /.  e., 
that  he  understand  what  God  would  say  to  him, 
and  whereto  He  would  move  him,  and  that  he 
also  hear  and  obey.  This  is  to  accept  the  chas- 
tisement. To  accept  chastisement  is  a  sign  of 
wisdom  (Prov.  viii.  10:  xix.  20),  while  not  to 
accept  it  is  a  sign  of  folly  (Prov.  i.  7;  iii.  11, 
12;  V.  12,  23;  xiii.  18;  xv.  32.  Comp.  Ps.  1.  17; 
Isa.  i.  5). 


18.  On  "Ye  generation,"  ver.  31.  "That 
is  not  to  be  denied,  which  Paul  says  to  the  Cre- 
tans, they  are  altogether  koko.  •&rii)ia.  This  ap- 
plies sometimes  to  whole  nations,  sometimes  to 
certain  cities  and  places.  Servants  of  Christ, 
who  have  fallen  in  such  places  where  their 
hearers  are  of  a  bad  sort,  experience  it  indeed." 
ZiNZENDORF. — Ou  "  Havc  I  been  a  desert."  etc. 
"Where  God  bestows  most  benefits,  there  He  re- 
ceives the  least  gratitude."  Foerster. 

19.  On  ver.  32.  The  children  of  this  world  are 
wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  children  of 
light  (Luke  xvi.  8). — A  virgin  who  forgets  her 
bridal  ornaments  might  be  compared  to  the  fool- 
ish virgins  who  forgot  their  oil  (Matth.  xxv.  1), 
nay,  she  is  even  worse  than  these. 

20.  On  ver.  33,  a.  Not  only  zealous,  but  clever 
and  inventive  is  man  in  evil,  but  lazy  and  un- 
skilful for  good;  comp.  iv.  22. 

21.  On  ver.  33,  6.  ^■^eipovcnv  fj^r]  xPVoto. 
ofiLXiai  Kunai.  (1  Cor.  xv.  33).  Every  man  is  as 
his  God.  Everything,  which  is  called  a  god,  is 
inimical  to  the  true  God,  therefore  also  to  the 
absolute  idea  of  the  True  and  the  Good.  All 
kinds  of  idolatry,  therefore,  whether  gross  or 
refined,  must  demoralize  men. 

22.  On  ver.  35,  a.  Men  frequently  from  ob- 
stinacy and  pride  will  not  confess  their  sins. 
Comp.  1  John  i.  8.  But  Zinzendorf  [Pred.  d. 
Ger.  S.,  184)  remarks  with  justice  on  this  pas- 
sage: "It  is  not  so  absolutely  obstinacy  and 
wickedness,  hypocrisy,  dogmatism;  but  men 
really  come  by  many  sins  in  such  a  way  that 
they  do  not  know  them.  As  that  savage  at  Co- 
penhagen who  killed  his  comrade  and  was 
severely  wounded,  thought  that  he  should  die 
for  such  a  legitimate  cause  (for  the  other  had 
insulted  him)." 

23.  On  vers.  36  and  37.  "  Serus post  poenam  luc- 
tus.  Sero  sapiunt  Phryges,  si  tamen  vere  sapiant, 
non  sero sapiunt."     See.  Schmidt. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  14-19.  Israel's  slavery  an  emblem 
of  the  universal  human  slavery  of  sin:  (1)  In 
both  it  is  not  original.  (2)  In  both  cases  it  is 
self-incurred.  (3)  In  both  it  is  severely  punished. 
(4)  In  both  the  punishment  is  the  means  of  sal- 
vation. [1.  "The  nature  of  sin;  it  is  forsaking 
the  Lord  as  our  God.  2.  The  cause  of  sin :  it  is 
because  His  fear  is  not  in  us.  3.  The  malignity 
of  sin,  it  is  an  evil  thing  and  a  bitter.  4.  Tlie  fatal 
consequences  of  sin.  5.  The  use  and  application 
of  all  this — repent  of  thy  sin."     Henry. — S.  R.  A.]. 

2.  On  ver.  17.  Penitential  sermon:  on  a  retro- 
spect of  the  past  three  things  are  manifest.  (1) 
The  goodness  of  God  who  sought  to  lead  us  in 
the  right  way.  (2)  Our  disobedience,  in  for- 
saking the  Lord  our  God.  (3)  God's  justice,  in 
not  allowing  our  rebellion  to  go  unpunished. 

3.  On  ver.  19.  The  evils  of  the  present  time 
are  (1),  The  consequences  of  sin  (not  natural 
accessity,  not  chance,  not  tlie  effect  of  an  over- 
powering evil  influence),  (2)  Means  of  salvation 
from  sin,  since  by  them  we  learn  that  [a)  sin  is 
ruinous  deception.  (6)  godliness  is  life  and  salva- 
tion. 

4.  On  ver.  20.  The  endeavor  to  cast  off"  the 
yoke  of  God  is  (1)  an  ancient  one  (the  angels. 


44 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  apostasy,  Israel),  (2)  a  ruinous  one;  for  (a) 
it  deprives  us  of  true  freedom :  (b)  it  renders  us 
the  servants  of  powers  hostile  to  God  and  de- 
structive to  ourselves. 

5.  On  vers.  21-25.  The  sinful  corruption  of 
humanity  is  (1)  not  original,  but  (2)  very  deep. 
(3)  It  cannot  be  denied  away;  (4)  it  cannot  be 
removed  by  external  means. 

6.  On  vers.  26-28.  How  ruinous  a  course  it  is 
to  trust  in  a  creature:  (1)  who  on  account  of 
his  weakness  leaves  us  disgracefully  in  the  lurch: 
(2)  we  thus  insult  God  and  lose  His  help. 

7.  On  vers.  29-32.  When  man  quarrels  with 
God,  the  fault  is  always  on  the  side  of  man  (Ps. 
li.  6).  For  (1)  God  chastises  us,  but  we  do  not 
obey :  (2)  He  bestows  on  us  the  necessaries  of 
life,  but  we  do  not  thank  Him:  (3)  He  makes  us 
partakers  of  the  highest  glory,  but  we  reject  it 
with  disdain. 

8.  On  ver.  31.  "Havel  been  a  desert,"  ete., 
there  is  extant  a  homily  of  Origen  on  this  text, 
the  third  of  his  homilies  on  Jeremiah.  His 
fundamental  thought  is,  God  is  a  desert  to  none. 
This  is  true  (1)  in  reference  to  all  men  (comp. 
Matth.  V.  45)  (a)  in  a  bodily,  (6)  in  a  spiritual 
regard.  For  He  was  always  a  fruitful  land  to 
Israel,  (a)  when  He  blessed  them  and  punished 
the  heathen,  (6)  when  He  blessed  the  heathen  and 


punished  them,  (c)  even  when  He  allowed  the 
church  of  Christ  to  pass  from  the  Jews  to  the 
heathen.  — ["An  unjust  imputation  repelled  by 
Jehovah.  To  an  ingenuous  mind  God  never  ap- 
pears so  irresistible  as  when  He  addresses  His 
creatures  in  the  language  of  tender  expostula- 
tion. Christians  treat  God  as  a  wilderness  (1) 
when  they  are  reluctant  to  serve  Him,  (2)  when 
they  seek  their  happiness  in  the  world.  The 
ground  of  complaint  is  in  them,  not  in  God." 
Payson.— S.  R.  A.] 

9.  On  ver  32.  "What  is  the  adornment  of 
clothes  compared  with  the  imperishable  adorn- 
ment of  the  righteousness  of  Christ!  Food  for 
moths  and  worms,  and  nothing  more.  Shall  such 
a  perishable  adornment  be  so  dear  to  thy  heart 
that  thou  never  forgettest  to  put  it  on  when  thou 
art  going  out,  or  when  thou  preparest  thyself 
for  church  on  Sunday:  but  the  imperishable 
adornment  be  so  unimportant  that  thou  art  ever 
forgetting  it,  even  though  so  frequently  spoken 
to  concerning  it?  No,  be  followers  of  the  apostle 
Paul,  Phil,  iii."  Hochstetteb.  "Twelve  Para- 
bles from  the  prophet  Jeremiah,"  S.  9. 

10.  On  ver.  35.  Obstinate  impenitence.  (1) 
It  is  blind  to  its  own  guilt.  (2)  It  blasphemes 
God,  accusing  Him  of  unjust  anger.  (3)  It  will 
not  escape  just  punishment. 


THE  SECOND  DISCOURSE. 

(chapters  III. -VI.) 

This  discourse,  according  to  iii.  6,  belongs  to  the  reign  of  Josiah,  and  moreover,  according  to  iii.  4,  10; 
iv.  1  to  the  period  of  his  reformation,  which  occupied  from  the  twelfth  to  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign. 
(2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3,  8;  xxxv.  19).  Since  Jeremiah  began  his  ministry  in  the  \Zth  year  of  Josiah, 
this  discourse  pertains  to  the  period  from  the  I'ith  to  the  I8th  year  of  Josiah,  consequently  to  the 
commencement  of  his  ministry.  Its  position  at  the  beginning  of  the  book  corresponds,  therefore,  eny 
tirely  to  the  historical  date  of  its  composition. 

The  discourse  falls  into  two  main  divisions  and  a  conclusion.     It  may  be  arranged  as  follows : — 

I.    FIKST    MAIN    DIVISION    (CHAPTER  III.   1. IV.  4.) 

The  Call  to  Return,  ^iW. 

1.  Basis: — Notwithstanding  Deut.  xxiv.  1-4,  a  return  is  possible,  iii.  1-6. 

2.  The  call  to  return  in  the  past,  iii.  6-10. 

3.  The  call  to  return  in  the  future,  iii.  11-25. 

4.  The  call  to  return  in  the  present,  iv.  1-4. 

II.    SECOND    MAIN    DIVISION   (CHAPTER  IV.  5. — VI.  26.) 

Threatening  of  Punishment  on  Account  of  their  Neglect  to  Return. 

1.  Description  of  the  judgment  to  be  expected,  iv.  5-31. 

2.  Proof  of  its  justice  by  an  enumeration  of  causes,  chap.  v. 

8.  Recapitulation,  consisting  of  a  combination  of  the  call  to  return,  the  announcement 
of  punishment,  and  the  ground  of  punishment,  vi.  1-26. 


III.    CONCLCSION. OBJECT    AND    EFFEffiT    OF    THE    DISCOURSE,    (CHAPTER  VI.   27-30). 


CHAP.  III.   1-5. 


46 


FiEST  Division  (chapter  hi.  1 — iv.  4). 

The  Call  to  Return,  2W. 

1.  Basis : — Notwithstanding  Deut.  xxiv.  1-4,  a  return  is  possible. 

Ill,  1-6. 

1  ....  therefore,  if  a  man  dismiss  his  wife, 
And  she  go  from  him  and  become  another  man's, 
Will  he  return  to  her  again  ? 

Would  not  such  a  land  be  desecrated  ? 

But  thou  hast  whored  it  with  many  paramours, 

Yet  return  to  me,  saith  Jehovah. 

2  Raise  thine  eyes  to  the  hills^  and  see ; 
Where  hast  thou  not  been  lain  with  T 

By  the  roads  thou  satest  for  them  like  an  Arab  in  the  desert, 
And  desecratedst  the  land  by  thy  whoredom'  and  wickedness. 

3  And  the  showers  were  withheld. 
And  there  came  no  latter  rain : 
But  thou  hadst  the  brow  of  a  harlot, 
And  wouldst  not  be  ashamed. 

4  Hast  thou  not  henceforth  cried*  to  me,  my  Father ! 
Thou,  the  companion  of  my  youth ! 

5  Will  he  then  everlastingly  mark,^ 
And  always  bear  a  grudge  ? 
Behold,  thus  didst  thou  speak, 

And  didst  the  evil  and  didst  prevail.* 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2. — [Literally  "bare  heights"  as  Hitzig  renders.    Blatney  incorrectly  translates  "open  plains." — S.  R.  A.] 

2  Ver.  2. — rOy^    N7    Per  verecundiam  the  Masoretes  always  put  for  this  the  corresponding  form  from  2D^  Deut 
xxviii.  30 ;  Isa.  xiii.  16 ;  Zech.  xiv.  2.    ["  A  few  MSS.  and  the  Soncin.  Edition  also  exhibit   r\23\!/-" — Henderson]. 

3  Ver.  2. — Tn-1JT  a  plural  formation  like  DTl^jn,  which  occurs  besides  only  in  Num.  xiv.  33,  analogous  to  D'HOIA 
frequent  in  Ezekiel,  ch.  xvi.  (vers.  15,  22,  etc.),  and  ch.  xxii.  (vers.  7,  8,  etc.).    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  48,  4. 

*  Ver.  4. — On  the  form    TlXlp    and    ''r\T31,  comp.  rem.  on  ii.  20. 

tIt  -ITT 

6Ver.  5.— To    ^br    and    "lOB^''    suppl.    13X-    Comp.  ver.  12 ;  Ps.  ciii.  9. 

•  Ver.  5.— -On  the  form  7D1j^1  (for  'ID-ini)-    Comp.  EWAiD,  g  191  6.    [Notes  translates  this  line,  "but  doest  evil  with 

T       ~  •  :        — 

all  thy  might,"  but  comp.  Exeg.  rem. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

That  these  verses  belong  not  to  chapter  ii.  but 
to  the  following  discourse,  and  indeed  form  its 
basis,  is  evident  from  the  following  reasons  :  1. 
The  fundamental  thought  of  the  previous  strophe 
was  that  Israel  had  incurred  misfortune  not  by 
Jehovah's  fault  but  by  his  own.  2.  It  is  shown 
in  ch.  iii.  6-11  that  hitherto  neither  Israel  nor 
Judah  has  been  obedient  to  the  call  "  return." 
In  vers.  12-25  it  is  shown  that  in  the  distant  fu- 
ture they  will  obey  this  call ;  in  ch.  iv. — vi.  that 
if  the  people  do  not  obey  the  call  made  to  them 
now,  in  the  present,  they  must  expect  severe  pu- 
nishment, to  be  inflicted  by  a  people  from  the 
North.  Since  then  the  basis  of  the  thought  de- 
veloped in  iii.  1-5  is  that  the  return  of  apostate 
Israel  is  brought  into  connection  with  the  regu- 
lation of  the  Mosaic  law,  according  to  which  a 
woman  who  had  been  divorced   and  married  to 


another  man,  could  not  return  to  her  former  hus- 
band, it  is  manifest  that  ch.  iii.  1-5  attach  them- 
selves to  what  follows,  and  not  to  the  previous 

section.  That  "ION/  in  ver.  1  does  not  mili- 
tate against  this,  will  be  shown  immediately,  and 
that  this  strophe  serves  as  the  basis  of  what  fol- 
lows will  be  clear  from  the  explanation  of  2W). 
Ver.  1.  .  . .  therefore  :  If  a  man  dismiss  his 
wife  .  .  .  yet  return  to  me,  saith  Jehovah. 

The  various  explanations  of  "^DX/  may  be  di- 
vided into  two  classes.  1.  The  LXX.  and  the 
translations  and  commentaries  which  follow  it, 
(of  the  later  Comm.  also  Gulcherus  in  Symb. 
Hagan.,  CI.  1,  Fasc.  1)  omit  it  altogether.  The 
character  of  the  LXX.  renders  it  probable  that 
this  omission  was  founded  not  on  MS.  evidence, 
but  in  mere  caprice.  2.  It  is  connected  with  the 
preceding,  viz.,    DND,    ii.  37,  by  Kimchi,  Abab- 


46 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


BANEL,  Luther,  Bugenhagen,  (Ecolampadius, 
Vatable,  Tremelli,  Muenster,  Stakke,  Mau- 
KER  and  HiTZiG.    It  is  opposed  to  this  connection, 

(a)  tliat  the  contents  of  this  verse  are  as  hetero- 
geneous willi  the  previous  verse  as  they  are  ho- 
mogeneous with  the  following,  as  already  shown; 

(b)  that  IDX^  is  separated  from  DNO  by  a 
sentence,  so  that  it  would  be  intolerably  harsh 
to  connect  them.     3.  Most  commentators  explain 

it  by  the  aid  of  an  ellipsis  before  1DN7,  supply- 

ina;  1DX',  ''  "ID^'I,  'h  l^',  noX ;  so  the  Vul- 
gate  and  the  Roman  Catholic  divines;  also   Ra- 

SCHI,     ZWINGLI,     BULLINGER,     SeB.    ScHMIDT,     De 

Wette,  Rosenmuelleu,  etc.  But  all  these  sup- 
plementations   are   arbitrary   and  unexampled. 

An  idea,  on  which  '^OX'7.  depends  as  a  more 
particular  definition,  would  no  more  be  unex- 
pressed in  Hebrew,  than  one  before  "therefore" 
in  English.  To  render  this  clear  we  have  be- 
gun the  translation  of  this  verse  thus  "  .  .  there- 
fore." The  passages  Josh.  xxii.  11 ;  Jud.  xvi. 
2;  Isa.  ix.  8;  xliv.  28  are  indeed  quoted  as  ana- 
logous. But  in  the  passages  in  Joshua  and 
Isaiah,  the  idea  which  serves  as  a  point  of  sup- 
port is  not  wanting,  though  only  implied  (comp. 
Naegelsb.  §  9.5,  e).  The  passage  in  Judges 
might  be  appealed  to  if  a  corruption  of  the  text 
were  not  very  much  to  be  suspected.     3.  Calvin 

And  Venema  seek  to  render  *^08<7.  i°  such  a 
sense  that  it  need  not  depend  on  the  foregoing. 
Calvin  translates  indeed  dicendo,  but  would  take 
this  in  the  sense  of  par  manure  de  dire  or  of  po- 
sito  casu.  Venema  modifies  this  interpretation, 
rendering  "if  it  is  said,  '  and  regarding  it  as 
the  antecedent  to  which  "saith  Jehovah  "  at  the 
close  of  the  verse,  corresponds: — "  If  it  is  said. 
Will  a  man  return?  etc. — yet  saith  Jehovah,  thou 
hast  been  lewd,  yet  return  to  Me."     But  leaving 

out  of  account  that  "^DX?  would  then  be  su- 
perfluous, this  absolute  use  of  it  is  quite  uude- 
monstrable.     5.    J.   D.   Michaelis,  Ewald  and 

Graf  acknowledge  that  this  isolated    ^DX7  is  a 

grammatical  anomaly,  and  therefore  declare  the 
text  to  be  corrupt.  They  assume  that  either  be- 
fore nnxS  a  formula  like  'Sx  '"  ^21  'n;i 
has  dropped  out,  or  that  the  date  in  ver.  6,  after 

which  10X7  contrary  to  rule,  is  wanting,  should 
be  transposed  to  this  place.  The  latter  would 
seem  to  be  the  most  probable.  [Henderson  ren- 
ders Further,  which  seems  to  be  an  evasion  of  the 
difficulty.  The  English  Editor  of  Calvin  sug- 
gests that  7  be  rendered  according  to,  "Ac- 
cording to  what  is  said,"  but  as  Wordsworth 
notes,  this  phrase  is  the  universal  formula  for 
introducing  a  message  from  God;  and  he  there- 
fore regards  it  as  used  by  the  prophet  to  inti- 
mate that  what  he  is  uttering  is  a  quotation  from 
the  Law  of  the  Lord.  Cowles  renders  "  Say- 
ing "  and  connects  it  with  the  preceding  context. 
Blayney,  "  whilst  thou  snyest."  Noyes,  "  it  is 
said." — S.  R.  A.] — jH  is  here,  as  frequently, 
used  in  a  liypothetical  sense,  comp.  Exod.  iv.  1 ; 
viii.    22;   Levit.  xxv.  20;  Isa.  liv.  15.     The  fol- 


lowing contains  a  partial  verbal  reference  to 
Deut.  xxiv.  1-4,  where  it  is  said,  that  a  woman 
who  has  been  divorced  and  married  again,  can- 
not when  released  from  her  second  marriage  by 
separation  or  death,  again  become  the  wife  of 
her  first  husband,  since  this  would  be  an  abomi- 
nation before  the  Lord,  and  increase  the  moral 
corruption  of  the  land,  ^jn  in  an  intransitive 
sense  (comp.  XDCD  Levit.  xviii.  25)  as  in  Isa. 
xxiv.  5 ;  Ps.  cvi.  38  =  prqfanari,  to  be  dese- 
crated. The  LXX.  reads  ov  niav&ijaETai  f)  ywri 
kKEivri ;  probably  in  connection  with  the  previous 
translation  /u?)  avjiKdfnpei  TcpoQ  avrSv ;  which 
change  without  doubt  was  intended  to  render  this 
sentence  accordant  with  the  subsequent  applica- 
tion (return  to  me).  The  Syrohexapla  trans- 
lation however  follows  the  Hebrew,  and  Grabe 
in  his  edition  reads  ij  yij.  So  also  Spohn.  Both 
are  certainly  wrong. — PUT  with  accus.  of  the 
person  is  found  also  in  Ezek,  xvi.  28.  Most  of 
the  ancients  (with  the  exception  of  the  LXX.  ave- 
Ka/iTTE^,  Ar.  et  revertereris?  Theodor.  tnavrieiQ. 
Victor.  Presb.,  Trwf  enicTTpiipEig  Tvpdg  /ue) ;  render 

'7X  2Wy  as  imperative  ;  the  moderns  (Maurer, 
HiTziG,  Ewald,  Umbkeit,  Neumann,  Graf)  as 
interrogative.  I  decidedly  regard  the  first  as 
correct.  As  I  have  shown  above  it  is  the  funda- 
mental idea  of  the  whole  discourse  that  Israel  is 
to  return  to  his  Lord.  The  adherents  of  the 
more  recent  interpretation  also  find  themselves 
compelled,  to  avoid  contradiction,  to  take  the 
question  not  as  a  negation  but  as  expressing 
wonder,  which  is  not  logically  admissible ;  for 
why  should  the  Lord  wonder  concerning  that 
which,  according  to  what  follows,  is  His  definite 
wish?  The  vau  is  therefore  to  be  taken  as  ad- 
versative— "  although  in  accordance  with  legal 
regulations,  I  ought  not  to  receive  you,  yet  I 
say,  Return  to  me."  The  appeal  to  the  passage 
in  the  law  belongs  to  the  domain  rather  of  pro- 
phetic rhetoric  than  of  morals ;  for  the  command 
refers  to  a  physical  relation,  which  does  exist 
between  Jehovah  and  His  people.  If  however 
we  interpret  this  relation  spiritually,  we  prove 
too  much,  for  every  sin  is  spiritual  adultery. 
When  it  was  remarked  above  that  this  strophe 
forms  the  introductory  basis  of  the  discourse,  it 
was  meant  that  in  this  strophe,  (a)  an  apparent 
hindrance,  (b)  a  false  presumption  is  removed 
which  might  stand  in  the  way  of  a  true  return. 
The  apparent  hindrance  is  the  legal  regulation 
which  is  removed  by  an  authoritative  decree 
(vers.  1-3  a).  The  false  presumption  is  that 
pseudo-conversion,  which  took  place  under  Jo- 
siah,  and  which  consisted  in  this,  that  the  peo- 
ple sought  to  deceive  themselves  and  others  with 
fine  words,  which  their  deeds  proved  to  be  lies 
(vers.  3  6-5). 

Ver.  2.  Raise  thine  eyes  .  .  .  and  vsricked- 
ness.  These  words  furuish  the  actual  proof  of 
"thou  hast  played  theharlot,"  etc.,  ver.  1. — Hills. 
Comp.  "high  mountain,"  Isa.  xiii.  2.  Mons 
culmine  phinu.t.  silva  non  conlcc/ii.s. 

Vt-r.  3.  And  the  show^ers  w^ere  withheld 
.  .  .  wouldest  not  be  ashamed.  The  first 
hemistich  i-et'iilus  the  objoctiou  that  Israel  com- 
mitted this  wickedness  unreproved,  comp.  ii.  30. 
The  divine  displeasure  was  rendered  palpable  by 
the  withholding  of  the  necessary  rain    (v.  25; 


CHAP.  III.  1-5. 


47 


coll.  iv.  18;  ii.  19),  but  Israel  refused  to  be 
brought  by  this  chastisement  to  perceive,  confess 
and  repent  of  his  sin.  With  the  boldness  of  a 
harlot  who  not  only  does  not  confess  that  she  has 
done  wickedly,  but  does  it  besides  as  though  she 
had  a  claim  to  the  recognition  of  her  services, — 
with  such  boldness  does  Israel  speak  in  a  con- 
fident and  affectionate  tone  to  the  Lord,  and  even 
ventures  on  a  gentle  reproach  for  undeserved 
severity.  While  ver.  2  expresses  a  subordinate 
thought  which  merely  defines  more  particularly 
a  point  in  ver.  1,  and  to  which  ver.  3  a  is  attached 
as  a  corollary,  vers.  4,  5  express  the  second  main 
thought  of  the  strophe,  to  which  ver.  3,  b  servea 
as  a  transition. 

Ver.  4.  Haat  thou  not  henceforth  cried 
to  me  .  .  .  the  companion  of  my  youth? — 
Henceforth  appears  to  refer  to  the  time  when 
the  people  recognized  the  divine  anger  in  the 
withholding  of  the  rain,  for  then  they  at  once 
became,  at  least  in  words,  friendly  and  officious. 
But  it  is  not  equivalent  to  IKD.  from  times  of  old. 

We  are  thus    led  to  conjecture  that  the   three 
facts,  withholding  of  rain,   hypocritical  conver- 
sion of  the  people,  and  this  prophecy,  were  con- 
temporaneous.    This  is  also  confirmed  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  dates  in  i.  2  and  2  Chron.  xxxiv. 
8.     According  to  the  latter  passage  Josiah  began 
in  the  twelfth  year  of  his  reign  "to  purge  Judah 
and   Jerusalem,"  while  according  to  Jer.    i.  2, 
our  prophet  commenced  his  ministry  in  the  13th 
year  of  Josiah.     Now,  since  according  to  iii.  6, 
the  present  discourse  belongs  at  any  rate  to  the 
time  of  Josiah,  and  from  its  position  and  con- 
tents, probably  to  the  beginning  of  Jeremiah's 
prophetic  labors,  the  prophet  doubtless,  as  Chr. 
B.  MicHAELis,  RosENMUELLER,  HiTzio  and  Graf, 
have  also  perceived,    describes  in  vers.  4  and  5 
the  conduct  of  the  people  in  the  time  of  Josiah's 
reformation,  to  which  there   is  also  a  very  dis- 
tinct allusion   in  ver.  10.     The  prophet,   there- 
fore, says  henceforth,  because  really  even  at 
the  time  when  he  proclaimed  this  divine  message, 
such  voices    were  still  heard  from  the  midst  of 
the  people.     We  need  not,  therefore,  render  it 
in  the  sense  of  haud  ita  pridem,  nor  shall  cry,  in 
the   future.      On  companion  of  my  youth, 
comp.   Prov.  ii.  17. 

Ver.  5.  Will  he  then  everlastingly  mark  ? 
.  .  .  prevail.  In  these  words  of  the  first  hemis- 
tich is  a  slight  reproach.  It  is  as  though  Isi-ael's 
misfortune  was  due  to  the  pertinacious  anger  of 
Jehovah. — The  sense  of  the  second  half  of  the 
verse  is  this: — the  acts  of  the  people  are  in  contra- 
diction to  their  words,  that  the  latter  were  not 
honestly  meant,  but  were  false  and  deceptive. 
Observe  the  antithesis  of  saidst  and  didst. 
Comp.  a  similar  want  of  uprightness  on  the  part 


of  proverbial  character  (comp.  1  Sam.  xxvi.  25), 
it  is  evident  that  the  idea  of  a  struggle  lies  at 
the  basis  of  the  antithesis  mentioned,  and  didst 
prevail  intimates  that  the  struggle  will  be  de- 
cided in  favor  of  the  evil. 


DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  That  a  man  live  a  second  time  with  a  wo- 
man whom  he  has   divorced,  and  who  has  been 
the    wife    of  another   man,  is    regarded  as   an 
abomination  which   corrupts  the  land.     In  what 
does    this    abomination   consist?     Not    that  the 
woman  has  previously  been  the  wife  of  another, 
for  then  a  divorced  woman  is  not  permitted  to 
marry    the   second  time,  and    all  marriages  of 
widows  would  be  an  abomination.     In  this  case 
then  the  abomination  must  consist  in  this,  that 
the  man  takes  back  a  woman  who  had  first  been 
his    wife,  but   afterwards    another's.       Not   the 
series  A-fB-f C,  etc.,  is  forbidden,  but  the  series 
A4-B-(-A.     But  why  is  this  ?     Michaelis,  (i/o*. 
Rechte.,  1  S.  241,  2),  after  his  manner  seeks  the 
ratio  legis  in  this,  that  if   the  re-marriage  were 
permitted,  the  second  husband's  life    would  not 
be  safe,  should  the   old  love  be  revived,  or  that 
the  chastity  of  the  woman  would  not  be  safe,  her 
feminine  modesty  not  being  easily  able  to  resist 
the  advances   of  one  to  whom  she  had  formerly 
yielded.       But   this   is   superficial    talk.       The 
matter  must  lie  deeper  than  this,  and  be  founded 
in  the  laws  of  a  higher  corporeality,  which  are 
still  far  too  little  known  to  us.     It  is  remarkable 
that  according  to  the  Koran  (Sur.  II.,   226),  a 
man  is  at  liberty  to  take  back  a  divorced  wife 
only  in  case  she  has  been  in  the  meantime  the  wife 
of  another  man.   Comp.  Michaelis,  Mos.  Rechte., 
I.  S.  237. 

2.   "  Quodlibet   igitur   studendum 
ut 


of  the  people,  ii.  35. — '73'ir»2  didst  prevail,  is 
here  used  as  in  xx.  7,  9.  Comp.  Gen.  xxxii.  28; 
1  Sam.  xxvi.  25;  1  Kings  xxii.  22.  It  is  strange 
here  that  the  preceding  verbs  do  not  appear  to 
involve  the  idea  of   effort,  as  is  the  case  in  the 

other  passages  and  as  the  meaning  of  Sd'  (to  be 
grown,  to  be  able,  to  set  through)  seems  to  re- 
quire. But  leaving  out  of  account  that  HB';^  and 
ly  following  one  another,  seem  to  have  a  sort 


Quodlibet  igitur  studendum  unicuique  est, 
evitetur  peccatum  sicut  fornicatio,  quia  per  pec- 
catum  quodlibet  qusedam  cum  aliqua  creaturarum 
admit titur  for nicatio,  per  quam  membra  Christi  fiunt 
membra  iniquitatis,  duoque  fiunt  in  came  una." 
Ghislerus. 

3.  "How  great  is  the  goodness  of  God,  when 
the  sinner  wilfully  thrusts  Him  away  from 
him,  yet  God  receives  him  again  into  His  favor 
when  he  truly  repents!  Ezek.  xviii.  21,  22." 
Starke. 

4.  '■'■  Reverter e  ad  ms  et  mundaberis,  reparaberis, 
si  confundaris  tibi  et  refundaris  mihi."  AuausriN. 
contra  Faustum,  I.  15,  i.  f. 

5.  "The  feeling  of  need  to  call  God  Father 
and  beseech  Him  to  save,  is  not  an  infallible 
sign  of  true  penitence,  Isa.  xxvi.  16."     Starke. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 


The  mercy  of  God  to  sinners  is, — 1.  On  the  one 
side  endless  (the  prohibition  of  re-marriage  with 
a  former  wife,  who  has  been  married  to  another, 
— the  sinner  is  not  dismissed,  but  is  voluntarily 
apostate,  sin  is  not  a  conjugal,  but  an  adulter- 
ous relation, — still  the  Lord  is  ready  to  receive 
the  sinner  back);  2.  On  the  other  hand  limited, 
in  so  far  that  it  is  connected  st«-ictly  with  the 
fulfilment  of  a  condition  (not  a  hypocritical  re- 
turn with  fine  words,  but  only  sincere,  earnest 
return,  with  fruits  meet  for  repentance,  can  ren- 
der us  partakers  of  His  grace). 


48 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


2.  7^e  call  to  return  in  the  Past. 
III.  6-10.* 

6  The  Lord  [Jehovah]  said  also  unto  me  in  the  days  of  Josiah  the  king,  Hast 
thou  seen  that  which  backsliding^  Israel  hath  done  ?     She  hath  gone  up  upon  every 

7  high  mountain  and  under  every  green  tree,  and  there  hath  played  the  harlot.  And 
I  said  after  she  had  done  all  these  things.  Turn  thou  unto  me !  But  she  returned 
not.     And  her  treacherous  sister  [Faithless,  her  sister]  Judah  saw  it. 

8  And  I  saw,  when  for  all  the  causes  whereby  backsliding  Israel  committed  adul- 
tery I  had  put  her  away,  and  given  her  a  bill  of  divorce  ;^  yet  her  treacherous*  sis- 

9  ter  Judah  feared  not,  but  went  and  played  the  harlot  also.  And  it  came  to  pass* 
through  the  lightness  [correctly :  cry]  of  her  whoredom,  that  she  defiled  the  land,® 

10  and  committed  adultery  with  stones  and  with  stocks  [wood].  And  yet  for  [notwith- 
standing] all  this  her  treacherous  sister  Judah  hath  not  turned  to  me  with  her  whole 
heart,  but  feignedly  [hypocritically ;  lit.  in  falsehood]  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

*  [As  this  passage  presents  no  signs  of  poetry  I  'nave  followed  Blaynet,  Notes,  and  Henderson  in  giving  it  the  form  of 
prose.  Umbreit  prints  it  in  parallelisms,  while  Wordsworth  renders  not  only  these  verses  but  the  whole  chapter  as  prose. 
— S.  R.  A.1 

*  Ver.  6. — n3tyO  rejection,  revolt,  apostacy,  the  abstract  for  the  concrete ;  comp.  Naegelsb.  6r.,  §  19, 1.    The  word  in 

T  \   : 
this  sense  is  peculiar  to  this  chapter;  comp.  viii.  11, 12.    Comp.  also  viii.  5. 

3  Ver.  8. — nTirr'TS.     The  plural  here  only,  comp.  Deut.  xxiv.  1,  3  ;  Isa.  1. 1. 
T        '.    •  : 

*  Ver.  8.— mj3  is  related  to  miJ3  as  331ty  (vers.  14,  22)  to  riDK'D.    On  the  form  comp.  Naegelsb.  dr.,  g  47, 1; 

T"  T         T  T  T  '-      : 

EWALD,  ?  188,  b. 

5  Ver.  9. — riTll  here  as  in  1  Sam.  xiii.  22 :  xxv.  20,  and  elsewhere,  stands  for  TTV    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Cfr.,  ?  88,  7,  Anm. 

6  Ver.  9.— I'lXrrnX  njnni,  a  frequent  paratactlc  construction.  Comp.  I'im  1iyj7'31i  Gen.  xxii.  24.  Comp. 
NAEaELSB.  6r.,  g  87,  7 ;  ?  ill,  1  b.' ' 


EXEQETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  theme  of  this  strophe  is  "  Return  unto 
Me"  (ver.  7,  comp.  ver.  10).  It  is  however 
shown  how  this  call  hitherto,  in  the  past,  has 
been  heeded,  or  rather  not  heeded,  by  Is- 
rael and  Judah.  The  main  regard  of  the  pro- 
phet is  naturally  directed  to  Judah.  Israel 
serves  only  as  a  foil ;  on  the  background  of  the 
transgression  of  Israel,  which  should  have  served 
for  a  warning  to  Judah,  the  sin  of  the  latter 
stands  out  still  more  glaringly. 

Ver.  G.  And  Jehovah  .  .  .  played  the  har- 
lot. If  as  cannot  be  disputed  there  is  a  close 
connection  between  this  strophe  and  the  pre- 
ceding, it  is  evident  that  this  inscription  is  not 
in  place.  For  it  would  indicate  the  beginning 
of  a  larger  section,  while  here,  on  the  contrary, 
there  is  intimate  connection.  The  greater  sec- 
tion begins  at  ver.  1.     The  isolated  and  puzzling 

*irDX7  requires  a  sentence  before  it,  where  then 
this  inscription  belongs.  The  reason  of  its 
transposition  from  ver.  1  may  be,  as  Graf  sup- 
poses, that  ver.  10  contains  an  evident  allusion 
to  the  reformation  of  Josiah.  But  he  overlooks 
the  fact  that  such  an  allusion  is  contained  also 
in  vers.  4  and  5. — Upon  every  high  moun- 


tain. Comp.  ver.  13;  ii.  20.— "'jmi.  If  this  is 
not  the  2d  Pers.  Fern.,  which  would  be  possible 
only  by  a  violent  change  of  person,  the  forma- 
tion is  to  be  explained  either  according  to  the 

analogy  of  'Cpptt'O  (Jer.  xlvii.  7)  as  an  Arama- 
isni  (comp.  Ewald,  |  191,  c,  and  Anm.)  or  ac- 
cording to  the  analogy  of    ''HTpP  (Jer.  xviii.  23) 

as  a  n 7~  formation  with  prominence  of  the  ra- 
dical Yod  (comp.  Ewald,  g  221,  c).  Olshausew 
[S.  510,  A7im.)  at  once  assumes  an  error. 

Ver.  7.  And  I  said  .  .  .  sister  Judah  saw- 
it.     It  is  not  necessary,  with  Graf  and  others  to 

take  "1QJ<1  in  the  sense  of  "I  thought,"  and 
2Vdr\  as  3d  Pers.,  since  the  Lord  not  only 
thought  this  but  really  said  it  to  Israel.  This  "Re- 
turn to  Me  "  is  the  underlying  theme  of  all  pro- 
phetic admonition  (Jer.  xxxi.  20).  In  this  passage 
it  is  emphatic.  It  points  back  to  the  Yetreturn 
to  me  in  ver.  1,  and  with  the  following  return- 
ed not  represents  the  main  thought  of  the  sec- 
tion. In  form  D1K?n  is  like  SdiP  in  ver.  5 — 
And  Faithless,  her  sister  Judah.  To  take 
miJlS  as  subst.  absir.  corresponding  to  riD-ltyO 
=  faithlessness,  would  form  a  fine  parallelism; 
but  we  should  then  expect  mi:i3.  The  form  7lDj5 


CHAP.  III.  6-10. 


49 


with  firm  1  (11^3    even  or  HT'i'a  only  here  and 

in  ver.  10)  designates  everywhere  else  only  cow 
creta.  Comp.  Ewald,  |  152,  6.  The  position 
of  the  word  and  the  absence  of  the  article  seem 
to  intimate  that  it  is  intended  for  a  proper  name, 
and  we  have  therefore  written  it  with  an  initial 
capital. — The  Keri  ^")n]  is  unnecessary,  nxini 
does  not  indeed  occur  elsewhere,  but  nj-t^jl  does 
(1  Sam.  xvii.  42 ;  2  Ki.  v.  21 ;  Job  xlii.  16 ; 
Ezek.  xviii.  14,  Keri,  28) ;  and  ns<"}31  (1  Sam. 
X.  14)  leaving  out  of  account  the  analogous  forms 
of  other  verbs,  ex.gr.   nK;T;ni,     Jer.  xxxii.    20; 

xxxvi.  5,  26,  etc.  — The  question  whether  it  is 
to  be  translated  "and  Judah  saw  it,"  or  whe- 
ther the  object  seen  is  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing sentence  beginning  with  '3  depends  on  the 
other,   whether  the  following   >*^N1  is  genuine 

and  original. 

Ver.  8.   (A.nfl  C  saw)  .  .  ,  played  the  har- 
lot also.      The  construction:    "I   saw,  that  I, 
because  she  played  the  harlot,  had  dismissed  Is- 
rael, and  I  gave  her  a  bill  of  divorce,  and  Judah 
feared  not,"  is  not  so  devoid  of  meaning,  as  Qbaf 
supposes,  if  we  change  the  paratactic  mode  of 
expression  into  the   syntactic.     The  main  object 
of  saw^  is  feared  not,     All  that  lies  between 
has  the  force  of  a  parenthetical  clause  of  adver- 
sative signification:   "And  I  saw,  that,  although 
I  had  dismissed  Israel,  and  given  her  a  bill  of 
divorce,   yet  Judah  feared  not"     Comp,  Nae- 
OELSB.  CrT  ,  §  111',  1,  Anm.     But  at  all  events  the 
connection  of  verses  7  and  8  is  interrupted  in  a 
very  awkward  way  by  And  I  saw.     Verse  7 
concludes  in  this  way,  that  Judah  had  seen  how 
Israel  had  not  returned  at  the  call  of  Jehovah, 
and  then  ver.  8  designates  as  the  object  of  the 
divine  seeing  what,  according  to  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  course  of  thought,  vers.  8  b,  9,  10, 
must  he  the  object  seen  by  Judah.     For  the  pro- 
phet draws  a  parallel  between  the  behaviour  of 
Israel  and  of  Judah.     Israel,   first  apostate,  is 
called  tc  repent,  but  returns  not  and  is  rejected. 
Judah  sees  this  and — also  does  not  return.     It  is 
evidently  in  this  connection  very  essential  that 
Judah  should  have   perceived  not  only  the  im- 
penitence 01  Israel,  but  also  the  punishment  he 
thus  incurred.     The  very  sight  of  this  destruc- 
tive judgment  should  have  brought  Judah  to  sin- 
cere   repentance      Judah's   seeing    the    impeni- 
tence, but  not  the  judgment,  the  latter  being  as- 
cribed tc  the;  Lord,   introduces  an  inappropriate 
element  intc  the  connection,  although  we  cannot 
say  that  an  incorrect  idea  would   be  thus  origi- 
nated,    li  hcwevei  we  omit   the   words,   and   I 
saw.  we  have  a  perfectly  clear  and  satisfactory 
connection      The  critical  authorities  indeed  give 
no  safe   support  tc  its  rejection.     Only  Jerome 
omits  the    word,  but    whether  on  MS.  evidence, 
may  be    questioned      He  is  followed  by  Luther 
in   his   translation,   and   Gulcher.   Symb.  Bag., 
CI.  1.  Fasc.  1       The  LXX.    Chaldee  and  Arabic 
versions  certainly  found  it  in  their  copies  of  the 
original      But  the  Syriac  appears  to  have  read 
^'."'^•J     the  same  word  twice,  and  this  Ewald  re- 
gards as   the  correct  reading. — If    ><"1>{1    is  an 
error  it  is  at  any   rate  a  very  ancient  one.     Ac- 
cording to  the  rule  of  preferring  the  more  diffi- 
cult reading,  it  is  certainly  safer  to  retain  it,  al- 
4 


though  it  is  easy  to  conceive  a  reason  for  its 
insertion.  If  we  strike  it  out,  the  words  "her 
sister  ludah  saw  "  belong  to  the  following  sen- 
tence, and  the  second  hemistich  of  ver.  7  con- 
sists merely  of  the  words  "But  she  returned 
not."  The  brevity  of  this  clause  may  have  been 
the  occasion  of  connecting  the  words  "and 
Faithless,"  etc.,  with  ver.  7,  but  then  it  became 
necessary  to  introduce  a  verb  in  the  beginning  of 
ver.  8,  as  N'lXI  or  NIDI. — For  all  the  causes. 

"?^  before  nnx  and  "IK'N  after  it,  are  found 
here  only.  Elsewhere  nni<  is  always  con- 
nected with  a  following  genitive  (Gen.  xxi.  11, 
25;  xxvi.  32.  Exod.  xviii.  8)  or  with  sufiSxes 
(Josh.  xiv.  6)  i'^  expresses  the  multitude  of 
the  adulteries  (hence  Graf  suitably  translates 
"  alldieweilen  "  =  for  all  the  causes).  "It^X  is 
rendered  necessary  to  the  connection  of  nnx 
with  a  finite  verb.  As  a  relative  particle  in  the 
widest  sense,  (Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  80,  1) 
it  involves  here  the  meaning  of  eo  quod,  thereby 
that,  (on  the  ground  of  all  the  occasions  that 
have  been  afforded  thereby,  that,  etc. ) 

Ver.  9.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  with 
wood.  7p  is  elsewhere  always  written  plene. 
On  account  of  this  unusual  defective  manner  of 
writing  the  ancient  translations  seem  to  have  de- 
rived the  word  from  SSp;  for  the  Vulgate 
translates  " facilitate  fornicationis  sum  contamina- 
vit  terram;  LXX.  /cat  eyevEro  e'lc  oMev  y  iropvEia 
"■v-r^r,  Arab.,  '■'■fuit  fornicatio  ejus  cum  nihilo ;" 
Chald.  "  levia  videbantur  idola  in  o cults  ejus." — 
But  this  defective  manner  of  writing  is  not  a 
sufficient  reason  for  departing  from  the  primary 
meaning  (comp.  Gen.  xxvii.  22),  nor  is  this  in 

itself  doubtful.     Only  we  must  not  take  Sp  in 
the  sense  of  "report"  (Gen.  xlv.  16),  but  the 
prophet  means  to  say  that  so  far  as  the  land 
extends,  so  far  also  whoredom  with  idols,  as  a 
heaven-crying  sin,  defiles  the  land  (comp.  Gen. 
iv.  10).     It  may  not  be  objected  to  this,  that  the 
cry  for  the  vengeance  of  heaven  does  not  defile 
the  land,  for  this  cry  is  not  an  immediate,  but 
a   mediate   provocation   of    the    divine  justice ; 
that   is,    by    their   very    impudent    appearance 
(this   is    their   cry),    their    sin   challenges    the 
justice  of  God. — As  to  the  construction  with  the 
accusative,  we  need  neither  to  read  ^JHill  with 
Ewald,  nor  to  strike   out  ilX  with  Graf.     For 
the  intransitive  verb  may  be  taken  in  a  passive 
sense,  and  accordingly,  as  the  passive,  may  have 
an  accusative  of  the  proximate  object  which  may 
be  regarded  as  dependent  on  an  ideal  transitive, 
^jn  is  to  be  desecrated  (comp.  Fubrst),  therefore 
properly  rendered  et  profanatum  est  terram.    This 
pro/anatum   est  is,  however,    properly  no  more 
than  profanare  in  a  passive-perfect  statement ; 
et  factum  est  profanare  terram.      Comp.    ^T  '?X 
■^^^lI"^??  (^  Sam.  xi,  25;  coll.  1  Sam.  viii.  6:  See 
Naegklsb.  Gr.,  ^69,  Anm.    1;  |  100,    2.)     Cer- 
tainly pxn  ^Jnn  may  also  be  said  (Ps.  cvi.  38.) 
Ver.    10.     Further,    notwithstanding   all 
this  .  .  .  but  hypocritically,  saith  Jehovah. 
— If  we  should  refer  the  words  "Further,"  etc.,  to 
what  immediately  precedes,  they  would   retain 


oO 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


no  meaning,  for  it  is  absurd  to  say  that  Judah 
in  spite  of  lier  idolatry  had  yet  not  repented. 
They  refer  rather  to  ver.  8,  a,  where  it  was  said 
that  the  Lord  had  repudiated  Israel.  On  this 
account  a  double  accusative  thought  is  added; 
(1)  "feared  not,"  etc.,  ver.  8  b.;  (2)  "notwith- 
standing all  this,"  ver.  10.  Although  .Judah  had 
witnessed  the  punishment  of  Israel,  she  did  two 
things;  first,  she  continued  the  whoredom  of 
idolatry,  and  then  sought  to  appease  Jehovah 
by  a  hypocritical  conversion,  by  which  the  pro- 
phet apparently  alludes  to  the  reformation  of 
Josiah,  which  was  entered  on  in  earnest  by  the 
king,  but  not  by  the  people. 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  God  in  His  judgments  has  in  view  not 
merely  those  who  are  primarily  affected  by 
them,  but  those  who  witness  them  also.  If  the 
latter  do  not  allow  themselves  thus  to  be  warned, 
their  guilt  increases  just  in  the  proportion  that 
the  judgment  might  have  been  an  impulse  and  a 
help  to  repentance.  Comp.  2  Kings  xvii.  18; 
Prov.  xxviii.  14;  1  Cor.  x.  6,  11 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  4-6, 
(vTrdSeiyfxa  ^sTCkdvTuv  aaefislv  te^eikuc,  ver.  6. ) 

2.  "Blessed  is  he  who  is  rendered  wise  by  the 
losses  of  others."  Cramer.  Comp.  Jer.  xviii. 
6-8:  Zech.  i.  3. 

3.  Ghislbrus  remarks  that  the  present  pas- 
sage has  been  frequently  interpreted  allegori- 
cally.  Thus  the  Abbot  Jo.\chim  de  Flore  {ob. 
1202,  Commentary  on  Jeremiah,  printed  at 
Venice,  1525,  and  Cologne,  1577),  interprets  it 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  church  (comp.  Herzog's 
Real-Enc,  VI.  S.,  713).  Nicolaus  de  Lyra  in- 
terpreted it  of  the  rich  monastic  orders,  and  the 


mendicant  friars;  Cardinal  Hugo  (deSt.Caro,  one 
of  the  inquisitors  of  the  Abbot  Joachim,  o6.  1263), 
of  the  "illiterati  et  sseculares  pravi,"  and  of  the 
"  improbi  reliffiosorum  et  clericorum  et  literatorum." 

4.  Origen  also  treats  of  this  passage  (iii.  6-10) 
in  his  fourth  homily  on  Jeremiah  (in  Jerome  it 
is  the  fourteenth).  He  understands  by  Israel, 
the  whole  Jewish  people,  and  by  Judah,  the  Gen- 
tile church  which,  in  spite  of  the  judgments  in- 
flicted on  Israel  before  their  eyes,  had  in  the 
course  of  time  fallen  into  many  sins  and  errors. 

5.  Ephrem  Syrus  emphasizes  the  encourage- 
ment contained  in  ver.  7  ("Return  to  me  "),  when 
he  says  (Tom.  1.  In  threnis  de  div.  retributione,  ac- 
cording to  Ghisler.),  "Otniseranda  anima  quous- 
que  torpescis  et  de  salute  animuvi  despondes?  Quam 
veniam  in  die  judicii  assequeris,  quuni  salvator per 
prophetam   exclamet  dicens  :  ad  me  reverterel'" 

6.  On  ver.  10.  Though  the  reform  of  Josiah 
was  only  a  pseudo-revival,  it  furnishes  us  with 
the  means  of  judging  how  deep  a  genuine  revival 
must  go.  If  thy  right  eye  ofl"end  thee,  pluck 
it  out  and  cast  it  from  thee  (Matth.  v.  29;  xviii. 
8,  9-  Markix.  43-48). 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  The  severity  and  ,the  goodness  of  God  in 
His  dealings  with  the  Jewish  nation  (Rom.  xi. 
22):  (1)  His  severity  in  His  judgments  upon 
Israel;  (2)  His  goodness  in  His  constantly  re- 
peated invitations  to  return  (ver.  7.) 

2.  The  difl"erence  between  false  and  true  re- 
pentance. (1)  False  repentance;  (a)  its  ground 
— servile  fear;   [b)  its  effect — external    reform. 

2)  True  repentance ;  (a)  its  ground — love  to  God ; 
b)  its  eflfect — honest  fruits  of  sanctification. 


3.  The  call  to  Return  in  the  Future  (iii.  11-25.) 
a.  How  and  whom  God  will  call, 
m.  11-17. 

11  And  Jehovah  said  to  me,  Apostasy  Israel 
Has  justified  her  soul  before  Faithless  Judah. 

12  Go  and  cry  these  words  to  the  north,  and  say. 
Return'  Apostasy  Israel,  saith  Jehovah. 

I  will  not  lower  my  face^  against  you, 
For  I  am  merciful,  saith  Jehovah, 
I  do  not  bear  a  grudge  for  ever.* 

13  Only  acknowledge  thy  sin, 

That  thou  hast  transgressed  against  the  Lord  thy  God, 

And  hast  run  hither  and  thither  to  the  strangers  under  every  green  tree, 

And  ye  have  not  heeded  my  voice,  saith  Jehovah. 

14  Return,  apostate  children,  saith  Jehovah, 

For  I  am  your  husband*  and  take  you  one  from  a  city, 
And  two  from  a  tribe  and  bring  you  towards  Zion. 

15  And  give  you  pastors  after  my  heart. 

And  they  shall  pasture  you  with  understanding^  and  judgment.® 


CHAP.  III.  11-17. 


51 


16  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  ye  shall  multiply, 
And  spread  in  the  land  in  those  days,  saith  Jehovah, 

It  will  no  more  be  said,  Ark  of  the  covenant  of  Jehovah  ! 
And  it  will  no  more  come  to  mind,' 
Nor  will  they  remember  it  or  esteem  it ; 
Also  they  will  not  make  it  again 

17  At  that  time  Jerusalem  will  be  called  Jehovah's  throne , 
And  all  the  nations  shall  gather  to  it, 

To  the  name  of  Jehovah,  to  Jerusalem, 

And  will  no  more  follow  the  perverseness  of  their  evil  heart. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  [Ver.  11. — Blatney,  Notes  and  Henderson,  render  vers.  11,  12  as  prose. — S.  R.  A.] 

8  [Ver.  12. — Henderson  renders :  I  will  not  continue  to  frown  upon  you. — Notes  :  I  will  not  turn  a  frowning  face  upoi 
you.— S.  R.  A.]. 

3  Ver.  12.— nSIE'i  apart  from  the  assonant  n^tyO  the  paragogic  He  is  neyer  attached  to  forms  with  vowel  terminations. 

T  \  : 
Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  23  ,  Anm.  5 

*[Ver.  14. — HiTziG,  Umbreit  and  others,  translate  "lord,  master."  Henderson  and  Notes  follow  De  Wette,  Gesenius 
and  others  in  rendering  "  I  have  rejected  you ;"  Notes  also  renders,  "  yet  will  I  receive  you  again." — S.  R.  A.]. 

»  Ver.  15.— nj^T  nom.verbaU.  Comp.  Exod.  ii.  4;  Isa.  xi.  9;  xxviii.  9. 

•  Ver.  15. — b'iltyn  Inf.  abs.,  with  substantive  meaning  as  Prov.  i.  3  ;  xxi.  16  ;  Dan.  i.  17.     On  the  ace.  adverb.  Comp. 

■■    ■      T 

Naegeisb.  Gr.,  ?  70,  k. 

7  Ver.  16. — ^31.  The  Kal  with  3  here  only;  the  Hiphil  is  so  construed  in  Ps.  xx.  8;  Am.  vi.  10;  Isa.  xlviii.  1,  analo- 
gously to  the  construction  of  verba  sentiendi  with  3.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  112,  5,  a.  On  3*7" 7j?  TViy"-  Comp.  li 
50;  Isa.  IxT.  17. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  purport  of  this  and  the  following  strophe 
points  evidently  to  the  future.     We  find  the  call 

^2W,  nS'K'  here  also,  addressed  in  the  first  in- 
stance to  the  Israel  of  the  ten  tribes,  then  to  the 
whole  people ;  but  he  who  calls  has  the  conscious- 
ness, that  no  longer,  as  hitherto,  is  he  preaching 
to  deaf  ears.  The  times  are  changed.  Israel 
repents,  and  a  period  opens  before  him  of  un- 
anticipated outward  and  spiritual  glory.  The 
prophet  comprises  in  his  view  first  the  past  and 
the  future,  then  the  present,  for  the  same  rea- 
son that  he  treats  of  the  present  so  much  more 
at  length;  he  has  the  present  Israel  most  at 
heart;  it  is  his  object  to  subordinate  the  Past  and 
the  Future  as  means.  Before,  therefore,  he  en- 
ters in  detail  into  the  present  condition  of  things, 
he  seeks  by  brief  and  significant  intimations  con- 
cerning the  past  and  future,  to  make  an  impres- 
sion on  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 

Ver.  11.  And  Jehovah  .  .  .  Judah.  It  re- 
sults from  the  preceding  section  that  Judah,  be- 
sides the  aids  afi'orded  by  the  temple  and  the 
legitimate  royalty,  had  also  the  example  of  Israel 
before  her  as  a  powerful  impulse  to  amendment. 
The  consequence  of  leaving  these  advantages  un- 
employed, is  that  Israel  appears  more  righteous 
than  Judah.  Comp.  Ezek.  xvi.  51,  52,  the  reverse 
of  the  expression,  KaraapiviLv,  Matth.  xii.  41, 
coll.  ver.  1^7.  This  point,  favorable  to  Israel, 
serves  the  prophet  as  a  point  of  support  for  a 
consolatory  prophecy  which  is  addressed  pri- 
marily to  Israel. 

Ver.  12.  Go  and  cry  these  words  toTwards 
the  north  .  .  .  I. do  not  bear  a  grudge  for 
ever. — Go  and  cry,  comp.  ii.  2. — To'wards 
the  north.  Comp.  ver.  18.  The  prophet  is  to 
cry  towards  the  north  because  Israel  was  carried 
captive  into  Assyria,  towards  the  north.   Comp. 


xvi.  15;  xxiii.  8;  xxxi.  8. — Lower  my  face, 
comp.  Gen.  iv.  5,  6.  The  expression  denotes 
that  lowering  of  the  countenance,  which  is  ac- 
companied by  the  look  which  Homer  portrays  in 
the  expression  vir66pa  Iduv. — Bear  a  grudge, 
comp.  ver.  5. 

Ver.  13.  Only  acknowledge  .  .  .  heeded 
my  voice.  The  only  condition  of  the  grace 
promised  in  ver.  12  is  acknowledgment  of  sin. 
The  prophet  of  course  means  that  fruitful  ac- 
knowledgment which  includes  corresponding 
action,   comp.  Luke  xii.  10,   11. — "'ITSm,  comp. 

ii.  23,  25,  36  {'h]P))  \lit.  scattered  (thy  ways)]. 

Ver.  14.  Return  .  .  .  tow^ards  Zion.     The 

old  call  in  a  new  form.  No  longer  Apostasy 
Israel  is  addressed  (so  Israel  alone  is  called, 
comp.  ver.  6),  but  apostate  children.  This 
not  only  sounds  more  comprehensive,  but  seems 
besides  in  ver.  22,  to  be  the  common  designation 
of  both  halves  of  the  people.  Observe  further, 
that  the  following  strophe,  ver.  18,  begins  at 
once  with  the  declaration  that  Judah  and  Israel 
would  come  together.  This  seems  to  be  the  per- 
formance of  the  command  given  them  in  ver. 
14.  Finally  in  vers.  14  and  17,  the  possession  of 
Zion  and  Jerusalem  is  spoken  of.  Should  Judah 
be  excluded  from  this  possession?  Evidently 
then  the  prophet  in  vers.  11-13.  turns  first  to 
Israel,  who  had  the  preference,  because  less  was 
given  him ;  but,  although  he  does  not  expressly 
name  Judah,  wishing  to  excite  her  to  emulation 
by  the  promise  of  salvation  apparently  addressed 
to  Israel  alone  (comp.  napa^tjlovv,  Rom.  xi.  14), 
yet  in  substance  the  pictures  of  the  two  kingdoms 
in  the  prophetic  perspective,  pass  impercepti- 
bly into  one  another,  vers.  14-17.  This  strophe 
is  thus  preliminary  to  the  following,  in  which  the 
union  of  Israel  and  Judah  is  the  fundamental 

idea. — For  I  am  your  husband,  etc.,  7^3  (as 
verb,  denom.  ^^to  be  Lord,   possessor,  especially 


02 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


a  spouse,  to  take  a  wife),  is  certainly  elsewhere 
construed  with  an  accusative  (Isa.  xxvi.  13 ;  liv.  1 ; 

Ixii.  4),  or  with  S  (1  Chron.  iv.  22).  But  the  con- 
struction with  3  is  possible,  because  the  verbs  of 
ruling  (comp.  Gen.  iii.  16;  Deut.  xv.  6;  Judges 
Tiii.  22)  are  thus  connected.  The  explanation 
of  KiMCHi,  ScHLEUSSNER,  ScHNURRERaud  Others, 

who  would  take  7^3  here  as  in  xxxi.  32,  ac- 
cording to  the  doubtful  analogy  of  the  Arabic 
(See  Hengstenberq,  ChristoL,  II.,  S.  41G),  in 
the  meaning  "to  be  disgusted,  to  disdain,"  is 
admissible  neither  here  nor  in  xxxi.,  32  [vide 
ad  loc),  and  the  less  in  this  place,  that  we  are 
obliged  to  take   '3  in  the  sense  of  although.     It 

is  also  grammatically  incorrect  to  take  ^T\l^l  in 
the  sense  of  the  future,  as  some  do,  following  the 
example  of  the  LXX.  [KaTaKvpiemuv/j.uv).  Rather 
does  the  Lord  ground  His  promise  of  blessing  on 
the  fact  that  He  is  Israel's  husband,  and  has 
never  ceased  and  never  will  cease  to  be  so.  Comp. 
the  remarks  on  ii.  1-3. — One  from  a  city,  etc. 
EiCHHORN,  EwALD,  Graf  Understand  this:  "and 
even  if  so  few  fulfil  the  condition  of  true  return," 
(named  in  ver.  13).  But  to  the  ear  it  would 
then  be  definitely  stated  that  only  a  few  would 
return.  We  should  then  also  expect  the  anti- 
thesis of  HDO,  ni3X  r\"'3  or  £33^?.  The  expres- 
sions city  and  tribe  (comp.  Gen.  x.  5;  xii.  3; 
Ps.  xxii.  28;  xcvi.  7),  intimate  rather  that  the 
prophet  has  the  cities  and  tribes  of  the  heathen 
in  view.  He  would  evidently  indicate  the  great 
scattering  of  Israel,  cast  out  among  the  heathen, 
and  would  say  that  great  as  this  scattering  was, 
if  ex.  ffr.,  there  were  only  one  Jew  in  a  city,  or 
only  two  in  a  whole  nation;  yet  these  members 
of  the  holy  family,  almost  vanishing  amid  the 
mass  of  the  heathen,  should  not  be  forgotten. 
Thus  also  KiMCHi  and  Rosenmueller.  [Notes 
and  Henderson.] 

Ver.  15.  And  give  you  pastors  .  .  .  under- 
standing and  judgment.  The  promise  that 
Israel  shall  be  gathered  out  of  his  dispersion 
(ver.  14)  contains  an  allusion  to  the  final  period, 
and  this  point  is  now  brought  out  more  clearly. 
Pastors  after  God's  heart  can  be  those  only,  who 
are  no  longer  as  hitherto  (comp.  Hos.  viii.  4), 
governed  inwardly  or  outwardly  by  the  spirit 
of  the  world,  but  who  allow  themselves  to  be 
guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God  alone,  and  are  there- 
fore fit  instruments  for  the  realization  of  God's 
kingdom  upon  earth.  There  is  here  an  unmis- 
takable allusion  to  David,  the  man  after  God's 
own  heart  (1  Sam.  xiii.  14;  Acts  xiii.  22),  and 
at  the  same  time  the  representative  of  the  idea 
of  God's  kingdom  in  its  earthly  realization 
(2  Sam.  vii.),  as  well  as  to  Solomon,  who  next 
after  David,  prayed  for  and  received  wisdom 
and  judgment  from  God  (2  Chron.  i.  10,  11). 
The  explanation  of  the  older  commentators,  who 
understand  by  the  pastors,  Zerubbabel,  Joshua, 
Ezra,  or  the  Apostles  and  their  successors,  may 
have  this  much  of  truth  in  it  that  the  return 
under  Zerubbabel  or  the  Christian  Church  may 
be  numbered  among  the  beginnings  of  the  ful- 
fillment of  this  promise.  At  any  rate  we  must 
understand  spiritual  as  well  as  worldly  pastors 


(TToi/iti'tx   2-aioi>).     Comp.  x.  21;    xxiii.  4;    Ezek. 
xxxiv.  23  ;   John  x.  1. 

Vers.  16  and  17.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  .  .  .  evil  heart.  These  verses  portray  in 
a  few  but  expressive  traits  the  character  of  that 
future  epoch.  Its  characteristic  feature  will  be 
this,  that  in  the  place  of  a  merely  representa- 
tive there  will  be  a  real  and  therefore,  exten- 
sively and  intensively,  an  infinitely  active  pre- 
sence of  God.  The  pastors  of  understanding 
and  judgment  will  bring  about  a  period  of  pros- 
perity to  which  it  is  an  essential  element,  that 
Israel  from  the  little  heap,  which  according  to 
ver.  14  it  will  be  on  its  return  to  the  land,  will 
become  as  to  numbers  a  respectable  nation. 
Comp.  xxiii.  3,  4;  Isa.  xlix.  18-21;  liv.  1-3. 
As  in  the  beginning  of  the  human  race,  as  the 
basis  of  all  further  steps  towards  the  attainment 
of  its  destiny,  the  command  was  given  to  be 
fruitful  aud  multiply  (H")'   ^13,  Gen.  i.  28 ;  ix. 

1),  of  which  we  are  reminded  by  the  sound  of 
the  words  here  (DD'^SI  131^),  and  as  the  family 
of  Jacob  in  Egypt  had  first  to  develop  into  a 
great  people  before  it  could  be  the  receptacle  of 
the  fundamental  revelation  of  the  kingdom,  so 
according  to  this  passage  the  Israel  of  the  future 
is  first  to  become  numerous,  in  order  to  be  fitted 
for  the  concluding  and  perfected  revelation  of  the 
kingdom. — In  those  days.  Though  connected 
with  the  preceding  by  the  accents,  which  make  a 
pause  at  niD'    DNJ,  these  words  belong,  at  any 

rate  in  meaning  to  it  will  no  more   be   said. 

They  correspond  to  "'3  as  turn  to  a  previous 
quando. — Ark,  etc.,  is  not  the  accusative  of  the 
object  dependent  on  say,  but  an  exclamation; 
and  the  latter  word,  therefore,  is  not  to  name,  to 
mention,  but  to  say,  to  speak.  The  word  "  ark  of 
the  covenant "  will  no  more  be  heard,  because 
the  thing  itself  and  every  thought  of  it  will  have 
disappeared.  The  ark  will  not  be  an  object  of 
desire  or  remembrance.  In  consequence  of  this 
it  will  no  more  be  looked  for  or  sought,  as  some- 
thing that  is  missed  (1  Sam.  xx.  6;  xxv.  15; 
Isa.  xxxiv.  16;  1  Chron.  xiii.  3)  and  still  less 
prepared  anew. — Will  not  make  it.  Luther  : 
they  will  no  longer  sacrifice  there,  but  TW}}  occurs 

in  this  meaning  without  an  object-accusative 
only  at  a  very  late  period  (2  Ki.  xvii.  32),  and  it 
is  not  credible  that  the  prophet  should  designate 
this  important  idea  by  an  expre-^sion  so  easily 
misunderstood.  The  Chaldee,  Raschi,  Grotius 
and  others  render  "  and  it  shall  no  more  take 
place,"  but  they  difi"er  among  themselves  in  refer- 
ence to  what  shall  no  more  take  place.  They  thus 
resort  to  arbitrary  supplementations  (the  taking 
of  the  ark  i^to  battle  1  Sam.  iv.  11  ;  ca  quic 
nunc  in  bello  fieri  solent ;  the  previously  stated). 
The  only  natural  subject  is  ark. — Jehovah's 
throne.  The  period  when  the  ark  is  lacking, 
described  in  ver.  16,  does  not  represent  a  retro- 
grade but  a  progressive  interval.  What  the  ark 
has  hitherto  been  to  Jerusalem  (Exod.  xxv.  18- 
22;  Numb.  vii.  89;  Ps.  Ixxx.  2;  xcix.  1)  Jeru- 
salem is  now  to  be  in  relation  to  the  nations. 
All  .Jerusalem  is  now  to  be  the  throne  of  the 
Lord.  The  prophet's  glance  penetrates  to  the 
remotest  distance,  without  distinguishing  the 
progressive  stages  into  which  the  final  period 
itself  is  divided.     While  thus  this  prophecy  on 


CHAP.  III.  11-17. 


53 


one  hand  reminds  us  of  Micah  iv.  (coll.  Isa.  ii.  2 
sqq.;  Zech.  viii.  20;  Jer.  xxxi.  6.  Comp.  Casp. 
Micah  der  Morasth.  S.  453),  on  the  other  hand  it 
reminds  us  of  Rev.  xxi. — The  dechiration  of  this 
passage  that  Jerusalem  itself  will  be  the  throne 
of  God  is  covered  by  the  declaration  of  the 
Apocalypse  that  the  New  Jerusalem  will  be  the 
tabernacle  of  God  with  men  (xxi.  3)  as  the 
earth  was  in  the  beginning  (Gen.  iii.),  and  as 
the  glory  of  Melchisedek  consists  in  his  being 
the  representative  of  tliat  original  relation  to 
God.  Comp.  tlie  article  in  Herzog,  Real-Eiic. 
on  Melchisedek,  IX.,  S.  303.  Comp.  also  Ezek. 
xlviii.  35  ;  Joel  iv.  17.  The  correspondence  of 
the  Jerusalem  of  this  passage  with  the  New  Je- 
rusalem is  further  intimated  by  what  is  said  in 
Rev.  xxi.  22,  23,  that  the  latter  will  have  no 
lemple,  neither  sun  nor  moon,  but  all  these  the 
Lord  Himself  will  be  to  it.  The  analogy  of  this 
declaration  with  that  in  Jeremiah  concerning 
the  absence  of  the  ark  is  strikingly  evident. 
Comp.  Tholuck,  Die  Propheten  und  ihre  Weiss. 
S.  154  and  194. — This  analogy  is  finally  con- 
firmed by  the  declaration  that  all  the  heathen 
will  assemble  in  the  name  of  God  at  Jerusalem, 
for  a  similar  declaration  is  made  in  Revelation, 
on  the  basis  of  many  prophetic  passages  (Isa. 
Ix. ;  Ixvi.  18  sqq. ;  Zech.  xiv.  16 ;  Zeph.  iii.  9, 
10;  comp.  Rom.  ix.  24-26;  x.  18-20)  of  the 
New  Jerusalem  in  xxi.  24,  26. — To  the  name. 
The  expression  is  supported  by  the  passages 
Exod.  XX.  21;  Deut.  xii.  5,  11 :  coll.  1  Kings 
viii.  16  sqq.  ;  2  Chron.  vi.  5  sqq.,  where  even 
the  first  earthly  sanctuary  is  lesignated  as  the 
residence  of  the  name  of  Jehovah.  As  the  pre- 
position  /X  designates  the  direction  in  space,  so 

7  before  D117  designates  the  object  of  the  coming; 
to  Jerusalem,  however,  cannot  be  the  bare  re- 
petition of  the  idea  in  it  (HiTzia)  any  more 
than  the  addition  of  a  later  hand,  for  it  renders 
the  sense  more  difficult,  instead  of  more  easy, 
on  which  account  the  absence  of  the  word  in 
the  LXX  and  the  Syriac  is  evidently  due  to  the 
critics.     We  can  regard  it  only  with  Hengsten- 

BBKG  as  the  more  exact  definition  of  '"'  OK/7,  be- 
fore which  "lU'X  is  to  be  supplied.  It  has  then 
a  causative  sense;  not  Jerusalem  is  the  object 
of  the  assembling  of  the  nations,  but  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  which  belongs  to  Jerusalem,  and 
Jerusalem  only  in  so  far  as  the  name  of  the  Lord 
was  inseparably  connected  with  it. — And  will 
no  more  follow,  etc.  The  expression  n^TiJ^ 
DS"*   is    found    on    the   basis   of  Deut.  xxix.  18, 

T    ■ 

also  in  Ps.  Ixxxi.  13,  and  in  Jer.  vii.  24  ;  ix.  13 ; 
xi.  8;  xiii.  10;  xvi.  12;  xviii.  12;  xxiii.  17 — 
in  all  these  places  of  Israel.     It  has  nothing  in 


itself  which  requires  this  limitation,  it  may 
therefore  be  used  also  in  a  wider  sense,  so  that 
the  heathen,  in  so  far  as  Jerusalem  is  also  their 
centre,  may  be  reckoned  together  with  Israel. 
All  then,  Israel  and  the  heathen,  will  finally  lose 
their  stony  heart  and  receive  a  heart  soft  and 
filled  with  the  Spirit  (Ezek.  xi.  19;  xxxvi.  26), 
and  not  outwardly  only  but  witli  the  whole  heart 
will  they  be  subject  to  the  Lord  and  His  king- 
dom.— If  we  once  more  look  over  this  strophe 
we  are  struck  above  all  by  the  sublimely  rapt 
progress  of  the  prophet's  discoui'se  from  the 
circumstances  of  the  present  to  the  remotest 
future.  The  prophet  proceeds  from  the  compa- 
rison of  the  Judah  of  the  present  with  the  Israel 
in  a  certain  sense  belonging  already  to  the  past. 
This  comparison  issues  favorably  to  Israel.  Thus 
a  prophecy  is  called  forth  which  sets  in  prospect 
before  Israel  the  highest  material  and  spiritual 
prosperity.  With  this  two  questions  are  con- 
nected. Since  the  realization  of  this  prosperity 
is  connected  with  the  condition  of  Israel's  con- 
version, the  question  arises.  Will  this  conversion 
take  place?  and  when?  The  prophetic  gaze  can 
in  the  inconceivably  distant  ages  perceive  no 
element  of  religious  or  political  restoration  in 
the  Israel  of  the  ten  tribes,  as  these  are  in  fact 
unknown  even  to  the  present  day.  It  must  then 
be  reserved  for  the  final  period  (D'^D'H  IT'inx 
Mic.  iv.  1)  to  bring  back  the  lost  ten  tribes  to 
the  light, — thelight  of  knowledge  and  of  salvation. 
But  here  another  question  also  arises.  Will  not 
Judah  also  participate  in  this  light  of  know- 
ledge and  salvation  ?  These  two  questions  then : 
What  will  become  of  Judah  ?  and  How  is  it  as  to 
the  conversion  required  in  ver.  13  ?  still  wait 
for  a  solution.  We  may  indeed  read  this  solution 
from  ver.  14  between  the  lines.  But  the  sublime 
haste  of  the  prophet's  flight  hindered  him  from 
giving  it  in  express  words ;  he  adds  it  therefore 
in  the  following  strophe. 

(Special  dissertations  on  this  passage  by  Los- 
CANus,  Frankfort,  1720;  Zickler,  Jena,  1747; 
Frischmuth,  Jena). 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  ["Here  is  a  great  deal  of  Gospel  in  these 
verses,  both  that  which  was  always  gospel,  God's 
readiness  to  pardon  sin,  and  to  receive  and  en- 
tertain returning,  repenting  sinners,  and  those 
blessings  which  were  in  a  special  manner  re- 
served for  gospel-times,  the  forming  and  found- 
ing of  the  gospel-church  by  bringing  into  it  the 
children  of  God  that  were  scattered  abroad,  the 
superseding  of  the  ceremonial  law,  and  the 
uniting  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  typified  by  the 
uniting  of  Israel  and  Judah  in  their  return  out 
of  captivity."  Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 


64 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH, 


b.     Supplement  of  the  preceding,  stating  more  exactly  who  is  called  and  how  the  call  is  received. 

III.  18-25. 

18  In  that  day  the  house  of  Judah  and  the  house  of  Israel  shall  walk  together, 
And  shall  come  with  each  other  from  the  north  country 

Into  the  land  which  I  have  given  your  fathers  for  an  inheritance. 

19  And  I  said :  How  will  I  put  thee  among  the  children, 
And  give  thee  a  pleasant  land, 

The  most  glorious  inheritance  among  the  nations ! 
And  further  I  said,  My  Father  thou  wilt  call  me,* 
And  wilt  not  turn  away  behind  me. 

20  But !  Was  ever  a  woman  faithless  to  her  lover, 
So  were  you  faithless  towards  me, 

0  house  of  Israel,  saith  Jehovah. 

21  A  cry  is  heard  on  the  hills. 

The  weeping  supplication  of  the  children  of  Israel ; 
That  they  have  perverted  their  way, 
Have  forgotten  Jehovah,  their  God. 

22  Return,  ye  apostate  children, 

1  will  heal"  your  apostasies ! 
Behold,  we  come'  to  thee, 

For  thou  art  Jehovah,  our  God. 

23  As  certainly  as  hills  are  false, 
Mountains  an  empty  sound,* 

So  certain  is  the  salvation  of  Israel 
With  Jehovah  our  God. 

24  Shame  however  hath  devoured  the  gains  of  our  fathers  from  our  youth, 
Their  sheep  and  their  oxen. 

Their  sons  and  their  daughters. 

25  Let  us  lie  in  our  shame. 
And  our  disgrace  cover  us, 

That  we  have  sinned  against  Jehovah  our  God, 
We  and  our  fathers  from  our  youth  to  this  day. 
And  have  not  heeded  the  voice  of  Jehovah  our  God. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  19. — The  Masoretes  would  read  'XIpH  and  '^I^H  on  account  of  ^r}''K'X  and  !J7,  but  unnecessarily.    ["  The 

Keri  are  founil  in  the  ti'xt  of  upwards  of  tliirty  MSS.,  and  in  some  of  the  earlier  editions,  and  would  seem  to  deserve  the 
preference,  on  the  ground  of  ^JX  in  tlie  .singular  occurring  immediately  before.    The  LXX,  Arab.,  and  Syr.,  however,  have 

*  T 

read  ilX'^pp  the  present  textual  reading."  Henderson. — S.  R.  A.] 

2  Ver.  22. — On  the  exchange  of  the  forms  I'K?  and  iTT)  comp.  Ewald,  §  142,  c ;  198,  6  ,•  Olshausen,  §  233.— In  reference 
to  X3"^  and  riDT  comp.  Jer.  vi.  14,  coll.  viii.  11  ;  xix.  11  ;  li.  9.  The  Masoretes  approve  of  the  Chethibh  here,  while  they 
correct  it  in  xi.x.  11,  because  here  the  vowel  ])ronunciation  is  correct  (1  Pers.  with  Heparag.)  but  not  in  xix.  11. 

3  Ver.  22. — -1  jr\X  instead  of  Oi^n J<  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  10, 11,  Anm.  from  XJIX.  comp.  Isa.  xxi.  12),  and  this  instead 

T  T  T  T  T  T 

of  ;yr\X:  comp.  Olsuausen,  §  233  b;  Bw.^ld,  g  198,  h. 

■  T 

*  Ver. 23. — ["On  the  authority  of  thirty-six  MSS.  and  others  in  the  margin,  two  early  editions,  the  LXX.,  Arab.,  Hexa- 
plar,  Syr.,  the  Pcshito,  Aq.,  Symn.,  Vulg.  Tion  should  be  pointed  JIOH  in  the  construct."  Henderson.  In  the  render- 
ing Henderson  and  Notes  follow  the  A.  V.;  Blaynev  has  "  Surely  hills  are  lies,  the  tumult  of  mountains  ;"  Hitzio,  "for  a 
deception  from  the  hills  is  the  host  of  mountains;"  Umbreit,  "  Verily !  a  lie  is  become  from  the  hills,  the  tumult  of  the 
mountains." — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  evidently  consists  of  two  parts, 
of  which  tlie  first  (ver.  18-19)  treats  of  the  par- 
ticipation of  Judali  in  the  prosperity  promised  to 


Israel,  the  second  (vers.  2y)-'lo)  of  the  conversion 
of  both  as  one  which  satisfies  all  demands. 

Vers.  18.  In  that  day  an  inheritance. 

Reference  to  the  last  siiophe.  Comp.  at  that 
time  ver.  17. — together,  in  the  sense  of  heaping 
so  tliat  those  are  designated  as  upon  one  another, 


CHAP.  III.  18-25. 


55 


j9f  whom  we  should  speak  as  together,  with  each 
other,  is  frequent:  Gen.  xxviii.  9;  xxxii.  12; 
Exod.    xii.    9;    xxxv.   22;    Amos   iii.    15;    Job 

xxxviii.  32.  We  see  also  that  7jk^  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  preposition  from  the  following 
sentences  where  their  coming  in  company  is 
manifestly  the  result  of  their  meeting  together. 
The  promise  of  a  reunion  of  the  exiles  from  Ju- 
dah  and  Jerusalem,  and  their  return  in  company 
to  the  land  of  their  fathers  is  found  also, — to 
mention  only  the  principjil  passages,  in  Hos.  ii. 
2  ;  Isa.  xi.  11 ;  Jer.  xxx.  and  xxxi. ;  1.  4,  5  ; 
Ezek.  xxxvii.  15-17. — It  forms  an  essential  ele- 
ment in  the  glorious  picture  of  the  future,  which 
prophecy  presents  by  the  announcement  of  a 
glorious  restoration  of  Israel  to  Canaan  after 
long  humiliation  and  dispersion.  To  the  origi- 
nal passages  Levit.  xxvi.  42-45;  Deut.  xxx.  1- 
10 ;  xxxii.  36-43  follows  a  long  series  of  pro- 
phetic declarations,  of  which  the  most  important 
are  Ps.  Ixxii.;  Isai.  ii.  2-4;  iv.  2-6:  ix.  1-6; 
Chap.  xxiv.  sqq;  Ix.  sqq ;  Jer.  xxix.  10-14; 
xxx.,-xxxiii. ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  23-25;  Joel  iv.  16; 
Am.  ix.  8;  Ob.  17-21;  Mic.  iv.  5;  Zeph.  iii. 
14-20 ;  Zech.  ii.  4,  sqq.  viii.  7  sqq  ;  ix.  9  sqq. 
X.  8sqq. — Comp.  Auberlen,  der  proph.  Daniel,  S. 
391  sqq. —  Hebart,  The  Second  Visible  Coming  of 
Christ,  {Die  Zweite,  etc.  Erlangen.  1850.  S.  70, 
84,  etc.) 

Ver.  19.  And  I  said  .  .  behind  me.  If 
above,  in  the  concluding  remark  on  the  preced- 
ing strophe,  we  have  correctly  defined  its  rela- 
tion tovers.  18-25,  it  follows  that  ver.  18  does 
not  belong  to  the  foregoing,  and  that  vers.  19  and 
20  are  not  connected  as  thesis  and  antithesis,  as 
most  modern  commentators  would  have  it.  The 
reasons  for  this  view  are  the  following:  (1)  ver. 
18  seems  then  entirely  isolated.  Graf  says: 
"Only  in  passing  is  a  glance  cast  in  this  verse 
at  the  final  destiny  of  Judah."  But  the  destiny 
of  Judah  demands  more  than  a  passing  glance. 
Either  an  elucidation  concerning  the  fate  of 
Judah  must  be  interwoven  with  the  contents  of 
the  preceding  discourse,  or  Judah  must  be  spoken 
of  in  appropriate  measure  in  a  special  section. 
(2)  According  to  the  view  which  I  combat,  there 
is  a  hiatus  between  verses  18  and  19.  With 
ver.  19,  the  discourse  proceeds  to  an  entirely 
new  subject,  the  relation  of  which  to  the  preced- 
ing can  be  designated  neither  by  a  separative 
nor  by  a  connective  particle.  The  Vau  before 
OJX  accordingly  appears  not  only  superfluous, 
but  interruptive.  (3)  If  vers.  19  and  20  are  so 
'connected  that  the  former  declares  the  expectation 
cherished  by  Jehovah,  the  latter  the  sad  non- 
fulfilment  of  this  expectation,  the  discourse 
makes  a  spring  from  ver.  20  to  ver.  21  which 
could  not  be  more  abrupt.  No  one  would  then 
expect  the  delightful  continuation  of  the  dis- 
course after  ver.  20.  Suddenly  and  without 
preparation  we  are  met  by  the  description  of 
Israel's  penitence.  In  short,  verses  19  and  20 
do  not  then  at  all  agree  with  what  follows,  and 
since  they  are  equally  severed  from  what  pre- 
cedes, they  appear  to  be  a  wholly  needless  and 
interruptive  interpolation.  It  will  therefore  be 
correct  to  attach  ver.  19  closely  to  ver.  18,  as  a 
short  but  satisfactoi'y  description  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  entire   Israelitish  people    after  their 


return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers.  In  the  form 
of  an  objection,  which  is  subsequently  removed, 
ver.  20  then  forms  an  appropriate  transition  to 
the  second  subject,  concerning  which,  as  re- 
marked above,  the  prophet  had  to  pronounce  in 
this  strophe.  The  emphatic  "'JJX,  "I,"ontb 
one  hand  forms  an  antithesis  to  Israel  an 
Judah  in  ver.  18,  and  on  the  other  brings  out  the 
importance  of  the  promise  here  given — Not  a 
man,  but  /,  Jehovah,  declare  this.  TIIDK  is. 
neither  future,  as  ex.  gr.  Seb.  Sch.midt  supposes, 
nor  is  it  a  narrative  preterite,  so  as  to  refer  to 
a  definite  event  in  the  past,  as  ex.  gr.,  Abarbanel 
reads,  referring  it  to  the  exodus  from  Egypt.  It 
simply  presents  this  declaration  of  God  as  an 
accomplished  fact.  It  asserts  that  there  is  a 
divine  decree  of  the  afterwards  designated  im- 
port. But  thus  this  import  is  absolutely  guaran- 
teed, for  the  Lord's  word  is  true,  and  what  He 
says  is  certain  (Ps.  xxxiii.  4).  The  strange  addi- 
tion, ytvoLTo  Kvpie,  which  the  LXX.  make  after 
Kal  iyi)  elna,  may  be  explained  by  the  circum- 
stance, as  we  may  gather  from  Theodoret,  that 
they  understood  "'JJX  not  of  God  but  of  the  pro- 
phet, and  since  I  put  thee  among  the  chil- 
dren could  not  possibly  be  uttered  by  the  pro- 
phet, they  supplied  him  vfiih  vf ovds  ex  propriis.— 
The  explanation  of  this  expression  of  reception 
among  the  children,  agrees  well  with  that  view 
of  the  connection  which  has  been  rejected  by  us, 
although  it  is  still  strange  even  according  to 
this  view,  that  ver.  20  should  pass  over  to  an- 
other picture.  We  should  expect  that  the  Israel- 
ites, in  view  of  the  gracious  purpose  of  God 
expressed  in  ver.  19,  would  be  designated  as 
disobedient  children  (comp.  Isai.  i.  2),  and  not 
as  a  faithless  spouse.  We  render  the  expression 
with  the  Chaldee,  Bdgenhagen,  Luther,  Cla- 
Rius,  Grotius,  Schmidt,  Venema,  Hitzig  in  the 
sense  of  bestowing  a  rich  paternal  benediction. 
On  the  importance  of  such  benediction,  compare 
the  remarks  on  ver.  IG;  Kueper  {S.  9,)  calls  this 
a  benedictio  vers  theocratica.  Israel  and  Judah,  ac- 
cording to  ver.  14,  having  returned  in  small  num' 
bers  must  before  all  become  a  numerous  people. 
The  promise  in  ver.  16,  made  primarily  to  Israel, 
is  here  presented  to  the  view  of  both. — Venema 
mentions,  that  they  say  also  in  Dutch,  jemant  in- 

kinderen  setten.  Comp.  J^K'''3  TV\^  in  salute poiiere, 
Ps.  xii.  6. — a  pleasant  land.  Comp.  Ps.  cvi. 
24;  Zech.  vii.  14. — a  most  glorious  inheri- 
tance. It  is  a  question  whether  to  derive 
niN32;  from  N3y  or  from  'JV.  Both  are  gram- 
matically possible.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  S.  106; 
Olshausen,  I  145,  6;  Ewald,   §  186  e;   ^  55,  e. 

Comp.  D'N3V  (Gazelles)  1  Chron.  xii.  8;  and 
r\iXDi*  (in  the  same  meaning)  Song  of  Sol.  ii.  7; 
iii.  5. — It  is  of  no  account  that  the  form  occurs 
elsewhere  only  as  St.  constr.  from  N^i'  (Exod. 
xii.  41 ;  1  Kings  ii.  5),  and  that  '3i'  in  the  sense 
of  decus  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  plural, 
since  for  the  sake  of  a  play  upon  words  the  pro- 
phet might  employ  an  unusual  expression.  The 
juxtaposition  of  the  singular  and  plural  to  form 
a  climax,  is  also,  as  is  well  known,  not  infre- 
quent; Eccles.  i.  2;  Ezek.  xvi.  7.  Comp. 
Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  61,  3.  The  decision  is  the  more 
difiicult  since  the  meaning  in  both   cases  is  tha 


56 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


«ame  (Maurer).  Most  commentators  preferring 
the  more  normal  form  decide  in  favor  of  the  de- 
rivation from  X3:;.  Yet  I  would  prefer  the  deriva- 
tion from  OX.  Since  the  juxtaposition  of 
mN3i*  "3X  seems  more  pregnant  and  forcible 
than  the  flat  and  tautological  D'U  nUX3:f.  Be- 
sides which  the  Holy  Land  is  elsewhere  called 
"•3^  ]'")«,  Ezek.  XX.  6,  15;  Dau.  xi.  16,  41.— 
"lONI  we  translate:  "And  further  I  said,"  for 
from  the  first  divine  decree  flows  a  second  of 
this  import,  that  Israel  will  not  only  receive  but 
show  himself  worthy  of  receiving.  That  which 
Israel  spoke  before  (ver.  4)  in  hypocritical  pre- 
tence, will  be  presented  in  the  future,  which  the 
Prophet  has  in  view,  in  glorious  reality. 

Ver.  20.  But!  Was  ever  woman  faithless 
to  her  lover?  .  .  .  O  house  of  Israel!  saith 
Jehovah.  In  these  words  the  Lord  Himself 
raises  a  protest  against  the  promise  given  to 
Judah  and  Israel  in  verses  18  and  19.  How 
shall  such  glory  be  imparted  to  this  people,  who 
have  hitherto  been  distinguished  only  for  their 
infidelity  ?  JDN  is  taken  by  many,  ex.  gr.  Fuerst 
[Handwb.  s.  v.)  Ewald,  {Lehrb.  S.  273,)  in  a 
relative  signification^  so  as,  entirely  so  as.  But 
there  is  no  example  of  this  meaning  and  it  is  not 
necessary  that  there  should  be  here  a  particle 
of  contingency  or  comparison.  (Comp.  Isai.  Iv. 
9;  coll.  vers.  10,  11).  We  therefore  take  {DX 
(which  like  '^*:5  may  from  the  meaning  "tantum, 
only  "  obtain  an  affirmative  as  well  as  a  restric- 
tive sense)  here=zbut,  however,  which  meaning  it 
undoubtedly  has  in  Ps.  xxxi.  23;  Ixxxii.  7;  Isai. 
xlix.  4;  Zeph.  iii.  7.  Since  the  prophet  in  this 
strophe  has  in  view  the  period  of  re-united  Israel, 
Israel  or  house  of  Israel  is  to  be  taken  in 
these  verses  to  4,  2,  not  in  the  restricted  sense 
of  ver.  6  sqq.  but  in  the  wider  sense  mentioned. 
(Comp.  Isai.  i.  3,  etc.) 

Ver.  21.  A  cry  is  heard  on  the  hills  .... 
forgotten  Jehovah,  their  God.  With  dra- 
matic vividness  the  penitent  people  are  now 
brought  forward  to  refute  the  exception  taken  in 
ver.  20,  in  such  a  way  that  ver.  21  designates 
their  appearance  in  general  outlines,  ver.  22 
the  call  to  the  people  to  repent,  repeated  from 
ver.  14;  and  in  the  following  verses  it  is  shown 
by  the  verba  ipsissima  of  the  people,  how  they  re- 
sponded to  this  call. — On  the  hills.  These 
high  places  which  had  formerly  been  the  seats  of 
wickedness  (see  ver.  2)  are  now  the  scenes  of 
penitence,  comp.  vii.  29. 

Ver.  22.  Return,  ye  apostate  children  .  .  . 
for  thou  art  Jehovah,  our  God.  The  same 
callus  iu  ver.  14,  from  which  we  see  that  this  pas- 
sage is  closely  connected  with  that.  The  ques- 
tion; Will  the  people  respond  to  the  call?  there 
obtruded  itself.  Here  it  is  satisfactorily  an- 
swered. It  might  be  asked  why  the  words 
"Return,  etc,"  do  not  come  before  ver.  21.  But 
this  verse  is  only  to  describe  the  disposition  of 
the  people  towards  repentance,  their  general 
penitence.  Israel  was  indeed  formerly  "  faith- 
less" (ver.  20),  but  now  they  acknowledge  their 
sin  and  are  able  to  obey  the  call,  should  it  again 
be  heard  as  before  (ver  22,  a)  in  a  manner  well- 
pleasing  to  God.  (ver.  22,  b-25)— I  will  heal, 
etc.  The  thought  is  from  Hos.  xiv.  5.  In  the 
connection  of  heal  with  the  plural  it   seems  to 


be  implied  that  the  Lord  will  both  pardon  th«|f 
single  acts,  and  remove  the  evil  root. 

Ver.  23.  As  certainly  as  the  hills  are 
false  .  .  .  Jehovah,  our  God.  Yfithoui  Dagesh 
forte  r\1J73Jp   would    mean    the     priests'     caps, 

since  the  word  occurs  in  this  sense  only ;  Exod. 
xxix.  9;  xxviii.  40;  xxxix.  28;  Levit.  viii.  13. 
But  what  have  these  to  do  here  ?  The  Masoretes 
have  therefore  punctuated  the  J  with  Dag.  forte, 
iu  order  thus  to  secure  the  meaning  of  "  hills." 
Now  the  explanation  of  the  |0  prepares  new 
difficulties.  The  ancient  translators  ignore  this 
iD  altogether,  and  yet  take  the  rest  in  the  sense 
of  colles.  The  later  commentators  (if  they  do 
not  with  LuD.  de  Dieu  take  D''")n  =offerre,  i.  e. 

victimas)  either  supply  jD  before  D'^H  or  alter 
TliOn  into  X'^'OT}  Besides  this  they  difl"er  very 
widely  in  determining  the  meaning  of  tlDH. — 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  prophet  understood  the 
word  ni^3J0  in  the  sense  of  "hills,"  and  chose 
it  for  the  sake  of  its  secondary  meaning.  Al- 
though the  word  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament 
only  in  the  sense  of  "  priests' caps,"  yet  "hills" 
was  the  original  meaning  from  which  the  other 
was  developed,  the  word  being  transferred  on 
account  of  the  hill-like  shape  of  the  caps.  Now 
as  ex.  gr.  the  word  for  weapon  in  German 
(Gewehr)  has  gradually  assumed  the  meaning  of 
musket,  but  might  be  used  in  its  original  and 
more  general  sense  in  a  manner  intelligible  to 
every  German,  so  here  the  prophet  has  employed 
a  word  restricted  by  usage  to  a  special  meaning, 
in  its  original  signification  in  such  a  way  that 
at  the  same  time  he  intended  an  allusion  to  the 
secondary  sense.  Not  the  hills  are  the  deceivers, 
but  the  priests,  of  whom  Elijah  on  this  account 
slew  a  great  number  (1  Kings  xviii.  40).  In 
|1Dn  which  means  tumult,  strepitus,  there  may  be 
an  allusion  to  the  bacchanalian  noise  of  the  un- 
chaste idol-worship.  Comp.  Am.  v.  23  —  "lp.t?^7 
like  V.W1  has  become  an  adverb  and  signifies 
false,  deceptive,  useless.  (Levit.  v.  24;  xix.  12; 
1  Sam.  XXV.  21 ;  Jer.  v.  2;  vii.  9:  viii.  8  ;  xxvii. 
15;  Zech.  v.  4;  MaL  iii.  5).  JJX  is  taken  by 
the  commentators  both  times  in  the  affirmative 
sense,  (iv.  10;  viii.  8).  It  appears  to  me  that 
this  doubling  includes  also  the  idea  of  reciprocal 

relation  (comp.  n3~n3,  '}^l^-V?)  ■  as  certainly 
as  the  hills  are  vanity  and  nothing,  so  certainly 
is  Israel's  salvation  in  Jehovah,  their  God. 

Ver.  24.  Shame,  however  .  .  their  sons 
and  their  daughters.  Not  merely  as  vanity 
and  nothing,  but  as  positively  injurious  are  the 
idols  opposed  to  the  real  saving  power  of  Jeho- 
vah. The  Vau  at  the  beginning  of  this  verse 
corresponds  especially  to  the  last  clause  of  ver. 
23,  as  containing  the  main  thought,  and  is  ac- 
cordingly adversative=AoM'ei>er.  P\U2Tt.  From 
11,    13;   Hos.    ix.    10   we  see  that  ^1^3  is  here 

placed  in  parallelism  with  7;?3.  Kimchi  re- 
marks that  in  ancient  names  composed  with  nt^D 
the  place  of  this  word  is  afterwards  supplied  by 

hi;2.  Hence  for  nty^-tJ^'K  2  Sam.  ii.  8  ;  S^IS'X 
1   Chron.    viii.    83.     For  h'^^y_    Judges  vi.    32' 


CHAP.  III.  18-25. 


67 


n^31^  2  Sam.  xi.  21.  From  all  this  we  see  that 
the  abstract  DJif^  is  to  be  regarded  primarily  as 

an  ironical  synonym  of  /J^3.  the  chief  deity. 
From  what,  however,  is  ascribed  in  this  passage 

to  nE'S  the  prophet  cannot  have  had  merely 
Baal  in  mind  but  also  the  other  idols.  All  these 
have  from  the  youth  not  of  the  spealier,  but  of  the 
people  generally  (comp.  the  golden  calf,  Exod. 
xxxii.,  and  Baal  Peor,  Num.  xxv.),  devoured  the 
substance  of  the  fathers,  in  part  immediately  by 
sacrifices  which  were  not  due  to  them  as  to  the 
Lord,  in  part  mediately  by  the  judgments  which 
such  apostasy  brought  upon  the  people. 

Ver.  25.  Let  us  lie  .  .  .  the  voice  of  Jeho- 
vah, our  God.  As  vers.  22-24  contain  acknow- 
ledgment and  confession,  so  ver.  25  contains 
shame  and  sorrow.  As  the  penitent  seats  him- 
self in  dust  and  ashes  (Job  xlii.  6 ;  Dan.  ix.  3), 
so  they  casting  themselves  down  in  the  feeling 
of  their  shame,  would  lie  before  the  Lord,  and 
as  the  penitent  clothes  himself  in  sackcloth  (1 
Kings  xxi.  27:  2  Kings  vi.  30;  xix.  1,  2,)  or 
veils  his  face  (Exod.  iii  6;  2  Sam.  xv.  30),  so 
would  they,  deeply  feeling  their  disgrace,  hide 
their  countenance  before  the  Lord  (comp.  the 
publican,  Luke  xviii.  13).  The  entire  guilt 
which  the  people  had  incurred  from  their  youth 
up  (  ii.  2 ;  Hos.  xi.  1)  is  according  to  the  scale 
of  Ps.  xxxii.  5,  to  be  expiated. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  21.  Although  Paul  in  Gal.  vi.  4,  5, 
says  that  every  one  should  prove  his  own  work, 
that  he  may  have  praise  in  himself  and  not  in 
another,  and  that  every  one  will  have  his  own 
burden,  yet  we  read  on  the  other  hand  that  the 
people  of  Nineveh  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba  will 
in  the  day  of  judgment  condemn  the  yeved  of 
Christ's  contemporaries  (Matt.  xii.  41,  42; 
comp.  ver.  27;  11,  21,  etc.).  The  apparent  con- 
tradiction is  dispelled  when  we  consider  that 
Paul  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  urges  the 
absolute  standard  against  those  who  desire  to 
find  in  the  faults  of  others  a  mantle  for  their  own, 
that  is,  that  every  one  will  be  judged  above  all 
and  essentially  according  to  that  which  he  is  in 
and  of  himself.  Christ  Himself,  however,  in  the 
passages  cited  applies  the  relative  standard  to 
those  who,  in  the  blindness  of  their  pride,  believe 
themselves  beyond  comparison  better  than  all 
others.  To  these  it  is  said  that  a  comparison  may 
certainly  be  made,  but  that  it  will  result  to  their 
disadvantage,  since  the  guilt  which  they  have  in- 
curred, notwithstanding  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, will  serve  for  a  ground  of  mitigation 
for  others,  who  have  sinned  in  less  favorable  cir- 
cumstances,  (av£KT6TEpov  earai,  Matt.  xi.  22,  24). 

2.  '■^  Erubesce  Sidon,  ait  mare.  Quasi  enim  per 
vocem  maris  ad  verecundian  Sidon  adduciiur,  quando 
per  comparaiionem  vitse  ssecularium  atque  in  hoc 
mundo  fluctuantium  ejus,  quimunitus  et  quasi  stabilis 
cernitur,  vita  reprobafur."  Gregor  M.  in  Isidor. 
Hisp.    Vide  Ghisler.  S.  289. 

3.  On  vers.  12,  13.  The  grace  of  God  is  an 
open  door  to  every  one  who  knocks  with  the  fin- 
ger of  penitence,  1  John  i.  8-10.  '^Erranti  medi- 
cina  confessio — Cessat  vindicta  divina,  si  confessio 
frsecurrat  humana."  Ambros. 


4.  Ghislerus.  "  Deus  sol  hominis  et  homo  sol 
Dei.  Quod  Deus  sit  sol  hominis,  indicatur  eo,  quod 
peccatores  metaphora  designati  sint  aquilonis.  Ut 
enim  ah  aguilone  sol  sensibilis,  ita  a  peccatoribus 
Deus,  sol  jusiitix  longe  est.  Quod  antem  homo 
quodammodo  sit  et  Dei  sol,  indicat  ipsemet  Deus, 
dum  ait:  reverttre  aversatriz  Israel  et  non  avertam 
faciem  meam  a  vobis  ( Vulg.).  Significat  enim 
ad  hominem  se  habere  ut  heliotropium  ad  solem ; 
convertente  homine  se  ad  Deum,  coni>ertit  statim  et 
se  Deus  ad  ilium ;  eoque  non  se  avertente,  nee  Deua 
faciem  suam  ab  illo  avertit." 

5.  On  ver.  14.  "God  in  proof  of  his  mercy 
keeps  his  covenant,  which  men  have  broken  by 
their  sins,  as  strictly  and  securely,  as  though 
they  had  never  broken  it.  Ezek.  xviii.  22." 
Starke. 

6.  On  ver.  15.  Donatur,  fato  non  decidit  arbort 
mysta. 

A  teacher  true  never  falls  from  a  tree. 
But  comes  by  divine  authority. 

M.  G.  Albrecht.  Hierarch.  Eccl.  Cap.   10. 

7.  On  ver.  16.  "  The  ceremonial  law  and  cus" 
torn  must  have  an  end,  and  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, as  only  a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come, 
must  also  cease  to  be  (Heb.  x.  1).  It  is  therefore 
only  a  rabbinical  fiction,  that  people  still  derive 
consolation  from  the  second  book  of  Maccabees 
(ii.  5),  as  though  the  ark  of  the  covenant  were 
somewhere  in  a  mountain  and  would  eventually 
be  found,  for  the  true  ark  of  the  covenant,  which 
is  found  again,  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  true  Messiah 
typified  by  the  Ark."  Cramer.  The  manner  in 
which  Jeremiah  here  speaks  of  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  is  moreover  so  extraordinary  that  we 
may  apply  to  it  the  words  of  Matthew  xvi.  17. 
Flesh  and  blood  have  not  revealed  it  unto  thee, 
but  my  Father  in  heaven.  The  ark  at  that  time 
in  the  reign  of  Josiah  was  again  regarded  with 
the  greatest  reverence  (comp.  2  Chron.  xxxv.  3 ; 
III.  Esd.  i.  3,  4).  What  a  divinely  lofty  and 
distant  view  must  the  prophet  have  had  to  be 
able  to  treat  the  ark  as  he  here  does,  as  some- 
thing of  small  account! 

8.  The  view  that  this  prophecy  was  fulfilled  by 
the  return  under  Zerubbabel  and  Ezra  is  opposed 
by  the  fact  (1),  that  not  even  the  whole  of  Judah, 
not  to  speak  of  the  whole  of  Israel  then  returned 
(of  the  latter  a  few  at  most :  comp.  Heezoo  Real- 
Ene.  XIV.  S.  773;  I.  S.  651);  (2),  that  not 
even  Judah  had  then  returned  to  the  Lord,  not 
to  speak  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  Ita 
fulfilment  by  the  founding  of  the  Christian 
church  is  contradicted  by  the  fact,  (1)  that  the 
reunion  of  Judah  and  Israel  had  not  yet  taken 
place,  the  latter  people  must  still  be  regarded  as 
unknown  (comp.  Herzoo,  Real-Enc.  I.  S.  651 ; 
XVII.  iS".  284):  (2)  that  Israel  in  general  has  reject- 
ed the  Lord  and  refused  to  enter  the  Christian 
church  (comp.  Rom.  chap.  xi. -xii.):  (3)  that  the 
heathen  have  indeed  begun  to  turn  to  the  name  of 
the  Lord  and  to  the  Jerusalem  that  is  above  (Gal. 
iv.  26),  but  that  this  has  taken  place  neither  in 
such  measure  nor  in  such  a  manner  that  we  can 
recognize  in  it  the  complete  fulfilment  of  that 
which  this  passage  declares  of  the  conversion  of 
all  nations  and  the  removal  of  their  hardness  of 
heart.  We  must  therefore  still  wait  for  the  com- 
plete fulfilment  of  this  prophecy.     The  argument 


68 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  Bertheau  in  his  essay,  "The  Old  Testament 
prophecies  of  Israel's  imperial  glory  in  his  own 
land,"  {'■'■Die  Alttest.,  Weiss,  etc"  In  Jahrb.  f. 
deutsche  Theol.  IV.  2,  4;  V.  3,)  which  he  urges 
from  the  point  of  view  that  many  prophecies 
remain  unfulfilled,  because  men  on  their  part 
have  not  fulfilled  the  required  conditions,  is  not 
applicable  here,  for  in  ver.  20,  sqq.,  it  is  express- 
ly said  that  Israel  will  comply  most  satisfactorily 
with  the  single  condition  imposed  by  the  Lord, 
(ver.  13). 

9.  On  vers.  18  and  19.  As  the  separation  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  from  the  kingdom  of  Judah 
may  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  the  denomina- 
tional divisions  in  Christendom,  so  the  reunion 
here  promised  may  be  regarded  as  a  type  of  all 
true  union.  This  must  always  rest  on  a  double, 
negative  and  positive,  basis:  (1)  on  the  funda- 
mental return  of  both  from  the  false  ground  on 
which  they  have  been  standing  (typified  by  the 
common  exit  of  both  tribes  from  the  north  coun- 
try, the  land  of  captivity) :  (2)  on  unreserved 
sincere  devotion  to  the  Lord,  who  is  for  both  the 
only  source  of  life  and  truth,  (typified  in  the 
words  "My  father,  wilt  thou  call  me,  etc."  ver. 
19).  The  result  of  this  will  be  a  condition  of 
glorious  prosperity  in  the  church  (typified  in  the 
first  clause  of  ver.  19). 

10.  On  vers.  20-25.  The  peculiarities  of  true  pe- 
nitence meet  us  plainly  in  this  section :  it  proceeds 
from  the  inmost  heart  (the  weeping  supplication 
of  the  people,  ver.  21,  as  well  as  their  deep 
shame  evince  this,  ver.  25).  It  is  free  from  all 
false  penitence,  which  proceeds  merely  from 
the  feeling  of  the  disadvantageous  consequences 
of  wickedness.  Its  principle  is  rather  sorrow  at 
having  grieved  God  by  the  rejection  of  His  holy 
love.  This  is  intimated  by  the  second  clause  of 
ver.  21.  True  penitence,  finally,  is  made  known 
by  the  honest  fruits  of  repentance.  These  are 
here  set  forth  in  the  words  "  I  will  heal  your 
apostasies  "  ver.  22,  and  by  the  detestation  of 
evil,  and  yearning  for  the  Lord,  which  are  ex- 
pressed in  vers.  24,  25. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  11.  "  To  what  reflections  should 
the  declaration  of  Scripture  give  rise,  that  the 
divine  judgment  is  determined  by  the  compari- 
son of  men  with  each  other  ?  1.  We  should  re- 
flect that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  institute  this 


comparison  with  perfect  justice  ourselves.  2. 
We  should  therefore  draw  from  comparison  with 
others  occasion  neither  for  despair  nor  false  com- 
fort. 3.  We  should  rather  allow  this  comparison 
to  be  a  motive  to  severe  self-discipline. 

2  On  ver.  12.  Reformation  sermon  by  Lohe 
(7  Predigten.  Niirnberg,  1884,  S.  49).  1.  The 
reformation  was  a  return  ;  2.  a  return  is  neces- 
sary now;  3.  it  is  now  possible. 

3.  On  verses  12  and  13,  God's  call  to  repent- 
ance, (a)  its  ground  (I  am  merciful)  ;  (b)  its 
object  (to  obtain  grace):  (c)  its  condition  (ac- 
knowledge thy  sin). 

4.  On  ver.  15.  (Text  for  an  installation  ser- 
mon). The  evangelical  pastorate  ;  (a)  its  stan- 
dard, (after  my  heart);  (b)  its  task,  (to  feed 
them  with  doctrine  and  wisdom). 

5.  On  vers.  16  and  17.  The  true  worship  of 
God.  (John  iv.  21-24).  1.  It  is  not  connected 
with  any  outward  forms  or  ceremonies.  2.  It 
consists,  (a)  in  the  direction  of  the  inmost  heart 
to  God  (assembling  at  the  throne  of  the  Lord), 
(b)  in  the  evidence  of  this  direction  of  the  heart 
in  a  holy  walk  (to  walk  no  more  according  to 
the  thoughts  of  the  wicked  heart). 

6.  On  vers.  18  and  19.  The  conditions  of  true 
union,  1.  common  return  from  sin  and  error 
(Judah  and  Israel  come  together  from  the  north), 
2.  common  return  to  the  source  of  life  and  truth 
(the  inheritance  of  the  fathers — dear  father! — 
will  not  depart  from  me). 

7.  On  vers.  21  and  22.  How  does  a  nation 
worthily  keep  the  yearly  fast?  1.  When  it  hum- 
bles itself  before  God  in  hearty  repentance  of  its 
sins.  2.  When  it  believingly  hears  the  call  of  the 
Father  of  eternal  grace.  3.  When  it  heartily  re- 
turns to  the  Lord,  its  God. — From  an  anon,  ser- 
mon. 

8.  Vers.  21-25  (Text  for  a  penitential  discourse) 
True  repentance.  1.  Its  form  (crying  and  weep- 
ing, ver.  21).  2.  Its  subject — primary,  for- 
getting God  (ver.  21)  and  sinning  against  Him 
(ver.  25) — secondary,  the  destruction  come  upon 
us  in  consequence  of  the  deception  of  sin,  (ver. 
23,  sqq.).  3.  Its  object  (salvation  in  God). — 
Comp.  the  fifth  homily  of  Origen  on  Jer.  iii.  21- 
iv.  8. — On  ver.  22.  Comp.  the  Confirmation  Ser- 
mon of  Dr.  F.  Arndt  in  his  work,  "  The  Chris- 
tian's pilgrimage  through  Life"  ("Z>er  Christen 
Ptlgerfahrt,'"  etc.  Halle,  1865)  on  the  subject. 
"  The  gracious  hours  of  life  at  and  after  confir- 
mation." 


4.  The  call  to  return  in  the  Present. 
IV.  1-4. 


If  thou  returnest,  O  Israel,  saith  Jehovah, 
Return  unto  Me. 

And  if  thou  puttest  away  thine  abominations  out  of  my  sight. 
Then  waver  not,' 
But  swear  '  As  Jehovah  liveth ! ' 
In  truth  and  justice  and  righteousness, 


CHAP.  IV.  1-4. 


59 


So  that  the  nations  bless  themselves  in  him,* 

And  boast  of  him. 

For  thus  saith  Jehovah  to  the  men  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 

Break  up  your  fallow-ground* 

And  sow  not  among  thorns. 

Circumcise  yourselves  to  the  Lord, 

And  take  away  the  foreskin  of  your  heart. 

Ye  men  of  Judah  and  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem ; 

Lest  my  fury  break  forth  like  fire. 

And  burn,  and  there  be  no  quencher, — 

On  account  of  the  wickedness  of  your  doings. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1. — [Blatnet  renders  "  thou  shalt  not  be  removed  from  before  me."  Movers  and  Hitzig  also  connect  the  word« 
"out  of  my  sight  "with  what  follows:  neque  a  facie  nua  oberraveris.  Henderson  and  Notes  following  De  Wette,  hav« 
"  Thou  shalt  not  be  a  fugitive  (wanderer)."     Umbreit  renders  as  in  the  text. — S.  R.  A]. 

2  ViT  2.— 13  ipi3nni  The  Perfect  with  Faw  ccmsec,  expresses  intended  result.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  O.  g.  84,  h.  sqq.  [Tho 
usual  rendering  is  the  simple  future]. 

3  Ver.  a.— [Blatnet  renders  well  "  Break  up  your  ground  in  tillage."  The  German  Commentators  have  Brechet  eiKh 
Neubruch  for  which  we  have  no  exact  equivalent. — S.  R.  A]. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  fundamental  thought  of  the  whole  dis- 
course (Return)  is  distinctly  stamped  on  the 
head  of  this  section.  True  and  honest  conver- 
sion is  the  indispensable  condition  of  present 
life.  All  that  the  prophet  has  previously  said, 
partly  in  severe  rebuke,  partly  in  friendly  in- 
vitation, was  to  serve  as  an  exhortation  to 
procure  an  entrance  into  this  life.  If  the  people 
do  not  heed  this  exhortation,  they  fall  inevitably 
under  the  just  judgment  of  God. 

Ver.  1.  If  thou  returnest  .  .  Tvaver  not. 
These  words  point  back  to  iii.  7  and  10.  The  call 
"Return  to  me  "  according  to  iii.  7,  had  been  ad- 
dressed to  Israel  in  vain.  Judah  on  the  other 
hand,  according  to  iii.  10,  had  been  obedient  to  the 
call  "Return,"  but  not  to  the  "to  me,"  for  their 
return  was  not  hearty  but  hypocritical.  We 
have  shown  above  that  by  this  is  meant  the  re- 
form of  Josiah.  A  hypocritical  return  is  the 
same  as  one  which  is  not  to  the  Lord,  for  the 
hypocrite  avoids  indeed  the  forms  in  which  his 
sins  have  hitherto  been  manifested,  but  he  does 
not  turn  positively  with  his  heart  to  the  Lord. 
The  Lord  does  not  therefore  allow  the  conversion 
occasioned  by  the  reformation  under  Josiah  to 
be  regarded  as  unto  Him.  And  hence  the  pro- 
phet thus  addresses  the  people:  if  you  would 
answer  the  call  "  R,eturn  to  me"  (iii.  7),  it  must 
not  be  done  by  a  return  "  with  falsehood  "  which 
is  no  return  to  vie  at  all,  but  by  such  a  conver- 
sion as  may  be  truly  thus  designated. — Comp. 
Hos.  vi.  14.  An  example  of  such  a  conversion, 
"not  unto  the  Lord"  is  also  the  reformation  of 
Jehu,  2  Kings  ix.  x.  Comp.  especially  2  Kings 
X.  31.  In  the  reformation  of  Josiah,  Judah  did 
outwardly  put  away  their  abominations  out  of 
God's  sight  (2  Kings  xxiii.  4  sqq.)  but  they  were 
far  from  directing  their  hearts  fixedly  and  alone 
to  God.  Instead  of  this  they  wavered,  wishing 
partly  to  serve  the  Lord  and  partly  also  their 
idols.  Comp.  Zeph.  i.  5.  How  ambiguous  the 
conduct  of  the  people  must  then  have  been  is 
clear  from  2  Kings  xxii.  14  sqq.;  xxiii.  25-27; 
2  Chron.  xxxiv.  22-28.  Comp.  Herzog,  Real- 
Enc.  VII.  36. — In  translating  HIJ  by   "  waver" 


I  appeal  to  the  radical  signification  of  the  word, 
"to  oscillate,"  by  virtue  of  which  it  is  used  of  the 
waving  of  a  reed  (2  Kings  xiv.  15),  the  flapping 
of  wings  (Ps.  xi.  1;  Prov.  xxvi.  2),  of  the  wan- 
dering of  a  fugitive  (Gen.  iv.  12)  and  of  the 
shaking  of  the  head,  (Jer.  xviii.  16;  Ps.  xliv.  15). 
From  the  meaning  of  commiserari  which  it  has  in 
several  places  (Jer.  xvi.  5;  xlviii.  17,  etc.)  it  is 
evident  that  the  word  is  also  capable  of  being 
transferred  to  the  sphere  of  spiritual  relations. 

Ver.  2.  But  swear  .  .  .  and  boast  of  him. 
In  swearing  by  Jehovah  in  truth,  justice  and 
righteousness  is  included  not  only  that  they 
swear  the  truth  (Lev.  xix.  12;  Num.  xxx.  3; 
Jer.  v.  2  coll.  Matt.  v.  33)  but  also  that  they 
swear  by  Jehovah  alone  and  not  also  by  idols, 
as  according  to  Zeph.  i.  5.  they  then  did.  To 
refer  13  to  Israel,  and  then  to  assume  either  a 
change  of  person  or  a  quotation  from  Gen.  xviii. 
18,  (coll.  xii.  3;  xxii.  18;  xxvi.  4;  xxviii.  14)  or  to 
read  ^2  (as  ex.gr.  E.  Meier)  is  arbitrary.  The 
reference  to  God  is  perfectly  justified  by  the  con- 
nection. The  moral  course  of  Israel  is  to  win 
over  the  heathen  to  God,  who  is  the  source  of 
that  power  by  which  they  pursue  this  course  (1 
Pet.  iii.  1,  2),  as  on  the  other  hand  the  sin  of 
Israel  is  designated  as  causing  the  heathen  to 
blaspheme  (Rom.  ii.  24,  coll.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  20,  23). 
As  in  Isai.  Ixv.  16,  so  also  here  l'3  113nn  signi- 
fies to  recognize  God  as  the  source  of  all  bless- 
ing, and  therefore  to  seek  all  blessing  only 
through  him.  "And  boast  of  him,"  refers  to  the 
possession  of  the  desired  blessing.  For  they 
justly  boast  in  a  dispenser  of  blessing,  who 
causes  those  who  bless  themselves  in  his  name 
to  appear  really  blessed.  Comp.  Isai.  xli.  16;  Jer. 
ix.    22,  23;   Ps.    xxxiv.  3;  cv.  3. 

Ver.  3.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  sow 
not  among  thorns.  "'2  here  is  not  causative 
but  explicative.  The  words  return  unto  Me, 
w^aver  not  and  sw^ear  by  Jehovah  in  truth 
are  so  explained  in  what  follows  as  to  show 
plainly  that  the  prophet  has  in  view  the  hypo- 
critical half-heartedness  with  which  the  people 
submitted  to  the  reformation  of  Josiah.  Break 
up  your  fallow-ground  is  from  Hos.  x.  12. 
Israel  is  not  to  sow  on  the  unemployed  field  of 


60 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


his  heart,  but  to  break  it  up,  as  is  done  with  wild 
land,  which  is  cleansed  from  weeds  only  by  deep 
and  repeated  ploughing.  It  was  just  in  this  that 
the  people  failed  in  Josiah's  reformation.  It 
was  a  sowing  among  thorns.  Comp.  Luke  viii.  7. 
Ver.  4.  Circumcise  yourselves  to  the 
Lord  .  .  your  doings.  Circumcision  to  the  Lord 
is  opposed  to  that  which  is  done  only  in  accord- 
ance with  outward  ordinance  or  custom.  The 
latter  is  done  merely  on  the  body,  the  former  on 
the  heart  also,  of  which  sin  is  the  real  defiling 
foreskin.  Comp.  Levit.  xxvi.  41 ;  Jer.  ix.  25,  coll. 
Exod.  vi.  12  (iv.  10);  Jer.  vi.  13.  The  expres- 
sion "take  away  the  foreskin  of  your  heart"  is 
a  reminiscence  from  Deut.  x.  16;  xxx.  6.  Comp. 
KuEPER,  S.  10.— Men  of  Judah  and  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalem,  a  frequent  formula  in  Jere- 
miah (Comp.  xi.  2,  12;  xvii.  20;  xviii.  11;  xxv. 
2;  XXXV.  17,  etc.)  in  which  a  certain  prerogative 
of  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem  is  recognizable. 
Comp.  viii.  1;  xiii.  13;  xix.  3.— My  fury,  etc. 
Comp.  Am.  v.  6 ;  Jer.  vii.  20.— The  words  on 
account  of  the  wickedness,  etc.  (coll.  xxi. 
22  ;  xxiii.  2  ;  xxvi.  3 ;  xliv.  22)  are  from  Deut. 
xxviii.  20.  The  prophet  in  these  words  prepares 
the  way  for  the  transition  to  the  second  main 
division.  Israel  obeys  not  the  call,  the  fury 
of  the  Lord  must  therefore  break  forth.  The 
manner  in  which  this  will  take  place  is  described 
in  section  second. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  1.  Mere  turning  from  earthly  things 
without  positive  returning  to  God,  the  pole  of 
the  soul,  is  not  true  repentance.  So  long  as 
the  prodigal  son,  after  the  loss  of  all  earthly 
goods,  had  not  formed  the  resolution  of  return- 
ing to  his  father,  he  was  not  yet  in  a  penitent 
condition.  A  man,  who  should  denounce  this 
or  that  sin,  but  yet  not  devote  himself  wholly 
and  decidedly  to  God,  would  thus  give  no 
guarantee  of  the  genuineness  or  permanence  of 
his  conversion.     Comp.  what  is  said  of  following 


Jesus,  Matt.  xix.  16 ;  Luke  ix.  69  sqq.  For  re- 
pentance to  be  honest,  it  must  have  the  right 
object,  i.  e.  it  must  be  towards  God. — Ceamer. 

2.  On  ver.  2.  Swearing  by  Jehovah  involves  the 
acknowledgment  of  His  deity.  For  no  one  would 
swear  by  Him  who  was  not  convinced  that  He  is 
the  witness  of  truth  and  the  avenger  of  false- 
hood. But  when  one  swears  by  others  he  robs 
God  of  His  glory  and  gives  it  to  idols;  Isa.  xlii.  8. 

3.  On  ver.  3.  Rooting  out  weeds  from  the  field 
of  the  heart  is  the  most  difficult  part  of  repent- 
ance. Many  would  receive  the  gospel  gladly  if 
they  were  permitted  to  leave  the  thorns  and  sow 
the  seed  of  the  gospel  among  them.  Comp. 
Matt.  vi.  24  ;   1  Ki.  xviii.  21. 

4.  On  ver.  4.  We  Christians  also  know  of  a 
double  circumcision,  a  bodily  and  a  spiritual, 
which  however  are  not  related  to  each  other,  as 
the  bodily  and  spiritual  circumcision  of  Judaism. 
For  according  to  Col.  ii.  11  baptism  corresponds 
to  conversion  as  the  Tvepiro/n^  dxEiponotTjrd^,  as 
the  aKeKSvaig  tov  a^juarog  rijg  aapKdg.  Thus  the 
sacrament  of  baptism  is  the  spiritual  and  bodily 
basis  of  the  nepirofi^  Tijq  KapSiag,  which  is  spoken 
of  in  Phil.  iii.  3,  coll.  Rom.  ii.  29 ;  vi.  1  sqq. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  Orioen  treats  this  passage  in  his  peculiar 
style  in  his  fifth  homily  on  Jeremiah.  Vide  S. 
149  and  164  sqq.,  ed.  Lommatzsch. 

2.  On  ver.  3.  "  We  Christians  also,  like  the 
Jews,  love  to  sow  under  the  hedges.  We  allow  the 
divine  word  to  be  strewn  on  the  field  of  our  heart, 
we  hear  and  read  God's  word  on  week-days  and 
Sundays,  but  we  also  allow  the  thickets  of  evil 
passions  and  sinful  habits  to  grow  on." — Hoch- 
STETTER,  12  Parables  (12  Gleichnisse,  etc.,  S.  10). 

3.  True  repentance  consists  (a)  in  decided 
turning  away  from  evil  (not  sowing  among  the 
thorns  but  breaking  up  new  ground) ;  (b)  in  de- 
cided turning  to  God  (positive  devotion  to  God 
alone,  ver.  1,  so  that  He  alone  is  served  and 
worshipped,  yer.  2). 


CHAP.  IV.  5-10.  6\ 


SECOND  DIVISION 

Chap.  IV.  V.-VI.  26. 

Threatening  of  punishment  for  neglecting  to  return. 

The  call,  ^^  return"  was  unheeded.  The  prophet,  therefore  now  proceeds  to  announce  the  punishment.  He 
does  this  in  three  sections :  in  the  first  (chap,  iv.)  he  announces  the  approaching  calamity;  in  the  se- 
cond (chap.  V.)  he  shows  particularly  its  causes  in  the  moral  corruption  of  the  people  ;  in  the  third 
(chap.  vi.  1-26)  he  recapitulates  the  main  thought  of  the  discourse,  adding  to  the  repeated  proof  of 
the  incorrigibility  of  the  people,  a  repealed  admonition  and  a  threatening  of  still  severer  judgments 

Description  of  the  expected  judgment  (Chap.  iv.  5-31). 

1.   This  is  described  as  future  under  a  triple  emblem  (iv.  5-18). 

a.  The  first  emblem :  the  Lion. 

IV.  5-10. 

5  Declare  it  in  Judah  and  publish  it  in  Jerusalem, 
And  speak — and  blow  the  trumpet  in  the  land, 
Cry  with  a  loud  voice  and  say  : 

Assemble  yourselves,  that  we  may  go  into  the  fortified  citicB. 

6  Raise  banners  towards  Zion, 
¥lee !  stand  not ! 

For  I  am  bringing  calamity  from  the  North, 
And  great  destruction. 

7  A  lion  cometh  up  from  his  thicket,^ 

And  a  destroyer  of  nations  hath  broken  up. 

He  is  come  forth  from  his  place 

To  make  thy  land  a  desert : 

Thy  cities  shall  be  desolate,^ — without  inhabitant. 

8  For  this  gird  on  sackcloth,  lament  and  howl ! 

For  the  heat  of  Jehovah's  anger  hath  not  turned  from  us. 

9  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  saith  Jehovah, 

The  heart  of  the  king  shall  fail  and  the  heart  of  the  princes, 
The  priests  shall  be  amazed  and  the  prophets  full  of  horror. 

10  And  I  said  :  Ah  Lord  Jehovah, 

Surely  thou  hast  prepared^  deception  for  this  people  and  Jerusalem, 

Saying  :  "  ye  shall  have  peace," 

And  yet  the  sword  reacheth  even  to  the  soul.* 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  7.— USp  with  Dag.  forte,  to  emphasize  the  sharpening  from  '13D  (Ewald,  §  255,  d.)  or  ^30  (OlSHAUSEN,  g  155,  b.| 
The  word  is  an-af'  \ey.    Comp.  the  related  forms  from  7j3D  I^ai.  ix.  17;  x.  34;  Gen.  xxii.  13;  Ps.  Ixxiv.  5. 

2  Ver.  7. — nyyn  is  certainly  Kal  from  n}f  J.  which  must  here  be  taken  in  an  intransitive  sense.    Comp.  ix.  11;  laaL 

TV-  T  T 

xxxvii.  26 ;  2  Kings  xix.  25. 
8  Ver.  10.— Ktj;n  with  S  as  in  xxix.  8;  2  Kings  xviii.  29. 
*  Ver.  10.— [Or  even  to  the  life,  as  Hendeeson,  etc.—S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  5.  Declare  it  in  Judah  .  .  .  fortified 

cities.  The  pi-ophet  speaks,  and  indeed  as  the 
mouth  of  God.  This  is  seen  from  the  '3JX.  "I." 
▼er.   6.     The    persons  addressed  are    primarily 


those  who  dwell  on  the  border,  who  are  to 
inform  those  in  the  interior,  even  as  far 
as  the  capital,  of  the  invasion  of  the  enemy. 
That  which  is  declared  is  not  the  command  to 
blow  the  trumpet,  and  to  cry  "assetnble,"  etc. 
For  why  should  not  those  first  addressed  them- 
selves at  once  cry  to  their  next  neighbors,  "as- 


62 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


semble,"  etc.?  Accordingly  all  that  comes  after 
the  general  sentence,  "declare — Jerusalem,"  is 
only  introductory  to  "assemble."  Thus  it  is 
evident  that  the  Chethib  ^i'pjpi  is  not  incorrect, 
and  the  Keri,  which  is  followed  by  the  ancient 
commentators  and  many  MSS.  is  therefore  un- 
necessary. "Assemble,"  etc.,  should  have  come 
after  the  first  ^"1?N).  But  the  prophet  (1)  ac- 
cording to  well-known  linguistic  usage  adds  an 
accompanying  circumstance  paratactically,  (2) 
he  distributes  the  command  to  cry  into  three 
parts,  of  which  the  two  first  refer  to  the  form, 
the  last  to  the  contents. — On  the  construction 
comp.  xiii.  18;  1  Sam.  ii.  3;  Naegelsb.  Or. 
§  95,  g.  Anm. 

Ver.  6.  Raise  banners  towards  Zion  .  .  . 
great  destruction.  The  signal  is  to  be  so 
arranged  that  it  will  indicate  to  the  inhabitants 
the  direction  of  flight.  V]}"!}  only  in  the  Hiphil 
=to  fly  to  (Exod.  ix.  19),  and  to  make  flight, 
i.  e.  to  flee  (thus  only  besides  here  in  vi.  1 ;  Isa. 
X.  31). — Prom  the  north  points  back  to  i.  13, 
14.     Compare  the  remarks  there  made. 

Ver.  7.  A  lion  cometh  up  .  .  .  without 
inhabitants.  The  enemy  is  here  represented 
by  the  emblem  of  a  lion  as  in  xlix.  19;  1.  44,  17. 
— Without  inhabitant.  Comp.  ii.  15,  and 
the  remarks  thereon. 

Ver.  8.  For  this  gird  on  .  .  .  turned  from 
us.  This  last  sentence  points  back  to  ii.  35. 
The  people  had  expected  a  return  of  God  to 
graciousness  on  the  ground  of  their  hypocritical 
return  under  Josiah. 

Yer.  9.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  .  . .  full 


of  horror.  After  the  prophet  in  ver.  8  has 
summoned  them  to  general  lamentation,  he  de- 
scribes the  effect  of  the  calamity  on  those  who 
are  called  by  their  position  to  provide  means 
and    ways    of   defence ;  they  are    helpless,   and 

lose  their  presence  of  mind.     37  in  the  sense  of 

understanding,  ex.  gr.  Prov.  xxviii.  26 ;  xv.  32 ; 
Hos.  iv.  11  ;  vii.  11  ;  Jer.  v.  21.  Comp.  De- 
LiTzscH,  Psychol.  IV.,  ^  12. — Shall  be  amazed. 
Comp.  Ezek.  iv.  17;  Job  xvii.  9;   xviii.  20. 

Ver.  10.  And  I  said  .  .  .  even  to  the  soul. 
The  prophet  here  declares  what  impression  was 
made  by  the  denunciatory  prophecy  upon  him- 
self, after  he  had  previously  in  ver.  9  described 
the  impression  which  its  fulfilment  will  make  on 
the  chiefs  of  the  people.  This  denunciatory 
prophecy  does  not  at  all  harmonize  with  that 
earlier  and  exceedingly  glorious  one  in  ch.  iii. 
12-25.  This  was  correctly  perceived  by  Jerome, 
who  says:  "  Quia  supra  dixerat:  in  illo  tempore 
vocabunt  Jerusalem  solium  Dei,  etc.  (iii.  17),  et  nunc 
dicit :  peribit  cor  regis  (ver.  9),  turbatur  propheta 
et  in  se  Deum  putat  esse  mentitum ;  nee  intelligit, 
illud  multa,  post  tempora  repromissum,  hoc  autem 
vicino  futurum  tempore." — Following  the  exam- 
ple of  Theodoret  very  many  commentators 
refer  prepared  deception  to  the  false  pro- 
phets, coll.  1  Kings  xxii.  22.  But  is  it  conceiv- 
able that  a  true  prophet  like  Jeremiah  would 
have  traced  back  false  prophecy  so  directly  to 
the  Lord?  Comparison  with  1  Pet.  i.  11  ren- 
ders it  conceivable  that  Jeremiah  may  himself 
have  been  deceived  as  to  the  difl'erence  of  the 
times. 


b.  The  Second  Emblem :  the  Tempest, 
IV.  11-13. 

11  About  this  time  it  will  be  said  to  this  people  and  Jerusalem, 
A  hot  wind  of  the  bare  heights  in  the  deserts 

Comes  thence  against  the  daughters  of  my  people — 
Not  to  winnow  and  not  to  cleanse. 

12  With  full  cheeks  comes  a  wind  to  me  from  those. 
Now  will  I  also  contend  with  them. 

13  Behold,  as  clouds  he  ascends, 
And  as  the  stormwinds  his  chariots, 
Swifter  than  eagles  are  his  horses. 
Woe  to  us,  for  we  are  destroyed ! 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  11.  About  this  time  .  .  .  not  to 
cleanse.  As  the  invasion  of  the  lion-like 
enemy,  so  also  the  approach  of  the  destructive 
desert-wind  is  to  be  announced  in  Jerusalem. 
The  prophet  alludes  to  the  custom  of  signalizing 
those  who  are  threatened  by  a  hurricane  or  flood. 
^"^T  {Ace.  loci,  xxxix.  4)  seems  also  to  point  to 
this.     nV    (besides    here    also   in   Isa.   xviii.  4 ; 


xxxii.  4 ;  Song  of  Sol.  v.  10)  if  we  compare  the 

words   radically  related  to  it  {T\XVi  Isa.  v.  13 ; 

nn'ny  Ps.  ixviii.  7;  D-n'n:;  Neh.  iv.  7;  mmnv 

Isa.  Iviii.  11),  appears  to  unite  tbe  meanings 
calidus,  candidus,  aridus,  and  to  designate  the 
brilliant  clearness  of  the  air  heated  by  the  hot- 
wind.  So  also  Jerome  {yentus  urens),  Aquila. 
{ventus  fulgoris),  Symmachus  {v.  sestus).  On  the 
position  of  nV  between  the  nomen  regens  and 
rectum,  comp.   Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  63,  4  f. — Bare 


CHAP.  IV.  14-18. 


63 


heights.  Comp.  iii.  2,  21.  The  bare  rocky 
mountains  of  the  eastern  desert  are  meant,  over 
which  the  dry,  hot  east  wind  blows  (D""lp  the 
"wind  of  the  wilderness,"  Jer.  xiii.  24).  Comp. 
Winer,  R-B-W.,  s.  v.  Winde.  The  expression 
is  found  also  in  xii.  12. — Not  to  winnow, 
etc.  It  is  not  one  of  the  winds,  which  is  favor- 
able to  human  industry,  but  a  hostile,  destruc- 
tive wind. 
Ver.   12.  With   full   cheeks  .  .  .  contend 

•with    them.     N70    here    is   fundamentally  the 

same  as  in  ver.  5  and  xii.  6.  The  idea  of  "full" 
we  are  accustomed  to  apply  to  wind  only  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  translation.  As  hot  w^ind  de- 
notes the  quality  so  full  denotes  the  quantity — 
from  those  refers  to  bare  heights.  The 
Lord  says,  the  ^vind  comes  to  me,  because 

it  is  in  His  service.     '/  is  Dat.  commodi. — I  also 


refers  to  ii.  5,  29.  The  prophet  of  Israel  accord- 
ing to  these  passages  really  contended  with  the 
Lord.  Comp.  the  remarks  on  ii.  29.  The  sense 
is  this :  after  they  have  presumed  to  contend 
with  the  Lord  (or,  to  use  His  pretended  fault  as 
a  pretext  of  revolt,  comp.  xliv.  18),  He  contends 
with  them,  i.  e.  He  punishes  them,  and  His  in- 
strument is  he,  who  is  understood  by  the  wind. 
Comp.  i.  16. 

Ver.  13.  Behold  as  clouds  .  .•.  we  are 
destroyed.  The  prophet  still  retains  his  em- 
blem in  the  region  of  the  air,  but  he  modifies  it. 
The  total  impression  of  the  hostile  masses  is 
now  compared  with  threatening  storm-clouds, 
the  chariots  in  the  rapidity  of  their  motion  and 
power  of  their  impetus  are  like  the  storm-blast, 
the  riders  are  like  swift  eagles.  The  prophet 
seems  to  have  had  Hab.  i.  8  generally  in  mind 
Comp.  KuEPEK,  S.  76. 


c.  The  Third  Emblem :  the  Keepers. 
IV.  14-18. 

14  Wash  thy  heart  from  wickedness,  Jerusalem, 
In  order  that  thou  mayest  be  delivered. 

How  long  do  tny  sinful  thoughts  tarry  within  thee  ? 

15  For  a  loud  call  sounds  from  Dan, 

A  message  of  misfortune  from  Mount  Ephraim. 

16  Announce  it  to  the  nations  ! 
Behold,  call  it  out  over  Jerusalem  : 

Watchmen  [Besiegers]  are  coming  from  a  distant  land, 
They  raised  their  cry  over  the  cities  of  Judah. 

17  For  like  keepers  of  a  field  are  they  over  her  from  all  sides, 
For  against  me  hath  she  rebelled,  saith  Jehovah. 

18  Thy  walk  and  thy  works  bring  this  upon  thee ; 

This  is  thy  wickedness,  that  a  bitter  thing  (comes  upon  thee), 
That  it  reaches  even  to  thine  heart. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL, 

The  first  emblem  was  from  the  animal  king- 
dom, the  second  from  the  region  of  the  air,  the 
third  is  taken  from  the  sphere  of  human  life. 
The  third  appeals  most  strongly  to  the  moral 
consciousness  of  the  people ;  this  calamity  is 
held  up  before  them  as  the  punishment  of  their 
sin,  and  acknowledgment  and  renunciation  of 
this  as  the  only  means  of  escape. 

Ver.  14.  \Vash  thy  heart .  .  .  tarry  w^ithin 
thee?  —  Wash  [Cleanse].  Comp.  ii.  22. — 
Comp.  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  strophe: 
th«»  idea  of  wickedness  forms  the  frame-work. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  take  \{i^,  with  Vat- 
able  and  others,  as  causative.  Comp.  N.\egelsb. 
Gr.  \  105,  4  b.  "njix  from  |1X  in  the  sense  of 
tin,  while  PX,  ver.  15,  means  calamity.  Comp. 
Gen.  XXXV.  l8;  Deut.  xxvi.  14;  Ps.  Iv.  4. 


Ver.  15.  For  a  loud  call  .  .  .  Ephraim.     It 

is  high  time  to  comply  with  the  admonition  con- 
tained in  ver.  14  (comp.  "how  long,"  etc.),  for 
the  news  is  already  received  of  the  approach  of 
the  avenger.  The  prophet's  mention  of  Dan 
and  Mount  Ephraim  is  a  confirmation  of  the 
view  expressed  concerning  from  the  north  in 
i.  14.     Comp.  the  remarks  there  made. 

Vers.  16  ami  17.  Announce  it  to  the  na- 
tions .  .  .  saith  Jehovah.  0  ^"I'^rri  verbally : 
cause  1111  to  the  nations,  that  is,  cause  that  these 
reflecting  upon  it  are  deeply  impressed  by  the 
significance  of  the  fact.  From  the  meaning,  to 
penetrate,  to  bore  in  (comp.  Fuerst,  Handwb.),  is 
developed  the  meaning  of  to  remember,  which  is 
the  common  one,  to  consider,  to  reflect  (Lam.  i.  9; 
Ps.  ciii.  14;  Job  vii.  7).  This  call  to  the  nations 
is  made  only  incidentally,  not  with  a'  friendly 
purpose,  but  only  to  denote  the  greatness  and 
importance  of  the  event.  The  invasion  of  this 
enemy  is   .-oinething  so  great  that  it  cannot  be 


64 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


cried  out  loud  enough,  and  this  the  rather  since 
the  nations  round  about  Israel  are  implicated 
with  them.  Comp.  ch.  xxv. — It  is  therefore  un- 
necessary to    follow  HiTzio  as   he   follows    the 

LXX.  KiMCHi  and  others,  in  taking  *?  z=from  or 
E.  Meier  and  others  in  rendering  D'U  =:  tribes 
(of  Israel). — The  business  of  watchmen,  keepers 
of  a  field,  is  iTsnnlly  to  protect  from  robbery  and 
violence,  feut  the  prophet  has  such  keepers  in 
mind  who  do  not  remove  their  gaze  from  him  to 
whom  it  is  directed,  as,  ex.  gr.,  those  who  beset 
a  fox,  a  weasel  or  a  polecat,  so  that  the  animal 
may  either  perish  in  his  hole  or  be  killed  when 
he  comes  out.  In  short  the  prophet  here  means 
the  same  thing  as  he  expressed  in  i.  15  by  set- 
ting seats  before   the  gates.     Comp.  2  Sam.  xi. 

16,  "I'JI^n-Sx  liOt!^;  Jer.  v.  6;  vi.  25.— These 
raised  their  cry,  etc.  It  is  announced  to  Jeru- 
salem, that  the  cry  of  these  keepers  has  already 


sounded  over  the  other  cities  of  Judah.  Jerusa- 
lem alone  is  still  in  the  power  of  the  enemy. 
Hence  it  is  also  said  in  ver.  17  that  they  are 
over  her  from  all  sides. — As  in  the  beginning  of 
the  strophe,  ver.  14,  the  exhortation  to  repent- 
ance as  the  only  means  of  escape  is  prominent, 
so  in  ver.  17  b  and  ver.  18  is  ungodliness  as  the 
self-inflicted  cause  of  the  punitive  judgments. 

Ver.  18.  Thy  walk  and  thy  works  .  .  . 
reaches  even  to  thy  heart.  Comp.  ii.  19. — 
Both  this  parallel  passage  and  the  parallelism  in 
the  verse  itself  prove  that  hemistich  2  is  a  sub- 
jective sentence  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  \  109,  1). 
The  two  sentences  with  for  represent  the  sub- 
ject, this  thy  w^ickedness  is  the  predicate. 
The  bitter  thing  which  comes  upon  thee  is  no- 
thing more  than  thine  own  wickedness,  here 
developing  its  own  true  nature. — The  conclusion 
of  the  strophe  reminds  us  of  ver.  10,  and  in 
such  a  way  as  to  show  that  the  prophet  intended 
a  similarity  in  diversity. 


2.  Tht  Prophet  Hears  and  Sees  the  Enemy  Present. 
IV.  19-26. 

19  My  bowels,  my  bowels !    Cramp'  in  the  chambers'  of  the  heart! 
My  heart  palpitates  !     I  cannot  be  silent, 

For  the  trumpet's  sound  thou  hearest,'  my  soul, 
The  cry  of  battle. 

20  Blow  upon  blow  is  reported, 
For  desolated  is  the  whole  land ; 
Suddenly  my  huts  are  desolated, 
In  a  twinkling  my  tents. 

21  How  long  shall  I  see  the  banner. 
Hear  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  ? 

22  For  my  people  are  foolish,  they  know  me  not; 
Silly  children  are  they  and  undiscerning: 
They  are  wise  to  do  evil. 

But  doing  good  they  understand  not. 

23  I  look  at  the  earth  and  behold— desolation  and  emptiness! 
And  up  towards  heaven,  and  its  light  is  gone. 

24  I  look  at  the  mountains  and  behold  they  quake,* 
And  all  the  hills  are  shaken. 

25  I  look  and  behold,  man  is  gone, 
And  all  the  birds  of  heaven  are  fled. 

26  I  look  and  behold,  the  fertile  field  has  become  a  waste, 
And  all  its  cities  are  desolated^ — 

Before  Jehovah,  before  the  fury  of  his  anger. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  19.— nSiniX-  TheformoftheChethibh  PlS-iniN  is  a  grammatical  anomaly  and  therefore  certainly  incorrect.  Th» 
Keri  reads  nS'niX.  Thishowevcr  would  mean:  1  wait,  expect  {2  Sam.  xviii.  14  ;  Mic.vii.  7),  which  does  not  well  suit  the  con- 
nection.   The  reading  nb-inX  or  hStIX  which  is  expressed  in  the  LXX,  and  is  found  in  very  many  MSS.  and  editions 

T  T  T     ■     T  It 

(Steph.,  Jos.  AthiaS.,  Bibl.  Mant.)  should  therefore  he  preferred.     7:in  (or   /Tli  comp.  FuERST,  s.  v.)  is  to  twht  one.'fi  self,  to 
quiver   with   pain,   grief  or  terror.     Comp.  v.  3;  Jizek.  xxx.  16. — As   to   the   construction  we   may  (a)   divide   after  '_J?D, 

nSinx,  "^h  'p,  '3  Snoin  (so  graf),  or  (b)  after  yo,  rhmn,  'S-noin,  K?"\nK  (see  hitzm,  e.  meier),  (c)  'j^d, 

^3*7,  07>  l!/"inX-    I  would  give  the  preference  to  the  last  division,  since  7in  declared  of  37~mT'p  (the  expression  here 


CHAP.  IV.  27-31. 


65 


only)  designates  very  appropriately  the  cramp  of  the  heart,  while  HOiri  D  7  evidently  denotes  the  palpitaticm  of  the  heart. 
The  cohortative  form  in  H/inN  as  in  Hj^DtJ'X.  ver.  21,  is  not  to  be  insisted  on.    Conip.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  J  89,  3  a. 

2  Ver.  19. — r\1Tp  is  the  accusative  of  more  exact  definition.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.  J  70  f. 

3  Ver.  19. — Tl^OtJ',  2  Pers.  fern.    Comp.  ii.  20,  33 ;  ili.  4,  5.    Ewald,  Hitziq,  E.  Meier,  read  with  the  Cod.  Regiomont. 

:  —  T 
1-  n^Dti',  which  is  unnecessary.     [Comp.  Green's  Heb.  Gr.  J  86,  6.] 

*  Ver.  24. — D'E'J^T.    On  the  absence  of  the  subject  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  97, 1,  a  Ann. 

B  Ver.  26.— :|yj^p  Niph.  from  rr\J-     Comp.  Nah.  i.  6.    LXX. :  e/iAjr6irvpio-/ix«»'ai,  confounded  with  ^HVJ,  ix-  9- 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  entire  strophe  describes  the  desolation 
of  the  country  from  the  standpoint  of  the  pre- 
sent. The  prophet  places  himself  in  spirit  in 
that  mournful  future,  and  describes  in  the  live- 
liest colors  what  he  hears,  sees  and  feels,  as  one 
who  is  present. 

Ver.  19.  My  bovrels  .  .  .  cry  of  battle. 
LXX.:  TTiv  noikiav  fiav  aXyC).  So  also  the  authors 
of  the  Syro-Hexapla.  Hitziq  has  "my  belly." 
The  prophet  in  these  and  the  following  verses 
describes  in  a  most  drastic  style  the  physical 
sensation  which  is  produced  by  the  immediate 
perception  of  the  calamity. — Passages  related  in 
subject  are  Isa.  xvi.  11;  xxi.  2-4;  Jer.  xlviii. 
36. — I  cannot  be  silent  (comp.  Hab.  i.  13 ;  Job 
xli.  4)  expresses  that  the  prophet  would  relieve 
the  inward  pain,  which  he  has  just  described,  by 
speech.  He  does  this  by  enumerating  the  occur- 
rences which  have  so  excited  him. — The  expres- 
sion :  hearest  thou,  my  soul,  seems  to  inti- 
mate that  the  prophet  heard  it  not  with  the 
outward  but  the  inward  ear. 

Ver.  20.  Blow  upon  blow  is  reported  .  .  . 
my  tents.  The  exposition,  which,  following  the 
Chaldee  and  Syriac,  takes  XTpJ  for  mpj  (de- 
struction meets  destruction)  is  not  correct,  be- 
cause the  prophet  in  vers.  20  and  21  mentions 
what  he  hears,  while  in  ver.  23  sqq.  he  relates 
what  he  sees.  If,  moreover,  we  consider  that  the 
prophet  is  here  speaking  of  messages  or  signals, 
which  report  disasters,  we  see  that  the  existence 
of  a  middle  point  is  presupposed,  to  which  these 
reports  of  misfortune  proceed.  We  shall  not 
then  err,  if  we  refer  ver.  20  to  the  laying  waste 
of  the  country  surrounding  the  capital. 

Ver.  21.  How  long  shall  I .  .  .  trumpet. 
DJ  the  signal,  ver.  6.     Although  this  is  seen  it  is 

mentioned  among  the  things  which  the  prophet 
hears  because  it  also  brings  news,  or  »  message. 


Ver.  22.  For  my  people  are  foolish  .  . 
they  understand  not.  This  verse  contains 
the  answer  to  the  question  of  the  prophet,  how 
long  ?  Still  long,  is  the  answer  of  course,  for 
the  people  are  still  as  they  were.  So  Kimchi. 
— With  Hemist.  2  comp.  ii.  8 ;   Mic.  vii.  3. 

Vers.  23-26.  I  look  at  the  earth  .  .  .  fury 
of  his  anger.  T^'Nl  four  times  repeated  shows 
plainly  that  the  prophet  would  here  render  ex- 
pressly prominent  what  he  has  seen,  in  antithe- 
sis to  vers.  19  and  20,  where  he  narrates  what 
he  has  heard.  But  there  is  also  a  climax  in  the 
progress  from  the  one  to  the  other.  While  that 
which  the  prophet  hears  is  only  the  herald  and 
preliminary  stage  of  the  main  catastrophe,  in 
vers.  23-26  he  portrays  the  condition  of  the 
country  after  the  occurrence  of  this  catastrophe. 
In  spirit  he  beholds  in  the  place  of  the  once  so 
fruitful  land  a  dismal  waste,  over  which  the 
heavens  veil  themselves  in  mourning,  and  with 
which  even  lifeless  and  unintelligent  creatures 
sympathize. — Ver.  23,  reminds  us  of  Gen.  i.  2,  14, 
and  therefore  presupposes  the  existence  of  this 
passage.  The  land  has,  as  it  were,  returned  to 
chaos.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  11. — The  fruitful 
field  a  waste  [lit.,  the  Carmel  the  desert],  a 
free  reminiscence  from  Isa.  xxxii.  15;  xxix.  17. 
That  Carmel  here  denotes  not  the  mountain, 
but  the  fruitful  field  (comp.  ii.  7),  follows  (a) 
from  the  connection,  which  declares  the  desola- 
tion not  of  a  small  strip,  but  of  the  whole  coun- 
try, (6)  from  all  its  cities,  which  evidently 
cannot  be  referred  to  that  single  mountain  but 
only  to  the  whole  land.  The  article  before 
Carmel  and  waste  has  a  general  significance, 
not  a  waste,  but  the  waste  had  the  fruitful  field 
become,  that  is,  the  genus  Carmel  had  passed 
over  into  the  genus  desert.  Comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gr.  §  71,  4. — Before,  etc.  Comp.  xxiii.  9; 
XXV.  37. — On  the  general  subject  compare  Joel 
ii.  10 ;  iv.  15 ;  Nah.  i,  5 ;  Isa.  xiii.  10,  13 ;  Ps. 
xviii.  8. 


3.  The  Judgment  is  Irrevocably  Determined,  but  it  aims  not  at  Absolute  Destruction, 

IV.  27-31. 

27  For  thus  hath  Jehovah  spoken : 
The  whole  land  shall  be  waste, 

But  I  will  not  utterly  make  an  end  of  it. 

28  For  this  the  whole  land  keeps  lamenting, 

And  the  heaven  above  wears  the  garment  of  mourning ; 
For  this  namely,  that  I  have  spoken  and  determined,^ 
And  I  repent  not,  nor  draw  back  from  it. 
6 


66 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


29 


30 


31 


Before  the  tumult  of  the  horsemen  and  archers 

The  whole  city  is  fled, 

They  are  in  their  hiding-places,  up  on  the  rocks ; 

The  whole  city  is  abandoned,  not  an  inhabitant  therein. 

But  thou,  destroyed  one,'^  what  art  thou  doing? 

That  thou  clothest  thyself  in  purple, 

That  thou  puttest  on  cloth  of  gold, 

That  thou  rendest  thine  eyes  with  paint? 

In  vain  dost  thou  beautify  thyself; 

Thy  lovers  despise  thee,  they  seek  thy  soul. 

For  I  hear  a  cry  like  that  of  a  parturient,* 

The  call  of  anguish,  like  one  who  bears  for  the  first  time: 

The  voice  of  the  daughter  of  Zion, 

Who  panteth  and  spreadeth  forth  her  hands : 

Woe  is  me,  for  my  soul  succumbs*  to  the  murderers ! 


TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  28. — E.  Meier  reads  ^flST  instead  of  "'^731.    But  the  Masoretic  reading  being  the  more  difScult  has  the  presnmp' 

tion  of  genuineness. 

2  Ver.  30. — [Noyes  translates  correctly  ad  sensum,  "  destined  to  perish." — S.  R.  A.] 

3  Ver.  31.— nVin,  Part,  like  D''pi3  in  Zech.  x.  5,  D''Dip  in  2  Ki.  xvi.  7,  etc.    Fuerst  s.  v.  S^PI  ;  Ewald,  g  151,  6. 

*  Ver.  31. — [Henderson  :  My  soul  fainteth  because  of  murderers ;  Notes,  more  freely  :  I  am  dying  of  murderers.— 
S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  theme  of  this  strophe  is  contained  in  ver. 
27.  This  has  two  parts :  1.  The  destruction  is 
founded  in  an  irrevocable  divine  decree.  This 
is  the  main  point  which  is  expressed  still  more 
emphatically,  vers.  28,  29,  and  in  ver.  30,  etc., 
placed  in  the  light  of  a  contrast  (what  can  Isra- 
el's feeble  attempts  effect  in  opposition  to  the 
divine  counsel?).  2.  The  second  point,  "but  I 
will  not  utterly  make  an  end,"  is  briefly  stated 
and  not  further  discussed,  but  is  for  this  purpose 
twice  repeated  in  the  course  of  the  prophecy, 
V.  10,  18. 


Ver. 


For  thus  hath  Jehovah  spoken 


.  .  .  make  an  end  of  it.  The  certainty  of  the 
statement  in  the  previous  strophe  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  Jehovah  has  thus  spoken. — I  vyill  not 
utterly,  etc.,  is,  as  we  have  said,  a  briefly  stated 
parenthetical  thought,  which  is  only  to  give  a 
correct  limitation  to  the  declaration  of  the  first 
clause.     Comp.  Levil.  xxvi.  44. 

Ver.  28.  For  this  the  whole  land  keeps 
lamenting  .  .  .  draw  back  from  it.  Comp. 
Hos,  iv.  3,  whence  the  words  '"NH  '73Xn  are 
taken. — This  refers  to  the  following  I  have 
spoken.  The  mourning  posture  of  the  earth 
and  heavens  mentioned  in  ver.  23  sqq.  is  here 
designated  as  the  result  of  a  divine  decree.  Not 
by  chance,  nor  by  the  power  of  idols,  did  it  take 
place,  but  by  the  power  of  the  Lord.  It  should 
moreover  be  remarked  that  this  strophe  forms 
the  transition  to  the  following  section,  in  which 
also  the  cause  of  the  judgment  is  spoken  of,  but 
in  another  sense.  While  here  only  the  immediate 
cause,  the  causa  efficiens,  of  the  calamity  is  men- 
tioned, the  prophet  in  what  follows  goes  more 
deeply  into  the  matter  and  designates  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  people  as  the  immediate,  deepest 
provocative  cause. — That  is  a  repetition  of  for 


this.  LXX.,  6l6tl  kTiokrjGa  koI  ov  nETavorjau, 
upfiTjaa  Kal  ovk  aKoarpiipu  an'  avTfjq.  We  must 
first  take  spoken  independently.  Then  the 
external  announcement  which  is  made  to  men 
through  the  prophet,  is  set  over  against  the  in- 
ner cause,  which  has  a  positive  (determined) 
and  a  negative  side  (repent  not).  The  last 
point  is  designated  also  by  nor  draw  back 
from  it,  in  order  that  the  prophet  may  connect 
this  declaration  of  God  with  the  same  made  by 
Israel  (iii.  7  sqq.;  iv.  1). 

Ver.  29.  Before  the  tumult  .  .  .  not  an 
inhabitant  therein.  This  verse  seems  to  in- 
terrupt the  connection.  Yet  it  may  be  justified 
as  a  brief  and  condensed  description  of  the 
calamity  which  has  been  described  at  length  in 
the  previous  strophes,  and  only  hinted  at  in  ver. 
28.  We  might  regard  it  as  the  explanation  of 
from  it,  with  which  ver.  28  closes.  On  the 
neutral  rendering  of  this  Vide  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
I  60,  6  b. — It  is  not  necessary  to   render  (with 

Graf  and  others)  '\''^T\~i2:z=z  every  city.  It  is, 
as  the  rule  requires,  the  ^chole  city.  But  the 
prophet  understands  the  whole  city,  supposing 
this  to  be  the  general  fate  of  all  the  cities.  This 
collective  rendering  explains  also  therein  in 
the  plural.—  DOJT    are    obscure    hiding-places. 

D'S^)  comp.  Job  XXX.  6. 

Ver.  30.  But  thou,  destroyed  one  .  .  . 
seek  thy  soul.  n-HE'  (comp.  ^hy\_  '!|£3J,  Ps. 
Ixxiii.  2,  inclinatum  aliquid  pedes  mei)  is  to  be 
rendered  as  neuter :  Thou,  as  good  as  destroyed, 
a  thing  devoted  to  destruction.  The  expression 
is  contemptuous.  Vide  Naegelsb.  Gr,,  §  60,  4. 
[Green's  Gr.,  §  275,  5]. — It  can  neither  mean: 
if  thou  art  destroyed,  for  then  Israel  can  no  more 
paint ;  nor :  if  thou  shall  be  attacked,  for  the 
word  does  not  mean  to  attack.  (Comp.  mnty. 
P.O.  cxxxvii.   8).     The   prophet  has   in  view  the 


CHAP.  IV.  27-31. 


67 


present  attempts  of  Israel  to  procure  assistance 
by  coquetting  with  foreign  nations  (comp.  ii. 
18,  36,  37),  whiclr.  are  foolish  in  opposition  to 
the  decree  of  Jehovah,  solemnly  announced  in 
ver.  28,  according  to  wliich  Israel  is  already 
destroyed.  —  Thine  eyes  •with  paint.  The 
effect  of  paint  is  to  make  the  eyes  look  not  only 
more  fiery,  but  larger.  Comp.  Herzog's  Rcal- 
Enc,  Art.  Schminke.  XIII.  /S.  G07  [Smith,  Diet. 
II.,  657]. — -  Kino'S  ix.  30;   Ezek.  xxiii.  40. 

Ver.  31.  For  I  hear  a  cry  .  .  .  my  soul 
succumbs  to  the  murderers. — For  refers  to 
seek  thy  soul.  On  this  account  Israel  cries  : 
Wo  is  me,  I  succumb  to  the  murderers.     31  6. — 

'7  nS'i^  constr.  prsegnans  ;  my  soul  is  weary,  i.  e. 
as  one  who  succumbs  to  murderers.  Comp. 
Naeqblsb.  Gr.,  g  112,  7.     [Green,  156,  1]. 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  10.  It  is  not  here  a  matter  for  con- 
sideration, how  God  may  be  said  to  deceive  men 
(comp.  1  Kings  xxii.  20;  Job  xii.  24;  2  Thess. 
ii.  11),  for  it  was  only  the  opinion  of  the  prophet, 
who  here  interrupts  the  discourse  revealed  to 
him  by  the  expression  of  a  subjective  view,  just 
as  Paul  in  1  Cor.  vii.  10,  12,  25,  40,  inserts  his 
view  of  the  2.6yog  avpiov. 

2.  On  ver.  14.  Akistotle  (De  partibus  animal. 
II.  4)  and  Pliny  {Hist.  nat.  XI.  37)  remark  that 
the  heart  alone  of  all  the  internal  organs  will  not 
bear  any  injury.  The  latter  says  "solum  cor  vis- 
cerum  vitiis  non  maceratur,  nee  supplicia  vitse  trahit; 
Isesumque  mortem  illico  affert."  The  heart  also  in 
a  spiritual  sense  will  not  bear  the  least  injury, 
as  the  fall  shows.  Yet  though  every  sin  is  a 
death-germ,  a  poison,  yet  all  poison  is  not  equally 
rapid  in  its  effects.  Bernhard  of  Clairvaux  says 
in  his  Sermo  de  triplici  genere  cogitationum  nostrarum 
[sub  fin.)  as  follows:  "Et primum  quidem  genus  co- 
gitationum  otiosarum  soil,  ad  rem  non  pertinentium 
lutum  est,  sed  lutum  simplex,  id  est  non  inhserens,  nee 
foetens,  nisi  forte  diutius  immoreiur  in  nobis,  et  per 
incuriam  ac  negligentiam  nostram  in  allerum  genus 
<:ogitationum  vertatur,  quod  quotidie  experimur.  Dum 
enim  otiosa  tamquam  minima  spernimus,  ad  turpia 
atque  inhonesta  dilabimur.  Secundum  vera  cogilatio- 
num  genus  non  lutum  simplex,  sed  viscosum  ac  limo- 
sum  est.  Nam  tertium  quidem  sic  cavendum  est,  7ion 
tamquam  lutum  aut  limus,  sed  tamquam  immundissi- 
mum  ac  foetidissimum  ccenum.'"  He  explains  what 
he  understands  by  this  tertium  genus  in  the  words : 
'^Dico  autem  cogitationes  illas  immundas  penitus  et 
foelidas,  quse  ad  luxuriam,  ad  invidiam  et  vanam 
gloriam  pertinent,  cseteraque  vitia  detestanda." — He 
furtlier  says  of  tlie  conflicts  with  sinful  thoughts: 
'■'■Quid  ergo  agendum,  cum  limosa  cogitatio  nientem 
subierit  f  Plane  exclamandum  nobis  est  cum  sancto 
Jacobo  :  Ruben,  primogenito  meus,  non  crescas,  as- 
cendisii  enim  cubile patris  tui  (Gen.  xlix.  3).  Ruben 
enim  carnalis  atque  sanguinea  hujus  modi  concupis- 
centia  est,  quse  tunc  cubile  nostriim  ascendit,  cum  non 
solum  memoriam  tangit  cogitatione,  sed  et  ipsum  vo- 
luntatis stratum  ingreditur  et  polluit  prava  cogita- 
tione.''  Ghisler. 

3.  On  ver.  22.  (They  are  wise  to  do  evil,  but 
do  not  understand  well-doing.)  The  Israelites 
are  here  designated  as  children  of  the  world,  for 


it  is  the  manner  of  the  world  to  be  wise  in  worldly 
matters,  but  foolish  in  spiritual,  as  our  Lord  say* 
(Luke  xvi.  8)  the  children  of  this  world  are  wiser 
in  their  own  generation  than  the  children  of  light 
in  theirs,  and  Paul  (1  Cor.  ii.  14)  says  the  na- 
tural man  perceiveth  nothing  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
for  it  is  foolishness  to  him,  and  he  cannot  know 
it,  for  it  must  be  spiritually  discerned. — The  blind 
man  understands  nothing  about  color.  Every 
one  is  at  home  in  his  own  element.  But  this  is 
the  greatest  misery  that  the  world  knows,  that 
man,  the  image  of  God,  is  not  at  home  in  His 
house,  but  in  the  Devil's,  and  that  the  greatest 
labor  the  world  knows,  scarcely  suSices  to  bring 
him  back  into  his  Father's  house. 

4.  On  ver.  27.  How  wonderfully  do  the  anger 
and  love  of  God  here  touch  !  How  proportion- 
ate appear  both  !  How  is  one  the  limit  of  the 
other !  -God  does  not  so  love  that  He  cannot  be 
angry ;  and  He  is  not  so  angry  that  He  cannot 
love.  He  leaves  room  for  His  anger  in  order 
that  justice  may  be  preserved  and  the  sinner  re- 
formed. Thus  His  anger  is  also  guided  by  love, 
yea,  in  a  certain  sense  it  is  a  manifestation  of 
love.  Comp.  Schoberlein,  Grundlehren  des  Heils, 
S.  50,  51.  "Anger  is  the  energy  of  love  towards 
the  sinner,  the  expression,  namely,  of  its  pain, 
that  he  himself  has  become  untrue  to  his  better 
self,  and  he  who  cannot  be  angry  has  no  hearty 
love  for  this  true  I  of  another.  .  .  .  For  the 
very  reason  that  God  in  holy  self-preservation 
places  Himself  in  opposition  to  him,  man  is  not 
really  forsaken  of  God,  but  love  is  still  with  him 
in  the  might  of  its  anger."  Jer.  x.  24  ;  xxx.  11; 
xlvi.  28;  Isai.  xxvii.  8. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  The  first  eight  verses  of  this  chapter  are  part 
of  the  text  of  the  fifth  homily  of  Origen  (the 
whole  text  is  Jer.  iii.  21 — iv.  8). 

2.  Forster  remarks:  "exversu  31  haberi  po- 
test concio  in  funere  mulieris,  quse  in  partu,  velpost 
partum  obiit." 

3.  True  repentance  is  1,  a  true  return  from 
evil  (not  a  sowing  among  remaining  thorns,  not 
a  merely  external  circumcision,  but  a  circumci- 
sion of  the  heart  and  removal  of  abominations) ; 
2.  a  true  return  to  God  (right  and  holy  swearing, 
as  a  symptom  of  right  and  holy  disposition) ;  3. 
a  source  of  blessing  for  ourselves  and  others 
(thou  shalt  not  be  exiled — the  heathen  shall  be 
blessed  in  thee). 

4.  On  ver.  10.  Warning  against  false  peace. 
This  is  1.  a  lie,  for  men  say  there  is  peace  when 
the  sword  reaches  even  to  the  soul;  2.  a  misfor- 
tune, for  it  will  disappoint  the  heart  of  those  who 
cherish  it. 

5.  On  ver.  22.  Since  Scripture  distinguishes 
a  wisdom  that  is  from  above  from  a  wisdom  that 
is  from  below  (James  iii.  13-18),  the  question 
arises,  wherein  consists  the  difi"erence  between 
the  two  ?  1.  The  wisdom  from  below  is  a  wi.sdom 
in  evil  doing  (a.  unbelief,  b.  destruction,  a.  of 
self,  p.  of  others — consequently  absolute  folly); 
Wisdom  from  above  is  wisdom  in  well-doing  (a. 
faith,  b.  observing  God's  word  in  love — conse- 
quently blessing). 


68 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH, 


II.  Demonstration  of  the  justice  of  the  judgments  by  the  enumeration  of  their  causes, 

(Chap.  V.  1-31.) 

The  prophet  enumerates  these  by  first  denouncing  the  universal  corruption,  especially  in  reference  to  the  want 
of  njlOX.  Vers.  1-6  he  shows  that  truth  and  faith  have  entirely  disappeared  from  public  life;  vers. 
7-9  that  nJIDN  is  wanting  in  conjugal  relations  ;  vers.  10-18  that  none  of  this  is  any  longer  found 
in  the  sense  of  faith  in  God;  vers.  19-24  he  describes  the  idolatry  resulting  from  unbelief;  vers.  25- 
29  the  deception  and  rude  violence  connected  therewith;  vers.  30,  31  finally  he  comprises  all  in  a 
brief  survey,  in  which  the  main  points  of  this  sad  condition  are  set  forth.  The  section  contains  six 
strophes  of  unequal  length. 

1.  Universal  want  of  truth  and  faith  in  public  life. 

V.  1-6. 

1  Run  through  the  lanes  of  Jerusalem  and  see, 
And  ascertain  and  search  in  her  streets, 
Whether  ye  find  one,  whether  there  be  one, 
Who  doeth  right  and  asketh  after  truth — 
And  I  will  pardon  her, 

2  And  though  they  say  "As  Jehovah  liveth,"  ; 
Even  thus  they  swear  falsely. 

3  Jehovah,  thine  eyes,  look  they  not  for  fidelity  ? 
Thou  hast  smitten  them,  but  it  pained  them  not. 

Thou  destroyedst  them, — they  refused  to  receive  correction; 
They  made  their  faces  harder  than  a  rock, 
They  refused  to  return. 

4  And  I  said :  These  are  only  the  poor ! 
They  are  stultified !' 

For  they  know  not  the  way  of  Jehovah, 

The  judgment  of  their  God. 
6  I  will  go^  to  the  great  and  speak  with  them, 

For  they  know  the  way  of  Jehovah, 

The  judgment  of  their  God. 

Yet  they  have  broken  the  yoke  among  them, 

They  have  torn  asunder  the  cords. 
6  Therefore  the  lion  from  the  forest  slayeth  them, 

The  wolf  of  the  deserts*  rendeth  them,* 

The  leopard  lurks  by  their  cities ; 

Every  one  who  goes  out  is  torn  in  pieces ; 

For  many  are  their  misdeeds,  great  their  apostasies.^ 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  4.— ^SnU  from  SlX  used  only  in  Niphal.  Num.  xii.  11 ;  Isai.  xix.  13;  1.  36.    The  meaning  ia  to  lecome  S'lXr 
fools,  to  be  stnltified,  to  act  foolishly. 

2  Ver.  b.—"^   HdSn,  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  ?112,  ,5  6. 

8  Ver.  5.— [De  Wette,  Henderson,  Noyes  render:  an  evening-wolf;  Blatnet  has:  a  wolf  of  the  plains.— S.  R.  A.] 
«  Ver.  6.— mnt!/''  for  QIK?^  (Prov.  xi.  .3,  Keri).    Comp.  Ewald,  g251,  c;  Olshausen,  g243,  a.  [Green,  Gr.  ?141,  1.]. 
*  Ver.  6. — [Blatney,  Noyes,  IIenderson  render:  their  apostasies  (rebellions)  are  increased. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  Run  through  the  lanes  ...  I  will 
pardon  her.  Tliisversii  coiitnins  the  theme  not 
merely  of  this  strophe,  but  in  a  certain  degree  of 


the  whole  chaptei-.  For  the  statements  here  of 
the  universality  of  the  corruption  apply  not  only 
to  the  moral  deficiency  which  is  denounced  in 
this  strophe,  but  to  all  the  sins  of  the  people  af- 
terward enumerated.  And  in  the  second  place 
the  lack  of  honesty  is  the  root  of  all  the  rest. — 


CHAP.  V.  7-9. 


63 


Run  through,  comp.  Am.  viii.  12  ;  Zech.  iv. 
10. — her  streets,  comp.  Gen.  xviii.  23  sqq. — 
right — truth.  Since  the  prophet  uses  these  two 
words  in  conjunction  with  each  other,  since  in 
ver.  2  the  unreliableness  of  the  oath  sworn  in  Je- 
rusalem forms  the  contrast  to  the  truth  demanded, 
since  further  this  moral  deficiency  is  first  desig- 
nated as  the  most  striking,  manifesting  itself  in 
all  the  lanes  and  streets  of  the  city,  this  being 
followed  in  the  ensuing  strophes  by  the  more 
special  sins  against  truth,  we  must  understand 
the  former  word  of  "right,  justice"  (comp.  Gen. 
xviii.  19  ;  Exod.  xxiii.  6  ;  Job  viii.  3)  as  the  ba- 
sis of  all  trade  and  intercourse,  the  guarantee  of 
all  security  of  life  and  property,  but  the  latter  as 
"truth  and  faith,"  without  which  no  public  life 
can  exist.  The  asker  after  truth  cannot  be  he, 
who  seeks  it  in  others,  for  why  should  he  in  such 
a  deficiency?  but  one  who  seeks  it  for  its  own 
sake,  that  he  may  have  it  and  practise  it  him- 
self. 

Ver.  2.  And  though  they  say  ....  swear 
falsely.  There  may  have  been  many  diiferent 
kinds  of  swearing  in  use  (comp.  Matth.  v.34sqq. ). 
The  formula  '•"'  "'11  was  at  any  rate  regarded  as 
the  most  sacred  and  binding.     But  even  the  oath 

thus  made  was  broken. —  p  7.  The  passages  which 
are  adduced  for  the  meaning  "nevertheless,  yet " 
(Isai.  vii.  14 ;  x.  24  ;  xxvii.  9)  are  uncertain. 
We  must  therefore  retain  the  original  meaning 
(in  reference  to  such  a  condition,  this  being  the 
case)=eye«  thus.  The  expression  of  identity  ; — 
an  oath  by  Jehovah  and  a  false  oath  are  with 
them  the  same  thing. 

Ver.  3.  Jehovah,  thine  eyes  .  .  refused  to 
return.  The  explanation  of  Hitzig  (are  not 
thine  eyes  true,  reliable,  do  they  not  see  cor- 
rectly? Ps.  xvii.  2)  does  not  suit  the  connection. 
What  ground  would  the  prophet  have  for  op- 
posing such  a  supposition,  as  that  the  Lord 
had  erred?  It  is  evidently  declared  that  the 
Lord  seeks  truth,  in  contrast  with  the  declaration 
in  ver.  1  that  among  the  Israelites  none  asks  af- 
ter truth.  After  in  ver.  2  he  had  shown  by  a 
striking  example,  to  what  a  degree  truth  and 
faith  were  lacking  in  this  people,  he  shows  in 
ver.  3  how  contrary  this  was  to  the  will  of  the 
Lord.     For  (a)  the  Lord  seeks  njIDX,  (as  to  the 

sense   comp.  Ps.  liii.  8  ;    as  to  the  construction 

the   7  here  is  used  after  a  verb  of  motion  to  be 

supplied,  as  it  frequently  is,  after  such   actual 

verbs,   instead  of    /K,  where  the  idea  not  of 


"into"  but  of  "up  to"  is  to  be  expressed :  1 
Sam.  X.  26;  2  Sam.  xix.  9;  Ruth  i.  8,  etc.);  (b) 
the  Lord  has  sought  by  severe  and  manifold 
chastisements  to  bring  the  people  to  HJ^IDX,  but 
in  vain.  Comp.  ii.  29  sqq.  From  which  it  is 
clear  how  the  Lord  regarded  this  quality.  It  is 
on  this  account  that  this  idea  stands  at  the  head 
of  this  section,  as  its  fundamental  thouglit,  as 
will  also  be  seen  in  the  ensuing  explanation  of 
the  single  strophes. — In  they  refused  to  re- 
turn we  have  the  fundamental  thought  of  the  en- 
tire discourse  (see  on  iii.  1  sqq.) 

Ver.  4.  And  I  said:  these  are  only  the 
poor  .  .  .  the  judgment  of  their  God.  Tha 
prophet  interrupts  his  address  to  the  people  by 
communicating  an  objection  which  he  him- 
self made  to  the  Lord.  It  is  thus  presupposed 
that  the  prophet  was  not  at  the  moment  of  speak- 
ing first  made  acquainted  with  the  judgment  of 
the  Lord  concerning  the  moral  condition  of  the 
people,  as  contained  in  vers.  1-3,  but  that  he  was 
previously  aware  of  the  divine  purpose,  so  that 
he  had  time  to  go  and  make  investigations  among 
the  higher  circles  of  the  people,  the  result  of 
which  he  presents  in  ver.  5.  These  are  only 
the  poor;  poor  is  the  subject,  these  is  the 
predicate:  it  is  only  the  poor  to  which  the  pre- 
vious description  applies. 

Ver.  5.  I  -will  go  to  the  great .  .  torn  asun- 
der the  cords. — With  them.  Comp.  i.  16  ; 
ii.  35  ;  iv.  12.—  Yet    they.     The   particle  ^X 

stands  here  also  in  a  restrictive  sense.  It  is  as 
though  the  prophet  would  say  :  I  also  really 
went ;  only  the  success  did  not  meet  my  expec- 
tation, they  had,  etc.  Comp.  Deut.  xviii.  20  ;  1 
Sam.  xxix.  9. — The  great  were  the  worst.  They 
had  burst  all  bands  asunder.     Comp.  ii.  20. 

Ver.  6.  Therefore  the  lion  .  .  ,  great  theii 
apostasies.  The  prophetic  perfect — the  pro- 
phet beholds  the  future  as  though  it  were  past. 
Comp.  Naegelsb.  Or.  §  84,  g. — The  •wolf  of 
the  deserts.  There  are  two  explanations  of 
this.  1.  The  Chald.,  Vulg.,  Syr.,  after  Hab.  i. 
8;  Zeph.  iii.  3  render  the  evening-wolf  (coll. 
Ps.  civ.  20).  To  this  is  opposed  (a)  the  parallel- 
ism with  from  the  forest,  (6)  the  plural ;  since 
this  never  occurs  elsewhere  as  the  plural  of  ^"^J^t 
nor  is  it  at  all  here  in  place.  Therefore  most 
commentators  take  (2)  ni^^J^  as  the  plural  of 
713*1^,  the  steppe,  desert:  the  desert-wolf. — Fot 
many,  comp.  xxx.  13,  14, — On  the  subject* 
matter  comp.  Exod.  xzvi.  22. 


2.  Their  infidelity  in  marriage,  in  marriage  with  Jehovah  as  in  human  marriages. 

V.  7-9. 


What  reason^  have  I  to  pardon^  thee  ? 
Thy  children  leave  me  and  swear  by  that  which  is  no  God. 
And  I  bound  them  in  allegiance,* 
But  they  committed  adultery 
And  rushed*  into  the  harlot's  house. 


70 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


8  Fat  stallions,*  dissolute  are  they ; 

Every  one  neighs  after  his  neighbour's  wife. 

9  Should  I  not  punish  such  as  these  ?  saith  Jehovah ; 

Or  should  not  my  soul  avenge  itself  on  a  people  like  this? 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  7. — r>in  ^X  can  only  mean  grammatically:  in  reference  to  what?  why?  [Green,  Gr.,  ^75,2.] — TlfsS  comp. 

Naegelsb.  dr.,  g  17,  3  ;  ?  53, 1 ;  Ewald,  g  326,  a.  Olshausen,  222,  e.  [Green,  g  231,  4,  a]. 

-  Ver.  7.— n  wDN  (for  which  the  Keri  has  n^DN  as  in  ver.  1)  certainly  did  not,  as  Hitzig  supposes, arise  from  niboS, 

but  the  ancient  form  (Rosenm.)  is  retained  as  being  the  more  solemn  (Neumann).  Comp.  Olsh.  g  238,  a.  Anm.  [Green,  Gr., 
g  125,  1]. 

3  Ver.  7.— DriTX  j^OK^XV  Many  Codices  and  Editions,  as  given  by  De  Rossi,  read  j;''3tyX-  By  far  the  majority  of  the 
translators  and  commentators  follow  this  reading :  LXX.,  Vulg.,  Chald.,  Syr.,  Arab.,  Jerome,  Theodoret,  Raschi,  Kimchi, 
Luther,  Calvin,  Bugenhaoen,  Oecolamp.,  Forster,  Seb.  Schmidt,  Muenster,  Grotius.  Venema,  the  English  Bible,  J.  D. 
MicHAELis,  RosENMUELiER,  EwALD,  Umbreit,  Meier.  The  former  reading  is  a-dopted,  after  the  example  of  some  of  the  Rab- 
bins, only  by  Zwingli,  Ch.  B.  Michaelis,  Gaab  {^=e.arnest  petition,  adjuvare,)  Hitzig  (divine  assistance  in  human  marriage) 
Maurer,  Neumann  {and  I  made  them,  swear ;  namely, /a?seZ!/^=a  judgment  of  obduracy.  Jer.  vi.  9),  Graf.  [Blatney,  Notes 
and  Henderson  follows  the  former.    Henderson  :  though  I  supplied  them  abundantly. — S.  R.  A.] 

*  Ver.  7. — -mun'  for  which  the  LXX.  and  Codd.  578,  575  read,  according  to  De  Rossi  imUfl',  noLTeKvovTo,  diversa- 
T     :  •  T     :  • 

banfur  is  used  as  in  Mic.  iv.  li  in  the  sense  of:  to  penetrate  sharply,  to  rush  in,  which  comes  easily  from  the  radical  meaning 
ineidere.     [Others  render :  gather.] 

6  Ver.  8. — Chethibh  D'' JT-1D,  Keri  D^  JTVD ;  tlie  former  Hoph.  from  nj,  the  latter  Pual  from  |I\     Neither  of  these  roots 

occurs  in  Hebrew.  The  form  of  the  Keri  can  be  brought  only  by  a  wide  and  circuitous  process  to  afford  a  tolerable  meaning : 
\y  is  regarded  as  the  primitive  root  of  UX  {to  weigh,  hence  D'JTXO) ;  the  Part.  Pual  would  then^weighed : — it  is  however 
taken  as^provided  with  ponderibus  (strong  genitals),  probe  vasati. — It  is  simpler  to  retain  the  Chethibh.  J^f  from  which  JIJO. 
cibus,  alimenium  (Gen.  xlv.  23;  1  Chron.  xi.  23)  has  also  in  the  dialects  the  sense  of  nourish  (comp.  Dan.  iv.  9),   D''D1D 

D'JIIO  ^'I'S  therefore  well-nourished,  fat  horses.    The  word  is  perhaps  chosen  in  allusion  to  njll.    D'^t^O  ^^  been  va- 

■T  T  •    :  - 

riously  explained  (^D'O'Sli'D  hy  the  Rabbins;  O'DK^D,  trahentes,  i.  e.,  genitalia,  emissarii,  by  Jerome,  the  Chald.,  etc.: 

Ewald  reads  DOt^D  which  according  to  the  Arabic  is  said  to  denote  "lewd,"  etc.).    The  simplest  derivation  is  that  from 

T}D'iy  which  indeed  does  not  occur  in  Hebrew,  but  yet  seems  assured  by  the  dialects  and  by  njK'  in  the  sense  "to  err,  to 

T   T  TT 

rove  "  (ii.  23).    So  most  of  the  recent  commentators. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

1.  What  reason . .  into  the  harlot's  house. 

This  strophe  is  an  exact  parallel  to  the  preceding. 
As  the  beginning  of  the  first  strophe  (ver.  1) 
presupposes  a  request  for  forgiveness,  so  does 
ver.  7.  There  it  was :  when  you  find  one,  who 
asks  after  truth,  I  will  pardon.  Here  it  is:  How 
can  I  pardon  ?  Thy  children  have  forsaken  me. 
There  the  chief  reason  for  not  pardoning  was 
the  lack  of  truth  in  public  life.  Here,  indeed, 
the  word  PIJWX  is  not  mentioned,  but  the  sub- 

T      v: 

stance  is  the  same,  only  in  a  different,  more 
restricted  sphere.  The  breach  of  conjugal  fideli- 
ty, first  in  a  theocratic  and  then  in  a  human 
sense,  is  also  a  proof  of  the  lack  of  fidelity.  As 
finally  ver.  6  ends  with  a  threatening  of  punish- 
ment, so  does  ver.  7.  The  three,  7-9,  thus  form  a 
whole,  complete  in  themselves,  a  tableau  after  the 
usual  type  of  the  strophes  of  this  prophet. — and 
sv^ore,  etc.,  corresponds  exactly  to  ver.  2.  There 
their  breach  of  fidelity  was  rebuked,  because 
they  swore  falsely  by  .Jehovah, — here,  because 
they  swore  by  tliose  who  were  no  gods  (comp. 
ii.  11;  Deut.  xxxii.  17,  21). — And  I  bound 
them,  etc.  I  believe  that  the  difficulty  in  this 
sentence  is  solved  if  we  transpose  the  paratactic 
mode  of  speecli  into  the  syntactic  :  and  althowjh  I 
had  allowed  them  to  swear  (had  bound  them  by 
oath  and  allegiance)  yet  they  committed  adul- 
tery. The  form  of  the  word  does  not  contradict 
this  view,  as  Graf  supposes.  We  must  not.  bow- 
ever,  think  that  this  allowing  to  swear  refers  to 
the  restoration  of  the  Jeliovah-cultus,  eff"ected  by 
Josiah's  reformation.     For  although  that  rifor- 


mation,  begun  in  the  12th  year  of  Josiah,  and 
ended  in  the  18th  (2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3,  8),  as  fre- 
quently remarked,  did  not  result  in  an  honest  re- 
turn, yet  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Jeremiah, 
during  the  period  to  which  this  discourse  cer- 
tainly belongs,  had  to  complain  of  public  idola- 
try. In  saying  "  thy  children  have  forsaken  me 
and  sworn  by  no  gods"  the  prophet  has  in  view 
not  the  events  of  that  period,  but  of  the  whole 
past  history  of  the  people.  In  the  course  of  this 
history,  from  the  Exodus  onward,  it  often  enough 
happened  that  the  people  fell  into  idolatry,  and 
were  received  again  by  the  Lord  into  covenant 
with  Him.  Comp.  e.  g.,  the  repeated  aposta- 
sies in  the  wilderness  (Exod.  xxxii.;  Numb,  xxv.), 
and  the  renewal  of  the  covenant  in  Avboth  Moab 
(Deut.  xxix.  1);  further,  the  continuance  of  the 
idolatrous  cult,  even  after  the  capture  of  the  Holy 
Land,  and  the  repetition  of  the  covenant  under 
Joshua  (Josh.  xxiv.  13,  sqq).  With  reference  to 
this  and  other  facts  of  the  past  {e.  g.,  1  Sam. 
vii.;  1  Kings  xviii.):  Jeremiah  may  well  say: 
"thy  children  forsook  me  .  .  .  and  I  let  them 
swear,  and  they  committed  adultery,"  etc.,  which 
according  to  our  syntactic  mode  of  expression  is 
equivalent  to :  "although  after  their  apostasy, 
to  guard  against  another,  I  bound  them  by  oath 
and  allegiance,  yet  still  again  they  committed 
adultery."  Comp  on  this  paratactic  mode  of 
expression  the  remarks  on  iii.  8  and  N  aeoelsbach 
Gr.  ^  111,  1,  Anm.  This  explanation  combines 
these  advantages,  that  («)  it  is  supported  by 
the  more  difficult  and  critically,  more  secure 
reading, — {b)  it  agrees  with  the  grammar,  and 
(c)  with  the  connection.  For  in  the  latter  re- 
spect it  is  clear  that  the  prophet  very  suitably 


CHAP.  V.  10-18.  71 


opposes  the  idol-oaths  to  the  Jehovah-oath,  and 
thus  develops  a  chain  of  proofs  of  the  faithful- 
ness of  God,  and  the  unfaithfulness  of  the  people, 

which  place   the  latter   in  the  clearest  light. 

Rush  into  the  harlot's  house.  That  these 
words  have  a  double  sense,  passing  imperceptibly 
from  the  religious  to  the  physical  sphere  of 
thought,  is  evident  from  a  comparison  of  what 
precedes  and  follows-  The  justification  of  this 
mode  of  expression  is  found  in  the  well-known 
mingling  of  unchastity  with  the  idolatrous  na- 


ture-worship. Comp.  Herzog,  Real-Enc,  Artt. 
Astarte  and  Baal  [Smith,  Diet.  I.,  123,  145].— 
The  harlot's  houses  are  accordingly,  if  not  ex- 
clusively yet  preferentially  the  idol-temples,  so 
far  as  these  were  at  the  same  time  places  of 
spiritual  and  carnal  adultery.  Comp.  Herzog 
I.  199. 

Ver.  9.  Should  I  not  punish  .  .  .  such  a 
people  as  this.  This  verse  is  repeated,  ver. 
29  and  ch.  ix.  8.  As  already  remarked,  its  con- 
tents denote  the  conclusion  of  a  strophe. 


3.  The  Treachery  of  Unbelief. 
V.  10-18. 

10  Scale  her  walls'  and  destroy, 

But  make  not  utterly  an  end  of  her  ! 

Hew  off  her  branches, 

For  they  are  not  Jehovah's. 

11  For  they  have  been  faithless  towards  me. 

House  of  Israel  and  house  of  Judah,  saith  Jehovah. 

12  They  have  denied  Jehovah,  and  said : 

"  He  is  not — and  calamity  will  not  come  upon  us ; 
Nor  sword  and  famine  shall  we  behold. 

13  And  the  prophets  are  become  wind 
And  the  word  is  not  in  them  : 

So  will  it  happen  to  them."^ 

14  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah,  the  God  of  hosts : 

Because  ye  speak  this  word,  n 

Behold,  I  make  my  word  fire  in  thy  mouth, 
And  this  people  wood,  and  it  shall  devour  them. 

15  Behold,  I  bring  upon  you  a  people  from  afar, 

0  house  of  Israel,  saith  Jehovah. 

A  mighty  nation  it  is,  an  ancient  nation  it  is, 
A  nation  whose  language  thou  knowest  not, 
And  understandest  not  what  it  speaketh. 

16  Its  quiver  is  like  an  open  sepulchre, — 
They  are  all  heroes — 

17  And  it  devours  thy  harvest  and  thy  bread. 
They  devour  thy  sons  and  thy  daughters, — 
It  devours  thy  sheep  and  thy  cattle ; 

It  devours  thy  vine  and  thy  fig-tree, — 

It  destroys  thy  fortified  cities. 

In  which  thou  trustest,  with  the  sword. 

18  But  even  in  these  days,  saith  Jehovah, 

1  will  not  make  an  utter  end  of  you. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  10.—^\)^^^  (not  to  be  confounded  with  flllE?,  waves,  Ezek.  xxvii.  25)  occurs  here  only,    ^hj?  denotes  the  idea 

of  "  walls  "  in  general,  as  in  Hemistich  2,  of  the  walls  of  a  vineyard  (comp.  Isai.  v.).    A  wall  is  elsewhere   ')>i'^  PI.  nillty, 

whichmoreoveroccur8onlyinJobxxiv.il.  The  Plural  nilK'  is  formed  like  D'O' from  Q)\  D"'K'XT  from  I^XI,  U'"\V 

from  "l''_y  (comp.  Olsh.  g  151,  Anm.)    TTnV  with  3  is  not,  as  Uitzig  asserts,  to  mount  on  something.    The  idea  of  the 

T    T  ; 

preposition  is  most  variously  modified  by  the  connection,  so  that  it  denotes  into  (1  Kings  xii.  18;  2  Kings  xix.  28;  Jer. 
xlviii.  18);  upon  (Deut.  v.  5)  through,  over  (Ezek.  xiii.  5)  etc.  To  read  with  E.  Meier  rfjlllt!?  is  therefore  unnesessary 
ftnd  already  forbidden  by  V^V. 


72 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


2  Ver.  13.— ["  This  Bentence  is  left  out  in  the  LXX.  the  Syriac  and  the  Ara))ic,  but  retained  by  the  Tulg. :  Heec  ergo  ev«- 
nient  iUis — These  things  shall  therefore  come  to  them.  This  meaning  the  original  will  hardly  bear.  The  reference  seems 
to  be  to  the  prophet's  becoming  wind,  being  so  proved  by  the  event."     Note  by  Eng.  Ed.  of  Calvin.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL    AND   CRITICAL. 

That  these  verses  form  a  strophe  is  seen  not 
only  from  the  unity  of  the  contents,  but  also  from 
the  concordance  of  the  commencement  and  the 
close.  The  whole  strophe  is  only  a  picture  in 
detail  of  the  brief  sketch  in  ver.  10a,  "de- 
stroy, but  not  utterly." — It  is  further  evident 
that  the  fundamental  thought  of  the  strophe  de- 
pends on  ver.  1 ;  that  the  people  are  wanting  in 
n:iOX  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  they  deny  Je- 
hovah, and  consequently  do  not  believe  the  word 
of  His  prophets. 

Ver.  10.  Scale  her  walls  ...  for  they  are 
not  Jehovah's.  The  image  of  a  vine  in  an  un- 
walled  vineyard  suggests  the  expression. — The 
phrase  for  they  are  not  Jehovah's  involves 
the  idea  of  depravation.  Comp.  ii.  21. 

Ver.  11.  For  they  have  been  faithless 
toward  me  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah.  The  threat- 
ening of  punishment  repeated  in  a  new  form  fol- 
lows the  fundamental  declaration  "  Israel  has 
been  faithless  towards  the  Lord."  The  prophet 
says  this  of  both  kingdoms,  though  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  was  no  longer  in  existence.  We  see 
that  he  still  has  always  in  view  the  entire  past 
history  of  the  people.  Comp.  the  remarks  on 
;;''3l!^K1  at  ver.  7. — Faithless  (comp.  iii.  7  sqq.) 
is  evidently  in  antithesis  to  truth,  vers.  1  and  3. 
It  is  a  word  of  general  signification,  and  would 
not  in  itself  afford  a  new,  specific  element.  It  is 
therefore  more  particularly  defined  in  what  fol- 
lows. 

Ver.  12.  They  have  denied  Jehovah  .  .  . 
shall  we  behold.  It  is  here  declared  that  they 
injured  the  truth  in  such  a  manner  by  their 
faithlessness,  that  they  virtually  denied  the  ex- 
istence of  Jehovah. — have  denied,  Josh.  xxiv. 
27 ;  Isai.  lix.  13.  Comp.  Prov.  xxx.  9.  The 
sense  of  this  is  explained  unmistakably  by  He 
is  not.  If  Jehovah  is  not,  there  is  no  possibi- 
lity of  a  judgment  to  be  effected  by  Him. 

Ver.  13.  And  the  prophets  ...  so  will  it 
happen  to  them.  It  is  the  necessary  conse- 
quence of  Jehovah's  non-existence  that  the  word 
prophesied  in  His  name  is  regarded  as  nothing, 
or  as  wind.  When  it  is  said,  the  prophets  are  be- 
come wind,  the  reference  is  of  course  not  to  their 
persons,  but  only  to  their  prophetic  ministry : 
qua  prophets  they  will  prove  to  be  mere  wind- 
bags. IS'in  might  certainly  be  rendered  as  a 
finite  verb  (comp.  Hos.  i.  2)  and  the  article  with 
the  signification  of  Nota  relationis  (Gen.  xxi.  3 ; 
Isai.  Ivi.  3;  Josh.  x.  24;  1  Chron.  xxvi.  28; 
xxix.  17;  EwALD,  ^  331  b;  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §71, 
5,  Anm.  3).  [Green's  Or.  §  24-5,  5  6.]  The 
sense  would  then  be :  he  who  speaks  is  not 
in  them,  that  is,  what  they  say,  they  say  en- 
tirely of  themselves.  But  ^3"1  might  also  be 
a  nominal  form  {ad  f.  np3)  although  this  does 
not  occur  elsewhere.  [Vid.  Fherst,  .9.  v.). 
The  meaning  would  then  be:  the  speaker,  the  pro- 
phetic spirit.  The  LXX.:  'A6yoq  Kvplov.  Both  are 
grammatically  possible,  the  sense  in  both  cases 


being  the  same. — So  ■will  it  happen  to  them. 
As  they  threaten  us,  so  may  it  happen  to  them- 
selves ;  let  their  empty  threatening  fall  back  upon 
themselves. 

Ver.  14.  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  .  . 
and  it  shall  devour  them.  Provoked  by  the 
bold  declaration  of  unbelief  in  the  word  of  the 
prophet,  vers.  12,  18,  the  Lord  here  puts  in  the 
mouth  of  His  prophet  an  emphatic  repetition  of 
the  denunciatory  prophecy,  which  from  i.  13  on- 
wards forms  the  focus  of  his  prophetic  announce- 
ment for  the  proximate  future.  Because  Israel 
will  not  believe  the  word  of  the  prophet,  this 
word  is  to  be  equipped  with  the  highest  energy 
of  a  real  active  force.  Comp.  i.  9,  10. — The  sud- 
den change  of  person  in  in  thy  mouth  should 
not  offend.  Comp.  ver.  19,  and  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
§  101»  2  Anm. 

Vers.  15-17.  Behold  I  bring  upon  you  .  . 
with  the  sw^ord.  This  passage  has  its  root  in 
Deut.  xxviii.  49  sqq.  Comp.  Isai.  v.  26;  Hab.  i. 
6 ;  Am.  vi.  14 ;  Vid.  Kueper.,  S.  12,  etc. — from 
afar.  Comp.  iv.  16. — House  of  Israel  is  here 
used  as  a  common  name,  ii.  26;  iii.  20,  21,  23; 
iv.  1,  etc. — The  prophet  heaps  all  the  predicates 
on  the  people  appointed  to  Inflict  the  punishment 
which  might  cause  them  to  appear  terrible  in  the 
highest  degree  to  the  Israelites;  they  are  coming 
from  a  distance,  all  sympathetic  disposition  to 
spare  is  therefore  distant  from  their  hearts  ;  they 
are  an  ancient  people  (jri'X  of  streams  =  un- 
conquerable, ever-flowing,  Deut.  xxi.  4 ;  Ps. 
Ixxiv.  15, — of  rocks,  mountains,  mountain-fast- 
nesses =  firmly  founded,  immovable.  Numb, 
xxiv.  21;  Mic.  vi.  2;  Jer.  xlix.   19 — designates 

firmly-rooted,    impregnable   power; — oVl^D   ''13 

designates  ancient  nobility  and  the  hard- 
hearted and  ruthless  pride  called  forth  by  it) ; 
further,  they  speak  a  foreign,  unintelligible 
language  (from  Deut.  xxviii.  49):  their  quiver 
is  on  account  of  its  form  compared  with  an 
open  grave  —  that  the  quiver  has  not  a  recep- 
tive but  an  aggressive  relation  may  have  been 
overlooked  by  the  poet. — All  the  necessaries 
of  life  will  be  devoured  by  the  enemy  (the  de- 
vouring of  the  children  seems  to  be  based  on  a 
reminiscence  of  Deut.  xxviii.  53,  where,  how- 
ever, it  is  said,  that  the  Israelites  will  devour  the 
flesh  of  their  own  children.  Comp.  Kueper,  S. 
12,  13; — moreover  the  prophet  may  have  taken 

SdK  in  the  more  general  sense,  (comp.  x.  25) ; — 
the  fortified  cities,  in  which  Israel  trusted  (Deut. 
xxviii.  52)  shall  be  destroyed  (Mai.  i.  4)  with  the 
power  of  the  sword  (sword  as  in  the  phrase  "fire 
and  sword"  being  employed  for  warlike  imple- 
ments generally,  comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  6). — What  peo- 
ple it  is  which  is  called  to  accomplish  this,  the 
prophet  is  not  yet  aware.  Comp.  the  remarks 
above  on  i.  13  sqq.  If  he  had  known  the  name  of 
the  people,  why  should  he  not  have  mentioned 
it  ?  To  think  of  the  Scythians  because  they  once 
made  an  incursion  through  Palestine,  and  because 
there  is  a  Scythopolis  in  the  valley  of  the  Jordan 
(comp.  Herzoq,  Real-Enc.  XIV.  S.  170),  is  ab- 
surd.    We  can  at  most  suppose  that  the  prophet 


CHAP.  V.  19-24. 


73 


borrowed  from  the  Scythian  invasion  some  tints 
for  the  coloring  of  his  picture.  Moreover  the 
whole  description  applies  also  to  the  Babylonians. 
These  especially,  according  to  Gen.  x.  and  xi., 
might  be  regarded  as  an  ancient  people,  even  if 
we  assume  from  Isai.  xxiii.  13  that  the  Chaldeans 
were  a  younger  branch  grafted  into  the  old  stock. 
[Henderson  : — "  The  antiquity  ascribed  to  the 
invaders  has  special  respect  to  the  Chaldeans,  a 
nation  originally  inhabiting  the  Carduchian 
mountains  and  the  northern  parts  of  Mesopota- 
mia, but  who  had  immigrated  into  the  Babylonian 
territory,  where  they  had  a  settlement  allotted 
them ;  and  being,  like  all  mountaineers,  distin- 
guished for  their  bravery,  doubtless  composed 
the  most  formidable  part  of  the  invading  army. 
See  my  comment  on  Isai.  xxiii.  13.  From  its 
being  affirmed  that  the  Jews  would  not  under- 


stand the  language  of  this  people,  it  follows  that 
after  they  left  their  original  abodes,  they  must 
have  retained  their  native  tongue,  which  was  in 
all  probability  the  mother  of  the  present  Kur- 
dish,— a  language  totally  different  from  any  of 
Semitic  origin,  but  showing  much  affinity  with 
the  ancient  Persic." — S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  18.  But  even  in  those  days ...  an  ut- 
ter end  of  you.  Comp.  iv.  27  and  ver.  10,  and  the 
remarks  on  the  latter  passage. — Make  an  end 
is  decidedly  connected  with  the  accusative,  Nah 

i.  8;  Neh.  ix.  31; — with    3    Jer.  xxx.  11;   xlvi 

28 — decidedly  with   ns«t="with"   in   this   pas 

sage  ; — when  it  occurs  elsewhere:  Jer.  xxx.  11 
xlvi.  28 ;    Ezek.  xi.  13  ;    xx.   17 ;    Zeph.  i.  18  '; 
it  is  uncertain  whether  flX  is  a  Nota  Accus,  or  a 
preposition. 


4.  Infidelity  from  blindness  of  heart  and  ingratitude. 
V.  19-24. 

19  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  ye  say : 

For  what  cause  doth  Jehovah  our  God  all  these  things  to  us  ? — 
So  shalt  thou  say  to  them  : 

As  ye  have  forsaken  me,  and  served  strange  gods  in  your  land, 
So  shall  ye  serve  strangers  in  a  land  that  is  not  yours. 

20  Announce  it  in  the  house  of  Jacob, 
And  publish  it  in  Judah  : 

21  Now  hear  it,  ye  people,  foolish  and  without  understanding, 
Who  have  eyes  and  see  not,  ears  and  hear  not ! 

22  Will  ye  still  not  fear  me  ?  saith  Jehovah, 
Or  will  ye  not  tremble  before  me. 

Who  have  placed  the  sand  for  a  boundary  to  the  sea, 
As  an  everlasting  barrier,  which  it  will  not  pass  ? 
And  though  they  rage,  they  can  do  nothing, — 
And  though  they  roar,  its  waves,  they  come  not  over  it  1 

23  But  this  people  have  an  apostate  and  rebellious  heart ; 
They  have  revolted  and  are  gone. 

24  And  say  not  in  their  hearts : 
We  will  fear  Jehovah,  our  God, 

Who  giveth  rain,  the  early  and  the  latter  rain  in  its  season, 
Who  secureth  to  us  the  weeks  as  harvest-tide. 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

The  main  object  of  this  section  (chap,  v.)  is  to 
present  before  the  people  the  causes  of  this  puni- 
tive judgment,  as  is  especially  evident  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  strophe.  For  the  question' (ver. 
19):  Why  doth  the  Lord  all  this  to  us?  would 
then  refer  to  the  whole,  if  vers.  14  to  17  did  not 
present  the  principal  object  in  the  prophetic  per- 
spective. This  question  is  therefore  only  a  turn, 
in  order  to  proceed  to  the  main  purpose  of  the 
section  from  another  side.  As,  however,  accord- 
ing to  ver.  1-3,  the  lack  of  HJIDX   is  the   chief 


cause  of  the  jtidgment,  so  also  in  this  strophe 
it  is  only  a  new  species  of  this  which  is  adduced: 
apostasy  to  the  idols  in  consequence  of  mad 
blindness,  which  recognizes  not  Jehovah  as  the 
Almighty  Creator,  and  hence  denies  Him  the 
thanks  which  are  due  to  Him  as  the  Author  of 
the  most  precious  gifts  of  nature.  The  strophe 
falls  into  two  parts:  1.  Cause  of  the  punitive 
judgment,  ver.  19  (forsaking  of  Jehovah  and 
idolatry)  ;  2.  Cause  of  this  forsaking  a  double 
one:  {a)  being  without  lieart  (vers.  20-22);  (6) 
an  apostate  and  rebellious  heart  (vers.  23  and 
24). 

Ver.  19.    And  it  shall  come  to  pass  .  .  . 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


that   is   not   yours. — On  the   change    of  the 

person  (nOJ<P — P"1DX1)  vide  supra,  on  ver.  14. 

Vers.  20  and  21.  Announce  it  in  the  house 
of  Jacob  .  .  .  ears  and  hear  not. — House  of 
Jacob  frequently  designates  the  whole  people 
{f.  g-,  in  Numh.  xxiii.  7;  Deut.  xxxii.  9;  Jer. 
X.  25 ;  Am.  vi.  7),  but  here,  as  elsewhere  [e. 
g.  Isai.  ix.  7;  xvii.  4;  Mic.  i.  5),  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,  partly  for  the  sake  of  the  antithesis  to 
Judah,  partly  on  account  of  vers.  11  and  15. 
This  in  reality  exists  no  longer  as  such,  but 
ideally  it  is  still  ever  present  to  the  spirit  of  the 
prophet,  and  indeed  with  the  more  justice  since 
its  constituent  parts  were  still  in  existence,  though 
as  membra  disjecta.  Observe  that  in  chap.  iii. 
Jeremiah  sharply  and  emphatically  distinguishes 
Israel  and  Judah,  because  he  is  speaking  of  the 
past  and  the  distant  future ;  in  ch.  iv.  he  uses  in 
ver.  1  the  conjoint  appellation,  but  in  what  fol- 
lows, having  the  present  in  view  he  turns  to  Ju- 
dah and  Jerusalem  only  (vers.  3,  4,  6,  6,  10,  11, 
14,  16,  31)  ;  in  ch.  v.  he  still  addresses  Jerusalem 
in  ver.  1,  but  in  what  follows  (vers.  11,  15)  the 
entirety  of  the  people  is  more  prominent  in  his 
mind,  quite  naturally,  since  he  has  to  present  the 
causes  of  the  judgment  predicted  by  him,  which 
carry  him  back  into  the  remote  past.  He  could 
not  then  possibly  restrict  what  he  says  in  ver.  21 
sqq.  to  Judah,  for  it  all  applies  with  equal  force 
to  Israel. — Foolish  and  without  under- 
standing. Comp.  iv.  22  ;  Hos.  vii.  11.  Have 
eyes,  etc.  Comp.  Deut.  xxix.  3  ;  Isai.  vi.  9,  10; 
Ezek.  xii.  2.  The  apostasy  of  the  people  is  here 
explained  by  their  spiritual  blindness  and  dulness 
generally,  and  this  appears  to  have  come  upon 
them,  because  notwithstanding  the  grand  dis- 
plays of  His  power  they  had  witnessed,  they 
feared  not  the  Lord. 

Ver.  22.  Will  ye  still  not  fear  me  .  .  .  they 
come  not  over  it.  From  the  connection  the 
prophet  cannot  intend  an  exhortation,  but  only 
the  confirmation  of  a  fact.  It  is  thus  not  so  much  : 
Will  ye  not  fear  me  then?  as  :  Ye  fear  me  not  there- 
fore.— The  wide  ocean  with  the  immense  body  of 
its  waves  is  an  emblem  of  the  wildest  and  most 
irresistible  force  of  nature.  And  yet  the  Lord  is 
strong  enough  to  control  this  violence.  Comp. 
Job  xxxviii.  8-11;  Ps.  xxxiii.  7;  Prov.  viii.  29. 
[The  sea  is  also  an  emblem  of  the  world,  and  its 
waves  of  the  turbulence  of  the  nations,  which  are 
yet  under  divine  control.  Comp.  Ps.  xciii.  3,  4. 
Henostenberg  on  John  vi.  16-21. — S.  R.  A.] — 
They  rage,  comp.  xlvi.  7,  8 ;  2  Sam.  xxii.  8 ; 
Ps.  xviii.  S;  subject — its  V7aves. — Can  do  no- 
thing. Comp.  iii.  6;  xx.  11  ;  Isai.  xvi.  12  ;  Job 
xzxi.  23 


Ver.  23.  But  this  people  .  .  .  are  gone. 

How  can  a  people  be  impelled  by  the  greatness 
of  God's  works  to  fear  Him,  who  are  not  moved 
to  such  fear  by  His  goodness-?  He  whom  the 
love  of  God  wins  not,  is  not  won  by  His  omnipo- 
tence, for  the  former  is  the  stronger.  The  con- 
nection is  therefore  this,  that  vers.  23  and  24  in- 
troduce a  new  element  of  their  unfaithful  dispo- 
sition, which  has  at  the  same  time  a  causal  re- 
lation to  that  which  was  previously  mentioned  in 

vers.  21,  22.     The  Vau  in  DVh^  is  adversative :  I 

T-  t: 

ask,  Will  ye  still  not  fear?  but  to  this  question  I 
can  obtain  no  satisfactory  answer,  because  this 
people  is  both  apostate  and  rebellious. — 
These  last  named  predicates  are  stronger  than 
those  in  ver.  21,  for  those  were  negative,  while 
these  are  positive.  They  are  not  only  insensible 
and  dull,  but  positively  hostile.  They  can  not — 
and  what  is  worse — they  will  not.  There  is  no 
occasion  in  the  text  to  take  and  are  gone  aa 
forming  a  climax  (comp.  Judges  iv.  24;  Gen.  iii. 
8).  It  rather  corresponds  to  have  revolted  aa 
its  positive  side:  they  break  loose  from  the  Lord 
and  go  away  into  the  unmeasured  distance,  whi- 
thersoever their  heart  impels  them. 

Ver.  24.  And  say  not  in  their  hearts  ...  as 
harvest-tide. — We  ^vill  fear  [Let  us  fear — 
Henderson]  corresponds  to  the  not  fear  me, 
ver.  22  :  neither  the  grandeur  nor  the  kindness 
of  God's  works  move  them  to  fear  Jehovah. — The 
rain  is  an  emblem  of  blessing.     Comp.  iii.  3. — 

DtJ'J  is  the  general  term,  as  we  may  perceive  from 
Lev.  xxvi.  4  (Djnj;3  Uymi  "i^D^])-  The  double 
Vau  before  T\'\V  (early  rain,  October  to  Decem- 
ber) and  K'IpbD  (the  latter  rain,  in  the  spring, 
before  the  harvest)  is  disjunctive=re< — et.  Comp. 
Naeqelsb.  Gr.  §110,  3.  The  Masoretes,  not 
understanding  this,  would  strike  out  the  first 
Vau,  but  unnecessarily. —  Secureth.  The  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  year  depends  on  the  regularity  of 
the  rainy  seasons.  Comp.  Deut.  xi.  14  ;  1  Sam. 
xii.  17,  18:  Raumer,  Faldst.  4  Atijt.  S.  90— [  Vid. 
LiGHTFooT,  XII.  p.  71]. — The  weeks  as  har- 
vest-tide are  the  seven  weeks  of  harvest  from 
Easter  lo  Whitsuntide  [Passover  to  Pentecost] 
(Exod.  xxiii.  16;  xxxiv.  22;  Numb,  xxviii.  26; 
Deut.  xvi.  9,  10,  16).  They  are  called  thus  be- 
cause the  beginning  and  the  close  of  the  (princi- 
pal) harvest  was  determined  by  the  two  festivals 
as    by   fixed    boundary-lines.      The   "^'Vp^  ^"'PP 

(harvest-tide)  correspond  to  the  DvlJ^'pn 
feverlasting  barrier),  ver.  22. 


5.  Infidelity  as  deceit  and  violence. 
V.  25-29. 


25  Your  transgressions  hindered  such  things, 
Your  sins  withheld  the  good  from  you. 

26  For  godless  [men]  are  found  among  my  people ; 
They  lurk,  like  fowlers  crouch ; 


CHAP.  V.  30-31. 


75 


They  set  traps,  they  catch  men. 

27  As  a  cage  is  full  of  birds 

So  are  their  houses  full  of  unrighteous  wealth. 
Therefrom  they  are  become  great  and  rich. 

28  They  are  fat,  they  shine,  they  overflow  with  iniquities : 

In  justice  they  settle  not  the  affairs  of  the  orphan,  and  prosecute  them; 
And  the  rights  of  the  poor  they  procure  not. 

29  Should  I  not  punish  such,  saith  Jehovah, 

Should  not  my  soul  avenge  itself  on  a  nation  like  this  ? 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  25  is  closely  connected  with  the  previous 
strophe,  but  in  such  wise  that  it  evidently  does 
not  belong  to  it,  but  conducts  to  a  new  passage. 
It  involves  in  a  certain  measure  a  contradiction 
to  the  preceding.  While  in  ver.  24  it  was  de- 
clared :  they  say  not,  let  us  fear  the  Lord,  who 
gives  us  rain,  etc.,  it  is  here  said  that  Jehovah 
had  not  given  them  rain  because  of  the  sins  of  the 
people.  And  these  sins  are  now  so  specified  in 
what  follows,  that  we  see  the  prophet  would  con- 
firm by  new  facts  the  fundamental  thought  of  the 
section  that  HJIOX  has  departed  from  Israel. 
Moreover  the  end  here  reverts  to  the  beginning. 
For  when  he  here  speaks  of  the  ruling  of  the 
no^p,  and  of  the  unrighteousness  of  those  in 
power  it  is  evident  that  the  phrase  "  any  one 
doing  right  or  seeking  truth,"  in  ver.  1,  is  ho- 
vering before  his  mind.  Ver.  29  shows  by  its 
identity  with  ver.  9,  that  it  is  the  conclusion  of 
the  stroplie,  and  thus  in  its  structure  this  strophe 
entirely  resembles  that  in  vers.  7-9,  which  like- 
wise begins  and  ends  with  a  reference  to  the  di- 
vine judgment. 

Ver.  25.  Your  transgressions  .  .  .  from 
you.  Comp.  iii.  3;  iv.  18.  Wlien  the  prophet 
here,  as  in  iii.  3,  refers  to  the  withholding  of  the 
rain  as  past,  he  certainly  had  definite  facts  in 
view  (f.  (/.,  1  Kings  xvii.  ;  Am.  iv.  sqq.)  and 
would  intimate  that  the  Lord  not  merely  will 
punish,  but  already  has  punished,  by  which  a 
guarantee  is  afforded  of  the  infliction  of  the  ex- 
pected judgment. 

Ver.  26.  For  godless  men  are  found  .  .  . 


they  catch  men.  '^W^  is  to  be  regarded  a4 
impersonal :  it  is  lurked.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
§101,  2.— D'i:?1jT -jiyj.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  G!r., 
I  95,  2.  [Green's  Gr.,  §  139,  2.— S.  R.  A.] 
(Hil-ID  13^3  Prov.  X.  25).— ri'ntyo,  destroyer  gQ- 
nerally  (Exod.  xii.  13;  Ezek.  xxi.  36),  here  spe- 
cially, on  account  of  3'2fn,  destructive  snares. 

Ver.  27.  As  a  cage  is  full  of  birds  .  .  .  be- 
come great  and  rich.  HOIO  is  evidently  the 
antithesis    of    riJ^IDX.     At   the    same    time    the 

T     V; 

word  is  to  be  taken  as  abstr.  pro  concr.^res  fraude 

parfse,  as    /DJ/  Ps.    cv.  4;  Eccles.   ii.    19;    comp. 

Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  59,  1.  From  riches  gained  by 
deceit  is  developed  violent  injustice. 

Vers.  28  and  29.  They  are  fat  .  .  .  nation" 
like  this.  Being  fat  is  not  all:. luxury  pro- 
duces lust,  it  runs  over  like  a  seething  pot,  and 
that  with  iniquities  [niatters  of  wickedness : 
Henderson]  (J^"^"'^?)!  involving  the  ideas  of  res 
and  verhum)  which  are  afterwards  enumerated. 
"^2^  is  construed  as  a  verb   of  fulness  with  the 

accusative,  like  ^jH,  Joel  iv.  18.  Comp.  Nae- 
gelsb. Gr.,  §  69,  2,  a.  —  They  settle  not. 
Comp.  Ps.  X.  18;  xliii.  2;  Gen.  xxx.  5;  Jer. 
xxii.  16. — and  prosecute  them,  might  certain- 
ly be  rendered  grammatically=//m/'  they  prosper 
[Henderson].  But  then  the  plural  is  strange 
and  the  sense  is  flat.  Therefore  it  is  better  to 
regard  it  as  the  positive  side  of  settle  not  = 
and  they  carry  them  through. — Ver.  29,  comp. 
ver.  9. 


6.  Comprehensive  conclusion. 
V.  30,  31. 


30  Fear  and  horror  have  happgned  in  the  land ; 

31  The  prophets  prophesy  falsely. 
And  the  priests  rule  by  their  hand,^ 
And  my  people  love  to  have  it  so : 

But  what  will  they  do  when  the  end  of  the  song  comes  ? 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

i  ^^'■-  "^^- — ["  The  LXX.  and  the  Vulgate  have  'Anrl  the  priests  have  aiiplauded  with  their  own  hands,'  and  the  Targuin 

And  the  priests  have  blessed  their  liands.'  Both  menu  tlip  same  thincr  I?]  tliou-li  tlie  wurd.s  are  different ;  and  Blayney  [and 
Boothroyd]  gives  the  same  meaning;.  'And  the  jirii-sts  liave  (.•on.-iiin-il  witli  fliein."  ilniisi.KY  says  the  wnnis  Iit.-rai|y  are 
'And  the  priests  go  down  according  to  their  hands  ;'  that  is,  he  adds,  '  tli.'  i)riests  5;..  wliirli  wiv  th  i  ■  >  ;•   1    •  •••  '   ■  , 


T6 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  priests  are  directed  by  them.' — When  followed  by  7J7  as  here,  the  preposition  never  means  according  to,  as  HorsleI 
renders  it,  but  ever,  upon,  toward  or  against,  and  mostly  '  upon.'  See  Ex.  ix.  9 ;  Numb.  iv.  9 ;  Ps.  vii.  10 ;  Ixxii.  6.  There- 
fore the  literal  rendering  is  this.  'And  the  priests  have  descended  upon  their  hands.'  An  idiomatic  expression,  which 
seems  to  mean,  that  the  priests  assisted  the  prophets,  according  to  what  is  expressed  by  the  Targum,  etc.  Note  by  Eng.  ed. 
of  Calvin,  I.  p.  309.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

These  verses  express  the  result  of  the  exami- 
nation instituted  by  the  prophet  into  the  moral 
condition  of  the  people,  viz.,  that  it  was  horribly 
bad  in  all  ranks  of  life.  While  ver.  30  has  re- 
ference to  the  entire  section,  ver.  31  refers  espe- 
cially to  vers.  4  and  5. 

Ver.  30.  Fear  ...  in  the  land.— Pear.  Comp. 
Deut.  xxviii.  37;  2  Kings  xxii.  19;  Jer.  xix.  8; 
XXV.  9,  f?c.— horror,  a  horrible  thing,  xxiii.  14. 
Comp.  xviii.  13;   Hos.  vi.  10. 

Ver.  31.  The  prophets  .  .  .  when  the  end 
of  the  song  comes.  The  prophets  are  first 
mentioned  as  the  medium  of  all  knowledge  which 
determines  to  action.  Comp.  xx.  6 ;  xxix.  9. 
The  priests  ought  to  have  been  a  corrective  to 
the  misleading  of  the  prophets,  comp.  Mai.  ii.  7 ; 
Ezek.  vii.  26.  Instead  of  this  they  made  profit 
by  them. — T'l^  or  n'-^J^  apart  from  its  local 
signification,  is  a  priestly  terminus  technicus,  which 
means  ad  latus  =  under  inspection,  by  appoint- 
ment (1  Chron.  vi.  16;  xxv.  2,  3,  6 ;  2  Chron. 
xvii.  15,  17;  xxiii.  18;  xxix.  27;  Ezr.  iii.  10). 
So  here.  For  an  instance  of  such  corrupting  in- 
fluence exercised  by  the  prophets  on  the  priests, 
see  Jer.  xxix.  24-32. — The  corruption  of  the 
priests  and  prophets  should  in  the  last  instance 
be  rebuked  by  the  sound  sense  of  the  people. 
But  no.  The  people  love  to  have  it  so.  They  do 
not  cause  a  reaction  but  co-operate. — When 
the  end  of  the  song  comes,  or  in  reference 
to  its  end.  The  fem.  suflf.  must  be  regarded  as 
mental  (ver.  20,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  60,  6  b) 
and  to  be  referred  in  general  to  the  totality  of  the 
condition  described  by  the  prophet.  The  sense 
is  :  What  will  you  do  when  the  present  condition 
enters  upon  its  last  stage  of  development,  or  as 
we  say,  when  the  end  of  the  song  comes?  Comp. 
Isai.  X.  3 ;  Hos.  ix.  6.  [Lightfoot,  XII.  p.  550. 
— S.  R.  A.] 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  1.  "The  wicked  world  has  in  the 
pious  andbelieving  a  noble  treasure  and  defence" 
(Gen.  xviii.  32);  Lange. — Even  Zoar  is  pre- 
served for  the  sake  of  Lot,  (Gen.  xix.  20sqq.) — 
Comp.  Isai.  xxxvii.  35. — Ghislerus  reminds  us 
of  a  story  which  Pliny  relates  (vol.  xxxv.  cap. 
10)  of  King  Demetrius,  who  retired  from  the  city 
of  Rhodium,  because  he  could  not  take  it  on  its 
only  accessible  side  without  destroying  some  ce- 
lebrated paintings  of  Protogenes. 

2.  ZiNZENDORF  here  relates  (.S'.  198)  a  story 
of  M.  Joh.  Christoph  Schwedler,  ob.  1730. 
"Once  when  in  the  church  at  Wiese  (Silesia) 
they  were  singing  before  the  communion  '  I  will 
say  to  thee  Farewell,'  at  the  words  'Thy  sinful, 
wicked  living,  pleases  me  not  at  all,'  such  an 
Elias-like  zeal  seized  upon  him,  that  raising  his 
voice  above  the  organ  and  the  choral  of  a  thou- 
sand voices,  he  cried  out  in  tones  of  thunder, 
'  For  God's  sake  what  are  you  singing?     What 


does  not  please  you?  The  Lord  Jesus  does  not 
please  you.  To  him  ye  must  say  :  Thou  pleasest 
us  not,  then  you  would  speak  the  truth  ;  but  you 
do  say,  the  world.' — When  now  all,  convicted  by 
their  consciences,  sat  there  in  grief  and  tears, 
and  few  knew  how  this  happened  to  them,  he 
said:  '  Now,  if  it  be  thus  as  it  should  be,  let  him 
to  whomsoever  your  sinful  life  has  become  of- 
fensive, confess  it  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,' 
whereupon  this  verse  was  wept  rather  than 
sung." 

3.  On  ver.  3.  Origen  says  in  his  sixth  homily, 
of  which  the  text  is  Jer.  v.  3-5,  "  If  now  thou 
wilt  that  the  beams  of  God's  eye  rest  upon  thee, 
embrace  the  virtues.  So  will  it  be  with  thee  ac- 
cording to  this  '  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  look  for 
faith.'  And  if  thou  art  such  an  one  that  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord  shine  upon  thee,  then  wilt  thou 
say,  'the  light  of  thy  countenance  rose  upon  us, 
0  Lord,'  Ps.  iv.  7." — "  He  asks  for  returns  and 
that  too  in  cash.  This  is  the  fund  to  which  he 
applies  and  on  which  he  depends.  Words  are  of 
no  value  to  him.  But  just  this  is  the  complaint: 
Faith  is  rare  among  the.  children  of  men  (Ps. 
xii.  2) ;  'it  is  not  every  man's  possession,'  as  it 
is  there  said.  In  these  days  preachers  might  ex- 
claim with  Isaiah:  who  believes?  (Isai.  liii.  1), 
And  Abraham  pleads  with  the  Lord  for  Sodom  on 
condition  of  five  righteous  persons  being  found 
in  it  (Gen.  xviii)."  Zinzendorf. — '■'■  Ecceverbera 
desuper  et  flagella  non  desunt,  et  trepidatio  nulla, 
nulla  for mido  est.  Quid  ai  non  intercederet  rebus 
humanis  velista  censura?"  Cyprian,  ad  Dcmeiria- 
num. — '■'■  Hand  grave  est  plagis  affici,  sed  plagu  me- 
liorem  non  fieri  gravissimum  est."  Gregor.  Nazianz. 

4.  On  vers.  4  and  6.  "A  preacher  has  no  more 
miserable  and  ignorant  hearers  than  the  respec- 
table. While  they  are  spelling  their  way  back 
to  the  cross,  and  are  getting  so  far  as  to  know 
how  to  learn  that  we  are  saved  alone  by  the 
grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  till  we  get  them  so  far 
as  to  understand  that  the  command  of  the  New 
Test,  is  to  believe,  and  all  that  morality  can  lug 
about  for  eighty  years  is  gone  with  a  word  :  Son, 
be  of  good  courage,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee, — 
the  ignorant  would  have  been  able  to  do  it  thrice. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  a  teacher  greatly 
deceives  himself,  if  he  seeks  among  the  respecta- 
ble that  comfort  in  his  office,  which  he  does  not 
meet  with  among  the  common  people."  Zinzen- 
DORF.  S.  12,  13.  Comp.  S.  65,  66 ;  1  Cor.  i. 
26,  27. 

5.  On  ver.  13.  "  Yes,  the  prophets  are  gossips. 
How  does  this  sound  and  whence  comes  the  say- 
ing? It  sounds  somewhat  distinguished,  and  a 
teacher  may  draw  it  upon  himself.  Almost  the 
whole  body  has  incurred  this,  tliiit  they  are  reck- 
oned with  afterwards,  and  because  after  their 
discourse  one  has  been  able  to  do  away  with  it  by 
head  work,  he  has  finally  come  to  the  conclusion: 
the  pastors  are  gossips  ;  and  the  precious  trea- 
sure of  the  public  testimony  is  much  calumni- 
ated. Whoever  is  grieved  on  account  of  the 
teachers,  let  him  reflect  that  this  arises  not  so 
much   from  the  fault  of  the  hearers  as  of   the 


CHAP.  V.  30-31. 


77 


teachers.  I  will  assure  him :  As  soon  as  the 
words  of  the  Lord  become  fire  in  his  mouth,  the 
hearers  become  wood,  and  criticism  is  at  an  end, 
and  feeling  comes  and  savor  comes,  be  it  unto 
life  or  unto  death.  From  that  time  the  preacher 
is  in  earnest,  and  laughter  is  forbidden  by  the 
hearers  themselves."  Zinzendorf,  S.  18,  14. 

6.  On  ver.  15  sqq.  "  The  prophet  takes  his  di- 
rection from  God's  unchangeable  calendar,  as  it 
was  composed  by  Moses :  Deut.  xxviii.  49. 
Therefore  he  could  well  prognosticate  how  it 
would  terminate  with  his  disobedient  people.  It 
is  of  use,  that  we  diligently  peruse  such  an  ever- 
enduring  calendar,  and  ever  have  it  before  our 
eyes.  For  it  is  more  certain  than  all  other  prog- 
nostications can  be."  Cramer. 

7.  On  vers.  21,  22.  "Hear,  ye  mad  people,  that 
have  no  understanding !  Will  ye  not  fear  me  ? 
This  is  a  glorious  discovery  of  the  omnipotence 
and  majesty  of  God.  If,  however,  men  see  one, 
they  see  all ;  but  they  have  no  ears  to  hear  until 
the  whole  is  changed.  But  that  men  are  so  se- 
cure and  think  not  of  Him  who  allows  them  to 
live  so  securely,  this  is  indeed  an  insane  busi- 
ness." Zinzendorf,  S.  202. 

8.  On  ver.  24.  "0  man,  as  often  as  thou  put- 
test  bread  into  thy  mouth,  reflect,  that  God  by 
this  means  of  nourishment  would  bring  thee  to 
Himself.  Cling  not  also  to  carnal  bread,  but  let 
thy  immortal  soul  be  satisfied  by  God."  Starke. 

9.  [On  ver.  25.  "  This  passage  is  worthy  of 
special  note :  for  God's  paternal  favor  does  not 
so  continually  shine  forth  in  our  daily  sustenance, 
but  that  many  clouds  intercept  our  view.  Hence 
it  is,  that  ungodly  men  think  that  the  years  are 
now  barren,  and  then  fruitful  through  mere 
chance.  We  indeed  see  nothing  so  regulated  in 
every  respect  in  the  world,  that  the  goodness  of 
God  can  be  seen  without  clouds  and  obstructions: 
but  we  do  not  consider  whence  this  confusion  pro- 
ceeds, even  because  we  obstruct  God's  access  to 
us,  so  that  His  beneficence  does  not  reach  us. 
We  throw  heaven  and  earth  into  confusion  by  our 
sins.  For  were  we  in  right  order  as  to  our  obe- 
dience to  God,  doubtless  all  the  elements  would 
be  conformable,  and  we  should  thus  observe  in 
the  world  an  angelic  harmony.  But  as  our  lusts 
tumultuate  against  God,  as  we  stir  up  war  daily, 
and  provoke  Him  by  our  pride,  perverseness  and 
obstinacy,  it  must  needs  be  that  all  things,  above 
and  below,  should  be  in  disorder,  that  the  hea- 
vens should  at  one  time  appear  cloudy,  and  that 
continuous  rains  should  at  another  time  destroy 
the  produce  of  the  earth,  and  that  nothing  should 
be  unmixed  and  unstained  in  the  world.  This 
confusion  then,  in  all  the  elements,  is  to  be  as- 
cribed to  our  sins :  and  this  is  what  is  meant  by 
the  prophet.  Though  indeed  the  reproof  was 
then  addressed  to  the  Jews,  we  may  yet  gather 
hence  a  lesson  of  general  instruction."  Calvin. 
— S.  R.  A.] 

10.  On  ver.  28.  Zinzendorf  remarks  on  the 
words  "and  they  prosper"  that  the  chief  cause 
of  the  condemnation  of  the  rich  man  (Luke  vi. 
19  sqq.)  was  that  he  was  prospered  in  all  things 
in  this  world.  He  consequently  received  his 
good  things  in  this  life  and  fared  sumptuously 
every  day.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxvii.  35;  Luke  vi.  25; 
Jas.  v.  1  sqq. 

11.  On  ver.  28.   "It  would  be  better  for  one 


to  have  the  Turkish  emperor  with  all  his  army 
for  an  enemy  than  a  poor  widow  with  her  father- 
less orphans.  For  the  widow's  tears  are  water 
which  rises  above  all  the  mountains  and  then  falls 
again  and  washes  away  all  her  enemies  into 
hell."  Luther.     Comp.  Wisd.  xxxv.  18-21. 

12.  On  ver.  31.  "My  people  like  it  so.  Like 
sought,  like  found.  The  people  wish  to  have 
false  preachers  and  get  them,  and  a  blind  man 
leads  the  blind  until  both  fall  into  the  ditch, 
Luke  vi.  39."  Cramer. — "How  will  it  be  at 
last  ?  We  finally  become  as  accustomed  to  dis- 
order as  disorderly  people,  and  the  more  every- 
thing goes  to  ruin,  the  less  concerned  are  we. 
There  is,  perhaps,  however,  still  an  uncompro- 
mising servant  or  old  friend  of  our  Father,  who 
is  constantly  repeating  the  little  word  to  us : 
How  will  it  be  ?  How  will  it  end  at  last  ?  This 
is  the  peculiar  office  of  the  teacher,  and  nobody 
likes  to  hear  him."  Zinzendorf,  S.  203. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  3.  Lord,  thine  eyes  look  for 
faith.  Why  does  God  impose  faith  as  the  only 
condition  of  salvation  ?  1.  Because  faith  gives 
the  greatest  glory  to  God.  2.  Because  it  is  at  the 
same  time  the  easiest  and  most  difficult  exercise 
of  the  human  heart.  For  (a)  to  believe,  i.  e.,  to 
accept  God's  grace  as  a  free  gift,  every  one  is, 
and  must  be,  able  to  do.  (6)  He  who  can  do  it, 
has  vanquished  himself  at  the  one  point  and 
won  all. 

2.  [On  ver.  4.  "All  sin  proceeds  from  some 
misapprehension  of  God.  (1)  Skeptical  humor 
as  to  God's  particular  Providence,  and  inspection 
over  all  events.  (2)  Disbelief  that  He  is  con- 
cerned about  the  moral  good  or  evil  actions  of 
men.  (3)  Abuse  of  the  doctrine  of  God's  fore- 
ordination,  and  (4)  of  His  mercy.  But  (1)  God's 
mercy  will  not  interfere  with  His  justice.  (2) 
The  execution  will  be  no  less  severe  than  the 
threatening.  (3)  God  will  not  accept  less  than 
He  requires  in  the  Gospel."  Dr.  S.  Clarke. — 
S.  R.  A.] 

3.  On  ver.  11.  Obstinate  unbelief.  1.  Its  na- 
ture :  it  denies  God  and  therefore  despises  {a) 
God's  word,  (6)  those  who  proclaim  it.  2.  Its 
punishment:  the  tables  are  turned;  (a)  the  unbe- 
liever, before  fire,  now  becomes  wood,  (6)  the 
word  of  God,  before  regarded  as  wood,  becomes 
fire. 

4.  On  ver.  19.  "Why  doth  the  Lord  our  God 
all  these  things  to  us?  Three  answers  to  this 
one  question  :  1.  John  xiii.  7,  What  1  do,  thou 
knowest  not  now,  etc.  2.  Matth.  xx.  15,  Is  it  not 
lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will?  etc.  3.  James  i. 
12.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation, 
etc.  Floret,  1863. 

6.  On  vers.  21,  24.  Of  the  fear  of  God.  1. 
Motives  from  without,  {a)  God's  displays  of 
power,  (6)  His  displays  of  grace.  2.  Inner  con- 
ditions: {a)  That  we  open  our  eyes  and  ears,  (6) 
that  we  allow  ourselves  to  be  impelled  by  that 
which  we  see  and  hear. 

6.  On  ver.  24.  (Harvest  [Thanksgiving]  ser- 
mon). The  harvest-blessing:  1.  From  whom  it 
comes.     2.  To  whom  it  leads. 

7.  On  ver.  24.  It  is  the  Lord  who  faithfully 
guards  the  harvest  forces.     This  truth  calls  for 


78 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


1.  humility  and  trust  in  the  sowing  of  earthly 
eeed;  2.  confidence  in  working  in  this  world; 
3.  hope  in  the  interment  of  bodies  in  the  earth. 
V.  11.  Trenk,  Gesetz  und  Zeugniss  (Law  and  Tes- 
timony), Apr.  1860,  S.  226. 

8.  On  ver.  24.  The  call  which  the  present  year's 
harvest  makes  on  the  hearts  of  men.  It  is,  Fear 
the  Lord.  For  1,  without  Him  all  labor  and  toil 
is  in  vain ;  2.  He  does  not  allow  Himself  to  be  in- 


terfered with  in  His  government ;  3.  He  gives 
and  blesses  without  respect  to  our  deserts  and  in 
spite  of  our  sins.   Floret,  1863. 

9.  On  vers.  30  and  31.  A  cry  of  warning  in  a  pe- 
riod of  universal  apostasy.  1.  The  condition  of 
the  people  is  shocking  and  abominable,  for  (a)  the 
leaders  of  the  people  misguide  them,  (6)  the  peo- 
ple wish  to  be  misled.  2.  The  consequences  corre- 
spond to  the  guilt  (comp.  vers.  25,  14sqq.,  6). 


III.  Recapitulation,  consisting  of  a  combination  of  the  points  already  presented: 
the  call  to  return,  announcement  of  punishment  and  its  reasons. 

(Chap.  VI.  1-26). 

1.  Exhortation  to  flee  from  Jerusalem. 

VI.  1-8. 

1  Flee,  ye  children  of  Benjamin,  out  of  Jerusalem, 
And  in  Blow  (Tekoa)  blow  the  trumpet. 

And  over  the  vineyard  (Beth-hakkerem )  erect  the  signal,' 
For  calamity  threatens  from  the  north  and  great  ruin. 

2  Thou  art  like  the  meadow,  the  tenderly  cared  for, 
O  daughter  of  Zion. 

3  Against  her  shall  come  shepherds  and  their  flocka 
And  pitch  their  tents  against  her  round  about, 
And  depasture  each  his  spot. 

4  Sanctify  war  against  her ! 
"Arise,  let  us  go  up  at  noon ! 
Wo  to  us,  for  the  day  has  turned. 

For  the  shadows  of  evening  are  lengthening. 

5  Arise,  and  let  us  go  up  in  the  night 
xiud  destroy  her  palaces !" 

6  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 

Fell  her  trees,^  and  raise  a  rampart*  against  Jerusalem  I 

She  is  the  city  of  which  it  is  ascertained 

That  nothing  but  rude  violence  is  found  in  her. 

7  As  a  spring^  poureth  forth  its  waters 
So  she  poureth  forth  her  wickedness. 
Injustice  and  desolation  are  heard  of  in  her, 
Sickness  and  wounds  are  continually  before  me. 

8  Be  warned,  O  Jerusalem,  lest  my  soul  be  forced  from  thee, 
Lest  I  make  thee  desolate,  a  land  uninhabited. 


ders 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— ["  It  is  singular  that  the  Sept.  render  this  in  ch.  iv.  6,  '  Haste  ye,'  and  here  'Be  ye  strong.'    The  Targum  ren- 
it '  migrate  '  or,  remove  ye.    The  idea  of  assembling  it  never  has.— Where  Blatnet  got  the  phrase,  '  Retire  in  a  body  ' 

it  is  difficult  to  say.''    Ed.  of  Calvix.— S.  R.  A.]  ,_    ,   ^      i,        j     •     j ,        ^i,    t>  u 

2  Ver.  1. — ["  The  word  has  no  connection  with  '  Are,'  as  mentioned  in  our  version,  which  has  been  derived  from  the  Rab- 
bins.   Blaynet'8  rendering  is  '  light  up  a  fire— beacon,'  but  the  words  admit  of  no  such  meaning."     Ed.  of  Calvin.— S.  R.  A.] 

3  Ver.  6.— nV y  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  fem.  collective  form  (comp.  HJT)  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere,  but  H  is 

T   •-  T  T 

the  suffix  without  niappik,  as  frequently  (Exod.  ix.  18 ;  Num.  xv.  28 ;  Ps.  xlviii.  14 ;  Ew.  §  247,  d  ;  OlSH.  §  40,  c ;  Naeoelsb. 
\  44,  4,  Anm.)    Tlie  LXX.  Vulg.  Syr.  and  several  Oodd.  in  De  Rossi  also  express  the  suffix. 

4  Ver.  6.— nS'^6  'nSt:'  is  tlie  standing  mode  of  expression,  so  mucli  so  that  nS/D  occurs  only  in  this  connection,  2 
Sam.  XX.  1.5  ;  2  Ki.'xix.  32^  Isai.  xxxvii.  33;  Ezck.  iv.  2;  xvii.  17  ;  xxi.  27  ;  xxvi.  8;  Dan.  xi.  15. 

i  Ver.  7.— It  18  probable  that  ^'13  here  stands  for  1K3.  as  the  Masoretes  suppose  to  have  happened,  vice  versa,  in  2  Sam. 


CHAP.  VI.  1-8. 


79 


xxiii.  15, 16, 20.     This  is  also  proved  by  the  lem.  suffix  iu  Pl'D'O-    For  113,  pit  is  masc,  while  1{<2  is  fern.    This  change  of 

T    '.*   •  ■ 
gender  between  the  noun  and  the  suffix  is  probably  also  the  ground  of  the  Keri  T3)  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere.   On 

the  construction  comp.  v.  16,  and  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  95,  2. 


EXEQETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

That.  vers.  1-8  form  a  strophe  is  seen  partly 
from  their  close  connection  (ver.  6  traces  the  un- 
dertaking of  the  besiegers  to  a  divine  command), 
partly  from  the  fact  that  the  eight  verses  con- 
tain the  complete  cycle  of  the  fundamental 
thought  of  the  prophet,  announcement  of  judg- 
ment, statement  of  reasons  (vers.  6  and  7)  and  call 
to  reform  (ver.  8).  At  the  same  time  however  a 
climax  is  evident  on  a  comparison  with  the  pre- 
ceding context.  For  the  prophet  here  sees  the 
judgment  upon  Jerusalem  so  near  its  accomplish- 
ment that  he  already  earnestly  admonishes  to 
flight  those  who  live  to  the  south  of  this  city. 

Ver.  1.  Flee,  ye  children  of  Benjamin  .  . 
great  ruin. — Flee,  comp.  iv.  6.  —  Children 
[sons]  of  Benjamin  is  explained  without  doubt 
by  the  circumstance  that  Benjaminites  formed  a 
part  (probably  the  principal  part.  Comp.  Graf, 
Winer,  R  W.  B.,  s.  v.,  Jerusalem)  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  Jerusalem.  According  to  the  original 
settlement  of  boundaries  (Josh.  xv.  8;  xviii.  16) 
Jerusalem  belonged  entirely  to  Benjamin.  But 
even  before  David's  time  it  was  inhabited  by  Ju- 
deans  (Josh.  xv.  63)  and  Benjaminites  (Judg.  i. 
21).  Since  David's  time,  being  the  capital  of  the 
whole  country,  it  also  belonged  to  the  whole 
people  (comp.  Raumer,  Paldst.  S.  339)  and 
doubtless  had  inhabitants  from  all  the  tribes, 
which  would  not  however  exclude  Judeans  and 
Benjaminites  from  forming  the  bulk  of  the  po- 
pulation. Jeremiah's  mentioning  only  the  lat- 
ter may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  he  himself 
was  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  (i.  1). — From 
[from  the  midst]  is  an  antithesis  to  tOTvards 
Zion,  iv.  6.  While  there  they  were  called  upon 
to  flee  to  Jerusalem,  where  at  first  they  would 
find  safety,  now  they  are  exhorted  to  flee  fro7n 
Jerusalem.  — V'^P'^  (to  blow,  blow,  Germ,  stossen, 

Stoss.  Comp.  the  place  named  Stoss  in  Appen- 
zell,  Switz.)  is  mentioned  partly  for  the  sake  of 
the  paronomasia  and  partly  because  it  is  a  pro- 
minent point  to  the  south  of  Jerusalem;  for  after 
the  capital,  the  bulwark  of  the  South,  has  fallen, 
this  also  is  threatened  and  must  think  of  flight. 
Tekoa  lay  9  to  12  m.  p.  south  from  Jerusalem. 
It  is  mentioned  in  1  Sam.  xiv.  2;  Am.  i.  1,  etc. 
Jerome  says  on  this  passage,  "  Thecuam  quoque 
viculum  esse  in  monte  situm,  et  12  millibus  ab  Hiero- 
solymis  separatum  qiiotidie  oculis  cerninius."  Ac- 
cording to  Robinson  (II.  406)  [Thomson,  The 
Land  and  the  Book,  II.  p.  424]  the  place  is  still 
called  Tekua,  and  is  situated  on  a  mountain  co- 
vered with  ruins. — For  a  similar  paronomasia 
Vid.    Mic.   i.   lOsqq. — D^3n~r\''3    is  mentioned 

only  here  and  in  Neh.  iii.  14.  Jerome  testifies 
that  it  was  a  considerable  elevation,  near  to  Te- 
koa.— According  to  Pococke  it  is  the  Frank 
mountain,  "an  insulated,  lofty  cone."  Comp. 
Raumer,  Palast.,  S.  223.  [Robinson,  Bibl.  Res. 
II.,  pp.  174,  182-184.  Ritter,  Geog.  III.,  p. 
96. — S.  R.  A.]     ^?<?'0  from  its  radical  meaning 


of  elatio  obtains  a  variety  of  derivative  significa- 
tions. See  the  Lexicons.  Here  as  in  Judg.  xx. 
88,  40,  it  denotes  the  sign  raised  high  aloft,  (else- 
where DJ). — For  calamity,  comp.  iv.  6. 

Ver.  2.  Thou  art  like  the  meadow  .  .  . 
daughter  of  Zion.  The  passage  is  difficult, 
and  has  been  very  variously  explained.     HIJ  is 

taken  in  the  sense  of  "meadow  "  (Luther,  Neu- 
mann) ;  habitatrix  (Venema)  ;  shepherdess  (Seb. 
Schmidt).  Most  commentators  render  it  = 
niXJ  (Song  of  Sol.  ii.  14;   iv.  3;  vi.  3)  pulchra, 

formosa.     HJ^J^O  from    JIJ^    delicate  vixit   (Pual 

here  only)  is  without  doubt  =  delicate  habita, 
which  is  always  well  cared  for,  spared,  never 
roughly  handled,  comp.  nJJJ^p  Deut.  xxviii.  56; 

Isai.  xlvii.  1. — Ti'DI  1.  assimilavi  (Vulg.,  Kim- 
CHi,  Abarb.,  Pagn.,  Tremell.,  Piscator,  etc.); 
2.  similis  facta  es  (Syr.);  3.  similis  sum  (Seb. 
Schmidt)  ;  4.  periisti  mihi  (Venema)  ;  5.  as  fair 
and  luxurious  have  I  imagined  the  daughter  of 
Zion  (derived  from  the  meaning  "  to  compare," 
comp.  Song  of  Sol.  ii.  17  ;  viii.  14;  Fuerst)  ;  6. 
the  fair  and  luxurious — I  mean  the  daughter  of 
Zion — to  her  come,  etc.  (Ewald,  Meier)  ;  7.  I 
make  still  (Neumann),  exterminate  (so  most  re- 
cent commentators).  The  connection  requires 
without  doubt  the  meaning  of  gay,  well-tended 
and  well-preserved  meadow.  For  after,  in  ver. 
1,  a  grievous  calamity  in  general  is  set  in  imme- 
diate prospect  before  Jerusalem,  we  see  from  ver. 
3  more  particularly  that  this  calamity  will  con- 
sist in  a  visitation  of  rough  shepherds,  who  will 
ruthlessly  depasture  and  desolate  Jerusalem  with 
their  flocks.  In  contrast  with  its  later  condition, 
Jerusalem  before  its  desolation  can  be  repre- 
sented under  no  more  suitable  figure  than  that 
of  a  meadow  well-preserved  and  tended  by  its 
owner  with  special  predilection.     HIJ  designates 

not  only  a  visitation  generally,  but  also  a  pasto- 
ral visitation  in  particular  [caula  cum  pascuo, 
Fuerst),  as  is  clear  from  Job  viii.  6;  coll.  Zeph. 
ii.  6.  Comp.  HIXJ  Jer.  ix.  9;  xxiii.  10;  xxv. 
36.  noi  is  indisputably  =  similis  fuit  (Ps. 
Ixxxix.  7;  cii.  7;  cxliv.  4,  etc.)  It  is  usually 
construed  with  y  (seethe  passages  cited)  or  with 
Sn  (Ezek.  xxxi.  8).  But  that  it  may  also  have 
the  subject  compared,  without  a  preposition,  in 
the  nominative  is  seen  from  Ezek.  xxxii.  2, 
where  it  reads  ri''P'7J  W']l  T33,  i.  e.,  a  lion 
among  the  nations  art  thou  compared.  Comp. 
Isai.  xxxviii.  13.  The  meanings  of  Niphal  and 
Kal  intrans.  here,  as  frequently,  coincide.  The 
construction  is  explained  thus,  that  HO^,  HDIJ 

'^  T  T  T  :  • 

properly  signify:  to  be  as  a  comparison,  as  a 
thing  compared;  Egypt  is  (in  Ezek.  1.  c.)  com- 
pared; i.e.,  by  way  of  comparison,  figuratively 
designates,  a  lion.  Israel  (in  this  passage)  is  as 
a  figure  or  comparison  a  meadow — 'f^'p^  I  take 

as  the  Syriac  did,  according  to  the  frequent 
usage  in  Jeremiah  (comp.  on  ii.  20)  as  2  Pers. 
Fem. — The  Masoretes  have  not  added  in  tlie  Keri 


80 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  regular  form  here  as  in  the  other  passages, 
which  may  be  explained  by  the  circumstance 
that  they  took  TCDT  as  the  1st  person.  The  ar- 
ticle before  HU  is  generic  as  in  iv.  25;  comp. 
Naeoelsb.,  §  71,  4,  a. — 1  before  njij^on  is  ep- 
exegetical  =  and  indeed,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
\  111,  1  a. 

Ver.  3.  Against  her  shall  come  shep- 
herds .  .  .  each  his  spot.  The  enemies  are 
compared  with  shepherds,  who  break  in  with 
flocks  and  ruthlessly  depasture  and  tread  down. 
Comp.  Mic.  V.  4,  5. — And  pitch  their  tents, 
etc.,  comp.  i.  15. — T  side,  place,  spot.  Comp. 
Lev.  ii.  17;  Deut.  xxiii.  13;  Isai.  Ivi.  5. 

Ver.  4.  Sanctify  war  against  her  .  .  the 
shadows  of  evening  are  lengthening.— 
Sanctify  as  in  Joel  iv.  9;  Mic.  iii.  5;  Zeph.  i. 
7  ;  Jer.  xxii.  7  ;  li.  27.  The  expression  refers 
to  the  solemn  ceremonies  attending  the  procla- 
mation and  commencement  of  war.  Comp.  Ezek. 
xxi.  26  sqq. — This  and  the  following  are  calls 
made  from  the  midst  of  the  enemy. — The  expres- 
sions exhibit  the  zeal  of  the  enemy  with  dramatic 
liveliness.  This  zeal  is  so  great  that  the  unfa- 
vorable time  of  the  day  even  cannot  detain  them. 
At  noon,  when  the  heat  usually  compels  all  to 
rest  they  depart,  and  when  the  evening  comes 
they  deplore  it,  but  instead  of  going  to  rest  pre- 
pare at  once  for  the  assault. — Has  turned. 
Comp.  Ps.  xc.  9,  [all  our  days  turn  away]. 

Ver.  5.  Arise,  and  let  us  go  up  .  .  .  de- 
8troy  her  palaces.  r>UpTX  is  translated  by 
ScHNURRER  and  EwALD,  here  and  in  ix.  20,  by 
lofty  buildings,  in  order  to  comprise  the  fortifica- 
tions. But  here,  as  frequently,  the  expression 
denotes  the  final  object,  the  completion  of  the 
work  of  destruction.  Comp.  Jer.  xvii.  27  ;  Am. 
i.  4. 

Ver.  6.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  found 
in  her.  The  besieging  of  Jerusalem  by  its  ene- 
mies is  not  a  baseless,  vain  undertaking.  It  rests 
on  a  double,  solid  ground:  1.  Immediately  on  a 
divine  command  (^jT)3)  ;  2.  mediately  on  the  un- 
godliness of  Israel,  which  provokes  the  ven- 
geance of  Jehovah  (njl  p^;r  nS^  to  ver.  7,  fin.) 
. — Fell  her  trees  is  evidently  an  allusion  to  Deut. 
XX.  19,  20,  where  it  is  commanded  that  Israel 
when  they  besiege  a  city,  are  not  to  cut  down  all 
the  trees  for  the  purposes  of  the  siege  (walls  and 
machines. — Comp.  Winer,  R.  W.  B.,  and  Herzog 
Real-Em.  Art.  Festungen).  Here  the  enemy  is 
commanded  to  do  the  exact  contrary.  Thus  it 
is  rendered  evident  how  savage  the  enemy  is  and 
what  Israel  has  to  expect.  The  latter  are  so  un- 
godly that  the  enemy  is  excused  from  those  con- 
siderations which  were  imposed  on  the  Israelites 
themselves  in  war.  If  this  passage  is  thus  based  on 
Deut.  XX.  19,  20,  we  are  then  justified  in  regarding 
n!f J^  ^r\'\2  as  a  verbal  reminiscence. — The  follow- 
ing sentence  is  construed  in  three  ways:  1.  Ihcc 
ilia  urbs — punitur  quantaquanta  est — oppressio  in  ca  ; 
2.  hsec  est  urbs  in  quam  aniinadvertitur, — tota  ilia 
oppressio  in  ea  ;  3.  urbs  ista — exploralum  est,  quod 
non  est  nisi  oppressio  in  ea. — Of  these  interpreta- 
tions the  first  must  be  unconditionally  rejected, 

for  T\13  is  as  unnecessary  with  "IpSH,  as  it  is 
necessary  to  what  follows.     The  second  is  the 


tionum,  pi!?;;  H^J  and  n|")  p3  piil}?. 

continually  be- 


most  generally  adopted.  But  the  abrupt  HpiJn 
is  flat;  we  expect  a  stronger  word  and  the  im- 
perfect, since  the  visitation  is  impending.  I 
therefore  prefer  the  third  interpretation,  adopted 
by  Abarbanel  and  Seb.  Schmidt.  Since 
'\Dp=ezplorare  (comp.  Ps.  xvii.  18;  Job  vii.  18) 
Ipipn  may  well  mean  exploratu7n  est.  This  agrees 
excellently  with  what  follows  :  that  their  inward 
part  is  full  of  thoughts  of  violence  is  confirmed  by 
the  fact  that  they  well  forth  these  like  a  spring  its 
waters  ;  the  cry  thereof  is  heard,  the  efi'ects  there- 
of are  visible  (ver.  7).  Levit.  v.  28  also  evidently 
hovered  before  the  mind  of  the  prophet.  Since 
there  only  besides  the  Hophal  occurs,  though 
with    another  meaning ;  so  there  also  is  found 

the  idea  of  pK^J?.  For  the  restoration  is  there 
alluded  to  of  that  which  any  one  has  appropri- 
ated by  violence  {'Q'py)  or  by  illegal  retention  of 

property  entrusted  to  him.  Though  the  thought 
in  general  is  a  very  different  one,  yet  a  compa- 
rison of  this  passage  explains  (a)  why  the  pro- 
phet here  designates  the  sin  of  Israel  as  p^V 

(b)  the  choice  of  the  singular  word  1P.3n ;  also 

(c)  the  article  in  T'J^n  is  satisfactorily  explained, 
if  the   prophet   refers   to   a   former   utterance. 

n3Tp3  [>py  Tn2  is  a  confusio  duarum  construe- 

,  pK?;;  nhi 

Ver.  7.  As  a  spring 
fore  me. — The  Inf.  "^^pH  points  to  a  root  lip, 

from  which  besides  only  ''/^"}p.  (2K;ingsxix.  24; 
Isai.  xxxvii.  25).  The  following  Hlpn  presup- 
poses a  root  T^p,  from  which  no  verbal  form  oc- 
curs in  the  Old  Test.  Yet  by  virtue  of  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  verbs  "-IJ^  and  '•}?}?  it  not  rarely 
lisippens  that  the  same  word  derives  forms  from 
both  conjugations.  Comp.  Ewald,  ^  114,  a. — 
The    interpretation   is    difficult    of  "^'pH,  mpn 

and  113.     "lip  means:  to  dig  (2  Kings  xix.  24), 

but  *Tlp   means   (after  1p.  nipO,   coUlness,  IP 

fresh),  to  be  cold,  fresh.  The  meaning  to  pour 
forth  therefore  seems  to  suit  neither  the  one  nor 
the  other  of  these  two  roots.  Hence  after  the 
example  of  the  LXX.  and  Jerome  many  com- 
mentators have  interpreted  the  passage  thus  : 
"As  the  cisterns  keep  their  water  cool,  so  Jeru- 
salem keeps  its  wickedness  constantly  fresh " 
(Graf).  This  rendering  seems  to  be  supported 
by  "113  meaning  not  spring,  but  pit,  cistern.  I  can- 
not nevertheless  regard  this  explanation  as  cor- 
rect;  for  1.  the  connection  is  opposed  to  it,  ac- 
cording to  our  explanation,  but  also  aside  from 
this  are  heard  of  and  before  me  afterwards 
require  the  meaning  of  to  bring  forth,  reveal.  2. 
Although  the  root  "lip  in  the  single  passage 
,  where  it  occurs  has  the  meaning  to  dig,  yet  even 
in  this  place  it  is  used  of  digging  for  water,  and 
must   include    a   reference  to  springing   water, 

while  the  only  noun  derived  from  it  is  "llpO, 
which  certainly  does  not  denote  a  pit  or  cistern, 
but  a  spring  or  fountain,  since,  as  it  is  generally 
used  only  in  a  poetic  and  figurative  sense  (comp. 
fountain  of  blood,  Levit.  xii.  7;  xx.  18  ;  fountain 
of  tears,  Jer.  viii.  23)  it  expresses  the  idea  of  a 


CHAP.  VI.  9-15, 


81 


spring  in  its  highest  and  most  original  sense. 
Accordingly  tlie  meaning  of  to  sprhig,  to  pour 

forth,  is  certainly  not  ascribed  to  '^^'D'H  without 

reason.  As  to  "^13,  it  certainly  does  in  itself  de- 
note a  pit  or  cistern.  But  in  the  later  books  it 
also  designates  a  pit,  in  which  water  is  spring- 
ing, a  well-spring  (puleus) :  Prov.  v.  15;  Eccles. 
xii.  6. — Injustice  and  desolation  [Violence 
and  spoil]  is  a  standing  formula  :  xx.  18 ;  Ezek. 
xlv.  9;  Am.  iii.  10;  coll.  Hab.  i.  3 — are  heard 
(comp.  Isai.  Ix.  18)  and  the  following  before  me 
are  explained  by  the  preceding  poureth  forth, 
as  all  three  members  of  the  sentence  afford  proof 
of  the  fact  ascertained,  ver.  6. — In  are  con- 


tinually before  me  there  is  a  climax;  not  only 
are  deeds  of  violence  heard  of,  but  their  most 
palpable  effects  are  continually  being  witnessed. 
Ver.  8  Be  warned,  O  Jerusalem  ...  a  land 
uninhabited.  Here  also  as  above  (iii.  1,  7,  12- 
22;  iv.  1,  3,  4,  14,  etc.)  the  prophet  uses  the 
threatening  of  punishment  as  a  support  for  a  call 
to  repentance.  The  Lord's  heart  is  still  towards 
Jerusalem,  though  it  is  to  be  feared  that  it  will  be 
alienated  from  the  stifF-necked,  impenitent  peo- 
ple, ypn  from  j;|T  (to  be  thrust  away,  to  turn 
away)  occurs  only  in  the  imperfect,  while  the 
perfect  forms  are  formed  from  j)pj.  Comp.  Ezek. 
xxiii.  17,  18.  "^ 


2.   The  prophet  is  compelled  by  an  inward  pressure  to  announce  the  judgment  of  extermination^  notwithstand- 
ing the  unwillingness  to  hear  on  account  of  the  universal  horrible  corruption. 

VI.  9-15. 

9       Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth : 

They  shall  glean  the  remnant  of  Israel  as  a  vine. 

Turn  again  and  again  thine  hand'  as  a  grape-gatherer  to  the  baskets. 

10  To^  whom  shall  I  speak  and  testify,  that  they  may  hear? 
Behold  their  ear  is  uncireumcised,  and  they  cannot  hearken. 
Behold  the  word  of  Jehovah  is  a  mockery  to  them ; 

They  have  no  delight  in  it. 

11  But  I  am  full  of  the  fury  of  Jehovah, 
I  cannot  longer  restrain  myself.' 
Pour  out  over  the  child  in  the  street 
And  over  the  company  of  youths  together ; 
For  both  man  and  wife  shall  be  taken, 
The  aged  with  him  that  is  full  of  days. 

12  And  their  houses  shall  come  to  others, 
Fields  and  wives  together, 

For  I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  against  the  inhabitants  of  the  land, 
Saith  Jehovah. 

13  For  from  the  least  to  the  greatest  all  are  given  to  covetousness, 
And  from  the  prophet  to  the  priest  they  practice  deceit. 

14  And  healed  the  hurt  of  the  daughter*  of  my  people  most  slightly, 
Saying :  Peace,  Peace !    And  there  is  no  peace. 

15  They  are  put  to  shame,®  for  they  wrought  abominations, 
Yet  they  blush  not,  nor^  know  how  to  be  ashamed.^ 
Therefore  will  they  fall  with  them  that  fall. 

At  the  time  that  I  visit  them,  they  will  be  overthrown, 
Saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  9.— "IT"  3tJfn-  It  is  quite  unnecessary  with  Uitzig  and  Graf  to  explain  the  suflSx  Tt  by  the  reduplication  of  th» 
following  3  (in  "nifil^).  The  discourse  is  rather  dramatically  vivid  as  in  vers.  3-6.— ^t^H  is  to  turn  back  as  the  grape-ga- 
therer does  his  hand  with  respect  to  the  basket,  therefore=to  turn  again  and  again. 

"  Ver.  10. — 7_j;  here  as  frequently  in  Jer.  (comp.  xix.  15;  xxv.  2 ;  xxvi.  15;  xxvii.  19;  xxviii.  8;  xliv.  20)  has  almost 
the  meaning  of  7X,  except  that  here  the  proximate  idea  of  hostility  may  be  detected  in  it. 

*  Ver.  11. — [Henderson  :  I  am  weary  of  containing  it ;  the  A.  V.  better  :  I  am  weary  of  holding  in.]  Comp.  Isai.  i.  14 ; 
Jer.  ix.  4 ;  xv.  6. 

*  Ver.  14. — ["  r\2,  daughter,  is  omitted  in  thirty-eight  MSS.   and  twenty-four  printed  editions.    The  combination 


82 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


'SV    r\2,  *^  daughter  of  my  people,  however,  meaning  the  people  themselves,  is  not  foreign  to  Jeremiah.    See  chap.  Till 
21,  22."  Henderson.— S.  R.  A.] 

6  Ver.  U.— nbpj-bj;  comp.  "ipi^-Sj^  (Lev.v.22),  in^^S;^  (Ps.  xxxi.  24). 

6  Ver.  15. — [Henderson  trausliites;  They  ought  to  have  been  ashamed.  He  says:  "Verbs  in  Heb.  express  sometimes, 
not  the  action,  but  the  duty  or  obligation  to  perform  it.  Comp.  iti'^'^X"?  TK'X,  which  ought  not  to  be  done.  Gen.  xx.  9. 
*"10ty\  should  keep,  Mai.  ii.  7."— S.  R.  A.] 

'r'Ver.  15.— x"?    DJ— X^    DJ=neither— nor.     Comp.  Naegelsb.  6?r.  g  110,  3.  ^ 

8  Ver.  15.— D'SdH  elsewhere  Niph.  (viii.  12 ;  xxxi.  19).    The  Hiphil  here  as  in  ^t^'^in. 


EXEGETIOAL    AND   CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  reproduces  with  some  modification 
one  side  of  the  fundamental  thought  of  the  dis- 
course :  under  a  new  figure  (that  of  gleaning)  the 
prophet  announces  the  entire  destruction  of  the 
people  (ver.  9).  Here  however  the  thought  oc- 
curs to  him  that  he  is  really  speaking  in  vain,  be- 
cause nobody  wishes  to  hear  him  (ver.  10).  This 
objection  is  removed  by  the  fact  that  the  prophet 
cannot  be  silent.  He  therefore  gives  free  course 
to  the  prophetic  impulse  to  pour  out  upon  the 
whole  people  the  fulness  of  the  divine  wrath  (vers. 
11,  12),  which  they  have  so  richly  deserved  by 
their  sins,  (pre-eminently  of  covetousness,  deceit 
and  shamelessness,  vers.  13-15). 

Ver.  9.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  ....  to  the 
baskets.  Not  hastily  but  carefully  is  the  divine 
judgment  executed:  thorough  work  is  done,  as  in 
gleanijig  (Isai.  xxiv.  13;  Ob.  5;  Jer.  xlix.  9). 
These  words  seem  also  to  refer  to  a  precept  of 
the  Law,  namely,  to  that  which  expressly  forbade 
the  Israelites  to  glean  (Levit.  xix.  10  ;  Dent.  xxiv. 
21).  The  case  is  the  same  here  as  with  FeU 
her  trees,  ver.  6.  This  gleaning  does  not  of 
course  contradict  what  was  said  in  iv.  27;  v.  10, 
18. — I  will  not  utterly  make  an  end.  Even 
in  gleaning  something  may  be  left.     Comp.  Isai. 

vi.  11  sqq.;  Zech.  xiii.  8,  9. — DwDy?  here  only. 
EwALD,    HiTZiG,    Graf,     Meier,    appealing     to 

D'StS^  Isai.  xviii.  5  coll.  D'^nSn  Song  of  Sol.  v. 

11,  D';)DJD  Song  of  Sol.  vii.  9,' would  give  it  the 

meaning  of  "  branches,  tendrils,"  which  they 
also  regard  as  favored  by  the  connection,  since 
T  Til'n  denotes  to  turn  the  hand  against  any  one 

with  a  hostile  intention  (comp.  Am.  i.  8;  Isai.  i. 
23;  Ps.  Ixxxi.  15).  But  in  the  first  place  the 
plucking  of  grapes  is  not  a  hostile  act,  but  a 
kindness  to  the  vine.  Secondly,  the  connection 
requires  the  idea  of  repetition,  so  that  the  phrase 
must  not  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  the  passages 
cited,  but  much  more  according  to  the  analogy  of 
Ps.  Ixxii.  10;  2  Kings  iii.  4;  xvii.  3;  as  to  turn 
back  again  and  again.  Thirdly,  the  mention  of  the 
basket  portrays  much  more  vividly  the  fate  of  the 
grapes  than  the  mention  of  the  branch  would;  for 
the  former  sets  before  usthe  grapes  asdefinitively 
separated  from  the  vine.  Fourthly,  the  linguistic 
relations  are  in  favor  of  the  rendering  "  basket," 

for  the  word  most  nearly  related,  /D,  decidedly  has 

this  meaning  (Gen.  xl.  16. 17  :  Levit.  xxix.  8). 

Ver.  10.  To  whom  shall  I  speak  .  .  .  de- 
light in  it.  After  in  ver.  9  he  has  presented  to 
their  view  the  extremity  to  which  they  would  be 
reduced,  the  objection  occurs  to  the  prophet  that 


all  his  speaking  is  in  vain. — nncironmcised 
is  used  in  the  Old  Test,  of  the  ear  in  this  place 
only.  In  the  New  Test.  comp.  Acts  vii.  51.  Of 
the  heart,  Levit.  xxvi.  41  ;  Deut.  x.  16;  Jer.  ix. 
25  ;  Ezek.  xliv.  7,  9.  Of  the  lips,  Exod.  vi.  12, 
30.  We  see  from  and  they  cannot  hearken 
that  it  designates  a  substantial  incapability, 
which,  however,  is  guilty,  as  hardness  of  heart 
and  perversity.   Amockery,  comp.  xx.  7,  8. 

Ver.  11.  But  I  am  full  of  the  fury  .  .  .  full 
of  days.  The  objection  raised  in  ver.  10  is  re- 
moved by  the  impossibility  of  keeping  silence. 
On  the  subject  coinp.  xx.  9. — The  prophet  feels 
as  though  the  Lord's  fury  were  his  own,  and  he 
is  so  full  of  it  that  it  is  with  him  as  in  Matth.  xii. 
34  [out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart,  e<c.]. — 
Pour,  etc.  The  change  of  the  person  is  here  just  as 
in  Turn,  etc.,  ver.  9.  The  Lord,  whose  fury  he 
cannot  restrain,  calls  to  him  to  pour  it  out.  With 
EwALD  then  to  change  to  "^i^^  is  quite  unneces- 
sary. The  fury  shall  be  poured  over  the  whole 
people,  irrespective  of  sex  or  age.  Comp.  xviii. 
21 ;  Lam.  ii.  21. — On  company  of  youth  comp. 

XV.  17. — nD^'  is  to  be  taken  in  the  wider  sense= 
...... 

to  be  caught,  comp.  Josh.  vii.  15. — \pt  is  the  aged 

man  without  respect  to.his  vigor,  the'man  "full 
of  days "  is  he  who  is  superannuated  and  de- 
crepit. 

Vers.  12,  13.  And  their  houses  .  .  .  prac- 
tice deceit.-    Comp.  viii.   10  sqq. — ^3DJ  as  in 

1  Kings  ii.  15  ;  Numb,  xxxvi.  7,  8.  The  prophet 
seems  to  be  thinking  of  this  latter  passage  in  the 
same  antithetical  way,  as  of  the  passages  from 
the  Law  in  vers.  6  and  9.  Comp.  also  Deut.  xxviii. 
30. — I  w^ill  stretch.  Comp.  xv.  6. — In  ver.  13 
begins  a  repeated  enumeration  of  the  sins  of  the 
people  as  forming  a  motive  for  the  fury  described 
in  ver.  11.  The  faults  of  covetousness,  deceit 
and  wantonness  which  smothered  shame,  are 
here  rendered  protniueut.  It  seems  as  though 
the  prophet  as  in  ch.  v.  has  still  in  mind  the  an- 
tithesis of  njIDN — given   to    covetousness. 

The  prophet  seems  to  have  thought  of  Isai.  Ivi. 
11.  Comp.  KuEPER,  S.  144.  The  same  expres- 
sion also  in  Prov.  i.  19;  xv.  27;  Hab.  ii.  ©; 
Ezek.  xxii.  27. 

Ver.  14.  And  healed  the  hurt  .  .  no  peace. 
This  is  the  deceit,  or  at  least  one  and  a  very  im- 
portant kind  of  deceit,  which  the  priests  and 
prophets  practised,  that  they  designated  (as  was 
certainly  to  their  material  interest)  the  course 
adopted  by  the  people  and  the  princes  as  true 
and  saving.  Comp.  xiv.  14  sqq.;  xxiii.  9-40; 
xxvii.  14,  15;  xxviii  1-10 — healed  is  intended 
ironically.  The  aorist  denotes  that  they  have 
done  this  hitherto. — And  there  is  no  peace. 
Comp.  Mic.  iii.  5  ;  Ezek.  xiii.  10  and  supra,  iv.  10. 


CHAP.  VI.   16-26.  83 


Ver.  15.  They  are  put  to  shame  .  .  -will  be 
overthrown,  saith  Jehovah,  ty'^in  (comp. 
▼iii.  9;  x.  14,  etc.)  means  likewise  to  make  a 
shameful  figure,  as   yo^lT},  to  make  fat,  i.  e.,  to 

become  fat,  rS/*?)  to  bring  forth  whiteness,  i.  e., 
to  become  white.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  18,  3. 
— They  are  put  to  shame,  says  the  prophet,  be- 
cause those  false  predictions  of  peace  have  al- 
ready been  frequently  falsified.     And  this  could 


not  be  otherwise,  since  their  prophecy  was  an 
abomination.  The  Lord  therefore  in  respect  to 
them  does  just  the  contrary  of  that  which  He  does 
in  respect  of  true  prophecy  (i.  12). — But  not- 
withstanding this,  that  they  were  put  to  shame, 
yet  they  were  not  ashamed. — Not  know  how 
reminds  us  of  Isai.  Ivi.  11. — fall  with  them,  etc. 
When  the  victims  of  their  false  guidance  fall, 
they  will  not,  as  they  have  hoped,  escape  scot- 
free,  but  will  be  overthrown.  Comp.  the  expres- 
sion in  li.  49. 


3.  Because  Israel  would  not  hear  the  prophet  announces  to  all  lands  and  nationt  the  impending  judgment, 

to  be  executed  by  a  people  from  the  north. 

VI.  16-26. 

16  Thus  has  Jehovah  spoken : 
Stand  in  the  ways^  and  look  around 

And  inquire  for^  the  paths  of  ancient  times, 

Which  is  the  way  of  salvation  f 

And  walk  therein  and  find  a  resting  place*  for  your  souls ! 

But  they  said :  We  will  not  walk  therein. 

17  Then  I  set^  watchmen  over  you,  saying : 
"  Hearken  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpet !" 
But  they  said :  We  will  not  hearken  thereto. 

18  Therefore  hear,  ye  nations, 

And  know,  O  congregation,  what  is  among  them. 

19  Hear,  O  earth !     Behold  I  bring  evil  upon  this  people, 
The  fruit  of  their  counsels. 

For  they  have  not  heeded  my  words, 
And  ray  law — they  despised  it.® 

20  To  what  purpose  should  incense  come  to  me  from  Sheba, 
And  the  sweet  cane  from  a  far  country  ? 

Your  burnt  offerings  are  not  grateful  to  me. 
And  your  sacrifices  are  not  pleasant  to  me. 

21  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  : 

Behold  I  lay  stumbling-blocks  against  the  people, 
And  the  fathers  and  sons  together  shall  fall  over  them ; 
The  inhabitant  and  his  companion  shall  perish.' 

22  Thus  saith  Jehovah  :  Behold,  a  people  comes  from  the  north  country. 
And  a  great  nation  arises  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

23  Bow  and  lance  they  bear. 

Cruel  are  they  and  have  no  mercy. 

Their  voice  roars  like  the  sea, 

And  they  ride  upon  horses, 

Equipped  as  a  man  for  war,  against  thee,  thou  daughter  of  Zion. 

24  We  have  heard  the  report  of  them  ;  feeble  are  our  hands, 
Anguish  has  seized  us,  and  trembling  as  a  parturient. 

25  Go  not  forth  into  the  field,  nor  walk  in  the  way. 
For  the  sword  of  the  enemy® — fear  on  every  side. 

26  Daughter  of  my  people,  gird  thee  in  sackcloth, 
And  wallow  thyself  in  ashes. 

Make  mourning  as  for  an  only  son — bitter  lamentation  ; 
For  suddenly  will  the  destroyer  come  upon  us. 


84 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

*  Ver.  16. — D'3'n~  7j^   no  J?   comp.  iii.  2 ;  Isai.  xlix.  9,  where  likewise  the  article  is  wanting.    In  iii.  2  the  wordc 

D'£)^)  VTX  are  also  without  the  article,  although  in  meaning  they  are  definite.    Comp.  Gesen.  gl09;  Naeoelsb.  Or. 

■  T  :       '  V  V 
§71,3. 

2  Ver.  16. — 31£3n  ^^1  (via  boni,  not  bona,  on  account  of  the  following  HS)-    Comp.  Ps.  cxxxix.  24. 

-     I . . . .  ^ 

8  Ver.  16.— Sxty  with  S,  Gen.  xxvi.  7  ;  xxxii.  30. 

*  Ver.  16.— :|X:;d^-    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  90,  2.— j;ij"in.    Comp.  Matth.  xi.  29. 

6  Ver.  17.— T\10''pni-    The  perfect  is  abnormal,  and  is  a  sign  of  the  later  idiom.    Comp.  Ewald,  §  343,  c.  2. 

*  Ver.  19. — On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  J  88,  7,  c,  et  supra,  iii.  9. 

7  Ver.  21. — For  -n^X'   the  Keri  has  -"nDNI    because  the   Masoretes    connected  ^J^'^)     pU?    as    the    subject    with 
y^^2,  which  is  however  unnecessary  and  unjustifiable. 

8  Ver.  25.— To  translate  :  the  enemy  hath  a  sword  [as  Henderson]  is  very  flat.    Better  2^vh  C^Uii)  3"in,  and  as  sub- 
ject co-ordinate  with  the  following  "11 JD  [for  the  sword  of  the  enemy  and  fear  are,  etc.].    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  J  67,  2. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

This  last  strophe  of  the  discourse  forms  two 
parts.  In  the  first  part  (vers.  16-20)  the  pro- 
phet shows  the  genesis  of  the  calamity.  The 
Lord  had  at  first  kindly  directed  Israel  in  the 
right  way  (ver.  16),  but  when  they  had  refused 
to  walk  in  it,  He  had  solemnly  threatened  them 
with  His  punishment  (ver.  17).  Since  they  re- 
garded not  this  also,  He  turns  now  with  His  an- 
nouncement of  punishment  to  all  nations,  calling 
them  as  it  were  to  witness  to  the  justice  of  His 
cause  (vers.  18,  19).  He  refutes  a  nugatory  ob- 
jection of  Israel's  (ver.  20).  In  the  second  part 
the  merited  destruction  is  announced  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel  directly  (vers.  21-26),  first  in  gene- 
ral (ver.  21),  then  its  execution  is  described  in 
detail  (vers.  22-25),  so  that  (a)  the  nation  from 
the  North  is  again  mentioned  as  the  instrument 
of  this  execution,  with  more  particular  features ; 
(6)  the  experience  of  the  punishment  is  presented 
in  the  words  of  the  suffering  people.  Finally  the 
prophet  calls  upon  the  people  to  do  that  which 
alone  remains  to  them,  namely,  to  humble  them- 
selves in  deepest  mourning. 

Ver.  16.  Thus  has  Jehovah  spoken  .  .  . 
■V7e  \vill  not  walk  therein.  "lOX  compared 
with  the  progress  of  time  in  ver.  17  sqq.  is  to  be 
regarded  as  preterite. — As  the  absence  of  the  ar- 
ticle is  not  to  be  pressed,  we  translate :  stand  in 
the  ways,  i.  e.,  not  in  any  or  some,  but  in  all. 
They  are  to  compare  by  examination  all  the 
ways  (^^^.  here  as  in  Ps.  cxxxix.  24;  Am.  viii. 

14  =  religion,  cultus).  A  criterion  is  at  the  same 
time  given  them,  by  which  to  recognize  the  right 
way,  viz.,  antiquity.  The  oldest  is  the  true  re- 
ligion. Let  then*  examine  the  different  religions 
of  the  primitive  period,  in  order  to  find  the  oldest 
among  the  old  ways,  which  is  then  the  way  of 
good  or  well-being. 

Ver.  17.  Then  I  set  vratchmen  over  you 
.  .  .  •we  will  not  hearken  thereto. — Watch- 
men, used  frequently  by  the  prophet  for  seers 
and  Warners.  Comp.  Ezek.  iii.  17;  xxxiii.  7, 
coll.  Isai.  xxi.  11,  12;  Jer.  xxxi.  6. — Hearken 
to  the  sound,  etc.  Observe  the  climax :  after 
Israel  liad  rejected  the  friendly  admonition  in 
ver.  16,  tlie  prophets  standing  on  the  walls  like 
watchmen  must  strike  wholesome  terror  into 
their  hearts  by  sounding  the  trumpet  of  their  de- 
nunciatory prophecies.     But  even  this  is  in  vain. 


The  words  hearken,  etc.,  may  be  regarded  as 
spoken  by  Jehovah  or  by  the  prophets  them- 
selves; for  even  the  latter  might  admonish  the 
Israelites  to  respect  the  warning,  which  they 
brought  to  them.  Yet  this  admonition  certainly 
seems  more  appropriate  in  the  mouth  of  Jehovah. 
Comp.  ii.  25. 

Ver.  18.  Therefore  hear,  ye  nations  .  .  . 
what  is  among  them.  After  the  Lord  had 
found  among  the  Israelites  a  hearing  neither  for 
friendly  admonition  nor  for  severe  warning.  He 
turns  to  the  other  nations,  in  order  that  theym&y 
learn  Jehovah's  judgment  on  His  people  and  its 
true  motives. — Concerning  mj7  opinions  are 
much  divided.  According  to  the  connection  and 
the  unquestioned  Masoretic  reading  it  can  mean 
neither  testimony  (Aqu. )  nor  troop  (Hitzig)  nor 
congregation  in  the  sense  of  the  Israelites,  for  an 
address  to  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  Israelite 
nation  would  form  a  most  violent  interruption 
in  the  parallelism  and  connection.  I  do  not  see 
why  it  should  not  denote  the  totality  of  the  hea- 
then nations,  united  as  it  were  into  a  grand  jury. 
It  is  true,  no  passage  can  be  produced,  where 
m^  has  exactly  this  meaning,  but  it  is  a  word 
of  such  general  signification,  that  it  may  fairly 
have  this  sense.  For  if  in  Judg.  xiv.  8  it  signi- 
fies a  swarm  of  bees,  in  Job  xv.  34  and  Ps.  xxii. 
16  an  assembly  of  the  wicked,  and  in  Numb.  xvi. 
5,  the  company  of  Korah,  no  one  can  say  that  it 
may  not  in  certain  circumstances  be  used  of  the 
assembly  of  the  heathen.  Since  now  according 
to  the  idea  of  the  connection  previously  stated, 
the  prophet  turns  in  ver.  18  right  diligently  to 
the  heathen,  because  Israel  would  not  hear  him, 
m^^   can  denote  no  other  than  the  totality  of  the 

heathen  in  antithesis  to  the  single  nations,  who 
were  addressed  as  D^i-in;   tluis  singuH  et  omites. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  not  improbable,  that  m^ 
(comp.  n^^in  ad  judicium  citare,  Jer.  xlix.  19; 
1.  44)  might  also  designate  a  "Judicialis  conven- 
tus"  (so  Venema,  Rosenm.,  J.  D.  Mich.) — The 
phrase  D3"1^X~r\X  is  also  variously  interpreted. 

Some  (Leiste,  Rosenm.)  translate:  quse  i7iiisfa- 
ciam,  which  presupposes  an  impossible  ellipsis  ; 
Ewald  would  read  n3  instead  of  D3,  Graf 
changes  into  D3  'ni;'n  ^tyX-i;n^  I  find  no  dif- 
ficulty in  the  text,  as  it  exists.  The  heathen  as- 
sembled, as  it  were  for  a  jury,  are  first  to  know 
what  thoughts  Israel  cherishes  within.   For  this 


CHAP.  VI.  16-26. 


85 


purpose  a  glance  into  their  heart  is  afFor  Jed  them 
by  what  is  said  in  vers.  16  and  17.  On  the  ba- 
sis of  this  state  of  the  facts  it  is  then  disclosed  to 
them  in  ver.  19,  what  tlie  Lord  will  bring  as  a 
punishment  upon  Israel.  In  I  bring  evil  upon, 
upon  is  in  antithesis  to  among  in  ver.  IS. 

Ver.  19.  Hear,  O  earth!  .  .  they  despised 
it. — Hear,  etc.,  forms  a  climax  in  relation  to 
ver.  18:  the  whole  earth  is  called  to  witness. 
Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  1  (coll.  xxx.  19;  xxxi.  28 j ; 
Mic.  i.  2;  vi.  1,  2  ;  Isai.  i.  2.  After  the  Lord 
has  granted  a  glance  into  the  heart  of  Israel,  He 
shows  the  punishment  which  is  the  result  of  this 
inward  condition,  and  which  is  therefore  desig- 
nated as  the  fruit  of  their  counsels  (comp. 
iL  19;  iv.  18). 

Ver.  20.  To  what  purpose  should  incense 

.  .  .  are  not  pleasant  to  me.  njU?  the  aro- 
matic resin  of  a  tree  not  yet  definitely  ascer- 
tained. Comp.  Exod.  xxx.  31 ;  Levit.  ii.  1,  etc.  ; 
Isai.  Ix.  6;  Herzog,  Real-Em.  XVII.  S.  602; 
XII.  S.  504.— N::^  (not  to  be  confounded  with 
K3p,  i.  e.,  Meroe)  is  the  tribe  and  home  of  the 
Sabseans  in  Southern  Arabia.  Comp.  Isai.  Ix.  6; 
Ezek.  xxvii.  22;  Joel  iv.  8;  Ps.  Ixxii.  15. — 
3iOn  T^:p^    comp.    Exod.    xxx.    23    {Um  T\:pj ; 

Isai.  xliii.  24;  Ezek.  xxvii.  19;  Song  of  Sol.  iv. 
14  =:  calamus,  the  root  of  which  was  used  in  the 
preparation  of  the  anointing  oil.  Vid.  Wineh, 
R.  W.  B.,  Art.  Kalamus. — In  these  words  the 
Lord  meets  an  objection  of  the  Israelites  to  the 
effect  that  they  had  not  failed  in  outward  wor- 
ship. The  sense  of  the  reply  coincides  with  1 
Sam.  XV.  22;  Mic.  vL  8;  Isai.  i.  11  sqq. ;  Ps.  1. 

8sqq.;  li.  18,  etc. — The  juxtaposition  of  flwiy 
and  DTI^I  is  also  found  in  several  of  the  pas- 
sages mentioned,  comp.  Jer.  vii.  21 ;  Dkechsler, 
Jes.  I.  S.  6.3. 

Ver.  21.  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah 
.  .  .  and  his  companion  shall  perish.  After 
the  refutation  of  the  vain  objection  in  ver.  20 
the  ];)rophet  turns  again  to  the  people  of  Israel. 
He  seems  to  presuppose  that  the  people  excited 
to  jealousy  by  vers.  18  and  19,  (comp.  Rom.  xi. 
14)  in  opposition  to  their  former  disinclination 
even  to  hear  the  Lord,  yet  at  least  answer  him. 
The  answer  is  indeed  worth  nothing,  and  there- 
fore now  follows  a  direct  announcement  of  judg- 
ment, addressed  to  the  Israelites  themselves,  first, 
inthisverse21,in5'fweraZ.-StumbIing-blocks. 
Comp.  Isai.  viii.  14;  Ezek.  iii.  20. 

Ver.  22.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  ends  of 
the  earth.  This  and  the  following  verses  spe- 
cify the  calamity  announced  generally  in  ver. 
21.  For  the  third  time  the  executioner  is  men- 
tioned as  a  mighty  nation  from  the  North. 
(Comp.  It.  6  sqq. ;  v.  15  sqq.) — The  passage  "-  ' 


repeated  and  applied  to  Babylon  in  I.  41-43.^ 
^X  TIDI''  extrema  terrse.  Comp.  Isai.  xiv.  13,  15; 
Jer.  XXV.  32;   xxxi.  8,  etc. 

Ver.  23.  Bows  and  lances  they  bear  .  .  . 
against  thee,  thou  daughter  of  Zion.  Comp. 
Ilab.  i.  7. — Like  the  sea.  Comp  Isai.  v.  30; 
xvii.  12;  xxiv.  14. — On  the  question  what  na- 
tion, see  the  remarks  above  on  i.  14. — Equip- 
ped as  a  man  for  war.  The  singular  attach- 
ing to  cruel  are  they.  On  the  change  of  num- 
ber, comp.  EwALD,  ^  317,  6.  As  a  man  can  nei- 
ther denote  07ie  man,  nor  a  hero.  Rather  do 
equipped  and  against  thee  (as  the  accents 
also  denote)  belong  together  and  as  a  man  for 
war  declares  how  this  preparation  is  made  ;  not 
as  a  woman  for  peaceful  labor,  but  as  a  man  for 
war,  is  the  enemy  equipped  against  Zion. 

Vers.  24  and  25.  We  have  heard  the  re- 
port .  .  .  fear  on  every  side.  A  description 
of  the  feeling  which  Israel  experiences  on  the 
incursion  of  the  enemy,  so  that  vers.  22,  23  on 
the  one  hand,  and  vers.  24  and  25  on  the  other 
correspond  to  each  other  as  objective  and  sub- 
jective, or  as  cause  and  effect. — Anguish. 
Comp.  iv.  31;  xlix.  24;  L  43. — Trembling  as, 
etc.  Comp.  Ps.  xlviii.  8;  Mic.  iv.  9;  Jer.  xxii. 
28;  1.  43. — Ver.  25  is  also  related  to  ver.  24  as 
the  effect  to  the  cause:  the  not  venturing  out  of 
Jerusalem  is  the  consequence  of  what  has  been 
heard.     The  personification    of  Jerusalem  as  a 

woman  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  forms  ''NIfri, O/A 
for  which  the  way  is  prepared  by  as  a  parturi- 
ent, and  continued  by  daughter  of  my  people 
ver.  26. — Pear  on  every  side,  Ps.  xxxi.  14; 
Jer.  XX.  3,  10;  xlvi.  5;  xlix.  29;  Lam.  ii.  22; 
see  especially  remarks  on  xx.  10. 

Ver.  26.  Daughter  of  my  people  .  .  come 
upon  us. — Gird  thee,  etc.,  comp.  iv.  8,— wal- 
low, comp.  XXV.  34;  Mic.  i.  10;  Ezek.  xxvii.  30. 
— Mourning,  etc.  Comp.  Am.  viii.  10 ;  Zech. 
xii.  10. — Bitter  lamentation.  Comp.  xxxi. 
15;  Hos.  xii.  15. — The  prophet  in  conclusioa 
advises  Jerus.alem  to  do  the  only  thing  that  re- 
mains to  her  ;  repent  in  sackcloth  and  ashes 
(comp.  Isai.  Iviii.  5;  Jer.  xxv.  34;  Ezek.  xxvii. 
30;  Dan.  ix.  3)  and  deep,  sincere  mourning. 
For  their  sins  or  their  destruction  ?  Doubtless 
for  both.  For  the  former  is  occasioned  by  peni- 
tence, the  latter  by  inevitable  destruction.  Peni- 
tence and  mourning  can  no  longer  ward  off  the 
destruction  (as  might  have  been  possible  before, 
comp.  iv.  1-4;  xiv.  6,  8).  The  prophet  indeed 
expresses  this  in  the  words  "  for  suddenly  will 
the  destroyer  come  upon  us."  But  though  the 
calamity  cannot  be  warded  off  by  penitence  and 
mourning  it  may  yet  be  thus  mitigated,  and  the 
way  may  be  thus  prepared  for  subsequent  resto- 
ration. 


86  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


4.   Conclusion:  object  and  result  of  the  Discourse. 
VI.  27-30. 

27  I  have  set  thee  a  prover^  among  my  people,  the  ore/ 
That  thou  mayest  know  and  prove  their  way. 

28  They  are  all  arch  traitors/  slanderers* — brass  and  iron ; 
Profligate  are  they  all  !* 

29  The  bellows  glows/  out  of  its  fire  comes — lead ; 
In  vain  one'  melts  and  melts, 

The  base®  are  not  separated. 

30  Reprobate  silver  they  are  called, 
For  Jehovah  has  reprobated  them. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  27.— tins  (on  the  form  comp.  Ewald,  gl52,  6)  [Green's  Gr.  g  1S5,  2,  c]    occurs  here  only.    It  i8=|n3  (xi.  20; 

xvii.  10). 

a  Ver.  27.— 1>f3D,  Dubell.,  Gaab,  Mauber,  iriTziG=n:f30,  »•  «•,  without  gold,  '^)ip   being  equivalent  to  ^^3    (Job 

xxxvi.  19)  and  3  unreduplicated  as  in  T'H^'O  (Judges  viii.  2).'  Ewald,  Meier  would  punctuate  13f3p  (Separator)  [Hen- 
derson :  an  explorer!.    Yet  both  are  unnecessary,  if  we  take  ^^f  30  itself  in  the  meaning  of  "l^fS  (Job  xxii.  24)  ^}^3  (Job 

T  :  •  ■■■-'.  T  :        . 

xxxvi.  19)  '^H'^ji  (Job  xxii.  24)  as  also  3^30  is  used  as  of  like  meaning  with  3n3  (2  Chron.  xxxv.  4),  pi^DD  with  pi^p 

(Gen.  XV.  2, 3 ;  Zeph.  ii.  9),  £3i3ty D  with  QDU  (Exod.  vi.  6 ;  vii.  4,  etc.),  SpC'Ip  with  Ipp  (according  to  its  radical  meaning),  etc. 

1X3D  would  aocordingly=1V3,  abscissum,  a  piece,  in  the  sense  of  a  piece  of  ore  cut  off  (comp.  Fuerst,  s.  v.  1^3  and  ^)f  30). 

1  would  however  prefer  not  to  make  "^^30  dependent  on  JIJIS,  from  which  it  is  remotely,  but  on  ''0^,  with  which  it  is 

immediately  connected.     The  construction  is  then  as  in  HOI   '^3'IT  (Ezek.  xvi.  27),  3'in    IH /JH  (Bzek.  xviii.  7).    Comp, 

Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  63,  4,  g. 

3  Ver.  28.— □"'T^'lD    'ID  is  so  expressed  by  the  Vulg.,  Syr.,  Chald.  and  Aquila  that  it  is  evident  they  read  'Tjy,  which 

is  ,^lso  actually  found  in  Cod.^Regiom.  I.  .and  H.  as  well  as  in  22  Coild.  of  Kenn'ioott  and  in  18  of  De  Rossi.  This  reading 
may  have  been  occasioned  by  the  unusual  construction  and  the  similarity  of  the  passages  Isai.  i.  23 ;  Hos.  ix.  15.  The  con- 
struction is  however  not  unusual  in  this,  as  substantives  are  not  rarely  thus  connected.  Comp.  D''"13^  13JLN  C /^H  73n 
etc.  rid.  Naegelsb.  Or.  §  61,  3.— nO  moreover  may  be  (comp.  n;rn  "Ip,  1  Kings  xx.  43;  xxi.  4)  Part.  Kal  from 
110,  so  that  from  this  form  a  double  Part.  Kal  would  be  formed.     [IlENnKRSON  :  desperate  revolters.j 

*  Ver.  28.— ^3"!    ''D^'H-    Comp.  ix.  3;  Ezek.  xxii.  9.    On  the  construction  Vid.  Naegelsb.  ffr.  §  70,  6.     [Henderson 

renders  :  conversant  with  destruction. — S.  R.  A.] 

6  Ver.  28.— DTITIE'D.    Comp.  Isai.  i.  4  (on  the  direct  causative  signification  of  the  Hiphil=to  do  apemicious  thing. 
Vid.  N.'^GELSB.  Cr.  §  18,  3).  .  .      ^  ,*,.„• 

6  Ver.  29.— "in  J  Niph :  from  Tin  (st>  most  of  the  older  translators  and  commentators)  can  mean  only :  the  bellows  is 

DO  fire  is  red  hot  (Uitzig).  This  meaning  is  required  by  the  connection,  for  it  is  to  be  declared,  that  an  extreme  degree  of 
heat  was  .applied,  which  is  here  denoted  l)y  the  burning  of  the  bellows.  But  even  this  degree  of  heat  has  extracted  nothing 
from   the   ore   but— lead.     The   other  explanation   from    inJ    (ankdat)   is   indeed  well   founded   on  the   uoinmal   forms 

—  T 

*in J,  n^nj,  I'n J.  ''"t  it  gives  an  unsatisfactory  sense ;  for  it  is  not  declared  generally  that  the  bellows  worki,  but  that 
it  has  done^ite  best.  'The  Chethibh  must  be  pronounced  DHtJ'XO  and  presupposes  a  noun  TXdii.  whicli  does  not  occur,  but 

T  T  V  " '  T  *•' 

is  formed  quite  normally.  [Henderson  :  "inj  ™'iy  either  be  the  root  of  the  verb,  to  snort,  and  designed  in  this  place  to  ex- 
press the  sound  produced  by  the  continued  blowing  of  the  bellows ;  or  it  may  be  the  Niphal  of  "lin,  ^  hum.  The  former 
best  suits  the  connection.    Thus  SIichaelis,  Rosenmueller,  Dahler,  De  Wette,  Soholz  and  Umbreit.— S.  R.  A.] 

'  Ver.  29.— C112f   ^IX-    The  third  plur.  sing,  is  employed  to  denote  an  independent  subject— on«.    Comp.  Naegelsb. 

Or.  a  101,  2.  6. 

8  Ver.  29. — D'J,*^  never  denotes  the  dross  directly. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  prophet's  sermon  by  no  nipans  aimed  at  a 
general  conversion,  it  wus  rather  to  serve  only 
as  a  touch-stone.  By  it  a  separat  ing  process  was 
to  be  instituted,  by  which   it  would  be  decided 


which  was  good  and  which  base  metal  (ver.  27). 
Unfortunately  the  great  mass  proved  to  be  com- 
mon brass  (ver.  28)  In  the  smelting-process 
also  (past  and  future)  the  same  result  is  pre- 
sented. In  two  further  figures  which  express 
essentially  the  same  thing,  the  Lord  compares 
Israel  with  a  piece  of  ore,  which  in  the  fire  pro- 


CHAP.  VI.  27-30. 


87 


duces  lead,  and  again  with  one  which  contains 
silver,  but  unhappily  so  mixed,  that  the  base 
cannot  be  separated  from  the  true  metal  (vers.  29 
and  30). 

Ver.  27.  I  have  set  ....  their  way.  The 
people  are  denominated  the  ore,  because  their 
value  is  to  be  ascertained  by  the  process  of  as- 
saying.      The    term    (IV^D)    is    also   doubtless 

chosen  with  reference  to  i.  18,  where  it  is  used 
of  the  prophet  [a  fortified  (tried)  city].  The  na- 
tion is  also  tried,  not  as  a  fortress,  but  as  ore 
which  is  yet  to  be  proved. 

Ver.  28.  They  are  .  .  .  all. — Slanderers. 
The  prophet  here  as  elsewhere  (comp.  remarks 
on  vers.  13sqq.),  in  thus  particularizing  appears 
to  have  had  the  eighth  commandment  in  mind. 
Comp.  Luther's  explanation:  to  betray,  to  back- 
bite, or  to  make  an  evil  report. — Brass  and 
iron.  These  words  state,  still  figuratively,  the 
result  of  the  proving,  ver.  27  :  the  ore  contains 
not  gold  or  silver,  but  only  base  metal. 

Ver.  29.  The  bellows  glows . .  .  separated. 
The  bellows  glows  or  is  on  fire.  This  refers  of 
course  to  Israel :  their  fire  is  the  fire  in  which 
they  are  melted,  the  fire  of  affliction,  both  of  the 
past,  the  present  and  the  future.  Even  the  se- 
verest trials  of  affliction  can  produce  from  this 
people  nothing  but  lead.  It  is  seen  that  the  pro- 
phet proceeds  to  a  related  figure,  as  immediately 
afterwards  he  also  makes  application  of  a  third. 
The  first  figure  represents  the  prophet  as  a  trier 
of  metals,  who  first  takes  the  rough  ore  in  hand 
in  order  mineralogically  to  distinguish  its  con- 
stituent parts.  In  the  second  figure  the  ore  is 
exposed  to  fire,  in  order  in  this  way  to  ascertain 
its  metallic  value.  The  result  is  lead.  I  find 
accordingly  that  the  Keri  DH  li'^fO,  however  ex- 
plained, is  an  entirely  necessary  alteration. — 
In  what  follows  the  prophet  makes  use  of  a  third 
figure.  Israel  is  here  definitely  presented  as 
silver  ore.  But  in  the  smelting-places  it  appears 
that  the  silver  is  so  mingled  with  the  stone  that 
the  production  of  clear  pure  silver  is  impossible. 
Israel  therefore  remains — refuse,  impure  silver, 
which,  as  unfit  for  noble  uses,  the  Lord  rejects. — 
base  [wicked].  The  prophet  passes  from  the 
figurative  to  the  literal  mode  of  speaking. 

Ver.  30.  Reprobate  silver .  . .  Jehovah  has 
reprobated  them. — The  conclusion  is  sad.  But 
this  reprobate  silver  is  not  Israel  in  general,  but 
only  the  Israel  of  the  present  time.  Comp.  iii. 
11-25;  iv.  27:  v.  10,  18. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  1  sqq.  "It  is  very  difficult  to  be- 
lieve the  preaching  of  God's  anger  and  punish- 
ment, for  we  look  at  tbe  powerful  assistance,  the 
watchmen,  the  towers  and  fortresses,  and  trust 
in  them.  But  fortresses  here,  fortresses  there! 
These  cannot  withstand  human  force,  let  alone 
the  calamity  which  comes  from  God  Himself." 
Cramer. 

[On  ver.  2.  M.Henry:  "  The  more  we  indulge 
ourselves  in  the  pleasures  of  this  life,  the  more 
we  disfit  ourselves  for  the  troubles  of  this  life." 
On  ver.  4.  "It  is  good  to  see  how  the  counsel  and 
decree  cf  God  are  pursued  and  executed  in  the 
devices  and  designs  of  men,  even  theirs  that 
know  Him  iiot,  Isai.  x.  6,  7." — S.  R.  A.] 


2.  On  ver.  6.  "This  is  the  strongest  and  most 
dangerous  mining-powder  of  cities  and  for- 
tresses, when  sin,  shame,  vice  and  wantonness 
get  the  upper  hand.  For  instance,  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah."  Cramer. 

8.  On  ver.  7.  "Sin  cries,  rises  and  stinks  up 
to  heaven,  so  that  God  and  the  angels  are  obliged 
to  shut  mouth,  nose  and  ears.  Compare  Gen. 
xviii.  20;  Jon.  i.  2."  Forster. 

4.  On  ver.  9.  "God  has  two  kinds  of  vintage: 
one  is  in  grace,  when  He  plucks  His  glorious 
grapes,  the  fruits  of  good  works,  and  says:  'De- 
stroy it  not,  for  there  is  a  blessing  in  it '  (Isai. 
Ixv.  8).  But  where  He  finds  only  poisonous  ber- 
ries (Isai.  v.  2)  and  is  as  one  who  gleans  in  the 
vineyard  (Mic.  v.  14)  He  employs  other  vintagers 
with  iron  gloves,  and  presses  them  out  in  His 
anger  (Rev.  xiv.  20)  till  neither  stem  nor  stalk  is 
left."  Cramer. 

5.  On  ver.  10.  "Patience!  Perhaps  it  is  not 
long  since  the  preaching  was  begun.  But  in  the 
beginning  it  is  just  so  with  one.  When  one  year 
or  forty  accustomed  to  office,  things  are  more 
tractable,  God  grant,  not  too  comfortable.  We 
must  tell  our  storj'  with  a  simple  heart,  as  it  is. 
We  must  be  violent  enough  to  gain  a  hearing. 
This  joyful,  honest,  ever-enduring  testimony  of 
the  truth,  which  is  in  us,  will  excite  attention  ia 
time,  and  moreover  never  returns  void  (Isai.  Iv. 

11)."    ZiNZENDORF. 

6.  On  vers.  10,  11.  "Drawofi'thy  shoes,  for  the 
place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground, 
Exod.  iii.  5.  Moses,  Elijah,  Elisha,  David,  the 
prophet  before  the  altar  at  Bethel,  our  Jeremiah 
in  particular,  and  Paul,  the  evangelical  Apostle, 
used  the  severest  and  most  feeling  methods 
against  the  mockers  of  their  religion  in  the  least 
and  the  greatest,  and  it  is  evident  that  God  will 
not  allow  Himself  to  be  mocked.  Freely  as  the 
heart  is  treated,  and  little  the  violence  that  God 
does  to  it,  yet  the  creature  is  often  cut  short 
when  it  oomes  to  testifying.  For  there  is  a  great 
diSerence  between  respect  and  love.  Love  is  a 
grace,  but  respect  is  in  accordance  with  a  crea- 
ture's nature;  it  is  imbued  in  every  one.  For 
the  devil  himself,  if  his  hands  are  bound  in  the 
least  (as  then  more  is  granted  him  than  any 
other),  when  it  comes  to  respect — must  'trem- 
ble '  (Jas.  ii.  19).  The  Lord  teach  the  wit- 
nesses the  right  measure,  that  their  threatenings 
and  the  feelings  of  men  suitably  concur,  and  that 
it  may  be  with  every  witness  for  religion  as  with 
John,  whom  King  Herod  feared  and  heard  him." 

ZiNZENDORF. 

7.  On  ver.  14.  How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of 
them  that  announce  true  peace !  (Isa.  Iii.  7 ; 
Nah.  ii.  1.)  In  like  measure  destructive  are  the 
feet  of  those  who  preach  false  peace.  The  latter 
are  Satan,  who  transforms  himself  into  an  angel 
of  light  (2  Cor.  xi.  14). 

8.  On  ver.  16.  "  There  are  two  kinds  of  joa<re». 
Some  are  the  ancients,  some  the  young.  Of  the 
young  fathers  Asaph  says  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  8):  that 
they  were  not  as  their  fathers,  a  stubborn  and  re- 
bellious generation  (comp.  Ezek.  xx.  18).  But 
as  regards  the  ancient,  original  fathers,  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  David,  the  Evangelists, 
Apostles  and  such  like,  these  are  the  true  fathers, 
who  preserve  God's  word  for  us,  that  by  means 
of  it  we    may    follow  them,  and   ask   after  th« 


88 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


former  ways.     Thus  we  go  right  and  safely." 
Ckamer. 

9.  Ou  ver.  16.  "5«c  arripiunt  Papicolse  semitas 
antiquas,  indeque  nobis  persuadere  conaniur,  u(  et 
nos  semitas  antiquas  quxramus,  i.  e.,  ut  reUgione 
Lutherana  valere  j'ussa  nos  adjungamus  ecclesise 
papisticsR,  quam  omnium  antiquissimam  nusquam 
non  superbe.  jactilant.  Sed  nos  ipsis  1.  obvertimus 
illudlgnatii :  nobis  vera  antiquitas  est  Jesus  Chr istus, 
cui  nolle  obedire  munifestum  est  exitium.  2.  Argu- 
mentum,  quod  isthmc  consarcinare  satagunt,  hunc  in 
viodum  invertimus :  ea  ecdesia  pro  vera  habenda, 
guse  omnium  antiquissima.  Atqui  nostra — est  an- 
tiquissima.  Ccepit  enim  mox  ab  initio  mundi  in 
Paradiso  cum  Protevangelio  (Gen.  iii.  15,  coll.  xv. 
6) :  Romanensium  vero  ecdesia,  sicut  ipsi  haud  diffi- 
tentur,  circa  a  Chr.  606  coepit.  Ergo."  Fobster. 

10.  On  ver.  16.  "  Those  are  the  honest  knaves, 
who  tell  the  prophet  to  his  face:  we  will  not  do 
it  ( Jer.  xliv.  16).  But  such  the  Lord  will  honestly 
punish.  For  the  servant,  who  knew  his  Lord's 
will  and  did  it  not,  shall  suffer  double  stripes 
(Luke  xii.  47)."  Cramer. 

11.  [Calvin:  On  ver.  19.  "We  may  learn 
from  this  passage  that  nothing  is  more  abomina- 
ble in  the  sight  of  God  than  the  contempt  of  di- 
vine truth:  for  His  majesty,  which  shines  forth 
in  His  word,  is  thereby  trampled  under  foot ; 
and  further,  it  is  an  extreme  ingratitude  in  men 
when  God  Himself  invites  them  to  salvation, 
wilfully  to  seek  their  own  ruin  and  to  reject  His 
favor."  On  ver.  20.  "And  we  see  at  this  day, 
that  men  cannot  be  rightly  taught,  except  we 
carry  on  war  against  that  external  splendor  with 
which  they  will  have  God  to  be  satisfied.  As 
then  men  deceive  themselves  with  such  trifles,  it 
is  necessary  to  show  that  all  those  things  which 
hypocrites  obtrude  on  God,  without  sincerity  of 
heart,  are  frivolous  trumperies." — S.  R.  A.] 

12.  On  ver.  27  sqq.  "When  goldsmiths  wish 
to  purify  the  silver,  they  add  lead  to  it.  When 
preachers  would  try  their  hearers,  they  must 
apply  the  law.  The  fire  is  God's  word  (Jer. 
xxiii.  29),  the  bellows  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
mouth  of  the  teacher,  the  metals  the  hearers,  of 
which  some  are  objectionable,  others  are  unob- 
jectionable." Cramer. 

13.  On  ver.  27.  As  Christ  is  called  a  sign 
which  shall  be  spoken  against,  that  the  thoughts 
•f  many  hearts  may  be  revealed  (Luke  ii.  34, 
35),  the  power  dwells  in  His  word  generally  to 
compel  men  to  separation  and  decision.  For  no 
one  can  remain  neutral  towards  Him  long.  He 
is  a  touchstone  which  makes  manifest  the  real 
condition  of  the  heart,  whether  the  man  is  of  God 
ornot  of  God,  Heb.  iv.  12;  John  viii.  47. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  Vers.  6-8  may  serve  for  the  text  of  an  ex- 
hortation to  repentance.  On  the  punitive  jus- 
tice of  God.  1.  AVith  what  it  threatens  us.  2. 
Why  it  threatens  us.  8.  How  this  threatening 
can  be  averted. 

2.  On  vers.  6  and  7.  "We  find  such  fountains 
of  evil  in  our  own  perverted  hearts.  Original 
sin  is  the  true  fountain  of  evil,  from  which  from 
childliood  up  much  water  of  obstinacy,  disobedi- 
ence, indolence,  envy,  falsehood  is  poured  forth. 
^nd  such  water  flows  every  year  more  abundant- 


ly. Soon  also  flows  the  water  of  vanity,  of  im- 
purity and  excess,  of  reviling  and  cursing.  How 
does  man  help  himself?  Either  he  will  not  al- 
low others  to  observe  what  wickedness  comes 
from  his  heart,  and  hides  his  sins,  or  he  is  him- 
self grieved  that  so  much  sin  flows  from  his 
heart,  and  begins  to  stop  the  flow,  i.  e.,  he  makes 
good  resolves  and  proposes  no  more  to  commit 
the  old  sins.  But  lo !  the  streams  break  forth 
again,  and  the  fountain  of  a  depraved  heart 
ceases  not  to  flow.  Again  others  allow  the 
stream  free  course  and  pollute  the  city  and  the 
country  with  their  sins,  as  the  Jewish  people 
did.  Where  is  help  to  be  found  against  this 
fountaia  of  a  depraved  heart  ?  In  the  fountain 
of  which  Zechariah  prophesies,  xiii.  1."  Hoch- 
STETTER,  12  Parables  from  theproph.  Jer.,  S.  12,  13. 

3.  [TiLLOTSON  onver.  8.  1.  The  infinite  good- 
ness and  patience  of  God  towards  a  sinful  peo- 
ple, and  His  great  unwillingness  to  bring  ruin 
upon  them.  2.  The  only  proper  and  effectual 
means  to  prevent  the  misery  and  ruin  of  a  sinful 
people.  3.  The  miserable  case  and  condition  of 
a  people  when  God  takes  off  His  affection  from 
them."— S.  R.  A.] 

4.  On  vers.  11,  12.  The  double  trouble  of  a 
preacher  of  the  truth.  1.  From  without,  (a)  in- 
disposition to  hear,  (b)  scorn.  2.  From  within, 
irresistible  necessity  of  announcing  the  word  of 
the  Lord. 

5.  On  vers.  13-15.  Warning  against  false  pro- 
phets: 1.  Their  course:  they  teach  false  worship, 
i.  e.,  they  lead  not  to  God  but  away  from  Him,  by 
(a)  being  silent  as  to  the  real  inconvenient  truth, 
(6)  putting  the  conscience  to  sleep  by  a  falsehood. 
2.  Their  motive:  covetousness,  selfishness  (ver. 
13).  3.  Their  end:  they  are  put  to  shame  (ver.  15). 

6.  On  ver.  14.  [Chalmers:  "The  evils  of 
false  security.  1.  It  is  not  based  on  the  mercy 
offered  by  God.  2.  It  casts  an  aspersion  on  the 
character  of  God.  3.  It  is  hostile  to  the  cause  of 
practical  righteousness." — Spdrgeon  :  "  I  have 
heard  of  a  city  missionary  who  kept  a  record  of 
two  thousand  persons  who  were  supposed  to  be 
on  their  death-bed  but  recovered,  and  whom  he 
should  have  put  down  as  converted  persons,  had 
they  died ;  and  how  many  do  you  think  lived  a 
Christian  life  afterwards  out  of  the  two  thou- 
sand ?  Not  two.  Positively  he  could  only  find 
one  who  was  found  to  live  afterwards  in  the  fear 
of  God.  Is  it  not  horrible  that  when  men  and 
women  come  to  die  they  should  cry,  '  Comfort, 
comfort!'  and  that  hence  their  friends  conclude 
that  they  are  children  of  God,  while  after  all 
they  have  no  right  to  consolation,  but  are  intru- 
ders on  the  enclosed  grounds  of  the  blessed  God?" 
— S.  R.  A.] 

7.  Onver.  15.  [South:  "  Shamelessness  in  sin 
the  certain  forerunner  of  destruction.  1.  What 
shame  is  more  effectual  than  law.  2.  How  men 
cast  off  shame.  3.  The  several  degrees  of  shame- 
lessness. 4.  Reasons  why  shamelessness  is  so 
destructive.  6.  The  destruction  by  which  it  pro- 
cures the  sinner's  ruin." — S.  R.  A.] 

8.  On  ver.  16.  Which  is  the  good  way?  That 
which  has  1,  the  right  starting-point  (the  one, 
unalterable,  ancient  truth)  ;  2  the  right  ending 
(rest  for  the  soul).  [Doolittle  has  a  sermon 
with  tins  text  on  the  theme,  "  Popery  a  novelty," 
and  (Jalamy  has  two  on  the  Trinity  ! — S.  R.  A.] 


CHAP.  VII.  1-7. 


89 


9.  On  ver.  16.  New  Year's  Sermon.  What 
does  a  retrospect  of  the  ways  of  the  past  year 
show  us?  1.  That  they  have  been  under  God's 
wondrous  guidance  ;  2.  that  they  were  intended 
to  be  only  ways  of  salvation  for  our  soul ;  3.  that 
we  have  often  said,  we  will  not  walk  in  them  ; 
4.  that  we  should  care  best  for  our  salvation,  if 
we  would  henceforth  walk  in  the  good  ways  of 
God.   Floret,  1863. 

10.  On  vers.  18-21.    The  righteous  judgments 


of  God.  1.  They  do  not  shun  publicity,  but  rather 
appeal  to  the  moral  sense  of  the  whole  world. 
2.  They  bring  upon  men  their  merited  recom- 
pense. 3.  They  can  be  averted,  not  by  outward 
worship,  but  by  honest  submission  to  God's  word 
(vers.  19,  20). 

11.  On  vers.  27-30.  The  word  of  truth  a  touch- 
stone for  the  human  heart.  1.  The  good  are  at- 
tracted by  it ;  2.  the  bad  turn  away  and  are  r«« 
jected. 


3.  THE  THIRD  DISCOURSE. 

Chaps.  VII.— X. 

The  time  of  this  discourse  may  be  determined  pretty  accurately f  since  ch.  xxvi.  gives  us  information  eon- 
cerning  the  historical  circumstances  in  which  the  discourse  was  delivered.  We  learn  from  it  that  in  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  Jeremiah  received  from  Jehovah  the  commission  to  place  himself 
in  the  fore-court  of  the  temple,  and  to  announce  to  all  the  Jews  who  had  come  to  worship  (comp.  xxvi. 
2  with  vii.  2)  that  if  they  continued  to  act  in  opposition  to  the  repeated  admonitions  of  the  prophets 
(xxvi.  5,  and  vii.  13,  25)  the  Lord  would  make  the  temple  like  Shiloh,  (comp.  xxvi.  3-13  with  vii. 
3-14).  Since  the  enemies  who  are  to  execute  this  judgment  are  still  designated  generally  as  a  people 
coming  from  the  North  (comp.  viii.  16),  and  not  yet  definitely  as  the  Chaldeans,  the  discourse  must 
have  been  delivered  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  Comp.  infra  on  xxv.  1,  The  place  which 
the  discourse  occupies  in  the  book  is  therefore  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  chronological  a/r- 
rangement. 
The  contents  of  the  discourse  may  be  distinguished  as  follows  : 

Main  thought :  Indictment  of  the  people  on  account  of  their  three  prevailing  vices, 

w^ith  threatening  of  punishment. 

I.  FIRST  CHARGE. 

I.    HTPOCBITICAIi  MINGLING   OF   THE   WORSHIP   OF   JEHOVAH   WITH   IDOLATBT,    AND 

OTHER   MORAL    ABOMINATIONS. 

VII.   1— VIII.  3. 

1.  Fundamental:  the  fundamental  requirement  and  promise,  vii.  1-7. 

2.  Their  demoralizing  trust  in  the  outward  temple-service.     Admonitory  reference  to  Shiloh,  vii.  8-16. 

8.   The  hypocrisy  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  boasted  of  in  ver.  4sqq.  is  evinced  by  the   idolatry  practised 
elsewhere.     Thus  the  nation  is  provoking  a  severe  and  inevitable  judgment,  vii.  16-20. 

4.  Refutation  of  the  objection  that  the  Lord  Himself  commanded  the  outward  temple-service,  vii.  21-28. 

5.  The  abomination  of  idolatry  in  the  highest  degree  a  most  evident  proof  of  the  hypocrisy  of  the  people. 
Beginning  of  retribution,  vii.  29-34. 

6.  The  fulfilment  of  retribution  corresponding  to  the  idol  abominations,  viii.  1-3. 

II.  SECOND  CHARGE. 

THEIR   RUINOUS    PERSISTENCE    IN    EVIL. 

VIII.  4-23. 

7.  Hieir  stiff-necked  impenitence  and  its  punishment,  viii.  4-12. 

8.  Further  portrayal  of  the  visitation  announced  in  ver.  12,  viii.  13-17. 

9.  Continuation :   The  visitation  ends  with  the  carrying  away  captive  of  Israel,  to  the  inexpressible  grief  of 
the  people  and  the  prophet,  viii.  18-23. 

III.  THIRD  CHARGE. 

THE    GENERAL    ENTIRE    ABSENCE    OF    TRUTH    AND    FAITH. 

IX.   1-21. 

10.  Description  of  the  prevailing  deceit,  ix.  1-8. 

11.  First  punishment:  Desolatio7i  of  the  land  and  dispersion  of  the  people,  ix.  9-15. 

12.  Second  punishment :  Death  snatching  away  an  innumerable  sacrifice,  ix.  16-21. 


90 


THE  PllOPHET  JEREMIAH. 


IV.  CONCLUSION. 
IX.  22-25  ;  X.  16-25. 

13.  llie  only  means  of  escape  and  the  reason  why  it  is  not  used,  ix.  22-25. 

14.  The  beginning  of  the  end  of  retribution :   Command  to  the  people   to  retire;  Lament  of  the  desolated 

land;  last  watch-cry  of  the  prophet :  the  enemy  is  here,  x.  17-22. 

15.  Consolatory  glance  into  the  future,  x.  23-25. 


I.  FIRST  CHARGE. 

THE   HYPOCEITICAL   MINGLING    OF   THE    SERVICE   OF   JEHOVAH  WITH   IDOLATRY   AND   OTHEB 

MORAL   ABOMINATIONS. 

VII.   1— VIII.  3. 

1.  Fundamental:  the  fundamental  requirement  and  promise. 

VII.  1-7. 

1  The  word  which  came  to  Jeremiah  from  Jehovah,  saying : 

2  Stand  in  the  gate  of  the  house  of  Jehovah 
And  proclaim  there  this  word,  and  say : 
Hear  the  word  of  Jehovah,  all  ye  of  Judah, 

Who  have  entered  at  these  gates  to  worship  Jehovah. 

3  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel ; 
Amend  your  ways  and  your  doings. 

So  will  I  cause  you  to  dwelP  in  this  place. 

4  Trust^  not  to*  those  lying  words : 

"  The  Lord's  temple,  the  Lord's  temple,  the  Lord's  temple  is  this."* 

5  But  amend  your  ways  and  your  doings ! 

If  ye  execute  judgment  between  every  man  and  his  neighbor, 

6  Oppress  not  stranger,  orphan  and  widow, 
And  shed  not  innocent  blood  in  this  place, 
And  go  not  after  other  gods  to  your  destruction; 

7  So  will  I  cause  you  to  dwell  in  this  place, 
In  the  land  which  I  gave  to  your  fathers, 
From  everlasting  to  everlasting.* 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  3. — ["The  Piel  or  intensive  form  of  the  verb  must  here  have  a  continuative  force,  or  it  must  have  a  permissive 
eignificatioD.  There  is  no  example  of  the  simple  signification  <o  dioeW  attaching  to  this  conjugation,  so  that  the  rendering 
of  the  Vulgate,  which  Blaynet  adopts  :  I  will  dweUwith  you  is  not  sustained ;  comp.  ver.  12."     Henderson. — S.  R.  A.] 

2Ver.  4.— DdS  after  inOJi^  (comp.  ver.  8)  is  Dat.  ethicus.    Comp.  2  Ki.  xviii.  21,  24;  Cant.  ii.  17;  Naeqelsb.  Gr. 

i  112,  5,  6.  ■  ^    ,  ■  ■  ,  , 

3  Ver.  4.— 1"^3^-7X.    More  frequently  n£33  is  followed  by    3  or  7J^  (vers.  8, 14)  but  7N  is  not  unfrequent,  Jud.  xx. 

......  ~  f.  ;  —  .. 

36 ;  3  Ki.  xviii.  22  ;  Isai.  XT.xvi.  7,  etc. 
*  Ver.        '" 
6  Ver. 


*  Ver.  4. — [Lit. :  are  these]. 

r.  7. — [Or :  forever  and  ever]. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  begins  with  frieudly  admonition 
and  promise.  In  ver.  3  be  briefly  states  in  ad- 
vance the  fuiidatnental  requirement  and  promise. 
Vers.  4-7  continue  this  theme  by  opposing  to 
false  confidence  in  the  apparently  infallible  ob- 
jective guarantee  of  salvation  in  the  possession 
of  the  outward  temple  (ver.  4)  exhortation  to  po- 
sitive (ver.  5)  and  negative  (ver.  6)  fulfilment  of 
the  true  subjective  condition  of  salvation,  after 
which  however  the  promise,  which  includes  all 
further  salvation  for  Israel,  is  repeated  more  at 


length.  We  easily  recognize  in  this  strophe  the 
outlines  of  the  whole  discourse,  for  these  exhor- 
tations correspond,  if  not  in  order  in  contents, 
exactly  with  the  following  exhortations  and 
threatenings,  the  latter  having  also  for  their 
subject  pseudo-worship  of  Jehovah,  idolatry,  im- 
penitence, falsehood,  deceit,  violence,  and  finally 
exile. 

Vers.  1,  2.  The  word  •which  came  ...  to 
v7orship  Jehovah.  A  similar  introductory 
formula  is  found  in  xi.  1  ;  xviii.  1  ;  xxi.  1  ;  xxv. 
1;  XXX.  1;  xxxii.  1;  xxxiv.  1;  xxxv.  1;  xl.  1 ; 
xliv.  1. — In  the  gate  of  the  house.  If  we 
compare  xxvi.  2,  where  the  historical  particulars 


CHAP.  VII.  1-7. 


91 


relating  to  this  discourse  are  given,  we  see  that 
Jeremiah  delivered  it  in  the  fore-court  (comp. 
xix.  14).  Further  information  is  derived  from 
xxxvi.  IC,  where  it  is  said  that  Baruch  read  the 
book  of  the  words  of  Jeremiah  "  in  the  chamber 
of  Gemariah,  in  the  higher  court,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  new  gate."  Now  since  this  new  gate  is 
the  same  under  which  the  princes  called  Jeremiah 
to  account  for  this  very  discourse  (xxvi.  10),  it  is 
highly  probable  that  the  gate  spoken  of  was  not 
that  which  formed  the  main  eastern  entrance  of 
the  outer  court  (Ezek.  xi.  1),  but  one  of  the  gates 
which  led  from  the  outer  into  the  inner  or  upper 
court.  From  this  point  the  prophet  could  view 
the  whole  assembly  of  the  people  in  the  outer 
court,  as  well  as  the  gates  leading  from  without 
into  it. — All  ye  of  Judah.  A  great  festival  to 
Jehovah  must  have  brought  the  whole  people  to- 
gether, for  they  had  not  sunk  into  that  state  of  en- 
tire alienation,  which,  ex.  gr.  prevailed  under  Ma- 
nasseh,  when  they  no  longer  worshipped  the  God 
of  their  fathers  (2  Kings  xxi.  2),  but  now  they 
served  other  gods  together  with  Him  (ver.  6). 

Ver.  3.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  dwell  in 
this  place.  These  words  express  as  to  form  the 
theme  of  the  strophe,  but  at  the  same  time  also 
as  to  matter  the  positive  main  thought  of  the 
whole  discourse,  which  however  retires  in  what 
follows  for  the  reason  stated  in  vers.  24-28. — IJ^T 

ways  and  7  7jfc^p_  doings  are  distinguished  like 
habitus  and  actus,  the  former  denoting  the  inward 
inclination  or  disposition  of  the  heart  (comp.  v. 
16),  the  latter  the  outward  fruits  in  the  life  (iv. 
13;  xviii.  11;  xxvi.  13;  xxxii.  19). — Cause  to 
dwell.  Comp.  Numb.  xiv.  30. — This  place. 
The  temple  is  meant  primarily  as  the  centre  of 
the  theocracy.  Comp.  ver.  6,  where  the  dese- 
cration of  the  holy  places  by  the  shedding  of  in- 
nocent blood  is  emphasized  (2  Kings  xxi.  16  ; 
xxiv.  4;  Matth.  xxiii.  35),  and  then  ver.  7,  where 
this  place  and  the  land  are  distinguished,  and  ver. 
13,  where  DIpD  is  distinguished  from  Shiloh  and 

taken  in  the  more  restricted  sense  of  the  holy 
places  of  worship. 

Ver.    4.    Trust   not  .  .  .  temple   is   this 

An   example   of  similar    threefold  repetition  is 
found  in  xxii.  29 ;   Isai.  vi.  3  coll.  2  Sam.  xix.  1 
For  the  sense  comp.  Mic.  iii.  11. —  T\DT\.    Without 

this  word  /D^H  would  be  the  subject,  and  the 
only  meaning  would  be:  templum  est,  i.e.,   we 

have  God's  temple.  With  this  word  /^''H  is  pre- 
dicate, and  the  former  the  subject,  and  the  dif- 
ference in  the  sense  is  this,  that  it  is  not  the  ex- 
istence, the  possession  of  the  temple  generally, 
which  is  declared,  but  the  concrete  objects,  to 
which  the  predicate  applies,  are  indicated.  We 
■lUst  therefore  render  this  HSn  deiKTiKug.     The 


plural  has  been  variously  explained.  The  Chal- 
dee  refers  the  threefold  repetition  to  the  three 
main  forms  of  worship  and  their  appearance 
thrice  iu  the  year;  Joseph  Kimchi  to  the  three 
divisionsof  the  temple-building  (court,  sanctuary 
and  holy  of  holies) ;  Menocuius  (  Vul.  Neumann, 
S.  439)  to  the  Jewish  nation  itself,  coll.  1  Cor.  iii. 
16,  17  ;  Venema  and  others  to  the  temple  and 
priests,  and  with  reference  to  Xin'rii^X  (Ps.  cii. 
28)  finds  also  in  HiSn  the  meaning  of  continu- 
ance and  immutability. — In  a  purely  linguistic 
view  tTB'il  would  apply  best  to  the  people,  and 
the  thought,  that  the  people  as  the  temple  of  God 
were  safo  from  all  danger  to  themselves  or  the 
sanctuary,  would  suit  the  connection.  But  the 
mention  of  the  sanctuary  at  Shiloh  (vers.  12  and 
14)  requires  that  in  ver.  4  also  the  temple-edifice 
be  referred  to.  Comp.  especially  ver.  14. — No- 
thing further  then  remains  but  to  refer  n^H  to 

the  various  parts  of  the  temple;  not  merely  the 
three  divisions  of  the  edifice  proper,  but  also  the 
other  parts — walls,  gates,  courts,  halls,  etc.  Still 
however  the  plural  is  remarkable,  and  a  satis- 
factory explanation  of  it  a  desideratum.  At  any 
rate  we  perceive  that  it  was  a  prevalent  delusion 
among  the  people  that  the  temple  could  not  be 
destroyed,  because  it  was  Jehovah's.  Three 
times  is  this  emphatically  repeated.  And  by  the 
temple  all  else  seemed  to  be  secured.  Neumann 
rightly  calls  attention  to  the  circumstance  that 
the  people  make  use  of  the  prouder  expression 

vDTI  only,   while  the  prophet   speaks   only  of 

Vers.  5-7.  But  amend  your  w^ays  .  .  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting.  Not  the  outward 
temple  with  its  service  ensures  the  favor  of  Je- 
hovah, but  the  service,  which  is  ofi^ered  in  His 
temple  by  sanctified  hearts  and  which  manifests 
itself  in  works  of  righteousness.  That  such 
works  as  are  here  (vers.  5  and  6)  enumerated 
pertain  especially  to  the  Old  Testament  "right- 
eousness," which  is  opposed  not  to  grace  but  to 
violent  unrighteousness,  is  proved  by  many  pas- 
sages :  Ps.  V.  vii.  ix.  X.  xi.  xii.  xv.  xvii.  ;  Jer.  x. 
24,  25;  xxii.  3-17;  Isai.  i.  17,  etc.  Comp.  Or- 
TLOPH  on  the  idea  of  PHl^,  e^c,  inRuDELS.u.GuER. 

1860,  III.  S.  403.— TPhe  '?«  before  UtIJJ'n  is 
quite  abnormal,  and  there  is  no  other  instance 
of  it.  Graf  correctly  supposes  that  it  owes  its 
origin  to  the  similarly  sounding  sentence,  xxii. 
8. — To  your  destruction.  Comp.  xxv.  7. — 
From  everlasting  (comp.  ver.  26)  belongs  to 
dw^ell.  Israel  is  to  inhabit  the  land  given  to  the 
fathers,  from  the  original  epoch  (vi.  16;  Ps.  xxiv. 
7)  at  which  they  took  possession  of  it  even  to  the 
remotest  future.    Comp.  on  xzv.  6. 


92 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


2.  Demoralizing  trust  in  the  outward  temple-service.    Admonitory  reference  to  Shilok. 

VII.  8-15. 

8  Behold,  ye  trust  in  such  lying  words  to  your  hurt. 

9  To  steal,  murder,  commit  adultery,^ 
Swear  falsely  and  burn  incense  to  Baal, 
And  follow  other  gods  which  ye  know  not, — 

10  And  then  ye  come'^  and  stand  before  me  in  this  house, 
Which  is  called  by  my  name:  and  say: 

We  are  delivered — to  do  all  these  abominations? 

11  Is  then  this  house  which  bears  my  name 
Become  a  den  of  robbers  in  your  eyes  ? 
Behold !  even  I  have  seen  it,  saith  Jehovah. 

12  For  go  now  to  my  place  which  was  in  Shiloh 
Where  I  caused  my  name  to  dwell  at  the  first, 
And  see  what  I  have  done  to  it 

On  account  of  the  wickedness  of  my  people  Israel ! 

13  And  now,  because  ye  do  all  these  works,  saith  Jehovah, 
And  I  spoke  to  you  most  urgently,'  but  ye  heard  not. — 
I  called  to  you,  but  ye  gave  no  answer, — 

14  Therefore  I  do  to  the  house  which  bears  my  name 
In  which  ye  put  your  trust, 

And  the  place  which  I  gave  to  you  and  your  fathers, 
As  I  did  to  Shiloh. 

15  And  I  cast  you  out  from  my  presence, 
As  I  cast  out  all  your  brethren, 

The  whole  seed  of  Ephraim. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  9.— Similar  infinitive  constructions  are  found  in  Isai.  xxi.  5 ;  xxii.  13 ;  lis.  4 :  HoB.  iT.  2.    Comp.  NaeQEIBB.  Gt. 
92,2  b.  .  .  -r 

2  Ver.  10. — On  the  transition  from  tiie  infinitive  to  the  finite  verb,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  g  99,  3. 
8  Ver.  13.— DDiyn.    Comp.  ver.  25 ;  xxix.  19 ;  and  Naegelsb.  Gr.  g  93  f.    [Green,  Gr.  g  282]. 

pie  is  suflScient  to  procure  absolution  after  the 
practice  of  the  most  heinous  abominations  and 
license  for  new  crimes,  by  which  course  the  tem- 
ple is  turned  into  a  place  of  security  and  con- 
cealment for  robbers.  The  question  expresses 
indignant  amazement:  What?  Steal,  murder, 
commit  adultery,  etc.  ?  Such  wickedness  ye  do, 
and  then  ye  come,  etc. — Incense  to  Baal,  comp. 
xi.  13,  17. — And  follow  other  gods  which 
ye  know  not  is  taken  verbatim  from  Deut.  xi. 
28;  coll.  xiii.  14.     Comp.  xix.  4;  xlix.  3. 

Ver.  10.  And  then  ye  come  ...  all  these 
abominations?    The  question  is  continued  to 

^37^3,  for  it  is  this  which  is  the  object  of  the  di- 
vine indignation,  that  the  people  can  unite  such 
moral  contrasts. — Stand  before  me.  The  ex- 
pression has  the  collateral  idea  of  serving;  comp. 
Deut.  X.  8 ;  1  Kings  i.  2 ;  xvii.  1 ;  xviii.  15  ;  2 
Kings  iii.  14;  v.  16;  Jer.  xl.  10;  Ezek.  xliv.  15, 
etc. — Which  is  called  by  my  name.  This 
expression  corresponds  to  put  my  name  upon 
[nomen  indere,  imponere),  Numb.  vi.  27 ;  1  Kings 
ix.  3,  5;  comp.  Exod.  iii.  18;  v.  3;  Deut.  xii.  5, 11; 
xxviii.  10;  2  Sam.  xii.  28;  Jer.  vii.  30;  xxxii. 
34;  xxxiv.  15. — We  are  delivered.  The  peo- 
ple regard  their  standing  before  God,  their  ser- 
vice in  the  temple  as  an  unfailing  means  of  re- 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Vers.  8-11  state  that  Israel  did  not  follow  the 
exhortation  given  in  ver.  3  sqq.,  but  regarded 
the  external  place  of  grace  as  though  it  were  a 
spot  where  one  only  needed  to  present  himself  in 
order  to  be  delivered  from  all  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  sin, — so  that  the  sanctuary  was  mis- 
used and  became  a  den  of  robbers.  The  Lord  dis- 
pels this  allusion  as  to  the  infallible  power  to  save 
of  the  supposed  irrevocably  chosen  place  of  grace 
by  pointing  to  Shiloh :  as  it  is  with  this,  so  will 
it  be  with  the  temple  and  J  erusalem  (vers.  12-15). 

Ver.  8.  Behold,  ye  trust ...  to  your  hurt. 
The  statement  corresponds  to  the  warning  in  ver. 
4,  and  affirms  that  this  was  not  heeded  by  Israel. 
"To  your  hurt"  depends  on  "trust."  It  is  a 
litotes.  The  delusion  causes  injury  in  a  twofold 
way,  by  demoralizing  the  people  and  thus  ren- 
dering them  ripe  for  the  divine  judgment.  Comp. 
Isai.  xliv.  10. 

Ver.  9.  To  steal,  murder  .  .  .  which  ye 
know  not.  These  words  in  connection  with 
vers.  10,  11,  designate  the  first  effect  of  that  hurt- 
ful confiileiice.  Tlie  people,  considering  salva- 
tion as  unconditionally  guaranteed  by  the  temple, 
fall  into  the  delusion,  that  presence  in  the  tem- 


CHAP.  VII.  16-20. 


98 


moving  all  their  guilt  in  a  convenient  external 
manner.  The  word  therefore  means :  we  are  saved, 
freed  from  all  the  guilt  and  punishment  of  sin. 
Comp.   Luke    iii.  8. — Many    commentators  take 

IJ'Dy  as^Secawse;  \iQca.\xsQ  ye  have  done  these  abo- 
minations? (ironical.)  Others^althouffh.  The 
language  will  allow  neither.  It  is  the  secondary 
object  of  their  temple-service  which  is  indicated. 
The  primary,  immediate  object  is  expressed  in 
^jS^f  J :  they  wish  to  purify  themselves  from  their 
guilt.  But  as  they  do  not  use  the  right  means 
for  this,  so  also  they  are  not  actuated  by  the  right 
motive, — it  is  not  that  they  may  henceforward 
hate  and  abandon  their  sin,  but  that  like  a  sow 
they  may  return  with  the  more  gusto  to  their 
wallowing  in  the  mire  (2  Pet.  ii.  22). 

Ver.  11.  Is  then  this  house  .  .  saith  Jeho- 
vah. In  these  words  the  prophet  discovers  to 
the  people  the  very  heart  of  their  proceeding: 
with  such  usage  the  temple  is  not  a  place  of  sal- 
vation, but  a  refuge  for  robbers  where  they  purify 
themselves  from  the  blood  and  filth  of  their  evil 
deeds,  so  as  to  be  the  readier  for  new  ones. — 
Even  I.  This  perception  is  confirmed  ironi- 
cally, but  in  a  double  sense.  First  by  this  word, 
secondly  by  act.  In  so  far  namely  as  the  Lord 
treats  the  sanctuary  at  Jerusalem  like  that  at 
Shiloh,  He  causes  it  to  be  understood  that  He  re- 
gards it  as  a  nest  of  robbers.  That  first  point 
results  from  the  evident  reference  of  I  have 
seen  it  to  in  your  eyes,  the  second  from  the 
following  For,  ver.  12. 

Ver.  12.  For  go  now  .  .  my  people  Israel. 
In  these  words  it  is  explained  how  far  the  Lord 
actually  regards  the  temple  as  a  deu  of  robbers: 
we  learn  that  He  will  treat  it  as  He  did  Shiloh. 


For  is  accordingly  to  be  referred  not  to  ver.  12 
only,  but  to  all  that  follows.  The  prophet  thus 
sliows  llie  second  calamitous  effect  (ver.  8)  of 
those  lyiug  words  (ver.  4). — To  my  place. 
This  denotes  the  place  as  such,  the  spot  on  which 
the  sanctuary  stood,  not  the  latter  itself.  On 
this  spot  nothing  more  was  now  to  be  seen  of  the 
sacred  dwellings  and  vessels  which  once  adorned 
it.  A  proof  is  thus  furnished  that  when  the  Lord 
has  once  selected  a  place  for  His  dwelling  upon 
earth  He  is  not  irrevocably  bound  to  this  place 
to  all  eternity.  Whether  the  city  of  Shiloh  was 
then  destroyed  or  not,  and  whether  some  ruins 
of  the  former  sanctuary  remained  to  testify  of  its 
previous  existence,  is  a  matter  of  indifference. 
Shiloh  was  still  standing  in  the  reign  of  Jero- 
boam I,  (1  Kings  xi.  20  ;  xii.  15  ;  xiv.  2)  and  Je- 
remiah mentions  it  as  though  it  were  still  in  ex- 
istence (xli.  5).  Comp.  Gkaf,  ad  loc. — HERzoa's 
Real-Ennjc.  XIV.  S.  369.  ["Dr.  Robinson  found 
its  ruins  under  the  name  of  Seihin  on  his  way 
from  Jerusalem  to  Shechem."  Henderson.] 

Vers.  13-15.  And  now,  because  ye  do  .  .  . 
the  whole  seed  of  Ephraim.  The  apodosis 
begins  with  ver.  14.  With  respect  to  the  transi- 
tion from  the  infinitive  to  the  finite  verb,  see 
Gr.\mmatical  rems.  on  ver.  9. —  U2^T\.  Comp. 
ver.  25;  xxix.  19;  and  Naegelsbach,  Gr.  ^  93,/ 
[Green's  Gr.  ^  282].— The  place.  The  prophet 
cannot  mean  the  whole  country,  any  more  than 
in  vers.  3,  6,  7.  As  in  ver.  12,  it  is  the  spot  oa 
which  the  house  stands.  This  spot  of  earth  is 
the  hallowed  and  hallowing  centre  of  the  whole 
country,  on  which  all  other  dwelling-places  are 
founded.  Comp.  Exod.  iii.  5. — For  Ephraim  aa 
a  designation  of  the  ten  tribes  vide  Hos.  iv.  17; 
Isai.  vii.  2,  etc. 


8.   The  hypocrisy  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  boasted  of  in  ver.  4  sqq. ,  is  evinced  by  the  idolatry  practisti 
elsewhere.     Thus  the  nation  is  provoking  a  severe  and  inevitable  judgment. 

VII.  16-20. 


16  And  as  to  thee,  pray  not  for  this  people, 
And  make  not  a  cry  and  supplication  for  them, 
Nor  intercede  with  me ;  for  I  will  not  hear  thee. 

17  Seest  thou  not  what  they  are  doing 

In  the  cities  of  Judah  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  ? 

18  The  children  gather  wood  and  the  fathers  kindle  the  fire, 

And  the  women  knead  the  dough,  to  make  cakes  for  the  queen  of  the  heavens, 
And  pour  out  libations  to  other  gods,  to  aggrieve  me. 

19  Do  they  aggrieve  me  ?  saith  Jehovah. 

Do  they  not  themselves  to  their  own  shame? 

20  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  Jehovah : 

Behold,  my  anger  and  my  fury  is  poured  out  in  this  place, 
On  the  men  and  the  cattle. 

And  on  the  trees  of  the  field  and  the  fruits  of  the  land. 
That  it  may  burn  and  not  be  extinguished. 


94 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

How  fixedly  the  judgment  announced  in  vers. 
14, 15  is  determined  upon  by  Jehovali,  is  evinced 
by  tliis,  that  tlie  propliet  is  forbidden  to  inter- 
pose with  any  plea  (ver.  16).  The  motive  of  this 
seemingly  harsh  decree  is  indicated  by  reference 
to  the  idolatry  still  in  full  course  in  the  cities  of 
Judah  and  Jei'usalem,  and  which  forms  a  gloomy 
offset  to  that  pseudo- Jehovah-worship  mentioned 
in  ver.  4.  This  idolatry  may  be  directed  prima- 
rily against  Jehovah,  but  it  will  prove  at  last 
self-destructive  to  Israel  (vers.  19,  20). 

Ver.  16.  And  as  to  thee  I  will .  .  .  not  hear 
thee.  jEROMf;  remarks  that  ^'^ sanctorum  preces 
Dei  iris  possunt  resistere,  Ex.  xxxii.  10  sq.;  Ps. 
cvi.  30;  Numb.  xvi.  46  sq."    Comp.  I  John  v.  16 — 

n^T  with  nSsn  is  frequent,  ex.  gr.,  Ps.  xvii.  1 ; 
l^Kings  viii.  28,  etc. — This  verse  is  repeated  xi. 
14;  xiv.  11. 

Vers.  17  and  18.  Seest  thou  not  what  they 
are  doing  ...  to  aggrieve  me.  The  motive 
of  the  severe  prohibition  in  ver.  16. — The  queen 
of  the  heavens  is  mentioned  besides  only  in 
xliv.  17, 18,  19,  25.  The  form,  which  in  Hebrew 
indeed  has  general  analogies  (ex.  gr.  Jl^^J)  but 
does  not  otherwise  occur,  bespeaks  the  foreign 
origin  of  the  phiase  as  of  the  thing.  The  ex- 
pression "heaven's-queen"  points  to  the  worship 
of  the  stars,  and  indeed  the  moon  as  the  feminine 
potence  (together  with  the  sun  as  the  masculine) 
appears  not  seldom  under  this  name.  It  is  called 
by  Apuleius  [Metaph.  XI.  init.)  directly  regina 
cceli,  and  in  Horace  {Carm.  Secul.  35)  we  find 
the  words:  Siderum  regina  bicornis  audi  Luna 
puellas.  For  more  on  this  subject  consult  Abr. 
Calov.  Diss,  de  Selenolatria  Viteb.  1680  (also  in 
Thes.  theol.  philoL,  Vol.  I.  p.  808  sqq.).  To  the 
further  question,  what  deity  is  represented  by 
the  moon,  we  can  only  answer  that  since  it,  as  the 
female  principle  of  fructification,  corresponds  to 
the  sun-god  Baal  as  the  male  principle,  the  femi- 
nine deity  corresponding  to  Baal,  i.  e.,  Astarte, 
must  be  represented  by  the  moon.  Herodian 
(V.  6, 10)  says  expressly,  Ohpaviav  ^oiviKeg  'Aarpo- 
dpxvv  (Grsecism  for  Astarte)  bvo/LtdCovai.,  aehjvr/v 
eIvul  ^Dmvte^.  Comp.  Hebod.  III.  8^ — On  the 
Carthaginian      inscriptions     [Insc.     Karth.     8), 

^?.'?.?n  (=^?^P  ID).  «•  «M  the  -S^riW,  ^}i^,  Tavaig, 


the  Asiatic,  originally  Egyptian  Artemis  ap- 
pears as  the  feminine  opposite  of  jiDll  7j|^3.  This 
is  certainly  no  longer  the  original  Phoenician 
Astarte,  but  a  later  modification  with  unchaste 
cultus,  and  probably  admixture  of  star-worship. 
Comp.  2  Kings  xxi.  3  ;  xxiii.  4;  Jer.  xix.  18.^ 
Comp.  Creuzer,  Symbol.  II.  Kap.  4,  §  1,  2,  3, 
6 ;  Appendix  on  the  Cnrthag.  religion,  §  3.  For 
the  less  recent  literature  on  this  passage  consult 
RosENMUBLLER. — The  D''J^  (xliv.  19)  are  proba- 
bly the  Egyptian  confection  Neideh  (  Vid.  Hitzio 
ad  hoc  I.  and  Fuerst  H.  W.  B.  s.  v.  J-13).  Ac- 
cording to  the  n^'^fj^n?,  xliv.  19,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  cakes  were  in  the  form  of  a 
moon;  compare  the  cakes  oifered  to  Artemis  as 
the  moon-god  in  Athens  under  the  name  of  ae- 
?.!/L'ac  (  Vid.  Graf  ad  loc). — On  the  heathen  cus- 
tom of  celebrating  the  new  moon  with  fires  kin- 
dled in  the  streets  and  sweet  cakes,  comp.  Spen- 
cer, De  Legg.  Hebr.  ritual.  L.  III.  Diss.  IV.  Cap. 
3. — The  etymology  of  |^  is  uncertain.  It  is 
most  probably  derived  from  ]\2,  to  prepare.  Is  it 
not   perhaps  connected  with    ]VJp    (Am.  v.  26)  t 

With  this  adoration  of  the  queen  of  heaven  may 
have  been  connected  as  a  later  remnant  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Collyridians,  who  existed  in  Arabia  in 
the  4th  century,  and  gave  divine  honors  to  the 
Virgin  Mary,  offering  her  little  cakes  of  bread 
[nollvpig),  Vid.  Epiph.  Hxr.  79. — And  pour  out 
libations.  The  infinitive  here  may  ci-tainly 
depend  on  the  to  ( /)  before  make  (riViT;* )  (comp. 
Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  112,  8).  But  it  must  also  be 
remarked  that  the  Inf.  'ij'Dn  is  used  by  Jeremiah 

in  a  very  peculiar  manner  absolutely:  xix.  13; 
xiv.  19  (where  the  7  perhaps  from  oversight 
stands  instead  of  in  vers.  17  and  18).  At  any 
rate  it  designates  the  drink-oflFerings  pertaining 
to  the  meat-oifering  of  cakes. 

Vers.  19  and  20.  Do  they  aggrieve  me  ?  .  .  . 
that  it  may  burn  and  not  be  extinguished. 
— On  aggrieve  comp.  Ezek.  xxxii.  9. — them- 
selves.   Dmx  reciprocal  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr. 

I  81,  h). — fury  is  poured  out  (comp.  Nah.  i.  6). 
—  In  this  place.  The  divine  anger  is  poured 
out  immediately  in  the  centre  of  the  Theo- 
cracy (7N)  and  from  thence  immediately  over  the 
whole  land  (S^). 


21 
22 


23 


4.  Refutation  of  the  objection  that  the  Lord  Himself  commanded  the  outward  temple  terviee. 

VII.  21-28. 

Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel : 
Take  your  burnt  offerings  with  the  sin  offerings  and  eat  flesh. 
For  I  spoke  not  with  your  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  brought*  them  out  of  Egypt, 
Nor  commanded  them  concerning  burnt  offerings  and  slain  offerings. 
But  this  I  commanded  them  :  "  Hearken  to  my  voice, 
That  I  may  be  your  God,  and  you  my  people. 


CHAP.  VII.  21-28. 


95 


And  walk  in  all  the  ways  that  I  command  you, 
That  it  may  be  well  with  you." 

24  But  they  hearkened  not,  nor  inclined  their  ear, 
And  walked  after  their  own  counsels  ^ — 

In  the  hardness  of  their  evil  heart, 

And  turned  to  the  back  and  not  to  the  face.' 

25  From  the  day  that  your  fathers  went  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
To  this  day  I  send  you  all  my  servants, 

The  prophets,  zealously  and  unremittingly. 

26  But  they  hearkened  not  to  me,  nor  inclined  their  ear. 

But  they  stiffened  their  neck  and  acted  more  wickedly  than  their  fathers. 

27  And  though  thou  speakest  to  them  all  these  words. 
Yet  will  they  not  hearken  unto  thee ; 

And  though  thou  callest  to  them, 
Yet  will  they  not  answer  thee. 

28  Therefore  shalt  thou  say  unto  them : 
This  is  the  people  that  has  not  hearkened 
To  the  voice  of  Jehovah,  their  God, 
Nor  accepted  chastisement. 

Truth  is  vanished  and  eradicated  from  their  mouth. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  22.— ["A  vast  number  of  MSS.,  three  of  the  early  editions,  and  all  the  versions  read,  with  the  Keri,  'N^V IH  instead 
of  N*'Vin."  Henderson.— S.  R.  A.] 

2  Ver.  24.— niVj^DS    is  stat.  ahsol.  and  therefore  not  co-ordinated  with  the  following  nillK'.  but  the  following 

sentence  forms  a  sort  of  apposition  to  it :    They  walked  in  counsels !— in  hardness  of  their  heart.     Comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gram.  §  66. 

3  Ver.  24.— [Blatnet,  Umbreit,  Henderson  render :  and  went  (drew,  turned)  backward,  and  not  forward.    Noyes  and 
HlTZlG  :  turned  the  back  and  not  the  face. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  hypocritical  people  might  appeal  to  the 
fact  that  their  outward  temple  service  was  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  precepts  of  the  Law.  To  this 
however  it  is  opposed,  that  from  the  beginning 
the  Lord  directed  His  chief  regard  not  to  exter- 
nal worship,  but  to  the  obedience  of  the  heart, 
and  to  this  gave  the  promise  of  prosperity  (vers. 
21-23).  But  the  people  never  observed  this  re- 
quirement of  the  Lord,  though  He  caused  it  to  be 
repeated  often  and  urgently  by  the  prophets  (vers. 
24-26).  They  will  close  their  ears  even  to  the 
exhortation  of  Jeremiah,  and  thus  call  down  upon 
themselves  the  judgment  of  incorrigibility  (vers. 
27.  28). 

Ver.  21.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  and  eat 
flesh. — Take,    ^£30  (comp.  Isai.  xxix.  1),  may 

he  derived  from  ^D'  or  HSD.  (Comp.  Isai.  xxx.  1; 
Numb,  xxxii.  14).  The  primary  idea  seems  to  be 
"to  scrape,  scratch,  sweep,"  from  which  are -de- 
rived the  meanings  both  of  to  sweep  up  or  together 
(comp.  also    Deut.   xxxii.  23)  and  to   scrape   off 

(Isai.  vii.  20)  and  sweep  away  (Ps.  xl.  15).     7j|^ 

also  stands  after  the  word  in  the  passages  cited. 
Comp.  iii.  18. — And  eat  flesh,  an  expression  of 
contempt :  throw  all  your  sacrifices  and  burnt-of- 
ferings together  and  devour  them  as  meat.  Comp. 
Ti.  20. 

Vers.  22  and  23.  For  I  spoke  not  .... 
may  be  •well  with  you.  When  the  Rabbins 
emphasize  in  the  day,  etc  ,  or  when  others  ap- 
pealing to  Levit.  i.  2,  etc.  find  in  this  passage  an  in- 


dication of  the  voluntariness  of  the  oflFerings,  or 
at  least  of  the  view  that  only  voluntary  oflFerings 
are  here  spoken  of,  Graf  is  certainly  right  in  de- 
signating such  points  as  subtleties.  But  to  find 
in  the  passage  a  proof  that  Jeremiah  was  ignorant 
of  any  legal  enactments  with  respect  to  sacrifices 
at  the  time  of  the  Exodus,  since  in  his  time  the  mid- 
dle books  of  the  Pentateuch,  which  owed  their  ori- 
gin to  Ezra,  were  not  in  existence,  as  Graf  does, 
following  HiTZiG  and  others  (comp.  especially  his 
latest  work.  On  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Test., 
Leipzig,  1866),  is  a  proceeding  for  which  there  is 
no  ground  either  in  those  books,  in  the  writings 
of  the  preexilic  prophets  generally  (comp.  only 
•ex.gr..  Am.  iv.  5  with  Levit.  vii.  13  ;  Hos.  iv.  7-9 
with  Levit  vi.  18^  xxvi.  26),  or  in  this  particular 
passage.  For  it  is  indeed  true  that  the  words 
that  I  may  be  your  God>and  you  my  people 
(the  substance  of  which  is  found  in  Exod.  vi.  7  coll. 
Deut.  xxix.  12)  are  a  verbal  quotation  from  the 
certainly  peculiar  26th  chapter  of  Leviticus  (ver. 
12),  that  the  next  line  likewise  resembles  almost 
word  for  word  Deut.  v.  33  (the  expression  in  all 
the  ways  occurs  in  this  sense  only  in  this  pas- 
sagf»  of  Deut.),  finally  that  that  it  may  be  well 
with  you  al-<o  is  exclusively  Deutornnomic  (v. 
16,  26  ;  vi.  18  ;  xii.  25,  28 ;  xxii.  27).  But  (1.)  the 
book  of  Deuteronomy  presupposes  tlie  preceding 
book.s  of  the  Pentateuch  and  cannotbe  understood 
without  them.  Thus  it  is  explained  that  precepts 
relating  to  the  sacrifices  do  not  here  occur  except 
in  a  summary  (Deut.  xii.  6, 11, 13, 14,  27)  or  modi- 
fied form,  according  to  the  circumstances  (comp. 
Deut.  xii.  15  with  Levit.  xvii.  2  sqq.).  (2) 
If  this  passage  is  to  be  understood  in  a  literal 


98 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


sense,  as  by  Hitzig  and  Graf,  the  prophet 
would  declare  not  only  something  incredible  in 
itself,  but  also  what  would  be  in  the  highest 
degree  prejudicial  to  the  assumed  post-exilic  com- 
position of  the  middle  books  of  the  Pentateuch. 
For  how  could  these  place  the  origin  of  the  sacri- 
ficial enactments  in  the  period  of  the  exodus,  if 
prophetic  utterances  like  this  and  Am.  v.  25  ex- 
pressly contradict  it?  (3)  As  in  Exod.  xvi.  8 
the  words  "Your  murmurings  are  not  against 
us,  but  against  Jehovah,"  declare  not  that  the  Is- 
raelites did  not  murmur  at  all  against  Moses  and 
Aaron  (which  is  expressly  maintained  in  ver.  2), 
but  only  that  the  sin  of  murmuring  against  Moses 
and  Aaron  vanislied  in  comparison  with  the  sin 
which  they  committed  in  their  murmuring  against 
the  Lord  Himself, — as  Hos.  vi.  6  likewise  denies 
pleasure  in  sacrifices  not  absolutely  but  only 
relatively,  in  so  far  that  it  does  not  enter  into 
comparison  with  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  in  true 
piety  (comp.  Gen.  xxxii.  29;  Iv.  8;  1  Sam.  viii 
7) — so  also  in  this  passage  the  negation  has  a 
rhetorical,  not  a  logical  significance  (comp. 
Winer,  Gramm.  N.  T.  Sprachidioms  |  58,  7). 
Thtts  those  commentators  are  right  who  find  here 
this  meaning,  that  the  whole  of  the  enactments 
relating  to  sacrifices  do  not  enter  into  considera- 
tion in  comparison  with  the  importance  of  the 
moral  Law.  Comp.  the  parallel  passages: — 
Isa.  V.  11;  Iviii.  3  sqq. ;  ixvi.  3;  1  Sam.  xv. 
22;  Mic.  vi.  6-8;  Ps.  xl.  7  sqq.;  Ps.  1.;  Ps.  li. 
18,  19;  Prov.  xxi.  27;  Matt.  ix.  13.  The  ex- 
pression: I  will  be  your  God  and  ye  shall  be  my 
people,  is  found  with  special  frequency  in  Jere- 
miah: xi.  4;  xxiv.  7;  xxx.  22;  xxxi.  1,  33; 
xxxii.  38.  Almost  as  frequently  in  Ezekiel:  xi. 
20;  xiv.  10;  xxxvi.  28;  xxxvii.  23,  27.  Twice 
also  in  Zechariah:  ii.  15;  viii.  8. 

Ver.  24.  But  they   hearkened   not  .  .  . 
back  not  face. — In  the  hardness  of  their 
heart,   comp.  Deut.  xxix.  18;  Jer.  iii.  17. — In 


general  comp.  xi.  8 ;  Ps.  Ixxxi.  13. — "ymvh  VTV) 
MJV  Comp.  ii.  27.  Literally: — they  came  to  the 
back  and  not  to  the  face,  viz.,  from  the  stand- 
point of  Jehovah.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  69,  3, 
as  to  the  substantives  back  and  face  taking  the 
place  of  adjectives  or  participles. 

Vers.    25,    26.    From  the    day  .  .    .  more 

wickedly  than  their  fathers. — JdS  comp.  ver. 

7. — n7tJ'X1.  Vau  constr.  after  a  definition  of  time. 
Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  88,  7. — Comp.  xi.  7;  xxv. 
4;  xxvi.  5:  xxix.  19;  xxxv.  15;  xliv.  4. — Alone 

DV  never  means  "daily."  But  with  an  infinitive 
construction   it  represents    the   idea  "day"  in 

the  dame  sense  as  D3tyn  the  idea  "early,"  i.  e., 

the  sending  has  taken  place  day  by  day,  daily 
and  always  early,  {.  e.,  not  sleepily,  dilatorily, 
but  diligently  and  unremittingly,  comp.  besides 
Gr.  I  93,  h.— On  ver,  26  comp.  Deut.  x.  16; 
Jer.  xvii.  23;  xix.  15. 

Vers.  27,  28.  And  though  thou  speakest 
to  them  .  .  .  from  their  mouth.     There  is  a 

reason  here  for  "'11  Although  the  word  is  also 
used  of  Israel  without  a  bad  side-meaning  (comp. 
Exod.  xix.  6:  Josh.  iii.  17;  iv.  1;  x.  3),  yet  we 
never  find  mri''  "'U,  but  always  '■''  DJ^.  "'U  is  there- 
fore chosen  here  to  designate  Israel  as  a  com- 
mon, profane  nation.  Comp.  Isa.  i.  4. — The  pro- 
phet is  to  pronounce  the  judgment  of  incorrigi- 
bility on  Israel  as  the  basis  of  the  announcement 
of  judgment  which  comes  afterwards.     On  HJIOX 

comp.  V.  3,  and  the  entire  chapter.  Truth  or 
fidelity,  is  substantially  lost:  it  is  therefore  no 
longer  in  their  mouth.  The  prophet  alludes  to 
what  was  said  in  ver.  4:  even  though  they  take 
the  words  upon  their  lips,  these  are  but  empty 
sounds.  For  he  whose  heart  is  empty  can  avail 
nothing  with  his  mouth. 


The  abomination  of  idolatry  in  the  highest  degree  a  most  evident  proof  of  the  hypocrisy  of  the  people. 

.Beginning  of  retribution. 

VII.  29-34. 


30 


31 


29       Shear  off  thy  hair  and  cast  it  away, 

And  raise  on  the  heights  a  wailing, 

For  Jehovah  hath  rejected  and  forsaken  the  generation  of  his  wrath. 

For  the  children  of  judah  have  done  that  which  is  evil  in  my  sight,  saith  Jehovah. 

They  have  set  their  abominations  in  the  house, 

Which  bears  my  name,  to  pollute  it. 

And  they  have  built  the  high  places  of  Tophet, 

Which  is  in  the  valley  oi'Ben-Hinnom. 

To  burn  their  sons  and  daughters  in  the  fire ; 

Which  I  commanded  not,  neither  did  it  come  into  my  mind. 
32  Therefore  behold  !  the  days  are  coming,  saith  Jehovah, 

That  it  will  no  more  be  called  Tophet  and  vale  Ben-Hinnom, 

But  the  valley  of  slaughter: 

And  they  will  bury  in  Tophet,  because  there  is  no  room. 


CHAP.  VII.  29-34. 


97 


33  And  the  carcases  of  this  people  shall  be  for  food 
To  the  birds  of  heaven  and  the  beasts  of  earth, 
And  there  will  be  none  to  scare  them  away. 

34  And  I  will  cause  to  cease  from  this  city  of  Judah, 
And  from  the  streets  of  Jerusalem, 

The  voice  of  gladness  and  the  voice  of  joy, 

The  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  voice  of  the  bride ; 

For  the  land  shall  become  a  desolation. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

How  little  the  appeal  of  the  Israelites  to  the 
chosen  place  of  mercy,  and  to  their  observance 
of  the  ritual,  could  help  them  (ver.  29)  the  pro- 
phet shows  by  setting  forth  their  desecration  of 
the  sanctuary  by  Baal-worship,  and  their  infrac- 
tion of  the  Law  by  abominable  practices  which 
were  directly  forbidden  in  it  (vers.  30,  31).  Thus 
it  is  rendered  most  clearly  manifest  what  shame- 
ful hypocrisy  was  concealed  under  the  Jehovah- 
worship  boasted  of  in  ver.  4. 

The  rejection  consequently  announced  in  ver. 
29  will  consist  in  this,  that  the  places  in  the  vale 
of  Hinnom  hitherto  considered  sacred  will  be 
places  of  slaughter  and  burial,  and  that  still  a 
large  number  of  unburied  corpses  will  afford  food 
for  the  beasts;  the  further  consequence  of  which 
will  be,  that  the  land,  bereft  of  its  inhabitants, 
will  become  a  barren  waste  (vers.  31-34). 

Ver.  29.  Shear  off  thy  hair  .  .  .  generation 
of  his  ■wrath.  "^IJ  is  properly  crown:  here  it  is 
used  of  the  hair  as  the  natural  adornment  of  the 
head,  comp.  Numb.  vi.  19.  The  cutting  off  of 
the  hair  was  a  sign  of  mourning,  xvi.  6 ;  xlviii. 
37;  Isa.  xv.  2;  Mic.  i.  IG,  etc.  Comp.  Herzog, 
Real-Enc.  XVI.,  S.  363.  [Henderson:— "Je- 
rusalem is  here  addressed  under  the  image  of  a 
female,  who,  in  the  depth  of  her  grief  for  the 
loss  of  her  children,  deprives  her  head  of  its 
chief  ornament,  and  betakes  herself  to  the  hills 
to  bewail  her  bereavement."  Henry  after  Blat- 
ney: — "The  word  is  peculiar  to  the  hair  of  the 
Nazarites,  which  was  the  badge  and  token  of 
their  dedication  to  God,  and  it  is  called  their 
crown.  Jerusalem  had  been  a  city,  which  was 
a  Nazarite  to  God,  but  must  now  cut  off  her  hair, 
must  be  profaned,  degraded  and  separated  from 
God,  as  she  had  been  separated  to  Him.  It  is 
time  for  those  who  have  lost  their  holiness  to  lay 
aside  their  joy." — S.  R.  A.] — On  the  feminine 
form  in  'T-l,  etc.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  60,  7. — 

On  the  heights.  Comp.  iii.  21 ;  ix.  9. — genera- 
tion of  his  v?^rath.  Comp.  Isa.  x.  6 ;  Prov. 
xxii.  8. 

Ver.  30.  For  the  children  of  Judah  ...  to 
pollute  it. — in  my  sight,  does  nut  depend  on 
have  done,  but  on  that  •which  is  evil.  Comp. 
Jud  iii.  7,  12,  etc.,  and  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  112,  5 
b,  (where  moreover  we  must  understand  it  in  a 
physical  sense  [Isa.  xiv.  16]  as  distinguished 
from  the  ^pirituat  sense.  Gen.  xxviii.  8,  etc). — 
Their  abominations.  Tliat  Jeremiah  refers 
to  the  abominable  practices  of  Manasseh  (2  Kings 
xxi.  4-7)  has  been  fully  proved  by  Graf.  I  will 
only  add  that  Jehoiakim  represents  the  relapse 
into  the  principle  forsaken  by  Josiah,  and  that 
this  explains   why  responsibility  for  the  sins  of 

7 


Manasseh  is  attributed  to  him  and  his  contem- 
poraries (2  Kings  xxiv.  3;  Jer.  xv.  4),  on  which 
account  also  in  this  passage  the  abominations  are 
spoken  of  as  though  they  had  been  committed  by 
Jehoiakim  himself.  This  passage  is  repeated  in 
xxxii.  34. 

Ver.  31.  And  they  have  built  .  .  .  come 
into  my  mind.  PtiD3  is  not  merely  high  places, 
but  in  a  derivative  sense  every  place  of  worship 
erected  for  idolatrous  service,  or  every  building 
for  that  purpose,  as  is  proved  by  passages  like 
2  Kings  xxiii.  15,  where  the  n03  is  distinguished 
from  the  altar  in  it,  and  is  burnt, — Ezek.  xvi.  16, 
where  high  places  are  mentioned  as  composed  of 
garments.  Here  also  they  are  not  the  altars 
alone,  but  the  places  x>f  worship  with  the  altars. 
There  appear  to  have  been  several  such  places 
in  Tophet,  this  being  intimated  by  the  expression 

D'Nptan  nah  Jer.  xlx.  13.     Tophet,   as  is  well 

known,  was  a  place  in  the  valley  of  Ben-Hinnom, 
where  the  horrible  sacrifices  of  children  (comp. 
Selden,  De  Diis  Syr.  Syntagm.  I.  6)  were  of- 
fered to  Baal  (xix.  5 — with  which  Molech,  xxxii. 
35,  is  parallel,  comp.  Levit.   xviii.  21  ;  xx.  2-5; 

1  Kings  xi.  7 ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  10).  But  the  de- 
rivation of  the  word  is  uncertain.  Some  (Lors- 
BACH,  Gesen.,  Hitzig,  Ewald,  Fl'erst,  and 
others)  appeal  to  Isa.  xxx.  33  in  favor  of  the 
rendering  ;?Zfirce  of  burning,  deriving  it  from  '\r\= 
3J^  to  burn.  Others  (Winer,  Bottcher,  Graf, 
Pressel)  finding  their  support  in  Job  xvii.  6, 
give  the  word  the  meaning  of  sputum,  abomina- 
tion, horror,  from  the  Chaldee  ^1P=/o  speiv  out. 
HoFMANN  (in  Weiss,  u.  Erf.,  II.,  125)  suggests 
the  not  improbable  derivation  from  T]nb  and  gives 
it  the  meaning  of  pit.  A  decision  on  this  point 
is  as  difficult  as  with  reference  to  the  vale  Ben- 
Hinnom.  The  situation  of  this  valley  is  indeed 
fixed,  as  it  is  certain  it  was  to  the  south  of  Jeru- 
salem, but  the  views  are  various  as  to  its  exact 
location.  Comp.  Herzog,  Real-Enc,  IV.  S.  710. 
— There  is  not  perfect  agreement  even  as  to  the 
name  of  the  valley,  the  ancients  regarding  Hin- 
nom as  a  proper  name,  of  the  moderns  some  de- 
riving it  from  DHJ  (by  transposition=the  valley 

of  wailing,  so  IIitzig  and  Graf),  and"  others 
from  pn=pj<  (with  the  same  meaning,  so  Bot- 
tcher, De  Inf.,  I.  S.  82,  83).  Were  the  valley- 
only  the  vale  of  Hinnom,  as  in  Josh.  XV.  8;  xviii. 
IH;  Neh.  xi.  30,  or  the  vale  Beni-Hinnom  (as  in 

2  Kings  xxiii.  10  only,  Chethibh)  the  apellative 
signification  would  have  nuich  in  its  favor.  But 
as  the  name  Vale  Ben-Hinnom  is  the  most  fre- 
quent and  certainly  the  original  (Josh.  xv.  8; 
xviii.  16;  Jer.  vii.  31,  32;  xix.  2,  6;  2  Chr. 
xxviii.  3;  xxxiii.  6),  the  derivations  given  above 
are  very  insecure,  and  it  is  most  advisable  to  re- 


98 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


tain  the  old  interpretation.— To  burn.  Two 
passages  coincide  with  this  almost  word  for 
word:  xix.  5  and  xxxii.  35.  In  the  latter  pas- 
sage, instead  of  this  expression,  we  find  to  cause 
to  pass  through,  which  shows  that  it  is  not  to  be 
understood  literally  as  Maimonides  and  other 
Jewish  commentators  suppose,  but  as  an  euphem- 
iam. — The  words  ichich  I  commanded  not  repeated 
in  all  three  passages  (comp.  iii.  10),  intimate 
that  this  custom  was  relatively  a  new  one.  Al- 
though the  worship  of  Molech  (the  Ammonitish) 
is  attributed  even  to  Solomon  (1  Kings  xi.  7), 
yet  the  abomination  of  burning  children  was 
first  introduced  into  Judah  by  Ahaz  (2  Kings 
xvi.  3).  Comp.  Movers,  Phoen.  I.,  S.  327  sqq.— 
In  the  Pentateuch  this  cult  was  forbidden,  Deut. 
xii.  30;  xviii.  10. 

Vers.  32-34.  Therefore  behold  \  the  days 
are  coming  ...  a  desolation.  The  place  of 
worship,  held  sacred  by  the  idolatrous  Jews,  but 
in  fact  desecrated,  shall  even  for  them  be  forever 
polluted.  That  this  would  be  accomplished  by  a 
massacre  on  the  spot,  is  not  stated  in  the  text. 
This  would  not  have  polluted  it  forever,  as  we 
read  of  Josiah  that  he  polluted  the  places  of  ido- 
latrous worship  either  by  the  burning  of  human 
bones  (2  Ki.  xxiii.  16,  20)  or  by  filling  them  up 
-with  these  (ver.  14)  or  the  reverse,  by  strewing 


the  ashes  of  the  idols  on  the  graves  (ver.  6).    At 
any  rate  he  must  have   defiled   Tophet   (ver.  10) 
and  other  places  (vers.  8,  13)  in  the   same  way. 
Here  then  also  the  pollution  is  caused  by  the  in- 
terment, and  the  name  "valley  of  slaughter"  is 
connected   with  it  only  in  so  far  that  the  vale  is 
used  as  a  place  of  burial  only  in  consequence   of 
the    want   of    room,    resulting    from    the   great 
slaughter   (comp.    xix.  11;    Ezek.    ix.    7).     But 
even  thus  a  great  number  of  corpses  will  remain 
unburied,  which  will  be  food  for   beasts   (comp. 
Deut.  xxviii.  26,  whence  ver.  33  is  taken  verba- 
tim, and  Jer.  xvi.  4  ;  xix.  7  ;  xxxiv.  20). — None 
to  scare,    etc.     Comp.   Levit.    xxvi.    6 ;     Deut. 
xxviii.  2(3;    Mic.   iv.   4;   Nah.   ii.   12;   Zeph.  iii. 
li;    Jer.  xxx.  10;  xlvi.  27.     The  further  result 
of  the  slaughter  is  depopulation,  the  cessation  of 
every  sign  of  normal  human  existence,  complete 
desolation  of  the   land.     (xvi.  9  ;   xxv.    10,   11, 
coll.  xxxiii.  11).     [Henderson: — "In  ver.  34, 
reference  is  made   to   the  joyous   processions  in 
which  the  bride  and  bridegroom  are  led  through 
the  streets,  accompanied  by  bands  of  singers  and 
musicians,  which  are  common  in  many  parts  of 
the  East,  and  even  among  the  Jews  in  some  parts 
of  Europe.     See   my   Biblical  Researches   and 
Travels  in  Russia,  p.  217."— S.  R.  A.] 


6.  Fulfilment  of  retribution  corresponding  to  the  idol-abominations. 

VIII.   1-3. 

At  this  time,  saith  Jehovah,  they  shall  bring^ 
The  bones  of  the  kings  of  Judah  and  the  bones  of  his  princes, 
And  the  bones  of  the  priests  and  the  bones  of  the  prophets, 
And  the  bones  of  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem  out  of  their  graves, 
And  they  shall  spread  them  out  to  the  sun. 
And  to  the  moon,  and  to  all  the  host  of  heaven. 
Which  they  loved  and  which  they  served  and  followed, 
And  which  they  sought  and  worshipped ; 
They  shall  not  be  gathered,  nor  buried ; 
They  shall  be  dung  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
And  the  whole  remnant  of  the  survivors  of  tbis  wicked  race 
Shall  prefer'  death  to  life  in  all  places  of  the  survivors^ 
Whither  I  have  driven  them,  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— Instead  of  !|N''i*V1  the  Masoretes  would  omit  the  1,  as  they  perceived  that  neither  aa  consecutive  nor  as  copu- 
lative is  it  in  place,  while  in  accordance  with  the-constanfusage  we  should  expect  it  to  be  followed  by  the  perfect.  Comp. 
NAEOEi-sn.  Gr.,  g  840.     Yet  in  such  cases  the  imperfect  with  Van  cnpalat.  is  not  witliout  example  ;  comp.  Exod.  xii.  3. 

a  Ver.  3.— in3J1  comp.  Prov.  xxi.  3.    N.\eoelsb.  Gr.,  g  100,  4. 

3  Ver.  3.— D'lkXty^n.  If  we  do  not  with  Hitziq  and  Graf  reject  this  word  as  resting  on  a  clerical  error,  we  must  ex- 
plain it  with  Maurer  and  De  Wette  as  the  repetition  of  the  noun  instead  of  the  pronoun,  so  that  the  article  stands  before 
ttie  coDBtruct  state  in  an  emphatic  almost  pronominal  signification :   in  alt  those  places.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  71,  5  Anm. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICi^L. 

It  is  dlear  from  the  contents  that  this  strophe 
is  closely  connected  with  the  preceding.  Death 
is  to  come  in  a  new  form,  as  it  were,  in  those  who 


are  already  dead.  The  bones  of  the  buried  shall 
be  disinterred  and  strewed  in  the  face  of  the 
stars,  their  powerless  deities,  shall  become  stink- 
ing ordure  (vers.  1,  2).  And  the  surviving  rem- 
nant will  long  for  death  as  a  benefit  (ver.  3). 
Vers.  1,  2.  At  this  time,  saith  Jehovah  .  . 


CHAP.  VIII.  1-8. 


99 


surface  of  the  earth.  Of  the  motive  of  the 
disinterment  the  prophet  says  nothing.  He  liad 
certainly  no  idea  of  its  being  the  search  for  booty 
(Jerome,  Hitzig,  [Henderson]).  He  has  in  mind 
only  the  punitive  justice  of  God. — His  before 
princes  is  to  be  referred  to  the  kings,  viz.,  the 
princes  of  each  king  or  kingdom,  or  of  the  crown. 
Comp.  xxiv.  8;  xxv.  19;  xxxiv.  21.  We  should 
have  expected  in  reference  to  Judah  tlmr  princes, 
as  in  Isai.  iii.  4;  Hos.  vii.  16;  ix.  15. —  Spread 
them  out.  Observe  the  irony.  The  stars  look 
powerlessly  down  on  ihe  bones  of  their  worship- 
pers— while  these  send  up  a  stench ! — Gathered. 
Comp.  xvi.  4  ;  xxv.  33. — For  the  subject-matter 
compare  2  Sam.  xxi.  12  sqq. 

Ver.  3.  And  the  whole  remnant  .  .  saith 
Jehovah.  The  discourse  concludes  with  a  part- 
ing glance  at  the  survivors,  who  are  the  most  un- 
fortunate of  all.  Comp.  xxv.  26. — On  the  sub- 
ject-matter comp.  xxiv.  8  sqq. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  vii.  1.  The  exhortation  which  Jeremiah 
here  addresses  to  his  contemporaries  is,  as  Chry- 
sosTOM  remarks,  substantially  the  same  as  that 
of  John  the  Baptist  to  the  Jews  of  his  time: 
"  Bring  forth  therefore  fruits — meet  for  repen- 
tance, and  begin  not  to  say  within  yourselves, 
we  have  Abraham  to  our  father;  for  I  say  unto 
you  that  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up 
children  unto  Abraham."  But  there  is  a  diflFer- 
ence  between  trusting  in  descent  from  Abraham, 
and  in  the  stone  Sanctuary  at  Jerusalem.  For 
as  the  tabernacle  and  the  sanctuary  at  Shiloh 
have  disappeared,  so  the  temple  built  by  Solo- 
mon and  the  ark  of  the  covenant  itself ;  and  even 
the  temple  re-erected  without  the  ark  was  de- 
stroyed a  second  time  by  Titus  and  not  rebuilt, 
though  according  to  the  testimony  of  Josephus 
(Bell.  Jud.  VI.  2,  1)  the  mad  resistance  of  the 
Jews  was  chiefly  based  on  the  idea  that  Jerusa- 
lem being  the  city  of  God  was  in  no  danger  of 
destruction.  Now  while  the  sacred  places  and 
buildings  for  worship,  from  the  tabernacle  to  the 
temple  of  Herod,  were  destroyed,  never  to  be  re- 
built (comp.   iii.   16  T;;  nt^;;;;.  vh)  the  descent 

from  Abraham,  in  spite  of  all  temporary  rever- 
sions, retains  its  eternal  signiticance,  as  the 
Apostle  Paul  shows  in  Rom.  xi.,  where  he  says, 
*'  If  the  first  fruit  be  holy,  the  lump  is  also  holy, 
and  if  the  root  be  holy  so  are  the  branches.  .  .  . 
If  some  of  the  branches  have  been  broken  oflF  on 
account  of  unbelief,  yet  they  may  be  grafted  in 
again.  .  .  .  For  according  to  the  Gospel,  he  says, 
I  regard  them  as  enemies,  but  according  to  the 
election,  they  are  beloved  for  the  fathers'  sake. 
For  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without  re- 
pentance." If  now  to  trust  in  descent  from 
Abraham  is  in  so  far  foolish  and  unjustifiable,  as 
it  does  not  prevent  partial  destruction  of  the  na- 
tion, to  trust  in  the  outward  sanctuary,  con- 
structed of  earthly  material,  is  still  less  justifi- 
able, for  this  has  no  guarantee  of  continuance  ; 
it  may  indeed  suffer  total  destruction  without 
endangering  the  foundations  of  the  theocracy. 
Just  as  unjustifiable  as  this  confiilence  of  the 
Jews  in  an  earthly  sanctuary  as  the  chosen  place 
of  divine  presence  and  blessing  is  every  analo- 


gous confidence  of  the  Christian  church  in  a  real 
or  supposed  divinely  chosen  earthly  substratum 
of  tokens  of  blessing,  whether  it  be  a  place,  office 
or  race.  All  the  places  consecrated  by  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord  and  the  ministry  of  His  apos- 
tles have  been  destroyed  and  given  up  to  the  abo- 
mination of  desolation  :  Jerusalem  with  the  Mt. 
of  Olives  and  Golgotha,  Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  the 
whole  of  Palestine,  Asia  Minor  and  Greece,  be- 
came Christian  and  yet  fell  a  prey  to  the  cres- 
cent. All  the  less  may  Rome  count  on  perpe- 
tuity, since  the  chair  of  Peter  rests  not  on  di- 
vine but  on  arbitrary  human  institution.  So  also 
the  legitimate  ruling  families  of  Europe,  who  so 
fondly  imagine,  that  they  are  irrevocably  chosen, 
should  never  forget  that  the  Lord  not  only  ap- 
points but  deposes  kings.  (Comp.  Dan.  iv.  32  ; 
V.  21). 

2.  Petrus  Q.'VLATiNua  [de  Arc.  cath.  ver.  v. 
10)  remarks  (according  to  Ghisler.)  that  some 
Rabbins  refer  the  lying  word  of  the  thrice  re- 
peated iyT\  to  the  false  hope  of  those  who  sup- 
pose that  a  third  temple  will  yet  be  built.  But 
this  hope  is  not  a  false  one.  It  certainly  will  not 
be  realized  in  the  erection  of  a  third  sanctuary 
of  stone  but  in  that  spiritual  body  of  which  we 
must  regard  Ezekiel's  temple  as  the  type.  Comp. 
B.\LMER-RiNCK,  on  the  prophet  Ezekiel's  vision 
of  the  temple,  Basel,  1858,  and  my  review  of  this 
work  in  Reul.  Rep.  1860,  H.  IIL  S.  151,  2.  This 
is  not  of  course  to  say  that  the  thrice  repeated 
word  does  not  really  refer  to  the  third  temple. 

3  "If  God  has  not  His  temple  and  abode  in  the 
heart,  that  (wiz.,  that  thou  hast  an  outward  tem- 
ple or  house  of  God)  will  avail  thee  nothing." 
Mic.  iii.  11,  12.  Starke. 

4.  "  The  words  '  this  is  the  Lord's  temple ' 
might  properly  be  written  on  the  hearts  of  be- 
lievers," 1  Cor.  iii.  16;  Gen.  xxviii.  17.   St.-vrke. 

5.  "  It  is  a  heathenish  delusion  and  false  con- 
fidence to  suppose  that  God  is  bound  to  any  place 
or  spot,  as  the  Trojans  thought  because  they  had 
the  temple  of  Pallas  in  their  city  it  could  not  be 
taken,  and  in  the  present  day  the  manner  of  the 
Papists  is  to  bind  Christ  to  Rome  and  the  chair 
of  Peter,  and  then  defiantly  maintain  '  I  shall 
never  be  moved'  (Ps.  x.  6).  For,  they  say,  the 
ship  of  Peter  may  sink  a  little,  but  not  altoge- 
ther. Then  the  only  point  that  is  deficient  is  this, 
that  they  are  not  the  ship  of  Peter,  but  rather  an 
East  Indianman  with  a  cargo  of  Indian  apes  and 
such  like  foreign  merchandize,  pearls,  purple, 
silk,  brass,  iron,  silver,  gold,  incense,  lead,  that 
I  hey  may  carry  on  simony  and  make  merchan- 
dize of  religion,  and  deceive  the  whole  world 
(Rev.  xviii.  11  sqq.)."  Cramer. 

6.  On  vii.  9-11.  Necessary  as  the  doctrine  of 
the  church  is  in  the  organic  system  of  Christian 
doctrine  it  may  become  dangerous,  if  the  church 
is  regarded  one-sidedly  as  an  objectively  saving- 
institution,  and  the  subjective  conditions  of  its 
operation  are  undervalued.  For  then  it  is  re- 
garded as  alone  necessary  to  salvation,  and  not 
only  in  the  sense  that  this  virtue  is  ascribed  ex- 
clusively to  one  particular  church  in  opposition 
to  another,  but  also  in  the  sense  of  supposing 
thnt  the  cliurch  alone,  ms  an  objective  institution, 
is  tlie  means  of  s;ilvation,  a  man  needing  to  do 
notliiiig  more  tlian  to  enter  into  a  passive  rela- 


103 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


tion  to  the  church,  i.  e.,  without  conscious  resis- 
tance [obex).  From  this  alone  saving  church 
there  is  but  one  step  to  the  infallibly  saving,  i.  e., 
to  that,  of  which  a  passive  member  cannot  be 
lost,  however  much  lie  may  steal,  murder,  com- 
mit adultery,  swear  falsely,  etc.  Where  this  rui- 
nous delusion  prevails  men  enter  the  church,  per- 
form the  ceremonies,  wipe  their  mouths,  and  say 

aalvi  sumus  (IJ7XJ).  But  thus  the  church  of 
Christ  becomes  a  den  of  robbers. 

7.  On  vii.  16.  "This  may  serve  to  comfort 
you,  for  God  thus  testifies  to  the  power  of  prayer, 
that  it  would  stand  in  His  way  so  that  He  could 
not  go  on.  Therefore  He  had  first  of  all  to  for- 
bid the  prophet  from  praying.  Thus  also  He  says 
to  Moses  (Exod.  xxxii.  10)  'Let  Me  alone  that 
My  wrath  may  burn  against  them.'  So  much 
may  a  believing  prayer  accomplish."    Cramee. 

8.  On  vii.  22,  23.  In  Ps.  li.  16,  17,  we  read 
"  For  thou  desirest  not  sacrifice;  else  would  I 
give  it :  thou  delightest  not  in  burnt-ofi"ering. 
The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit :  a 
broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  0  God,  thou  wilt 
not  despise."  Had  sacrifices  and  burnt-oflferings 
been  positively  displeasing  to  God,  He  would 
have  forbidden  them.  But  they  must  have  been 
pleasing  to  Him  even  as  types  of  the  sacrifice  on 
Golgotha.  They  displease  Him  only  when  He  is 
to  accept  them  instead  of  .a  broken  and  contrite 
heart.  The  sacrifices  have  thus  a  two-fold  sig- 
nificance; objectively  as  types,  and  in  so  far  as 
God  beholds  in  every  sacrifice  that  of  Christ,  they 
are  pleasing  to  Him — subjectively,  as  the  offer- 
ing of  man.  But  when  in  this  relation  God  is  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  fat  and  blood  of  an  animal 
instead  >of  the  spiritual  ablatio  cordis,  the  sacri- 
fice is  displeasing.  Thus  as  the  sacrifice  is  on 
the  one  hand  pleasing,  on  the  other  displeasing, 
Jeremiah  might  say  that  God  did  not  speak  of 
sacrifices,  though  on  the  other  Jiand  it  is  admit- 
ted, that  He  did  speak  of  them. 

9.  On  vii.  26.  "It  is  an  evil  consolation,  and 
one  of  the  greatest  exercises  of  the  witnesses, 
when  they  are  treated  with  such  indifference, 
that  they  are  not  opposed,  but  also  receive  no 
real  attention.  Then  is  Satan  most  firmly  seated, 
and  his  business  best  established  when  he  has 
induced  such  a  state  of  indifference.  Phlegm  in 
religion,  patience  in  hearers  (a  sign  that  they 
are  inured  to  blows)  is  an  incurable  evil.  So 
long  as  they  are  calumniated,  persecuted,  mocked, 
the  witnesses  still  have  a  handle.  But  the  time, 
when  one  preaches  and  no  one  rises,  is  a  misera- 
ble epoch  for  the  ministry.  Yet  it  must  be  en- 
dured, for  it  is  either  not  general  or  a  teacher  is 
usually  free.  For  because  the  Lord  '  spews  out 
of  His  mouth '  such  men  and  such  times  of  le- 
thargy are  heralds  of  the  overflowing  of  the  di- 
vine judgments,  and  especially  of  the  removal  of 
the  candlestick  from  its  place,  there  is  generally 
a  new  period  for  the  teachers,  and  they  become 
elsewhere  a  ffreal  nation  (Exod.  xxxii.  10)  "  Zin- 

ZENDORF. 

10.  On  vii.  33.  ^'Charitati  Christians  et  legi  na- 
turse  consentaneum  est,  ut  hominum  cadavera  terra 
obruantur,  undc  Augiistinus  [De  Cw.  D.  I.  13);  non 
contemnenda  et  abjicienda  sunt  corpora  ju.'storum  et 
fidelium,  qaibus  tanquam  organis  et  vasis  siiis  <id  om- 
nia bona  opera  spiritus  sanctus  fiiit  usus."  Forstek. 


HOMILBTICAL  AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vii.  1-3.  [Henry: — "Note:  (1)  Even 
those  that  profess  religion  have  need  to  be 
preached  to,  as  well  as  those   that  slyS  without. 

(2)  It  is  desirable  to  have  opportunity  of  preach- 
ing to  many  together.  Wisdom  chooses  to  cry 
in  the  chief  place  of  concourse,  and  as  Jeremiah 
here,  in  the  opening  of  the  gates,  the  temple  gates. 

(3)  When  we  are  going  to  worship  God,  we  have 
need  to  be  admonished  to  worship  Him  in  the  Spi- 
rit, and  to  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh.  Phil.  iii. 
3."— S.  R.  A.] 

2.  On  vii.  3-7.  The  doctrine  of  the  Church.  1. 
The  church  externally  or  as  an  external  ordi- 
nance. 1.  What  is  this  external  ordinance? 
(Word,  sacrament,  office).  2.  How  far  is  this 
external  ordinance  necessary  ?  3.  What  reasons 
have  we  to  be  on  our  guard  respecting  it?  (ver. 
4.  It  may  be  overestimated). — II.  The  church 
internally.  1.  It  is  essentially  a  community  of 
saints  and  true  believers.  {^'Congregatio  sancto- 
rum et  vere  credentium.''  Conf.  Aug.  Art.  VIII.) 
2.  Its  existence  is  manifested,  a.  in  the  holy  walk 
of  its  members  (vers.  3,  5,  6) ;  b.  in  the  blessings 
of  the  Divine  presence  (vers.  3  and  7). 

3.  On  vii.  8.  [Henry: — "The  privileges  of  a 
form  of  godliness  sive  often  the  pride  and  confi- 
dence of  those  that  are  strangers  and  enemies  to 
the  poiL-er  of  it.  It  is  common  for  those  that  are 
furthest  from  God  to  boast  themselves  most  of 
their  being  near  to  the  church." — S.  R.  A.] 

4.  On  vii.  8-15.  An  earnest  warning  against 
merely  external  ecclesiasticism.  I.  Its  essence 
is:  false  confidence  in  the  unconditional  saving 
etiicacy  of  ft  supposed  or  real  sanctuary  (vers.  8, 
10).  11.  lis  consequences  are:  1.  Demoraliza- 
tion (vers.  9,  10).  2.  Desecration  of  the  holy 
(ver.  11).  3.  Destruction  of  the  offenders  (vers. 
12-15). 

5.  On  vii.  16.  On  Intercession.  1.  When  it  is  not 
in  place  (compare  this  verse  with  1  John  v.  16). 
2.  When  it  is  in  place.    3.  What  it  can  accomplish. 

[Henry: — "See  here  (1).  That  God's  prophets 
&re  praying  men.  (2).  That  God's  praying  pro- 
phets have  a  great  interest  in  heaven,  how  little 
soever  they  have  on  earth.  (3).  It  is  an  ill  omen 
for  a  people  when  God  restrains  the  spirits  of 
His  ministers  and  people  from  praying  for  them. 
(4).  Those  that  will  not  regard  good  ministers' 
preaching  cannot  expect  any  benefit  by  their 
praying.  If  you  will  not  hear  us  when  we  speak 
from  God  to  you,  God  will  not  hear  us  when  we 
speak  to  Him  for  you." — S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  vii.  18.  [Henry: — "Let  usbe  instructed 
even  by  this  bad  example  in  the  service  ol  our 
God.  (1)  Let  us  honor  Him  with  our  substance. 
(2).  Let  us  not  decline  the  hardest  service,  nor 
disdain  to  stoop  to  the  meanest,  for  none  shall 
kindle  a  fire  on  God's  altar  for  naught.  (3).  Let 
us  bring  up  our  children  in  the  acts  of  devotion; 
let  them,  as  they  are  capable,  be  employed  in 
doing  something  toward  the  keeping  up  of  reli- 
gious exercises." — S.  R.  A.] 

7.  Onvii.  22,  23.  Of  the  true  service  of  God.  I. 
Its  nature  (1)  not  outward  ceremonies,  but  (2) 
walk  according  to  the  divine  commands.  II.  Its 
reward.  (1  will  be  your  God,  that  it  may  be 
well  with  you). 


CHAP.  VIII.  4-12.  101 


8.  On  vii.  24-29.  Of  disobedience  to  God's  word. 
I.  Its  cause  is,  (1)  not  neglect  on  the  part  of 
God  to  make  known  His  word  to  men  (ver.  25). 
(2)  Not  tlie  imperfect  performance  of  his  duties 
by  the  preacher  (ver.  27)  but  (3)  the  hardness 
of  men's  hearts,  who  (a)  walk  only  after  the 
thoughts  of  their  heart,  and  therefore  (6)  do  not 
hear,  do  not  believe,  (ver.  28)  do  not  wish  to  im 
prove.  II.  Its  consequence  is  (1)  increasing 
moral  corruption  (vers.  24,  26)  and  (2)  rejection 
on  the  part  of  God  (ver.  29) 


2.  When  it  hardens  itself  in  unbelief  against 
God's  word  and  voice  (vers.  26  and  27).  3. 
When  in  spite  of  the  divine  judgment  it  departs 
the  more  into  sin  (vers.  26,  28). — The  people  Is- 
rael a  warning  example  for  the  present  race  in 
view  of  the  prevailing  unbelief  of  the  times. 
Tueir  example  is  admonitory,  1.  with  respect  to 
their  ingratitude  for  God's  gracious  visitations ) 
2.  with  respect  to  their  opposition  to  the  true 
friends  of  the  nation  ;  3.  with  respect  to  their 
frivolity  in  view  of  inevitable  destruction.     (Dr. 


9.  On  vii.  25-28.  The  sad  characteristics  of  an  Gr.) — Let  the  remembrance  of  our  calling  serve 
unbelieving  epoch.  1.  Contempt  of  the  preach-  ,  to  awaken  us.  To  this  end  let  us  consider. 
ing  of  the  divine  word.  2.  StiflF-neckedness  in  re-  |  1.  What  is  our  calling  ?  2.  How  does  the  Lord  call 
spect  to  the   visitations  of  divine  chastisement.  |  us  ?     3.   How  long  does  He   call    us?     4.   How 


3.  Increase  of  wickedness  in  spite  of  all  the 
warnings  of  the  past.  (Lie.  Clauss). — When  is 
a  people  ripe  for  destruction?  1.  When  it  de- 
spises the  visitations  of  divine  grace  (ver.  25). 


have  we  answered  Him?  5.  What  will  be  the 
end  of  our  calling  ?  (Z. — :  GeseU  u.  Zeugnias, 
Juni.  1860,  S.  339). 


II.  SECOND  CHARGE :  their  ruinous  peesistbnob  in  BVa. 

VIII.  4-23. 

1.   Their  stiff-necked  impenitence  and  its  punishment. 

VIII.  4-12. 

4  And  say  to  them :  Thus  saith  Jehovah : 
Do  men^  fall  and  rise  not  up  again? 

Or  does  one  turn  away  and  not  return  again? 

5  Why  then  does  this  people,  Jerusalem, 
Turn  away''  with  a  perpetuaP  apostacy  ? 
They  hold  fast  to  error,*  wish  not  to  return. 

6  I  inclined  myself  and  listened : 

They  speak  that  which  is  worth  nothing. 
There  is  none  who  repents  of  his  wickedness 
And  who  says :  what  have  I  done  ? 
They  are  alP  turned  away  in  their  courses. 
Like  a  mad®  stallion  in  the  battle. 

7  Even  the  stork  in  the  air  knoweth  his  seasons, 

The  turtle-dove,  swallow  and  crane  keep  the  time  of  their  coming, 
But  my  people  know  not  the  judgment  of  Jehovah. 

8  How  say  ye  then,  We  are  wise, 
And  the  law  of  Jehovah  is  with  us? 

Behold !  surely  the  lying  style  of  the  writer  has  brought  forth  only  lies. 

9  The  wise  men  are  put  to  shame, 
Confounded  and  taken  are  they. 

Behold  !  they  have  despised  Jehovah's  word, 
What  wisdom,^  however,  is  among  them? 

10  Therefore^  will  I  give  their  wives  to  others, 
Their  fields  to  the  conquerors, 

For  from  the  least  to  the  greatest  they  are  all  bent  on  gain ; 
From  the  prophet  to  the  priest  they  all  practise  deceit, 

11  And  healed  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  most  slightly, 
Saying,  Peace,  peace !  when  there  is  no  peace. 


102 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


12  They  are  put  to  shame,  for  they  have  committed  abomination ; 
Yet  they  blush  not,  nor  understand  to  be  ashamed. 
Therefore  shall  they  fall  with  the  falling, 
At  the  time  of  their  visitation  will  they  be  overthrown, 
Saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 


1  Yer.  4. l'73'n-  Tbe  indefinite  subject  in  Hebrew  may  be  expressed  as  here  by  the  3d  pers.  «T  the  plural  or  of  the  si*- 

eular.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr..  §  101,  2. — On  the  disjunctive  question  comp.  Gr.  g  107,  4.  [Blatnet,  Noyes,  Umbreit,  etc.  ren- 
der as  in  the  text:  Henderson  has:  Shall  they  fall ;  but  incorrectly,  for  as  Hitzig  says,  the  Jews  cannot  be  the  subject  in 

2  Ver.  5.— riD^liy  (not  713311^,  xxxi.  21;  xlix.  4,  nor  n!3!3Hy,  iii.  14,  22)  is  to  be  regarded  according  to  Ewald,  ^ 

188  ft,  as  a  verbal  form,  and  in  a  directly  causative  sense  =  to  make  a  turn.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxi.  21.— This  people  is  not 
in  the  relation  of  a  genitive  to  tlie  following  Jerusalem,  as  is  evinced  by  the  form,  but  the  latter  is  in  simple  apposition  to 
the  former.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  J  OG.     [Henderson  :  this  people  of  Jerusalem]. 

3  Ver.  5.— n-i' J  (adject,  denomin.  ad  formam  ^3^.  ■^^^.    Comp.  N.  Gr.,  g  42,  o,  S.  87)  is  an  dw.  key.    The  meaning  is 

derived  from  piJ  perfectio,  absolutio  =  perfeetus,  absoltUiis. 

4  Ver.  5. ri'Oljl  (comp.  xiv.  14,  Keri;  xxiii.  26;  Zeph.  iii.  13;  Ps.  cxix.  118)  must  here  according  to  the  connection 

be  rendered  in  a  passive  sense  =  error. 

6  Ver.  6.— ,"1^3  is  literally  :  its  entirety.    From  the  singular  sufBx  we  perceive  that  the  nation  is  regarded  as  a  single 

individual.    Comp.'  Ewald,  §  286,  e. 

6  Ver.  6. ciJJIty  used  originally  of  streaming  water  (comp.  Isai.  xxx.  28;  Ixvi.  12;  Ezek.  xiii.  11,  13);  in  the  trans- 
ferred sense  of  the  running  of  a  horse  here  only  (comp.  effuso  cursa,  fuga  effusior  in  Livy).  [All  the  English  translations 
render :  as  a  horse  rushes  into  the  battle. — S.  R.  A.] 

7  Ver.  9. nO~r\ODn  [lit-  '■  t'l^  wisdom  of  what]?  sapientia  cujus  ?    Comp.  xliv.  28  ;  Gen.  xxiv.  33 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr., 

's  Ver.  9.— ["The  LXX.  omit  these  three  verses  with  the  exception  of  the  first  two  lines  of  the  10th.  The  repetitious 
character  of  many  parts  of  the  book  of  Jeremiah  leaves  no  reason  to  dovibt  that  the  repetition  here  of  chap.  vi.  12-15  is  ge- 
nuine    Theodotion  and  the  Hexaplar  Syriac  supply  the  omission  of  the  LXX."    Henderson.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  second  point  in  the  charge  concerns  the 
impenitent  obduracy  with  which  the  people,  true 
to  their  often  censured  character  (comp.  Exod. 
xxxii.  9:  xxxiii.  3,  5;  xxxiv.  9;  Deut.  ix.  6, 
13;  X.  16;  xxxi.  27  coll.  Jer.  v.  3;  Isai.  xlviii. 
4;  Ezek.  ii.  4;  iii.  7)  persist  in  the  perverse 
course  they  have  adopted  (vers.  4-7).  To  be 
sure  they  will  not  admit  that  they  have  adopted 
a  false  course.  They  maintain  on  the  contrary 
(comp.  vii.  21sqq.)  that  they  are  in  the  right 
way,  because  they  are  not  lacking  in  instruction 
or  knowledge  of  the  law  of  God  (ver.  8).  But 
the  prophet  does  not  allow  this  to  pass.  He 
traces  their  imagined  wisdom  to  the  deception 
of  their  false  leaders,  of  whom  he  predicts  that 
with  their  pseudo-sophy  they  must  be  put  to 
shame  (ver.  9),  and  then  he  again  announces  to 
all  in  the  words  of  a  former  discourse  the  judg- 
ment of  God  for  their  manifold  wickedness  (vers. 
10-12).  This  strophe  contains  the  main  thought 
of  this  chapter,  i.  e.,  of  the  second  part.  The 
two  following  strophes  describe  only  the  parti- 
cular features  of  the  punishment. 

Vers.  4.  .5.  And  say  to  them  .  .  ■wish  not 
to  return.  The  simple  introduction  by  and  say- 
shows  that  what  follows  is  closely  connected  with 
the  preceding.  The  meaning  of  311^  is  here,  the 
first  time  to  turn,  to  make  any  kind  of  n  turn 
(comp.  Josh.  xix.  12,  etc.),  the  second  time  to  re- 
turn.— It  is  evident  that  the  prophet  had  hoped 
that  Israel  would  have  returned  in  view  of  his 
previous  representations.  No  one  who  falls  re- 
mains lying  on  the  ground,  and  no  one  perse- 
veres in  the  course  he  has  taken  without  turning 
to  one  side  or  another,  how  then  is  it  that  Israel 
•0  obstinately  persists   in   his  perverse   ways  ? 


The  answer  is  given  in  ver.  6.  By  the  manner 
in  which  the  prophet  emphasizes  the  idea  of  turn- 
ing we  are  forcibly  reminded  of  iii.  1-4;  iv. — 
Wish  not  to  return,  comp.  v.  8  ;   Hos.  xi.  5. 

Ver.  6.  I  inclined  myself  .  .  .  stallion  in 
the  battle.  It  is  best  to  regard  this  as  an  an- 
swer to  the  question  why  ?  in  ver.  5.  In  order 
to  be  able  to  give  the  Lord  a  correct  answer,  the 
prophet  listens.  For  thus  he  may  be  able  to 
learn  the  true  secret  thoughts  of  their  hearts. 
The  information  he  thus  obtains  is  not  comfort- 
ing; from  their  speeches  he  learns  only  the  ra- 
dically corrupt  condition  of  their  hearts,  closed 
against  all  knowledge  of  the  right.  Hence  their 
obduracy. — They  do  not  speak  that  which  is 
right,  i.  e.,  they  not  only  are  silent  with  respect 
to  the  right,  but  they  speak  that  which  is  not 
right,  which  is  false.  Comp.  Gen.  xlii.  11,  19, 
81,  33,  84,  and  Exod.  x.  2'.);  2  Ki.  vii.  9; 
Prov.  XV.  7;  Isai.  xvi.  6;  Jer.  xxiii.  10;  xlviii. 
80. — Their  conduct  corresponds  to  their  words; 
there  is  none  who  repents.. — 31^  stands  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  2^^  desired  in  vers.  4  and  5,  with 
a  certain  irony;  they  are  not  wanting  in  'ZW 
turn,  but  they  practise  it  only  in  the  sense  sf  aver- 
tere.  This  they  certainly  pursue  witli  the  great- 
est ardor.  They  turn  away  in  their  entirety. — 
in  their  courses.  The  plural  form  is  explained 
by  the  collective  idea  of  the  noun,  to  which  all 
refers.  This  plural  gives  a  satisfactory  sense, 
and  it  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  alter  it  as  the 
Keri  does  according  to  xxiii.  10.  As  to  the  mean- 
ing :  the  word  in  2  Sam.  xviii.  27  has  the  mean- 
ing of  violent  running,  hunting,  chasing.  This 
meaning  is  suitable  to  Jer.  xxii.  17;  xxiii.  10, 
and  is  also  demanded  by  the  connection  here. 
They  turn  them  in  this  sense,  that  witli  violent 
haste  they  pursue  their  chosen  path. 

"Ver.  7.  Even  the  stork  .  .  the  judgment 


CHAP.  VIII.  4-12. 


loa 


of  Jehovah.  What  nTOn  is,  is  very  uncer- 
tain, since  the  distinctive  marks  mentioned  in 
Old  Testament  passages  (Levit.  xi.  19 ;  Deut. 
xiv.  18;  Ps.  civ.  17;  Job  xxxix.  13;  Zech.  v. 
9)  suit  several  birds,  on  which  account  (apart 
from  the  fact  that  the  LXX.  translate  sometimes 
itrotp,  sometimes  tpwSiSc  or  TreXeKdv,  the  Targu- 
mists  and  Talmudists  XnilH  Kn^T  milvus  albus, 
vide  BuxTORF,  Lex.  Chald.,  p.  528)  modern  com- 
mentators are  divided  between  "heron"  (So  Bo- 
chart,  Gesen.,  Rosenm.,  Fuerst  in  his  concord- 
ance, EwALD,  Meier,  and  others)  and  "stork" 
(Winer,  Fuerst  Lex.,  Graf  and  others).  Since 
the  derivation  from  Tpn  plus  is  the  most  natu- 
ral and  the  designation  of  the  stork  as  avis  pia  is 
very  general  (comp.  avTnreAapyelv,  although  in 
single  cases  the  filial  piety  of  the  heron  is  also 
celebrated,  jElian,  Anim.  III.  23),  I  give  my 
preference  in  this  instance  to  the  meaning  stork. 
— "lin  is  the  turtle-dove.  That  it  is  migratory  in 
the  East  (comp.  the  American  migratory  pigeon) 
may  be  inferred  also  from  Song  of  Sol.  ii.  11, 
12.  Comp.  Winer,  R.  W.  B.  s.  v.— ■nj;ri  D1D1. 
The  meaning  of  these  words  is  uncertain.  Both 
words  occur  besides  only  in  Isai.  xxxviii.  14. — 
There  it  reads  ^VD^N  |3  lUj;  D103.  There 
the  asyndeton  is  in  favor  of  rendering  1U^  as 
the  predicate  or  in  apposition  to  D^D,  but  in  the 
present  passage  the  \  is  opposed  to  it.  Neither 
the  dialects  nor  the  early  translators  and  com- 
mentators afford  us  any  secure  data.  In  order 
to  deal  fairly  with  both  passages,  we  must  take 
one  of  the  two  words  in  a  sense  which  would 
allow  it  to  be  rendered  both  as  in  opposition  and 
as  an  independent  word,  as,  for  example,  we 
ma,j  sa,y  felis  leo  or  felis  et  leo.  Perhaps  DO  (for 
which  the  Keri  and  Palestinian  could  read  D'p) 
is  an  onomatopoeticum  or  imitation  of  the  natu- 
ral sound  (Venetian  Zysilia  =  swallow.  Vide 
Rosenm.)  and  in  this  sense  the  name  of  the  ge- 
nus and  species  at  the  same  time  (comp.  felis- 
felis).  At  any  rate  the  prophet  wishes  to  say 
that  the  irrational  animals  punctually  obey  the 
natural  law  which  prescribes  their  return  into  a 
certain  country,  while  Israel  seems  not  even  to 
know  the  rule  instituted  by  Jehovah  for  their 
moral  action. — But  my  people.  Comp.  Isai.  i. 
3 ;  Jer.  v.  4,  5. 

Ver.  8.  How  say  ye  then  .  .  .  only  lies. 
To  the  charge  at  the  close  of  ver.  7  the  prophet 
supposes  the  people  to  reply:  We  are  wise, 
etc.;  just  as  what  is  said  in  vii.  21  sqq.,  presup- 
poses an  appeal  of  the  people  to  their  observance 
of  the  ceremonial  law,  so  here  also  the  assertion 
is  put  into  their  mouth  that  they  were  well  in- 
structed in  the  law.  It  may  be  inquired  whether 
D'ODn  is  here  used  in  a  general  sense,  or  whe- 
ther it  contains  an  allusion  to  those  who  from 
the  age  of  Solomon  constituted  a  particular  class 
of  the  supporters  and  promoters  of  culture  by 
the  side  of  the  priests  and  prophets.  (Comp. 
Bruch,  Weisheits-Lehre  der  Hebr'der,  Strassb., 
1851,  S.  48).  Jeremiah  himself  (xviii.  18)  names 
wise  men  together  with  priests  and  prophets. 
But  Ezekiel  in  the  parallel  passage  vii.  26,  uses 
elders  for  wise  men,  and  generally  it  might  be  dif- 
ficult to  prove  that  in  Jeremiah  and  elsewhere, 
(especially  in  Prov.  i.  6 ;  xiii.  20 ;  xv.  12 ;  xxii. 


17 ;  xxiii.  24),  they  appear  as  a  special  class  and 
not  rather  as  specially  gifted  men  of  every  class 
and  calling,  as  Solomon  also  was  a  DOn,  and 
with  him  men  of  the  priestly  and  levitical  orders 
(1  Ki.  V.  9-11).  Observe  also  that  it  is  said  not: 
wise  men  are  among  us,  but,  wise  men  are  we. — 

That  min  must  designate  the  Torah  in  the  sense 

of  the  Pentateuch  cannot  be  maintained,  for  the 
word  occurs  frequently  in  a  more  general  signi- 
fication,  ex.gr.,  Isai.  ii.  3;  viii.  16.  Certainly 
the  word  would  have  to  be  rendered  in  the  nar- 
rower sense  if  hemistich  2  were  to  be  translated: 
truly  (|3X   comp.  iii.  23 ;  iv.  10)  the  lying  style 

of  the  scribes  has  made  it  a  lie.  But  on  the  other 
hand  1,  to  supply  the  suffix  is  not  a  matter  of 
course,  as  it  must  be  if  the  want  of  the  suffix 
(which  is  certainly  frequent,  comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gr.,   ^  78,   2,  Anm.)  is   to  appear  justified.     2, 

Dnsb,  scribes  in  the  sense  of  those  who  spin  a 
web  of  human  inventions  around  the  word  of 
God  is  of  later  date.  Ezra,  as  is  well  known,  was 

the  first  13D  (comp.  Ezra  vii.  6,  11)   but  not  in 

a  bad  sense,  for  the  evil  practices  of  the  scribes 
were  only  a  corruption  of  the  praiseworthy  la- 
bors commenced  by  him  (comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc. 

XIII.  S.  733,  etc.)  Since  the  verb  HK?;;  is  de- 
cidedly used  in  an  absolute  sense  =  to  make,  to 
ivork,  (Exod.  v.  9  ;  xxxi.  4 ;  1  Ki.  v.  30 ;  xx.  40 ; 
Ruthii.  19;  Prov.  xiii.  16;  xxxi.  13)  this  pas- 
sage can  mean  only  :  behold!  he  has  worked  for  a 
lie,  i.  e.,  has  done  lying  work,  the  pen  of  the 
scribe  has  produced  lies.  Scribes  indeed  occur 
almost  up  to  the  time  of  Jeremiah  only  as  State- 
officials  (Judges  v.  14 ;  2  Sam.  viii.  17  ;  xx.  25  ; 
2  Ki.  xii.  11;  xix.  2,  etc.),  but  Baruch  also  is 
called  a  scribe  (Jer.  xxxvi.  26,  32),  and  since  the 
canonical  writings  set  before  us  the  picture  of  a 
literary  activity  in  a  good  sense,  why  may  they 
not  also  have  given  us  one  in  a  bad  sense  ?  False 
prophets  labored  with  their  word  in  opposition 
to  the  word  of  the  true  prophets,  why  might  they 
not  do  the  same  with  their  writings  ?  Jeremiah 
here  presupposes  a  literary  activity  which  desig- 
nated its  productions  as  the  directions  of  Jeho- 
vah, but  not  in  truth.  For  what  was  thus  writ- 
ten in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  doubtless  with 
an  appeal  to  the  law,  was  human  invention  and 
lies.     Comp.  Isai.  x.  1. 

Ver.  9.  The  wise  men  are  put  to  shame 
.  .  whatwisdomhowever  is  among  them? 
The  prophet  for  every  •'  abuse  of  the  name  of 
God"  declares  the  divine  punishment.  They 
are  put  to  shame  with  their  tcachirig  and  prophecy. 
The  false  scribes  had  evidently  flattered  the  peo- 
ple and  promised  them  good  days  to  come. 
(Comp.  infra  ver.  11,  and  vi.  14;  xxiii.  9  ;  Ezek. 
xiii.).  The  contrary,  says  Jeremiah,  will  be  the 
case,  to  their  shame  and  their  hurt. — Put  to 
shame,  comp.  on  ii.  26. — The  wise  here  are 
not  identical  with  those  to  whom  the  predicate 
wise  is  applied  in  ver.  8.  For  while  the  latter 
refers  to  all  Israel,  the  former  refers  only  to  the 
scribes.  These  are  called  wise  men,  not  because 
they  formed  a  special  class,  but  because  they 
boasted  of  special  insight  into  religious  things. — • 
Confounded,  etc.  Comp.  xlviii.  1  ;  1.  2.  Be- 
cause they  have  despised  the  word  of  the  Lord 


lOi  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


and  substituted  their  own  wisdom,  it  will  come 
to  the  light  that  they  know  nothing. 

Vers.  10-12.  Therefore  will  I  give  their 
wives  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah.  These  verses  refer 
not  to  the  false  prophets  aloue  but  to  all  those  pre- 
viously mentioned  in  common.  They  announce 
both  to  the  whole  people,  who  were  addressed  in 
vers.  4-7,  and  to  their  perverse  leaders,  to  whom 
vers.  8  and  9  refer,  their  common,  public,  and  out 


9).  But  nevertheless  we  see  that  this  passage  is 
a  quotation  and  is  not  here  in  its  original  posi- 
tion. For  ver.  10  is  a  contracted  form  of  vi.  12, 
13.     Here  also  the  sequence  of  thought   is  not 

quite  correct,  the  causal  ""3  following  the  illative 
particle  JJ /.  But  that  a  copyist  did  not  trans- 
pose the  passages,  but  the  prophet  himself  re- 
peated with  freedom  his  former  utterance,  is  seen 


Wiirdly  palpable  punishment,  and  in  so  far  form  ,  from  the  little  alterations  which  betray  a  repro- 
tbe  necessary  conclusion  of  tlie  strophe.  This  i  duction  from  memory  as  well  as  the  hand  of  an 
announcement  is  made  in  the  form  of  a  quota-  author  making  free  use  of  his  own  property,  in 
tion,  these  three  verses  being  a  repetition  of  vi.     vers.  10, 11, 12  (comp.  x.  15;  xi.  23;  xxiii.  12,  e^c). 


12-15.  As  it  is  the  leaders  of  the  people,  the 
priests  and  prophets  who  are  there  spoken  of 
(vi.  13-15),  the  verses  suit  this  place  very  well, 


On  the  repetitions  in  Jeremiah  see  the  table  in 
Naeoelsb.:  Jer.  u.  Bab.  S.  128. — Comp.  besides 
the  excellent  refutation  of  Hitziq's  view  as  to 


particularly  as  ver.  11,  and  healed,  etc.,  so  well  ■  the  interpolation  of  this  passage  in  Geaf,  S.  135. 
proves  the  shaming  of  the  false  prophets   (ver.  | 


2.  Further  portrayal  of  the  visitation  announced  ill  yet, 
VIII.  13-17. 

13  I  will  sweep^  them  utterly  away,  saith  Jehovah. 
There  were  no  grapes  on  the  vine, 

No  figs  on  the  fig-tree, 

The  land  was  withered. — 

So  I  gave  to  them'*  those  who  shall  overrun  them. 

14  "  What  is  then  the  ground  on  which  we  remain  ? 
Assemble,  let  us  go  into  the  fortified  cities  and  perish'  there  ? 
For  Jehovah,  our  God,  has  allowed  us  to  perish 

And  given  us  water  of  poison  to  drink ; 
For  we  have  sinned  against  Jehovah. 

15  We  hoped*  for  blessing  but  no  good  came — 
For  a  time  of  healing,^  and  behold  terror !" 

16  From  Dan  is  heard  the  snorting  of  his  horses, 

At  the  sound  of  the  neighing  of  his  stallions  the  whole  earth  trembles. 
And  they  came  and  devoured  the  land  and  what  was  in  it. 
The  city  and  those  that  dwelt  therein. 

17  For  behold,  I  send  among  you  serpents, 
Basilisks,  against  which  no  charm  avails,— 
These  shall  bite  you,  saith  Jehovah. 

TEXTUAL   AKD   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  13. — flDN  from  tlOK,  DS'DX  from  ri.iQ  desinere,  Hiph.  ^nem  imponere,  consumere.    As  iu  tl-iQ  at  the  same 

time  the  idea  of  storm  is  contained  (comp.  HlJ^D,  procella)  this  compound  evidently  signifies  to  sweep  away  in  a  stnrm.  The 
toDnection  of  two  verbs,  having  roots  of  ilifferent  or  similar  sound,  in  this  construction  frequently  occurs.  Comp.  xlviii.  9  ; 
Isai.  xxviii.  28,  and  especially  Zc-pli.  i.  2,  3;  where  we  find  the  same  connection  as  in  this  passage  (Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  93,  d. 
Anm.)    The  Hiph.  fl'On  occurs  only  iu  these  three  passages. 

2  Ver.  13. — The  ancient  rendering,  occurring  in  the  Chaldee  and  Syriao:  and  I  recompmsed  to  them  that  which  they  trans- 
gressed, is  harsh  and  opposed  especially  hy  the  difficulty  of  thus  satisfactorily  explaining  the  suflSx. — The  explanation  pre- 
ferred by  most  modern  conimentator.s:  and  1  give  them  up  to  those  who  come  over  them — has  against  it,  (1)  that  JPXI 

must  be  made  into  TpXI  which  besideB  is  not  a  normal  construction,  comp.  the  remarks  on  1K'2fV1  ver.  1;  (2)  that 
DnS  must  be  translated  not  "  to  them  "  but  "  to  those,"  (3)  that  the  suffix  must  be  supplied  to  IptH,  which,  as  was  re- 
marked on  T\\if}/,  <;iin  only  take  place  where  this  supplementation  is  a  matter  of  course, 

T    T 

3  Ver.  14.— nonjl.  This  form  follows  the  Aramaic  formation  with  reduplication  of  the  flrat  radical.  Oomp.  ^Di^] 
Deut.  xxxiv.  8 ;  IDT  Ps.  xxxi.  78 ;  Job  xxix.  21.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §  31,  Anm.    Olsh.  g  243,  d. 

*  Ver.  15.— n?p  W-  abs.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §  92,  2,  6. 
6  Ver.  15. — 713*^0  instead  of  N31D-    Comp.  ver.  11. 


CHAP.  VIII.  13-17. 


105 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  is  entirely  occupied  with  the  fur- 
ther portrayal  of  the  visitation  which  is  an- 
nounced in  ver.  12.  The  object  of  the  discourse, 
the  visitation,  appears  under  various  images,  ac- 
cording to  the  use  of  literal  or  figurative  lan- 
guage. The  speakers  are  also  changed  several 
times.  First  the  Lord  announces  that  He  will 
sweep  them  away  in  the  storm  as  unfruitful  wi- 
thered plants.  Then  they  must  themselves  an- 
nounce that  they  wish  to  flee  into  the  fortified 
cities  but  without  the  hope  of  escape.  For  they 
themselves  feel  and  express  that  they  bear  their 
death  within  them,  as  it  were,  the  Lord  Himself 
having  given  ihem  poison-water  as  a  punishment 
for  their  sins,  and  instead  of  healing  they  find 
(in  the  cities)  only  terror.  (Vers.  14,  15).  For 
they  already  perceive  the  approach  of  the  enemy 
from  the  North  (ver.  16  a),  which  the  prophet  con- 
firms, describing  in  blunt  words  the  sad  end  as 
already  begun  (ver.  16  b).  At  last  the  Lord  Him- 
self again  speaks,  and  returning  to  the  figurative 
mode  of  speech  compares  the  threateiiiag  ene- 
mies witli  serpents  of  the  poisonous  kind,  for 
whose  bite  there  is  no  remedy  (ver.  17). 

Ver.  13.  I  will  sweep  them  .  .  .  overrun 
them.  In  what  follows  the  motive  of  this  pun- 
ishment is  presented.  Israel  is  an  unfruitful  vine 
and  fig-tree,  a  withered  branch.  The  same  figure 
in  Ps.  i.  3;  Jer.  xvii.  7;  Isai.  i.  30;  v.  2;  Mic.  vii. 
1  ;  Luke  xiii.  8. — I  regard  the  words  I  will 
sweep  them  utterly  away  as  a  general  state- 
ment of  what  follows.  In  this  the  Lord  Himself 
accounts  for  the  genesis  of  this  declaration.  He 
relates  that  he  instituted  an  investigation,  the  re- 
sult of  which  was  that  Israel  was  like  an  unfruit- 
ful, withered  tree.  In  consequence  of  this  He  de- 
termined that  they  should  be  swept  away  by  a 
storm :  then  I  gave  to  them  those  who  shall  overrun 
them.  (Comp.  Isai.  viii.  8;  Dan.  xi.  10,  and  Jer. 
V.  22;  xxiii.  9).  In  overrun  is  evidently  an  al- 
lusion to  whirlwind,  to  which  sweep  points, 
and  the  verse  forms  a  sort  of  circle,  the  end  return- 
ing to  the  beginning.  The  plural  overrw?*  intimates 
that  in  reality  a  number  of  persons  would  repre- 
sent this  storm.  Comp.  ver.  16. — The  certainly 
peculiar  expression  tJ^.S^I  for  then  I  appointed  for 
them,  hung  over  them,  is  explained  by  supposing 
that  the  prophet  intended  a  play  upon  the  words 

njxn,  D":xn. 

Vers.  14,  15.  What  is  then  the  ground  on 
■which  w^e  remain?  .  .  .  and  behold  terror. 

The  people  themselves  relate  how  that  which  was 
determined  in  the  secret  counsels  of  Providence 
was  actually  carried  out.  The  prophet  portrays 
how  the  people,  seized  by  the  foreboding  of 
threatening  destruction,  felt  themselves  insecure 
in  their  abodes,  and  concluded  to  flee  to  the  for- 
tified cities.-     nD~7j.*   csLMsal  z=z  to hy?     Comp.  ix. 

11;  Job  xiii.  14.     Yet  I  would  take  7^  at  the 

same  time  as  local:  on  what?  on  what  insecure 
ground  are  we  sitting?  I  endeavored  tocxpi'css 
this  double  sense  in  the  translation. — Assem- 
ble, ftc,  taken  verbatim  from  iv.  5.  The  people 
thus  do  something  to  which  the  Lord  had  previ- 
ously summoned  them  by  His  prophet,    but  to 


follow  this  advice  now  will  not  avail,  since  they 
so  long  openly  transgressed  the  holy  will  of  God, 
as  revealed  in  His  law.  In  all  their  measures 
for  flight  they  have  this  consciousness:  there  is 
no  help,  we  are  already  lost. — And  perish 
there.  Not  to  be  saved,  but  only  to  perish 
somewhat  later,  to  obtain  a  little  respite,  do  they 
flee  to  the  cities. — For  Jehovah,  etc.  They 
know  that  their  destruction  is  already  deter- 
mined upon,  and  that  they  bear  death,  as  it  were, 
in  tueir  bodies  into  the  cities.  This  is  the  sense 
of  given  us  water  of  poison,  etc.  Comp.  ix. 
14;  xxiii.  15,  and  xxv.  15,  17;  Lam.  iii.  15;  Ps. 
Ix.  5.  On  tyxi  comp.  Winer,  R.  W.  B.,  s.  v. 
Gift. — Vain  therefore  is  also  the  hope,  which  they 
still  maintain,  because  every  man  hopes  while 
he  lives.     This  passage  is  repealed  in  xiv.  19. 

Ver.  16.  From  Dan  .  .  that  dwelt  therein. 
Hemistich  a  states  the  cause  of  the  terror,  again  re- 
ferring to  a  former  declaration  (iv.  16;  vi.  22, 
23).  It  appears  that  these  words  belong  still  to 
the  speech  of  the  Israelites,  at  least  these  may 
thus  speak,  since  the  words  contain  only  the  de- 
scription of  what  was  then  perceived.  But  he- 
mistich b  describes  the  future  as  though  it  had 
already  taken  place.     This  could   be  done    only 

by  the  prophet ;  lSjX'1  1N3_'1  are  therefore  pro- 
phetic aorists.  Comp.  N.vegelsb.  Gr.  J  88,  5. 
[Green's  Gr.  §  262,  4.— S.  R.  A.]  — The  pro- 
phet interposes  with  and  they  came,  etc.,  to  say 
that  the  terror  was  not  au  empty  one,  but  that  the 
enemy  thus  announced  had  really  come.  The 
singular  suffixes  refer  to  the  enemy  represented 
as  a  single  person.  Comp.  iv.  13. — T'SX  of 
horses,  xlvii.  3;  1.  11. 

Ver.  17.  For  behold,  I  send  .  .  .  saith  Je- 
hovah. The  discourse  is  now  again  figurative 
and  Jehovah  speaks  Himself,  as  in  the  beginning 
of  the  strophe,  ver.  13.  We  might  compare  a 
strophe  like  this  with  the  variations  of  a  musical 
theme.  The  more  frequently  the  theme  changes 
its  form,  the  more  impression  does  it  make,  the 
more  ways  of  entrance  are  opened  to  it.  That 
this  verse  has  the  character  of  a  conclusion  ia 
seen,  (a)  from  the  return  to  the  beginning,  (6)from 
the  climax,  which  is  expressed  in  the  figure  of 
serpents  inaccessible  to  all  charms.  This  con- 
tains the  idea  of  the  most  intensive  destruction, 
excluding  all  possibility  of  healing.  Since  this 
is  the  main  thought  of  the  verse  ''3  is  best  re- 
ferred to  ver.  16,  b. : — Thus  is  it,  for,  etc.  The 
Lord  Himself  confirms  the  words  of  the  prophet. 
This  verse  has  moreover  a  striking  resemblance 
to  Gen.  xlix.  17,  and  it  would  not  be  impossible 
that  the  prophet,  reminded  by  the  mention  of 
D;in  of  the  prophecy  concerning  him,  makes  use 
of  the  images  there  employed  for  his  description 

of  the  enemy  coming  from  Dan. — '^i'^^  (Isai.  xi. 

8;  lix.  5;  Prov.  xxiii.  32)   and  ^3X  (Isai.    xiv. 

20)  so  called  probably  a  silnlardo  (so  Gesen. 
Thes.,  Fuerst,  Drechsler)  are  regarded  by 
most  modern  commentators,  following  in  this 
Aquila  and  the  Vulgate  (the  LXX.  vary)  as  the 
basilisk,  a  small,  exceedingly  poisonous  kind  of 
viper.  On  no  charm,  etc.,  comp.  Ps.  Iviii.  6, 
6,   [4,  5]. 


106 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH, 


8,   Continuation:  The  visitation  ends  with  the  carrying  away  captive  of  Israel,  to  the  inexpressible  grief  oj 

the  people  and  of  the  prophet. 

VIII.  18-23. 

18  O  my  comfort'  in  the  sorrow ! 
My  heart  within  me  is  faint. 

19  Hark !  a  cry  of  my  people  from  distant'  lands  : 

"  Is  Jehovah  not  in  Zion,  or  her  king  not  in  her  ?"  ^ 

"  Why  have  they  provoked  me  to  anger  with  their  images, 

With  their  foreign  vanities  ?" 

20  "  The  harvest  is  past,  the  fruit-gathering  is  over, 
And  we  are  not  saved !" 

21  For  the  wound  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  am  I  wounded,* 
I  go  mourning ;  horror  hath  seized  me. 

22  Is  there  no  balsam  in  Gilead  ? 
Is  there  no  physician  there  ? 

Why  then  proceeds  not  the  healing  of  the  daughter  of  my  people? 

23  O  that  mine  head  were  waters,* 
And  mine  eye  a  fountain  of  tears, 
That  I  might  weep  day  and  night 

For  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people ! 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Yer_  ig. JTJ''^30  is  aT"?  Aey.— The  radix  J73  illuminate,  beam  upon,  (in  Arabic  of  the  rising  sun)  occurs  only  in 

Hiphil:  Am.  v.  9;  Ps.  xxxix.  13;  Jobix.  27;  x.  20.  It  is  formed  like  jT'3T0  (multitude,  fulness,  increase,  Levit.  xxiii. 
37),  n'J^'^O  {pastio,  flock,  Jer.  xxiii.  1),  r\^2W0  (copy.  Numb,  xxxiii.  52).  Comp.  Olsh.  §  218,  a.  The  meaning  is  there- 
fore :  beaming,  enlightening,  exhilaration.  [Hexdersos  renders :  my  exhilaration  within  me  is  sorrow.  Notes,  with  a 
better  sense:  0  where  is  consolation  for  my  sorrow?— S.  R.  A.]  The  construction  with  ^p_  (comp.  Am.  v.  9)  appears  to  be 
founded  on  the  radical  meaning ,  0  beam  on  sorrow !  The  suffix  of  the  first  person  refers  to  the  whole,  which  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  single  conception,  in  like  manner  as  in  7131  '^31^.  IJ/  'pHD,  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  63,  4,  g.    According  to 

the  Keri  and  even  according  to  the  Ghethibh  of  several  codices  of  Kennicott  and  De  Rossi  we  should  read  TCJ  '  73D  in 
two  words,  which  readina;  the  LXX.  seem  to  follow  (xai  Sii^ovTai  v^ti?  afiara  fier'  oSui/rj;)  yet  without  its  being  possible  to 
give  to  this  ■'iT'J  a  satisfactory  meaning.     For  many  other  ex.p]  miti.jiis,  comp.  xiosENMOELLER. 

2  Ver.  19.— The  form  D'pmD  is  found  besides  only  in  Isai.  xxxiii.  17. 

3  Ver.  21.— ^3I!;n  Hopli.  here  only.    The  Niph  in  this  sense  is  frequent,  ex.  gr.,  Jer.  xxiii.  9, 
*  [Ver.  23.— In  the  A.  V.  this  verse  is  ix.  1,  but  not  in  the  Hebrew.— S.  R.  A.] 

of  the  prophet:  the  cause  of  his  sorrow  is  the 
misery  of  his  people  (ver.  21)  being  hopeless  (ver. 
22),  wherefore  nothing  remains  for  the  prophet 
but  to  bewail  this  misery  witli  endless  weeping 
(ver.  23).  Observe  also  in  this  strophe  the  dra- 
matic character  of  the  change  in  persons. 

Ver.  18.  O  my  comfort  .  .  .  is  faint.  Comp. 
the  Text.  ANuUuAM.rems. — In  the  words  within 
me  is  contained  the  idea  of  the  Aeat-'_y  heart,  which 
is  felt  as  an  oppression  or  burden.  Comp.  Ps.  xlii. 
6,  7,  12;  xliii.  5;  cxlii.  4;  coll.  xxxix.  4;  Lam. 
i.  20. 

Ver.  19.  Hark!  a  cry  .  .  foreign  vanities. 
The  prophet  beliolds  Israel  in  txih;.  Their  eyes 
are  still  turned  towards  Zion  as  the  chosen  abode 
of  the  God  of  Israel  (comp.  Ps.  xiv.  7;  xx.  3; 
cxxviii.  5;  cxxxiv.  3;  Isai.  xxxvii.  32,  etc.)  but 
it  appears  that  He  has  forsaken  it.  Comp.  Mic. 
iv.  '.). — Tills  painful  (juestion  is  answered  by  the 
Lord  Hiu)self,  who  continues  and  accounts  for  this 
impression.     The    expression  provoked  to  angvr 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  strophe,  in  which  the  nameless  grief  of 
the  prophet  at  the  destruction  of  his  people  is 
expressed  in  simple  but  highly  poetical  words, 
serves  for  the  elucidation  and  completion  of  the 
previous  one.  In  that  the  manner  of  the  de- 
struction, which  the  Northern  enemy  was  to  in- 
flict, was  not  distinctly  designated;  at  the  most 
ver.  13  contained  a  dim  intimation  of  a  threat- 
ening captivity.  That  this  will  be  the  punish- 
ment of  the  people,  is  now  distinctly  expressed 
in  this  strophe.  In  deep  sorrow  (ver.  18),  tiie 
prophet  tells  us  that  he  has  heard  from  distant 
lands  the  mournful  question  of  his  people,  whe- 
ther .Jehovah  is  no  longer  in  Zion  (ver.  19,  a). 
To  this  the  answer  of  the  Lord  is:  This  is  the 
punishment  of  idolatry  (ver.  10,  h). — New  la- 
mentation of  the  people :  respite  after  respite  and 
no  salvation!     (Ver.    20). — Finally  the  wailing 


CHAP.  VIII.  18-23. 


107 


with  their  images  reminds  us  of  Deut.  xxxii.  21 ;  1 
Ki.  xvi.  13,  26.  Comp.  Jer.  xiv.  22;  Ps.  xxxi.  7. 

Ver.  20.  The  harvest  is  passed  .  .  .  not 
saved.  Period  after  period  elapses  witiiout 
help  coming  (comp.  Isai.  lis.  9).  Without  ob- 
serving ver.  19,  a,  or  the  time  when  this  dis- 
course was  composed,  most  of  the  ancient  com- 
mentators refer  these  words  to  the  vain  expecta- 
tion of  Egyptian  help,  which  presupposes  2  Ki. 
xxiv.  1 ;  or  to  that  which  is  expressly  announced 
in  Jer.  xxxvii.  5.  On  the  other  hand  Schnurber 
correctly  remarks  that  the  expression  has  some- 
what of  a  proverbial  character.  Eveh  those  who 
are  in  exile  still  hope,  as  is  also  intimated  in  ver. 
19  b,  but  still  in  vain. 

Vers.  21,  22.  For  the  wound  .  .  the  daugh- 
ter of  my  people. — I  go  mourning.  Comp.  iv. 
28  ;  xiv.  2.  The  prophet  is  inwardly  broken,  and 
to  this  corresponds  his  outward  appearance. 
— The  prophet  tells  us  in  ver.  22  why  the  wound 
of  his  people  causes  him  so  much  pain:  it  is  not 
only  a  very  dangerous  one,  as  is  clear  from  all 
that  precedes,  but  also,  which  is  the  worst,  no 
one  heals  it.  It  is  as  though  Gilead  no  longer 
possessed  any  balsam,  or  any  man  skilful  in  the 
application  of  it,  though  the  balsam  was  espe- 
cially, according  to  Pliny  [Hist.  Nat.,  XII.  54) 
exclusively,  to  be  found  in  Palestine.  The  ques- 
tion :  "  Is  there  no  balsam,"  e^c,  has  then  the 
meaning;  Is  Israel  wanting  in  that  which  was 
given  to  him  in  preference  to  all  other  nations? 
It  is  plain  that  the  prophet  here  alludes  to  the 
relation  of  Israel  to  Jehovah,  as  the  peculiar 
"  glory  of  the  land."     (Gen.  xliii.   11,   song  = 

best  fruits,  of  the  land).  Whether  '"^V  is  pre- 
cisely the  resin  of  the  balsam-plant,  which  else- 
where is  called  Dii'3,  Dt^S.  or  UW2,  is  uncertain. 

T  T 

Comp.  Winer,  R.  W.B.  s.  v.  Balsam.  It  is  men- 
tioned as  a  remedy  also  in  Jer.  xlvi.  11 ;  li.  8,  as 
an  article  of  commerce.  Gen.  xliii.  11 ;  Ezek. 
xxvii.  17. — Is  there  no  physician  there? 
Graf  would  not  refer  there  to  Gilead,  bec;iuse 
it  is  not  known  that  physicians  were  fetched 
from  thence.  But  we  may  well  suppose  that  la 
the  land  of  the  balsam  the  use  of  it  was  best 
understood.  The  prophet  therefore  wishes  only 
to  say  :  Is  there  then  in  Israel,  where  the  true 
medicina  salutis  is  found,  no  one  who  understands 
how  to  make  the  application  of  it  ?  He  silently 
answers  this  question  in  the  negative,  and  gives 
the  reason  for  it  in  what  follows.  —  The  heal- 
ing. The  same  expression  in  xxx.  17  ;  xxxiii. 
6;  2  Chron.  xxiv.  13;  Neh.  iv.  1.  Comp.  Isa. 
Iviii.  8.  The  expression  "bandage"  does  not 
suit  in  all  these  passages,  but  "healing  "  does 
everywhere.     Comp.  Rosenm.  ad  loc. 

Ver.  23.  O  that  mine  head  .  .  .  daughter 
of  my  people.  The  poetiy  of  suffering  is 
presented  most  touchingly  in  these  brief  but 
thrilling  words.  It  is'  the  wish  of  the  propliet 
that  the  whole  interior  of  his  head  migiit  dis- 
solve into  water,  so  that  his  eyes  might  be  inex- 
haustible fountains  of  tears.  For  all  he  can  do 
is  to  weep,  and  this  is  his  only  comfort. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  4.  "In  this  consists  our  human 
blindness  in  spiritual  matters,  that  he  who  has 


fallen  cannot  imagine  he  has  fallen,  he  who  errg 
will  not  be  convinced  that  he  errs.  For  the  na- 
tural man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
of  God :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him,  1 
Cor  ii.  14."  Cramer. — '■'Labi  humanum  est,  re- 
surgere  Christianum,  nolle    resurgere    diabolicum." 

FoRSTER. 

2.  On  ver.  6.  "  The  people  will  still  go  astray 
more  and  more,  they  hold  so  fast  to  their  false 
worship  that  they  will  not  be  turned  away,  and 
this  because  they  have  no  proper  place :  because 
they  have  the  service  of  God  in  reserve  only  au 
pis  aller,  it  does  not  so  much  concern  them 
whether  they  lie  or  steal,  whether  they  go  right 
or  wrong,  they  do  not  wish  to  go  anywhere." 

ZiNZENUORF. 

3.  On  ver.  7.  "  God  opens  to  us  the  book  of 
nature  not  only  that  we  may  behold  as  in  a  mir- 
ror the  divine  wisdom  and  omnipotence,  but  that 
we  may  also  take  thence  good  examples  of  dis- 
cipline and  improvement.  Isa.  i.  3;  Prov.  vi.  6. 
For  if  we  behold  such  examples  in  nature  we 
ought  surely  to  be  ashamed  that  irrational  crea- 
tures are  so  willing  and  obedient,  and  do  that 
for  which  they  are  created,  but  we  men  (who 
were  made  in  His  image  and  sealed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  on  the  day  of  redemption)  are  so 
opposed,  rebellious  and  disobedient  to  Him. 
This  will  certainly,  in  the  case  of  no  amend- 
ment, lead  to  a  devilish  bad  ending."  Crajier. 

4.  On  ver.  5.  '■' Manifeste  docet  nos,  malUiam 
noil  esse  opus  naturse,  sed  voluntatis  (^n-poaipeaeuir)." 
Theouoret. 

5.  On  ver.  7.  "Chrysostom,  homil  de  Turture 
seu  de  virtute  :  turturem  dicit  omnem  castam  ecclcsi- 
aiu,  hirundinem  vero  Joannem  hominuia  amutorem, 
cicadam  autem  eloquentissimum  Paulum,  ecclesix 
organum."   Ghislerus. 

6.  On  ver.  8.  "  Jeremiah  finds  some  of  those 
also  among  us,  who  (according  to  this  descrip- 
tion of  the  theologians  of  his  country)  either 
deduce  propositions  from  the  Scriptures  which  a 
child  may  see  are  not  so,  or  make  up  sentences 
and  bring  them  to  the  people,  and  when  they 
are  asked:  Where  is  that  in  the  Bible?  reply 
unabashed  :  0  there  is  much  in  the  Bible  that  is 
no  longer  applicable!  or,  All  that  is  true  is  not 
in  the  Bible."    Zi.nzendokf. 

7.  On  ver.  9.  Ghislerus  here  remarks  that 
the  concionatores  bene  praedicanles  sed  male  operan- 
tes  are  put  to  shame  and  judged  by  the  progress 
in  wisdom  and  virtue  of  their  hearers.  He  ad- 
duces a  passage  from  the  18th  Sermon  of  Ber- 
nard on  the  Song  of  Solomon,  where  it  is  said 
that  the  preacher  should  be  concha  not  canalis. 
'■'■Hie  pxne  siinul  et  recipit  et  refundlt ;  ilia  vera 
donee  implcatur  exspectat,  et  sic  quod  superabundat 
sine  sua  damno  communicat." 

8.  On  ver.  13.  Compare  here  Luke  xiii.  6  sqq. 
and  the  New  Year's  hymn  of  Rambach,  "One 
yenr  after  another  comes,"  especially  ver.  3. 
"  Hew  down,  said  He,  the  barren  tree,"  etc. 

9.  On  ver.  14.  "  Despair  is  the  last  point  to 
which  God  in  His  just  judgments  allows  the 
godless  to  fall  (Matt,  xxvii.  4,  5).  Despairing 
men  know  indeed  God's  just  judgment  concern- 
ing them,  but  not  so  that  they  are  penitent  for 
their  sins  (Gen.  iv.  13,  14)."   Starke. 

10.  On  ver.  16.  In  accordance  with  the  view 
widely  extended  among  the  church  fathers  and 


108 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


supported  by  Gen.  xUx.  17  (see  Delitzsch  ad.  h. 
I.),  that  the  Antichrist  should  proceed  from  Dan 
(comp.  also  Levit.  xxiv.  11  and  the  supposed 
origin  of  Judas  Iscariot  from  the  tribe  of  l)an). 
Iren^us  {Adv.  Hier.  V.  30)  remarks  on  this  pas- 
sage :  "  Jeremias  non  solum  subitaneum  Antichristi 
adventum  sed  et  tribum,  ex  quo  veniet,  manifestavit 
dicens ;  ex  Ban  audiemus  vocem  velocitatis  equorum 
ejus,  etc.  Et  propter  hoc  non  adnumeratur  tribus 
hxt  in  Apocalypsi  (vii.  5-8)  cum  his  quse  salvan- 
tur." 

11.  On  ver.  16.  "As  the  snorting  of  the 
horses  sounded  long  before  in  the  ears  of  the 
prophet,  so  shall  the  voice  of  Christ  forever 
sound  in  our  ears  :  '  Arise  ye  dead  and  come  to 
judgment.'"    Cramer. 

12.  On  ver.  17.  "  Frustra  ad  Deum  preces  fun- 
dunt  adversus  serpentem  antiquum  qui  Dei  prsecepta 
contemserint."  Ghislerus. 

13.  On  ver.  21.  "Our  connection  with  those 
who  hear  us  continually  is  so  full,  so  intimate, 
so  tender,  no  one  can  understand  it  who  has  not 
experienced  it.  We  get  love,  we  get  somewhat 
from  the  heart,  which  was  broken  for  its  ene- 
mies, and  which  could  cry  even  on  the  cross  : 
Father,  forgive  them,  they  know  not  what  they 

do."     ZiNZENDORF. 

14.  On  ver.  22.  «'  A  pastor  of  a  separatistic 
spirit  cannot  make  many  things  whole,  and  it 
will  be  better  for  him  to  testify  in  earnest  for  the 
building  up  of  those  whom  he  would  rather  see 
pulled  down. — He  who  will  help  his  religion  must 
regard  it  not  as  a  Babylon,  but  as  a  broken  Zion, 
and  this  from  his  heart ;  then  he  asks  for  salve 
and  help,  then  he  mourns  for  the  hurt  of  Joseph." 

ZiNZENDORF. 

15.  On  ver.  22.  "iVore  solum  in  prsesenti  loco, 
aed  et  in  multis  aliis  testimoniis  scripturarum  inveni- 
mus  resinam  Galaadpro  poenitentia  poniatque  medi- 
camine,  mirarique  nunc  Deum,  quare  vulnera  Jeru- 
salem, nequaquam  curata  sint,  et  necdum  cicatrices 
obduxerint  cutem,  eo  quod  non  sint  prophetse  nee 
sacerdotes,  quorum  debeant  curari  medicamine.^' 
Jerome. 

16.  On  ver.  23.  The  tears  of  Jeremiah  are  a 
^irelude  and  type  of  the  tears  which  the  Lord 
wept  over  Jerusalem.  Luke  xix.  41.  As  the 
blood  of  Abel  cried  to  heaven  so  do  these  tears, 
and  it  is  here  tirst  truly  manifest  how  ruinous  it 
is  for  men  when  the  servants  of  God  exercise 
their  office  among  them  not  with  joy  but  with 
sighs  (Heb.  xiii.  17). 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  4-9.  An  earnest  admonition  to  all 
who  know  that  they  are  walking  in  perverse 
ways.  They  are  admonished  1.  to  uprightness. 
They  are  (a)  not  to  palliate  their  sins,  (6)  least 
of  all  to  palliate  them  by  a  false  interpretation 
of  the  divine  word,  either  a.  themselves  or  ft. 
allow  others  to  do  it  (vers.  8,  9). — 2.  To  speedy 
return,  for  (a)  he  who  returns  betimes  may  be 
helped  (ver.  4  the  falling,  the  erring,  ver.  7  the 
migratory  birds) ;  (6)  but  he  who  wilfully  per- 
sists goes  to  ruin  (ver.  6,  the  mad  stallion). 
[Henry  :  Those  who  persist  in  sin  oppose  1.  the 
dictates  of  reason  (vers   4  and  5),  2.  the  dictates 


of  conscience  (ver.  6),  3.  the  dictates  of  Provi- 
dence (the  judgment  of  the  Lord,  ver.  7),  4.  the 
dictates  of  the  written  word  (vers.  8  and  9). — 
S.  R.  A.J 

2.  On  vers.  4-7.  God's  complaint  of  the  im- 
penitence of  His  people.  1.  How  far  this  ap- 
plies to  us;  2.  what  should  awaken  us  to  repent- 
ance ;  3.  what  true  repentance  is.  Brandt. 
Epistelpredigten. 

3.  On  vers.  10-13.  Signs  of  the  decline  and 
fall  of  a  nation.  1.  Avarice  reigns.  2.  Priests 
and  prophets  teaching  false  worship,  hush  up  and 
deceive  the  people  with  false  comfort.  Deacon 
Hauber,  in  Palmer's  Casual-Reden.  2te  Folge. 
I.  Stutfgardt,  1860. 

4  On  vers.  18-23.  In  times  of  great  distress 
in  the  church  this  text  gives  us  occasion  to  con- 
sider I.  Zion's  complaint.  This  is  1.  (in  its  sub- 
ject) (a)  general  (ver.  19,  a),  (b)  special,  of  the 
true  servants  of  the  church  (vers.  21,  23);  2. 
(in  its  object)  directed  (a)  to  being  (for  the  mo- 
ment) forsaken  (ver.  19  b),  {b)  to  the  delay  of 
help  (ver.  20).  II.  Zion's  guilt  (ver.  19  b). 
III.  Zion's  salvation.  This  is  conditioned  (a)  by 
the  presence  of  the  true  means  of  salvation 
(word  and  sacraments),  (6)  by  the  true  applica- 
tion of  the  same. 

5.  On  vers.  20-22.  The  question  of  the  divine 
word  in  our  harvest-complaint  and  the  answer 
of  the  divine  word  to  our  harvest-question.  1. 
Our  harvest-complaint  runs  thus  :  the  harvest  is 
past,  the  summer  is  ended  and  no  help  is  come 
to  us.  Then  God's  word  asks  thee:  (a)  What  is 
at  fault  ?  Is  it  not  thy  sin  ?  (b)  Is  it  really  true 
that  there  was  no  help  for  thee  ?  2.  Our  harvest 
question  runs:  Is  there  then  no  salve  in  Gilead? 
Or  is  there  no  physician  there?  Why  then  is 
not  the  daughter  of  my  people  healed?  To  this 
the  word  of  God  answers  :  (a)  0  yes,  salve  and 
physician  are  there.  The  salve  is  the  word  of 
the  fathers  and  the  physician  is  thy  Lord.  (6) 
It  is  because  the  salve  and  the  physician  are  not 
employed  that  our  people  are  not  healed.  Flo- 
ret, 1862. 

6.  [On  ver.  20.  1.  Every  person  who  still  re- 
mains in  sin  may  at  the  close  of  the  year  use- 
fully adopt  this  lamentation.  2.  A  season  of 
religious  revival  is  also  eminently  a  time  of  har- 
vest, and  such  as  lose  this  season  may  usefully 
adopt  this  lamentation.  3.  Another  situation  to 
which  this  melancholy  reflection  is  peculiarly 
liable  is  that  of  a  dying  sinner.  Dwight — "  There 
is  in  this  text  I.  The  acknowledgment  of  oppor- 
tunity. II.  The  confession  of  neglect.  III. 
The  anticipation  of  doom."    J.  W.  W.— S.  R.  A.] 

7.  [On  ver.  22.  I.  Sin  prevails  as  a  disease. 
It  is  (a)  hereditary,  (6)  pervading,  (c)  vital  and  in- 
veterate, {d)  deceitful,  (e)  often  painful,  (/)  mortal. 
II.  There  is  a  physician.  III.  How  then  does 
tins  condition  exist?  Because  men  are  (a)  in- 
sensible of  need,  (6)  disposed  to  procrastinate, 
(c)  will  not  take  the  remedy  simply.  Dr.  A. 
Thomson,  of  Edinburgh. — S.  K.  A.] 

8.  [On  ver.  23.  "  The  same  word  in  Hebrew 
signifies  both  the  eye  and  a  fountain,  as  if  in 
this  land  of  sorrows  our  eyes  were  designed 
rather  for  weeping  than  seeing."  Henry. — S. 
R.  A.] 


CHAP.  IX.  1-8. 


109 


III.  THIRD  CHARGE :  the  general  entire  absence  op  truth  and  i aith. 

IX.  1-21. 

1.  Description  of  the  prevailing  deceit. 

IX.  1-8. 

1  O  that  I  had*  in  the  desert  a  travellers'  lodge, 
That  I  might  leave  my  people  and  go  from  them : 
For  they  are  all  adulterers,  a  gang  of  knaves, 

2  And  bend^  their  tongue  as  their  bow  of  deceit ; 
And  not  by  truth  do  they  prevail  in  the  land, 
But  proceed  from  wickedness  to  wickedness : 
But  Me  they  knew  not,  saith  Jehovah. 

3  Guard  ye  every  one  against  his  neighbor, 
And  trust  no  brother ; 

For  every  brother  practices  deceit, 
And  every  neighbor  slanders. 

4  One  overreaches^  another,  and  truth  they  speak  not ; 
They  taught  their  tongues  to  speak  lies, 

And  weary  themselves  to  commit  iniquity.* 

5  Thy  habitation  is  in  the  midst  of  deceit  f 

And  through  deceit  they  refuse  to  know  Me,  saith  Jehovah. 

6  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth : 
Behold,  I  melt  them  and  try  them  ; 

For  how  should  I  act  in  view  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  ? 

7  A  deadly  arrow®  is  their  tongue,  they  speak  deceit  ; 
With  the  mouth  they  speak''  to  their  neighbor  peaceably, 
But  in  the  heart^  they  lay  snares. 

8  Should  I  not  visit  them  for  such  things?  saith  Jehovah, 
Or  should  not  my  soul  avenge  itself  on  a  people  like  this  ? 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— ''Jjri'~''D-    Comp.  P8.  Iv.  7,  and  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  ?  78. 

2  Ver.  2.— The  Masoretes  punctuate  OTI"!  (the  form  like  ?p3"T'1_  1  Sam.  xiv.  22 ;  xxxi.  2 ;  ^13nr>  Job  sis..  3)  pro- 
bably because  they  regarded  the  Hiphil  as  causative.  But  for  various  reasons  {Vid.  Exeg.  and  Crit.)  it  is  better  with 
HlTZlG,  Graf  and  Meier  to  suppose  that  the  reading,  which  corresjiouds  to  the  consonants,  !|3"^T1  i*  the  original  and 

correct.  i  i  i  i 

3  Ver.  4.— nnri'-    Comp.  lljMnj"^  Job  xiii.  9,  and  ^r\TV  1  K^i-  2iviii. 27.    Xhe  forms  may  be  Piel  from  ^Hn  or  Hiphil 

from  SSr^.    Comp.  Olsh.  g  257.    Ewa'ld,  §  127,  (^. 

*  Ver!^4.— nU'n  ('"•  21)  Inf-  constr.,  as  n^n  Ezek.  xxi.  15,  ^2X\  Hos.  vi.  9.— Comp.  Ewald,  g  238,  c;  Olshausen, 

gl91,  5. 

5  Ver.  6. — Graf  has  rightly  declared  against  the  alteration  of  the  text,  while  Ewald,  appealing  to  the  LXX.,  proposes 

nD1D3  nD"liD  IJiriS  'nh  2W  ^InSj.    The  Infinitive  HSK'  is  frequently  used  with  suflBxes ;  Ps.  xxvii.  4;  cxxxix.  2;  1 

Ki.  v'iii.'sO;  Ruth  ii.  7,'e<c. 

6  Ver.  7.— Instead  of  the  Chethibh  \fiT\W  jugulans,  throttling,  killing,  the  Keri  would  read  riinE?  which  elsewhere 

occurs  only  with  3riT  (1  Kings  x.  16, 17 ;  2  Chron.  ix.  15)  and  seems  to  denote  gold  beaten  thin.    Although  from  this  the 

TT 

meaning  "  pointed  "  may  be  derived,  which  is  also  expressed  by  the  Syriac  and  Chaldee,  yet  it  is  better  to  adhere  to  the 
reading  of  the  text  and  to  translate,  a  deadly  murderous  arrow. 

'  Ver.  7. — T31.  The  change  of  number  is  analogous  to  the  frequently  occurring  change  of  person.  Comp.  Oram,  g  101, 
Anm. 

8  Ver.  8.— mx.  The  suffix  is  most  naturally  referred  to  the  subject  like  that  of  IB'^pS  ver.  8.     Vide  v.  9,29. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

As  the  main  thought  of  the  preceding  chapter 
was  contained  in  vers.  4-9  so  the  main  thought 


of  the  present  is  found  in  vers.  1-8.  The  rest  is 
added  as  a  sequel.  As  in  ch.  viii.  the  stiiF-necked 
impenitence  of  Israel  is  censured,  so  here  (as  the 
third  charge)  their  falseness  in  every  relation. 
The  two  following  strophes  (vers.  9-15  and  vera. 


110 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


16-21)  relate  to  the  punishment  threatened  by 
God.  In  vers.  1-8  the  prophet  portrays  the  want 
of  fidelity  and  trust,  the  falseness,  malicious  de- 
sire to  defame,  which  was  prevalent  among  his 
contemporaries  (vers.  1-5)  and  which  would 
compel  the  Lord  to  subject  them  to  the  punish- 
ment of  a  severe  melting  and  refining  process, 
(vers.  6-8). 

Ver.  1.  O  that  I  had  in  the  desert  ...  a 
gang  of  knaves.  On  travellers'  lodge  comp. 
xiv.  8.  Living  with  his  godless  countrymen  is 
so  intolerable  to  the  prophet  that  he  would  pre- 
fer the  scanty  protection  of  a  tent  erected  in  the 
desert  to  his  present  residence.  [Henderson 
supposes  the  discomfort  of  a  caravanserai  to  be 
alluded  to. — S.  R.  A.] — Adulterers.  The  vio- 
lation of  conjugal  fidelity  or  of  the  fidelity  due 
to  a  neighbor  by  the  invasion  of  his  conjugal 
rights  was  censured  by  the  prophet  in  the  se- 
cond discourse,  in  the  passage  where  he  re- 
proaches the  Israelites  with  their   violations  of 

faith,  V.  7,  8. — HJj,  he  who  acts  secretly  [Vide, 
Fuerst)  who  deals  in  falsehood,  deceit  and  trea- 
chery in  general.  This  reproach  also  is  found 
in  ver.  11. 

Ver.  2.  And  bend  their  tongue  .  .  .  saith 
Jehovah.  The  imperfect  with  Vau  consecu- 
tive here  designates  not  a  single  act,  but  oft  re- 
curring acts,  from  which  this  course  is  to  be  un- 
derstood as  habitual;  this  case  is  therefore  to  be 
numbered  among  those  in  which  the  imperfect 
with  Vau  consec.  is  used  to  designate  a  perma- 
nent quality.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  88,  9. — 
According  to  the  Masoretes  we  must  read:  they 
caused  their  tongue  to  tread  the  bow  of  deceit. 
In  this  way  the  tongue  would  not  be  compared 
to  a  bow,  (which  might  appear  unsuitable  to  the 
Masoretes),  but  to  an  archer,  and  the  bow  would 
then  be  a  purely  ideal  conception,  a  figure  for 
the  means  and  instrument  of  the  intellectual  ac- 
tivity connected  with  the  tongue.  But  this  would 
be  a  very  artificial  mode  of  expression.  Since 
the  tongue  is  elsewhere  compared  with  a  sword, 
(Ps.  Ivii.  4;  Ixiv.  3)  and  an  arrow  {infra  ver.  7) 
it  may  also  be  compared  with  a  bow  and  in  Fs. 
Ixiv.  3  this  is  the  fundamentalconception. — bow 
is  used  as  a  simile  in  apposition  with  tongue. 
Comp.  Ps.  xxii.  13;  xi.  1.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  72, 
4. — IDeceit  may  according  to  the  sense  be  re- 
ferred either  to  6ewc?  or  6ow,  but  on  account  of 
its  position  it  is  better  to  refer  it  to  the  latter. 
On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  63, 
4,  g. — And  not  by  truth.  The  prophet  has 
especially  the  rulers  in  view.     Comp.  Ps.  xii.  4, 

nj^rDX7  diflfercnt  from  v.  3  ;    7  here  indicates  the 

T  •.•  : 

norm  us  in  D-JII/dS,  ^y))i^h    Vid.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 

T  :    •  -         T :  -   -  ' 

^112,  5,  b. — On  'wickedness  to  w^ickedness. 
Comp.  XXV.  32. 

Ver.  3.   Guard  ye  .  .  slanders.    Comp.  Mic. 
?ii.  5,  6. — On  every  brother,  etc.  Comp.  Nae- 


gelsb. Gr.,  §  82,  1.— JpJT"  3p;r.  Since  this  verb 
in  Kal  occurs  besides  only  in  Gen.  xxvii.  3G  and 
Hos.  xii.  4,  both  times  of  Jacob  (it  is  found  in 
Piel  in  Job  xxxvii.  4)  it  is  certainly  probable  that 
the  prophet,  speaking  here  of  the  deceit  prac- 
tised by  one  brother  towards  another,  had  this 
early  instance  in  view  (Gen.  xxv.  29  sqq. ;  xxvii. 

35). — 17(1"'  70*^  go  about  for  tale-bearing.  Vide 
supra  vi.  28. 

Ver.  4.  One  overreaches  another  .  .  . 
to  commit  iniquity.— They  taught.  Comp. 

ii.  33.  The  Niphal  of  TMO  signifies  elsewhere 
"to  be  weary,  disgusted  with  a  thing"  (vi.  11; 
XV.  6  ;  XX.  9).  This  meaning  does  not  suit  here. 
The  connection  requires  the  meaning  to  weary 
one's  self.     Comp.  Gen.  xix.  11  ;  Isai.  xvi.  12. 

Ver.  5.  Thy  habitation  .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
The  verse  has  this  object,  to  describe  the  rela- 
tion of  the  deceitful  race  to  the  prophet  and  to 
Jehovah.  They  surround  the  prophet  so  that  he 
dwells  as  the  only  honest  man  among  deceivers 
(comp.  Ps.  cxx.);  from  the  Lord  however  they 
turn  away,  the  lying  spirit  rules  them  in  such 
wise  (comp.  Gen.  xxvii.  35:  xxxiv.  13)  that  they 
know  nothing  of  God  and  desire  not  to  know  Him. 
(Comp.  V.  3). 

Ver.  6.  Therefore  .  .  daughter  of  my  peo- 
ple. A  corruption  so  deeply  rooted  and  so 
widely  extended  can  be  removed  only  by  a  pro- 
cess of  entire  melting,  which  will  certainly  be 
grievous  but  will  also  refine.  Comp.  vi.  27,  etc. 
— I'X  has  by  no  means  always  a  negative  sense, 

(as  for  example  Gen.  xliv.  34,  quomodo  ascende- 
rcm?  i.  e.,  non  ascendain)  but  as  often  a  decidedly 
positive  meaning,  ver.  18,  2  Sam.  i.  25,  27;  how 
do  ye  advise  me?  1  Kings  xii.  6.  So  the  Lord 
here  asks,  how  He  should  act,  if  not  as  already 
indicated?  He  would  say,  there  is  nothing  else 
remaining  but  to  do  this. — After  'J3D  to  supply 
r\^^,  with  reference  to  iv.  4;  vii.  12,  appears  to 

me  unnecessary,  for  'J3D  is  used  in  a  causative 
sense  even  immediately  before  names  of  persons. 
Comp.  iv.  26  ;  xxiii.  9.  In  both  these  passages 
it  is  also  evinced  by  an  explanatory  addition  that 
it  is  to  be  tuken  in  a  causative  sense. 

Vers.  7,  8.  A  deadly  arrow^  ...  on  a  peo- 
ple like  this.  It  might  appear  strange  that  the 
prophet,  after  he  had  properly  concluded  with 
ver.  6,  should  repeat  the  main  point  of  the  charge. 
But  he  evidently  intended  to  conclude  with  the 
words  repeated  from  v.  9,  29,  in  order  to  indicate 
by  this  conclusion  that  he  had  the  section  of  his 
former  discourse,  so  closely  related  to  this,  (ch. 
5)  in  view.  The  words  of  the  eighth  verse  could 
not  however  follow  immediately  on  ver.  6.  The 
words  them  for  such  things  would  thus  obtain 
a  false  reference.  The  prophet  was  therefore 
compelled  again  to  mention  the  sins  of  the 
people. 


CHAP.  IX.  9-15. 


Ill 


2.  First  punishment :  Desolation  of  the  land  and  dispersion  of  the  people. 

IX.  9-15. 

9      On  the  mountains  let  me  raise  a  weeping  and  wailing, 
And  on  the  pastures  of  the  desert  a  lamentation, 
For  they  are  desolated,  without  a  man  to  pass  through  them ; 
And  hear  no  longer  the  lowing  of  the  cattle. 
From  the  fowl  of  the  heavens  to  the  beast  they  are  fled — ^gone ! 

10  And  I  will  make  Jerusalem  a  heap  of  stones, 
The  dwelling  of  jackals ; 

And  the  cities  of  Judah  I  will  make  desolate 
Without  an  inhabitant, 

11  Who  is  the  man  who  is  wise  and  understands  this? 

And  who  is  he  to  whom  the  mouth  of  Jehovah  has  spoken, 

That  he  may  declare  such  things  ? 

Why  was  the  land  destroyed 

And  laid  waste  as  a  desert  without  a  man  to  pass  through  it? 

12  And  Jehovah  said : 

Because  they  have  forsaken  My  law  which  I  set  before  them, 
And  have  not  heard  My  voice,  nor  walked  according  to  it ; 

13  But  walked  after  the  perversity  of  their  heart, 

And  after  the  Baalim  which  their  fathers  have  taught  them ; 

14  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  God  of  Israel : 
Behold  !  I  give  to  them,  this  nation. 

Wormwood  to  eat  and  poison  water  to'*drink. 
16  And  I  scatter  them  among  nations 

Whom  neither  they  nor  their  fathers  have  known ; 
And  send  after  them  the  sword  till  I  extirpate  them. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  preceding  strophe  contained  the  main 
thought  of  the  chapter;  description  of  the  want 
of  truth  and  faith  among  the  people.  As  already 
remarked,  to  this  are  attached  two  additional 
strophes,  which  are  occupied  with  the  judgment 
provoked  by  that  moral  corruption.  The  con- 
nection of  this  strophe  with  the  preceding  is  ef- 
fected by  vers.  6  and  8,  declaring  how  the  Lord 
would  try  and  purify  the  people  and  avenge  Him- 
self upon  them.  Verses  9  and  10  describe  ac- 
cordingly the  desolation  of  the  land  ordained  as 
a  punishment;  vers.  11-13  again  set  forth  the 
main  causes  of  the  moral  corruption  (ver.  12  ne- 
gatively, ver.  13  positively) ;  vers.  14  and  15  show 
us  the  fate  of  the  inhabitants  driven  from  the 
lands,  and  serve  therefore  to  supplement  the 
figure  contained  in  verses  9  and  10. 

Vers.  9,  10.  On  the  mountains  .  .  .  make 

desolate  without  an  inhabitant.     1)1  may 

grammatically  and  according  to  the  connection 
designate  both  the  place  and  the  object.  Comp. 
in  the  latter  reference  ix.  17  ;  Ezek.  xxvi.  17  ; 
Am.  V.  1.  Yet  it  would  be  flat  and  prosaic  lo  re- 
strict *?J^  to  the  object.  The  poetic  liveliness  of 
the  style  requires  us  to  refer  it  to   the   place 


(comp.  iii.  21)  and  the  object  at  the  same  time. 
— inyj  properly  they  are  burnt,  singed,  and  then 
generally  desolated.  Comp.  ver.  11  and  the  re- 
mark on  ii.  15.  Compare  besides  xlvi.  19;  2 
Kings  xxii.  13,  17;  Neh.  i.  3  ;  ii.  17.— With- 
out a  man,  e<c.  Comp.  ver.  11,  Zeph.  iii.  6; 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  28. — fled,  etc.  Comp.  iv.  25  ;  1.  3. 
■ — And  I  •will  make,  etc.  Sudden  change  of 
subject.  Jehovah  Himself  announces  that  not 
only  the  country  but  the  cities,  Jerusalem  before 
all,  shall  be  desolated. — heap  of  stones.  Comp. 
Ii.  37. — D'Ji]}  (comp.x.  22;  xlix.  33;  Isai.  xxxiv. 

13;  XXXV.  7;  xliii.  20)  and  D;\S  (Isai.  xiii.  22) 
both  mean  jackals.  Comp.  Ges.  Thes.  S.  39, 
1457,  1511. — Make  desolate.  Comp.  ii.  15; 
iv.  17;  xxxiii.  10;  xlvi    19;  11.  29,  etc. 

Vers.  11-13.  Who  is  the  man  .  .  .  have 
taught  them.  These  three  verses  present  the 
motive  of  the  prospective  desolation.  It  might 
be  supposed  that  after  what  was  said  in  vers.  1- 
8  this  question  would  be  superfluous.  But  we 
must  not  lose  sight  of  the  tableauesque  character 
of  Jeremiah's  style.  Thus  this  strophe,  besides 
the  new  elements  contained  in  vers.  9  and  10,  14 
and  15,  presents  also  the  old  elements  in  a  modi- 
fied form.  The  real  root  of  this  moral  corrup- 
tion is  here  indicated,  viz.,  that  Israel  had  turned 
from  the  Lord  and  to  idols. — Who  is  he,  etc. 
These  worda  remind  us  of  Hos.  xiv.  9.  It  is  only 


112 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  wise  man  who  knows,  only  he  to  whom  the 
Lord  has  spoken,  who  tells  the  truth.  The  pro- 
phet presupposes  that  the  correct  knowledge  of 
the  true  cause  of  the  destruction  (ver.  9)  is  not 
such  an  easy  matter.  The  unspiritual  sense 
seeks  the  cause  everywhere  but  where  it  is  really 
to  be  found.  To  it  external  accidental  circum- 
stances are  at  fault.  To  seek  the  reason  in  them- 
selves, in  the  perversity  of  their  own  hearts,  does 
not  occur  to  the  foolish  Israelites.  Hence  it  is 
that  not  Israel  but  the  Lord  answers  in  ver.  12. 
Among  Israel  there  was  none  so  wise  as  to  know 
the  reason.  The  Lord  is  obliged  to  declare  it. — 
This  and  the  sufiBx  in  such  things  point  back 
to  vers.  8  and  9; — to  whom  expresses  in  the 
form  of  a  direct  question  in  what  relation  that 
which  was  previously  said  is  to  be  understood. 
It  is  knowledge  of  the  reason,  namely,  which  is 
treated  of. — Hfl^J  points  back  to  ^ri}f3,  ver.  9, 
and  is  to  be  taken  in  the  same  sense. — Allusions 
to  passages  in  Deuteronomy  are  here  frequent. 
Comp.  Deut.  iv.  8;  xi.  32  ;  xxviii.  15;  Jer.  xxvi. 
4;  xliv.  10. — According  to  it  refers  back  to 
my  law.  In  ver.  12  the  negative  reason  for  the 
judgment  coming  upon  the  land  is  stated ;  in 
ver,  13  the  positive.  — Walked.  Comp.  iii.  17; 


vii.  24;  Deut.  xxix.  18. —  Baalim.  Comp.  ii.  8, 
23;  Deut.  iv.  3. — On  taught  comp.  xii.  16; 
Deut.  xi.  19. 

Vers.  14,  15.  Therefore  thus  saith  Jeho- 
vah .  .  .  extirpate  them. — With  therefore 
the  prophet  proceeds  to  the  statement  of  the  con- 
sequences, naming  first  the  consequences  which 
the  sins  mentioned  in  vers.  12,  13  will  bring  upon 
the  men,  and  afterwards  those  mentioned  vers. 

9, 10,  on  the  land.  — HJ^  7  and  K'N"!  occur  together 
in  Deut.  xxix.  17;  Am.  vi.  12;  Lam.  iii.  19. 
Wormwood  was  considered  poisonous  by  the  an- 
cients, but  in  the  biblical  use  it  is  its  bitterness 
which  is  prominent.  Comp.  Am.  v.  7  ;  Prov.  v.  4 ; 
Lam.  iii.  15. — On  poison-water,  comp.  viii.  14. 
Our  words  are  repeated,  xxiii.  15.  —  To  them, 
this  nation.  The  anticipation  of  a  noun  by  a 
pronoun  is  frequent  in  Jeremiah:  xxvii.  8;  xxxi. 
2;  xli.  2,  3;  xliii.  11  ;  xlviii.  44;  li.  56.  Comp. 
EwALD,  I  309,  c,  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  77,  2.— 
neither  they  nor  their  fathers,  etc.  Comp. 
Deut.  xxviii.  36,  64;  Lev.  xxvi.  33;  Jer.  xvi.  13; 
xvii.  4.  That  till  I  extirpate  them  is  not  to 
be  understood  absolutely,  is  seen  from  passages 
like  iv.  27 ;  v.  10,  18  coll.  Lev.  xxvi.  44. 


3.  Second  Punishment:  death  snatches  away  an  innumerable  sacrifice. 

IX.  16-21. 

16  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth :  Consider  ye, 

And  call  for  mourning  women,'  that  they  may  come,* 
And  send  for  the  skilful  ones,  that  they  appear ; 

17  And  hasten,  and  raise  a  v^^ailing^  over  us, 
That  our  eyes  may  run*  with  tears. 
And  our  eyelids  overflow  with  water. 

18  For — loud  wailing  is  heard  from  Zion : 

"  How  are  we  spoiled  !     We  are  greatly  confounded ; 

For  we  have  forsaken  the  land, 

For  they  have  thrown  down  our  dwellings  " 

19  Hear  then,  ye  women,  the  word  of  Jehovah, 
And  let  your  ear  receive  the  word  of  his  mouth, 
And  teach  your  daughters^  a  song  of  lamentation, 
And  [teach  ye]  one  another  a  dirge ! 

20  For  death  cometh  in  through  our  windows, 
It  enters  into  our  palaces, 

To  exterminate  the  child  from  the  street. 
The  youths  from  the  free  places. 

21  [Speak  :  Thus  saith  Jehovah  :] 

And  the  carcases  of  men  fall  like  dung*  on  the  field, 
And  like  sheaves  behind  the  reaper 
When  there  is  none  to  gather  them. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  16.— mjJl'pO  here  ouly.  Comp.  besides  Ezek.  xxxii.  16,  and  Winer,  jB.  W.  B.,  art.  Leichen. 

2  Ver.  16.— nr  Xinr^,  Pa.  xlv.  17 ;  1  Sam.  x.7  (Chethibh)— rUXlUI^  i3  the  more  frequent  form,  comp.  ex.  gr.,  Gen.  xxx. 

T    ■.■       :  ■'■''' 

»8;  1  King3  iii.  Hi;   Isii.  xlviii.  3. 


CHAP.  IX.  16-21. 


113 


S  Ver.  17.— njBfni  (the  same  form  in  Ruth  i.  14  ;  Zech.  v.  9)  for  rUXtiTI  (Ruth  i.  9)  for  which  also  nj^XtST^  (Ezek. 

ixiii.  49).  Comp.  Olsh.',  J  239;  Gesen.,  §  74  :  ^rm.  4. 

*  Ver.  17.— njTini  designates  the  iuteuded  etfect.  ComiJ.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  89,  3,  6.  2.— Oq  the  accusative  construction. 

Comp.  xIt.  17 ;  Lam'.  iii.'48  ;  Joel  iv.  18  ;  N.  Gr.,  J  69,  2  a. 

5  Ver.  19.— On  the  suffix  in  DDJiX  and  DD'mj3,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  GO,  5.  [Green,  Gr  ,  I  220, 1  6.] 

-  Ver.21.— *o'T  occurs  only  iu  the  passages,  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  11 ;  Jer.  viii.  2;  xvi.  4;  xxv.  33,  and  in  figurative  language. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  connection  with  the  close  of  the  preceding 
strophe,  the  prophet  sets  forth  another  element 
of  the  punishment,  viz.,  the  fruitful  harvest, 
which  the  sword  would  yield.  He  does  this  by 
even  now  calling  for  the  mourning-womeu  to  la- 
ment over  the /i<<i<re  destruction  of  Zion  and  the 
dispersion  of  the  people  (vers.  16-18):  but  not 
content  with  this,  he  also  calls  upon  all  other 
women,  as  by  divine  command,  to  instruct  their 
daughters  and  one  another  in  the  art  of  wailing, 
for  death  will  summoa  his  victims  in  masses. 

Vers.  16,  17.  Consider  ye  .  .  .  overflow^ 
■with  water. — Consider  is  emphatic  (comp.  ii. 
10;  xxiii.  20;  xxx.  24)  for  what  is  required  is 
something  unusual.  Usually  mourning-women 
are  called  to  weep  over  those  who  are  already 
dead,  and  therefore  others  than  those  who  call 
them.  Here  they  are  to  raise  their  wailing  over 
those  very  persons  who  call  them,  and  over  their 
future  destruction.  —  Skilful.  Since  wail.ng 
does  not  require  wisdom  in  the  higher  sense, 
and  as  the  expression  '-wise  women"  is  not 
proved  to  be  a  technical  term  for  mourning-women 
(as  sagefemme  for  midwife),  the  word  must  denote 
only  those  who  are  skilful,  experienced,  in  gene- 
ral, comp.  X.  9,  and  "skilful  of  lamentation,"  Am. 
V.  16.  [Comp.  also  Matt.  ix.  23,  and  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  I.,  p.  146. — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  18, 19.  For  loud  vyailing  ...  a  dirge. 
The  prophet  feigns  a  kind  of  vision:  the  Israel- 
ites perceive,  not  with  their  bodily  but  spiritual 
ear,  a  loud  wailing.  This  is  future,  and  it  is 
they  who  wail.  The  subject  of  lamentation  is: 
we  are  destroyed  (iv.  13),  put  to  shame  (li.  51), 
have  been  obliged  to  forsake  the  land,  because 
the  enemy  has  thrown  down  our  dwellings.  So 
I  render,  with  Raschi,  Rosenmuller,  Graf  and 

others,  since  '^ylp  is  not  merely  to  throw  away, 

but  also  to  throw  to  the  ground  (Job  xviii.  17; 
Ezek.  xix.  12),  and  of  the  throwing  down  of  a 
dwelling   is  expressly  used   in  Dan.  viii.   11. — 

Hear  them.     The  second  ''3  introduces  a  second 

reason  for  the  wailing  commanded  in  ver.  18. 
Ver.  18  speaks  only  of  destruction  and  exile  in 
general.  But  dirges  presuppose  particular  cases 
of  death.  Therefore  in  vers.  19, 20itis  added,  that 
the  destruction  and  deportation  will  result  in  the 
death  of  many.  This  is  introduced  in  this  way: 
the  mourning-women  in  the  divine  commission 
are  further  commanded  to  instruct  not  only  their 
daughters,  but  also  the  other  women  in  the  art 
Df  wailing,  for  on  account  of  the  unusual  num- 
ber of  deaths,  a  much  larger  number  of  mourn- 
ers than  usual  will  be  required.  The  wailing  of 
ver.  17  is  not  to  be  raised,  therefore,  because  the 
women  received  the  command  contained  in  ver. 
19,  but  because  they  received  this  command  for 
the  reason  given  in  vers.  20,  21. 

i 


Vers.  20,  21.  For  death  cometh  in  .  .  . 
when  there  is  none  to  gather  them.  Death 
will  not,  as  an  enemy  lurking  without,  attack 
those  only  who  venture  out  to  him,  but  will  as- 
sault the  people,  penetrating  into  all  their  houses 
to  fetch  his  sacrifices.  The  figure  is  like  that  in 
Joel  ii.  9. — From  the  street.  While  death 
strangles  the  children  and  youths  in  the  houses, 
he  has  at  the  same  time  takeu  thorn  from  the 
street  and  the  places. — The  words  speak,  thus 
saith  Jehovah,  are  very  disturbing.  They  in- 
terrupt the  close  connection,  which  according  to 
the  sense  and  the  construction  there  is  between 
and  the  carcases,  etc.,  and  ver.  20;  they  are 
wanting  in  the  LXX.,  and  the  whole  manner  of 
expression  is  foreign  to  Jeremiah.  For  the  im- 
perative lin   does  not  occur  once  in  Jeremiah, 

either  in  the  addresses  of  God  to  the  prophet  or 
elsewhere,  and  Jeremiah  never  says  ^-''DNJ  T\2. 

He  also  never  places  ^''"DXJ  before,  but  always 
after  the  beginning,  like  the  Latin  inquam,  or  at 
the  close  of  the  address. — And  the  carcases, 
etc.  These  words  we  read  in  2  Kings  ix.  37  of 
the  corpse  of  Jezebel.  Comp.  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  11 ;  Jer. 
viii.  2;  xvi.  4;  xxv.  33. — The  stricken  will  lie 
like  sheaves  behind  the  reaper,  but  there  is  to  be 
this  diiference,  that  while  the  sheaves  are  col- 
lected and  taken  home,  the  dead  bodies  will  lie 
in  the  field  unregarded.  Compare  the  figure  of 
the  sheaves,  Mic.  iv.  12. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  1.  O  that  I  had  in  the  desert, 

etc.  "So  it  sounds  here  and  there  when  the  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  comes  from  confession,  from 
church,  from  the  sick,  from  pastoral  visitation, 
on  the  great  fast-day,  on  tite  third  festival-day, 
on  almost  every  Sunday  afternoon.  A  beautiful 
character  of  a  witness  when  he  needs  nothing  but 
a  little  spot  in  the  desert,  no  improvement,  no 
great  management,  when  it  is  not  necessary  to 
say,  'Alas,  my  heart  is  whelmed  with  grief !  and 
whence  can  1  obtain  relief?'  When  no  one  sits 
by  him  who  presses  upon  him.  The  desert  was 
to  retain  Jeremiah  in  connection  with  his  people. 
He  wished  there  to  zveeptor  them."  Zinzendorf. 

2.  On  ver.  2.  "  They  proceed  from  one 
■wickedness  to  another — punished  with  the 
sins,  which  are  susj^ended  over  them  ....  a  poor 
sold  people  who  know  not  how  to  raise  their  ran- 
som-money. We  must  tell  them,  and  tell  them 
again,  whence  it  is  to  be  fetched."  Zinzendorf. 

3.  On  ver.  3.  "  Guard  ye  p",  ery  one  against 
his  friend,  and  trust  not  even  his  brother. 
Tliis  is  the  Hohbesii  jus  naturse."  Zinzendorf. 
'■'■Hoc  loco  utendum  est  in  tempore  persecutionis  et 
anguslise,,  quando  aut  rara,  aut  nulla  fides  est; 
quaiido  nee  fratri,  nee  proximo  credendum  est,  et  ini- 
mici  hominis  domes tici  ejus,  quando  juxla  evangelium 
tradet  pater  fil turn  et  filius patrem,  et  dividentur  duo 
in  tres  et  tres  iw  duo  (Matt.  x.  34  sqq.)"  Jerome. 


114 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


4.  On  ver.  4.  "  Laborant  homines  loqui  menda- 
cium,  nam  veritatem,  tola  facilitate  loquerentur.  llle 
enim  laborat,  qui  fingit  quod  dixit.  Namquiverum 
vult  dicere  non  laborat.  Ipsa  Veritas  sine  labore 
loquitur.  Ipsum  mendacium  hominum  est  labor  la- 
bioruin  ipsorum  (Ps.  vii.  14),"  Augustxn.,  Enarr. 
in  Ps.  cxxxix.  [Henry: — "They  are  wearied 
with  their  sinful  pursuits,  but  not  weary  of  them. 
The  service  of  sin  is  a  perfect  drudgery  ;  men 
run  themselves  out  of  breath  in  it ;  and  put  them- 
selves to  a  great  deal  of  toil  to  damn  their  own 
souls."— S.  R.  A.] 

5.  On  ver.  11.  "We  are  not  to  search  with 
culpable  curiosity  into  the  causes  of  divine  judg- 
ment which  God  has  hidden  from  us.  But  if  God 
Himself  discovers  them  to  us,  we  should  ponder 
them  well  and  apply  them  as  best  we  may  (vi. 
17,  18)."  Starke. 

6.  On  ver.  11.  It  is  always  an  important  part 
of  true  wisdom  to  recognize  the  object  of  the  di- 
vine chastisement.  At  Jericho  (Josh,  vii.)  it  was 
made  known  by  an  extraordinary  revelation  that 
the  ban  of  sacrilege  was  resting  upon  Israel,  and 
the  lot  further  brought  to  light  the  author  of  the 
crime.  But  this  mode  of  revelation  is  not  the 
usual  one.  When  punishment  is  the  direct  and 
immediate  consequence  of  sin,  ex.  gr.,  when  sick- 
ness follows  on  dissipation,  and  poverty  on  lazi- 
ness and  negligence,  then  every  one  who  wishes, 
may  easily  see,  whither  the  chastisement  tends. 
But  often  the  connection  between  sin  and  pun- 
ishment is  more  remote  and  secret,  although  it  is 
never  an  artificial  and  arbitrary,  but  always  an 
organic  and  necessary   one.     Then   is  the  time, 


:  in  all  humility  and  honesty  to  examine  one's  self 
I  in  order  to  learn  "why  the  land  is  laid  waste." 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  1-6.  This  text  njight  serve  as  a 
foundation  in  cases  where  a  preacher  has  occa- 
sion to  speak  to  his  congregation  on  separation 
from  the  world,  etc.  He  might  especially  draw  from 
it  arguments  in  favor  of  such  separation.  Comp. 
Rev.  ii.  2,  oh  Siivr)  fiaardaac  KaKovq. — As  a  coun- 
terpoise might  be  applied,  Heb.  xii.  3  ;  2  Tim. 
ii.  24. — A  servant  of  the  Lord  is  to  be  ave^iKaicoc 
and  a/LE^iKUKoc. 

2.  On  ver.  3.  On  the  various  stages  in  the  con- 
dition of  security.      1.   Of  evil  rising  into  act.    2 
Of  rising    from    one  sin    to  another.     Brandt: 
Altes  und  Neues  in  extemporirb.  EntwUrfen,  Niirn- 
berg,  1829,  1,  2. 

3.  On  vers.  7-9.  The  double  object  of  the  di- 
vine judgments.  1.  Restoration  of  the  right 
(ver.  9).  2.  Improvement  of  men  (ver.  7,  to 
melt  and  try). 

4.  On  vers.  12-16.  On  the  connection  of  tem- 
poral evil  with  our  sins.  Such  a  connection  (1) 
undoubtedly  exists,  and  should  be  (2)  recognized 
and  (3)  announced  by  us  (that  is,  not  passed 
over  in  silence,  but  openly  expresssed). 

5.  On  vers.  20  and  21  (to  be  used  in  times 
when  death  snatches  many  away).  Death  as  a 
destroying  angel:  1.  Whosendshim:  2.  Where- 
fore he  is  sent:  3.  How  we  may  protect  our- 
selves against  him. 


IV.  CONCLUSION:   (IX.  22-25;  X.  17-25.) 
1.   The  only  means  of  escape,  and  the  reason  why  it  is  not  used. 

IX.  22-25. 

22  Thus  saith  Jehovah: 

Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom, 
Nor  let  the  strong  man  glory  in  his  strength, 
Nor  let  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches. 

23  But  let  him  that  glorieth  glory'  in  this, 
To  be  wise^  and  to  know  me — 

That  I  am  Jehovah — who  exercise  mercy. 
Judgment  and  righteousness  on  the  earth ; 
For  in  these  do  I  delight,  saith  Jehovah. 

24  Behold  !  the  days  are  coming,  saith  Jehovah, 
That  I  will  punish  every  circumcision  in  foreskin :' 

25  Egypt  and  Judah  and  Edom,  and  the  children  of  Ammon  and  Moab, 
And  all  with  shorn  hair  [-corners]  who  dwell  in  the  desert ; 

For  all  the  people  are  uncircumcised, 

The  whole  house  of  Israel  is  uncircumcised  at  heart. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  23.— Sbnnrsn.  Comp.  NAE0E13B.  Gr.,  §  101,  2  c. 

9  Ver.  23.— bDt^/ri-  The  preposition  is  omitted,  as  frequently  :  Isa.  xlviii.  16 ;  xxTili.6;  Ixi.  7.  Comp.  N.  (Jr.,  272,2;  112,4 
*  Ver.  24. — [A.  V. :  The  circumcised  with  the  uncircumcised.] 


CHAP.  IX.  22-25. 


115 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL, 

The  prophet  introduces  the  concluding  part  of 
his  discourse  with  a  general  moral  reflection,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  present  the  only  means  of 
escape  from  such  fearfully  threatening  dangers, 
viz.,  a  living  and  truly  productive  knowledge  of 
the  Lord  (vers.  22, 23).  Unfortunately  the  prophet 
is  at  the  close  of  the  strophe  (vers.  24,  25)  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  the  mournful  fact  that 
such  a  true  knowledge  of  God  by  the  people  Israel 
was  not  to  be  expected,  since  they  were  a  people 
of  uncircumcised  heart,  and  were  therefore, 
notwithstanding  their  bodily  circumcision,  es- 
sentially like  the  uncircumcised  heathen  nations. 
From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  passage  (vers. 
22-25)  can  be  dispensed  with  neither  from  the 
inner  connection  nor  the  connection  with  the 
preceding  context,  and  we  should  not  therefore 
be  justified  in  regarding  it  (with  Graf)  as  a  later 
addition. 

Vers.  22,  23.  Let  not  the  'wise  man  .  .  . 
delight.  As  the  things  in  which  they  are  not 
to  glory,  wisdom,  strength  (power),  riches,  are 
certainly  mentioned,  because  they  appear  above 
all  to  the  natural  man  as  the  most  desirable, 
comp.  1  Kings  i.  13,  where  in  substance  these 
three  ideas  are  placed  in  juxtaposition,  with 
2  Chron.  ix.  22 ;  Job  xii.  18.  But  at  the  same 
time  the  prophet  has  doubtless  in  view  actual  cir- 
cumstances and  declarations  previously  made  by 
him.  The  inclination  of  his  hearers  presump- 
tuously to  boast  of  external  carnal  advantages 
was  censured  by  him  in  the  seventh  chapter 
(comp.  vers.  4,  8,  10,  14,  24,  26,  28) ;  that  the 
Jews  glo''ied  in  their  wisdom  is  expressly  stated 
in  viii.  8,  9.  The  mention  of  strength  seems  to 
point  back  to  ix.  2,  and  riches  remind  us  of  v. 
26-28.  The  wisdom  in  which  they  are  not  to  glory 
is  not  that  which  is  called  "better  than  strength" 
in  Eccles.  ix.  16,  and  which  is  essentially  identi- 
cal with  that  recommended  in  ver.  23,  but  it  is 
worldly  wisdom,  which  though  it  boast  of  enjoy- 
ing divine  direction,  in  truth  rejects  the  word  of 
God,  and  is  therefore  put  to  shame  (viii.  8,  9,) 
against  which  also  a  warning  is  given  in  Prov. 
iii.  5,  in  the  words,  "Trust  in  Jehovah  with  all 
thine  heart,  but  on  thine  own  understanding  rely 
thou  not." — Strength  is  both  physical  strength 
(Ps.  cxlvii.  10,  .Job  xxxix.  19)  and  power  (2  Kings 
X.  34,  XX.  20.) — Every  man  must  have  something 
in  which  to  glory,  i.  e.,  which  he  esteems  as  his 
highest  blessing  and  honor  (without  self-esteem) 
comp.  Isai.  li.  16;  1  vJor.  i.  31  ;  2  Cor.  x.  17. — 
Me  must  depend  on  knows  alone,  or  also  on 
to  be  wise  (understand)  (Ps.  Ixiv.  10;  cvi.  7.) 
1  prefer  the  latter.  Wise  then  does  not,  as  Graf 
assumes,  contradict  the  beginning  of  ver.  22,  but 
only  opposes  the  true  to  the  false  wisdom.  For 
in  these,  etc.,  is  not  the  fundamental  statement, 
but  the  explanation  of  the  general  'ni?.  Comp. 
Naegelsb.  Gr  ^  109,  1  a. — God  is  to  be  known  as 
the  eternally  existent,  therefore  the  only  true 
God,  who  exercises  mercy,  judgment  and  right- 
eousness on  the  earth.  There  is  an  antithesis 
here  to  strength,  etc.,  ver.  22  (  ix.  2;  v.  26  sqq.) 
But  he  who  has  learned  to  know  the  Lord  as  such, 
acts  accordingly.  Mercy  is  not  in  opposition  to 
justice  and  righti    "^ness  as  sometimes  in  Chris- 


tian usage,  but  mercy  is  the  root  of  righteousness, 
i.  e  ,  the  disposition  which  does  not  with  brute 
force  trample  upon  the  poor  and  weak,  but  with 
kindness  and  love  secures  to  them  their  rights, 
and  thus  blessing  and  salvation.  Comp.  rems.  on 
vii.  5,  6.     Ps.  cxlv.  17. 

Vers.  24,  25.  Behold!  the  days  are 
coming  . . .  uncircumcised  at  heart.  All  here 
primarily  depends  on  the  explanation  of  the  ex- 
pression n7"^;^3  7lD^  circumcision  in  fore- 
skin. The  explanations  all  circumcised  on  the 
foreskin  (LXX.  and  Vulg.)  and  all  the  circumcised, 
together  with  those  ivho  have  the  foreskin  (Tkemell., 
Pisc,  RosENM.)  neither  suit  the  connection,  nor 
can  they  be  justified  grammatically.  The  expla- 
nation of  HiTziQ,  Graf,  [Henuerson,  Noyes, 
Blayney,]  according  to  which  circumcised  in  fore- 
skin is  equivalent  to  tmcircumcised  (Hitziq  com- 
pares "a  knife  without  a  handle  and  to  which 
the  blade  is  wanting  ")  imputes  nonsense  to  the 
prophet.  Grammatically  the  words  can  mean 
only  :  to  circumcise  in  foreskin,  i.  e.,  circum- 
cision, which  is  yet  connected  only  with  the  fore- 
skin, therefore  no  true  circumcision.  In  favor 
of  this  explanation  is  1.  That  the  prophet  men- 
tions Judah  among  these  nations.  If  it  cannot 
be  denied  of  this  nation,  that  its  circumcision 
was  connected  with  the  foreskin,  the  same  must 
apply,  though  in  a  different  sense,  to  the  others. 
2.  If  the  prophet  wished  to  mention  only  abso- 
lutely Mwcircumcised  nations,  why  has  he  men- 
tioned particularly  these  ?  He  might  then  have 
omitted  Judah,  and  mentioned  all  others  in  pre- 
ference to  these.  The  selection  is  evidently  in- 
tentional. All  these  nations  are  either  notoriously 
or — on  account  of  their  affinity  of  race  with 
Israel — at  least  probably  circumcised.  The 
former  was  the  case  with  the  Egyptians  ( Herod. 
II.  36,  104).  If  circumcision  was  practiced  only 
among  the  higher  castes  of  the  Egyptians 
(Winer,  R.  W.  B.  Art.  ''Beschneidung")  this 
would  be  another  reason  for  the  prophet  to  reckon 
the  nation  generally  among  the  "  circumcised  in 
foreskin."     The    HNi)   "'}fi:;p    were  undoubtedly 

circumcised.  For  it  is  evident  from  xxv.  23 ; 
xlix.  28,  32,  that  by  this  phrase  Arabian  tribes, 
especially  the  Kedarenes,  are  understood,  of 
which  Herodotus  (III.  8)  reports  that  they  nepi,- 
rpOKaXa  Keipovrac,  nepi^vpovvTeg  tovc  Kpordipovc 
which  was  forbidden  to  the  Jews  (Levit.  xix.  27  ; 
xxi.  5).  The  Kedarenes,  however,  were  de- 
scended from  Ishmael  (Gen.  xxv.  13;  comp. 
Herzog,  R-Enc.  1,  (S.  463)  who  was  circumcised 
by  Abraham  (Gen.  xvii.  23)  and  among  whose 
descendants  the  practice  of  this  rite  is  continued 
even  to  this  day,  not  by  order  of  Mohammed  (the 
Koran  nowhere  enjoins  circumcision,  comp.  Mi- 
CHAELis,  Mos.  Recht.  §  184)  but  as  an  ancient 
sacred  custom.  If  now  it  cannot  also  be  proved 
of  the  Edomites,  Ammonites  and  Moabites  (Gen. 
xix.  37,  38)  that  they  had  circumcision  (John 
Hyrcanus  gave  the  Edomites  the  alternative 
either  of  abandoning  their  country  or  accepting 
circumcision,  and  they  chose  the  latter.  Joseph. 
Antiqu.  XIII.  9,  1)  yet  Jeremiah  must  have 
reckoned  them  among  the  circumcised.  Whether 
he  erred  in  this  or  not  is  another  question.  There 
is  of  course  the  possibility  that  the  usage  may 
have  prevailed  at  his  time  among  them  also  and 


116 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


afterwards  declined,  as  even  among  the  Israelites 
this  law  was  by  no  means  always  punctually  fol- 
lowed (Josh.  V.  2,  sqq.  Comp.  Herzoq.  R-Enc. 
II.  iS.  108). — In  short  the  juxtaposition  of  Judah 
and  two  other  undoubtedly  circumcised  nations 
with  three  whose  circumcision  on  account  of 
their  origin  is  possible  and  indeed  highly  pro- 
bable, but  not  proved,  shows  that  according  to 

the  intention  of  the  prophet  the  expression  (/ID 

H/I^D)  is  to  be  taken  in  the  sense,  which  as  we 
have  shown  above,  is  alone  grammatically  admis- 
sible.— With  this  also  accords  the  causal  sentence 
"for  all  the  nations,"  e^c.  It  is  entirely  un- 
necessary to  regard  the  article  as  a  retrospective 
pronoun==all  these  nations.  The  prophet  really 
wishes  to  say  that  all  the  nations  of  the  heathens 
are  uncircumcised,  from  which  however  it  follows 
that  those  previously  mentioned  are  so.  If  these 
are  uncircumcised  in  spite  of  a  circumcision, 
which  from  the  standpoint  of  the  theocracy  must 
appear  an  unjustifiable  imitation  of  the  sacred 
sign  of  the  covenant,  and  the  whole  house  of 
Israel,  including  Judah,  is  uncircumcised  at 
heart,  it  is  explained  why  the  Lord  named 
Judah's  and  the  other  nations'  circumcision — in 
foreskin.  From  this  it  further  results  that  an 
improvement  of  Judah  in  the  sense  of  ver.  23  is 
not  to  be  expected,  whence  finally  it  follows  that 
Judah  is  exposed  to  the  judgment  of  the  Lord  as 
well  as  those  other  nations. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ix.  22,  23.  "Paul  says.  He  that  glorieth, 
let  him  glory  in  the  Lord  (2  Cor.  x.  17),  and 
Jesus,  This  is  life  eternal  that  they  might  know 
Thee  that  Thou  art  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus 
Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent  (John  xvii.  3). 
This  is  to  glory,  as  though  one  should  say,  God 
be  praised,  I  am  right  well  and  sound.  To  be 
sound  in  the  faith  is  to  have  the  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ,  to  maintain  it,  to  grow  in  it.  This 
is  to  prosper.  To  be  silent  concerning  grace 
from  humility  is  an  affectation.  To  make  a  great 
noise  of  good  works  as  our  own,  is  ridiculous. 
For  grace  produces  them,  the  power  of  God 
dwelling  in  us.  We  do  nothing  and  should  do 
nothing  if  it  were  left  to  us;  but  the  work  of 
God  in  us,  that  we  believe,  is  not  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence,  moroseness,  and  ingratitude. 
What  a  noise  do  the  humble  saints  in  the  Revela- 
tion make  of  their  grace,  freedom,  priesthood, 
royal  dignity,  victory,  redemption  (chap,  iv.,  v., 
vii.,  xii.,  xiv.,  xv.,  xvii  ,  xix.).  There  is  also 
nothing  any  longer  secret  when  we  bear  His 
name  on  our  forehead.  0  that  the  whole  earth 
were  full  of  our  glorying  in  the  Lord!  '0  that 
we  were  able,  our  songs  so  high  to  raise.  That 
all  the  country  round,  might  echo  with  His 
praise.'  The  world  and  false  theology  recom- 
mend in  this  respect  a  certain  silence,  which 
shows  that  they  do  not  know  which  is  their  pro- 
per sphere.  And  against  them  it  is  best  to  con- 
tend reab'ter  by  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  and  of 
power.  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that 
they  may  glorify  the  Father  in  heaven  (Matt.  v. 

16)."       ZiNZENDORF. 

2.  On  ix.  23,     "Qui  fideliter  et  obedienter  vivit, 


non  de  ipsa  ohedientia  tamquam  de  sua  non  accepta 
bono  ezlollatur,  sed  qui  gloriatur,  in  Domine  fflori- 
etiir.  In  ullo  enim  gloriandum,  quando  nostrum  ni- 
hil sit."  AuGUSTiN  :  De  bono  Fer sever.  Cap.  xiv. 
7.     Comp.  HiLARTUs,  Enarr  in  Ps.  lii.  3. 

3.  On  ix.  23.  ^  Qui  gloriatur,  in  Domine  glor- 
ietur.  Hoc  est  Christum  pascere,  hoc  est  Christo pas- 
cere,  in  Christo  pascere,  prieter  Christum  sibi  non  pas- 
cere."     AvGVSTiTi  :  De  Pastoribus.     Cap.  xiii.  9. 

4.  On  ix.  23.  "Videte  quomodo  nobis  abstulil 
gloriam,  ut  darel  gloriam  ;  abstulil  nostrum  ut  daret 
suam ;  abstulil  inanem,  ut  daret  plenam  ;  abstulil 
nutantem,  ut  daret  solidam."  Anselm.  Comment, 
in  1  Cor.  i.  31. 

5.  On  ix.  24,  25.  "Like  brothers,  like  caps. 
If  the  circumcised  and  uncircumcised  are  alike 
good  and  pious,  they  will  not  unfairly  be  pun- 
ished in  like  manner."     Cramer. 

6.  On  ix.  24,  25.  "A  clear  testimony  that  the 
holy  sacraments  procure  nothing  joe?-  opus  opera- 
turn,  for  the  work's  sake.  For  the  Jews  were  in- 
deed circumcised  in  the  flesh,  but  this  was  to  be 
a  sign  to  them  of  righteousness,  that  they  should 
be  spiritually  circumcised  in  faith  and  good 
works.  But  since  such  spiritual  circumcision 
did  not  follow,  and  they  remained  uncircumcised 
at  heart,  the  other  fleshly  circumcision  helped 
them  not,  but  redounded  instead  to  their  sin." 
Cramer. 

HOMILETICAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  22,  23.  (Luther,  vers.  23,  24). 
The  Christian's  highestand  true  glory.  It  consists 
in  1.  Believing  in  the  Lord;  2.  Living  in  the 
Lord;  3.  Working  for  the  Lord;  4.  Suffering 
for  the  Lord's  sake.  (Florey:  Trost  und  Mah- 
nung  an  Graben,  1.  Bandchen,  S.  151). 

2.  On  vers.  22,  23.  The  true  knowledge  of  God 
I.  Its  nature  (not  dead  science,  but  living  experi- 
ence) ;  2.  its  fruit,  a.  the  highest  blessing  (mercy, 
justice  and  righteousness  in  Jesus  Christ) ;  6. 
the  highest  honor  (he  who  has  it  will  not  be  put 
to  shame  as  he  who  glories  in  the  flesh). 

3.  On  ver.  22.  [Eng.  Vers.  Ver.  23.  Bp. 
Bull: — Examples  of  the  folly  of  glorying  (or 
trusting)  in  wisdom,  might  or  riches: — Solomon, 
Samson  and  Ahab. — S.  R.  A]. 

4.  On  ver.  23.  [Eng.  Vers.  ver.  24.  Abp.  Til- 
lotson: — 1.  The  wisest  and  surest  reasonings  in 
religion  are  grounded  on  the  unquestionable  per- 
fections of  the  divine  nature  [ex.  gr.  belief  in 
Divine  Providence  and  veracity).  2.  The  nature 
of  God  is  the  true  idea  and  pattern  of  perfection 
and  happiness. — S.  R.  A.]. 

5.  On  ver.  23.     "  The  Christian's  self-glorying. 

1.  Evil  self-glorying  keep  far  from  thee  ;  2.  If 
thou  wilt  glory,  glorify  thyself  in  the  Lord." 
Gezetz.  u.  Zeugniss.  1860,  Jan. 

6.  On  vers.  25,  26.  Circumcision  ns  a  figure  of 
the  relation  of  man  to  God.  1.  Tlit'  three  stages 
of  circumcision,  uncircumcised,  outwardly  cir- 
cumcised, truly  circumcised,  correspond  to  the 
three  stages  of  being  without  God,  serving  God 
outwardly,    serving  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

2.  As  external  circumcision  without  that  of 
the  heart  is  equivalent  to  uncircumcision,  so  the 
outward  service  of  God  without  the  inward  is 
equivalent  to  no  service  at  all. 


CHAP.  X.  1-5.  117 


LATER  ADDITION  :  Warning  against  Idolatry. 
X.   1-17. 
a.  The  nothingness  of  idols. 
X.  1-5.  > 

1  Hear  the  word,  which  Jehovah  has  spoken  to  you,^  house  of  Israel ! 

2  Thus  saith  Jehovah :  To  the  way  of  the  heathen  accustom^  yourselves  not, 

And  be  not  affrighted  at  the  signs  of  Heaven,  because  the  heathen  are  affrighted 
at  them  ; 

3  For  the  institutions  of  the  nations — breath  are  they ! 
For  as  a  forest  tree  have  they  been  cut  out, — 

For  the  work*  of  the  hands  of  the  artificer,  with  an  axe.* 

4  With  gold  and  silver  they  adorn  it, 

With  nails  and  hammers  they  fasten  them,  that  it  totter  not. 

5  They  are  as  the  pillars  in  a  cucumber-field  and  speak  not; 
They  must  be  borne,®  for  they  walk  not. 

Fear  them  not,  for  they  do  no  harm. 
But  also  to  do  good  is  not  in  their  power.* 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Movers  (De  TJtr.  Rec.  Jer.  p.  43)  was  the  first  to  deuy  the  authenticity  of  the  section  x.  1-16.  After  careful  examina- 
tion I  have  come  to  the  following  result:  1.  That  the  passage  breaks  the  connection  cannot  be  doubted.  For  ix.  22-25  and 
X.  17-25  joined  to  each  other  form  an  appropriate,  orderly,  progressive  conclusion  to  the  great  discourse  of  the  prophet. 
Comp.  the  introductory  remarks  on  ix.  22-25  and  x.  17-25.  This  warning  against  idolatry  to  those  who  had  just  been 
rebuked  for  the  most  wanton  idolatrous  abominations  (vii.  17  sqq. ;  30  sqq.)  is  exceedingly  surprising,  particularly  as  the 
expression,  '■  accustom  yourselves  not,"  ver.  2,  presupposes  either  a  nation  unspotted  by  idolatry  or  a  nation  purified  from 
it,  which  however  exposes  itself  to  new  temptations.  The  view  of  J.  D.  Michaelis  and  Kueper,  that  the  ten  tribes  already 
carried  away  into  Assyria  are  here  addressed  (on  account  of  "house  of  Israel,"  ver.  1),  is  no  improvement,  for  the  inter- 
ruption of  the  connection  still  remains.  When  Keil  {Einl.  X  256)  says  that  the  section  affords  only  the  foundation  to  that 
which  Jeremiah  has  said  in  ix.  22-25  on  the  glorying  of  Israel  and  his  equality  with  the  uncircumcised  heathen,  and  that 
the  deeper  ground  of  their  idolatry  is  thus  discovereil  to  tlie  people  and  the  necessity  of  their  being  scattered  among 
the  heathen  (ix.  15)  proved,  one  might  almost  suppose  that  he  had  not  read  the  passage  with  the  necessary  attention,  for 
there  is  not  a  trace  of  reproach  which  would  be  thus  brought  upon  Israel :  throughout  there  is  not  a  word  on  the  inner 
spiritual  condition  of  the  people.  At  most  we  should  conclude  from  ver.  2  that  this  was  presupposed  to  be  a  good  one. 
All  which  Keil  designates  as  the  object  of  this  paseage  has  been  given  by  the  prophet  in  part  long  before,  and  in  part  in 
•vers.  24  and  25,  for  the  uncircumcised  heart  is  indeed  the  deepest  ground  of  all  the  inner  and  outer  corruption  which  the 
prophet  so  deeply  bewails.— 2.  As  to  the  language,  I  find  in  the  first  three  verses  some  traces  of  Jeremiah's  idiom,  but  not 
so  decisively  as  to  feel  compelled  on  their  account  to  admit  Jeremiah  to  be  the  author.    The  formula  f  "13T   "It^X   "^^IH 

is  certainly  .Teremiah's  (comp.  xlv.  1 ;  xlvi.  13  ;  1. 1),  but  in  Jeremiah  it  stands  only  at  the  commencement  of  the  larger 
sections.    In  the  midst  of  the  context,  as  here,  it  is  striking,  the  more  so  as  it  is  further  extended  by  ^  WDt!'-  — 10  7  is  no- 

where  else,  even  in  Jeremiah,  construed  with  7X,  but  with  ^^  (xiii.  21),  though  very  frequently  he  uses  1^  and  7X  as 
synonymous  (comp.  on  DD'?^  ver.  1)  wherefore  also  Graf  on  xiii.  21  supposes  that  7_J^  in  this  passage  is  written  "as  so 
frequently"  for  Sx.— The  verb  r\n  (ver.  2)  occurs  in  the  Old  Test.  55  times,  in  Jeremiah  20  times,  from  which  it  is  clear 
that  relatively  it  is  used  most  frequently  in  this  prophet.— r\1pn  (ver.  3)  is  the  more  usual  form  in  Jer.;  besides  here  it  is 
found  5  times  (v.  24 ;  xxxi.  35  ;  xxxiii.  25 ;  xliv.  10,  23),  D'pri  only  twice  (xxxi.  36  and  xxxii.  11,  here  perhaps  after  Deut. 
V.  28.  But  the  first  form  is  as  much  used  as  the  latter.—  TXO  (ver.  6)  is  a  current  word  in  Jer.,  but  used  so  absolutely, 
iimply  as  a  negation,  it  is  found  neither  in  Jer.  nor  elsewhere.  Comp.  the  exposition.  Dmp3  Hi',  ver.  15,  is  the  only 
expression  which  would  speak  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  Jer.  authorship,  if  the  possibility  of  imitation  were  excluded. 
(Comp.  Jer.  viii.  12  ;  xlvi.  21 ;  1.  27  and  'i^  JlJt;'  xi.  23 :  xxiii.  12 ;  xlviii.  44).  Apart  from  these  few  forms  which  corres- 
pond to  Jeremiah's  usage,  without  being  exclusively  his  or  being  raised  above  the  suspicion  of  imitation,  there  are  a  rela- 
tively large  number  of  expressions,  which  are  in  part  a7ra|  Aeyojaei'a,  on  which  however  we  lay  no  stress  (the  Pi- ^HS^'') 

ver.  4;  ririX"' ver.  7  ;  rinN3  in  the  meaning  MnS  ver.  8;  :|'7D:3''  ib^d.;  riOX  Cn^X  ver.  10  ;  C^^Hj^H  ver.  15)  and  in 
part  do  not  occur  elsewhere  in  Jer.,  but  take  the  place  of  other  usual  expressions.  To  these  belong  ^'pTO  ver.  9  ;  tJ'O?. 
nSori,  ?0J*1X  ver.  9  (Jer.  uses  for  the  latter  nj3  xii.  1;  xxxvi.  24;  xli.  5;  xliii.  12;  HO  xiii.  25);  ^21^  ver.  12;  nj^^H 
and  □'DE'  jitDJ  tbici.  (the  latter  expression  jobix.  8;  Isa.  xl.  22;  xiii.  5  ;  xliv.  24  ;  xlv.  12;  li.  13;  Ixvi.  12  ;  Ps.  civ.  2; 
Zech.  xii.^2) :  D''Xii'3  (comp.  on  the  other  hand  Ps.  cxxxv.  7)  OIO  and  I^JO  ver.  13;  SoiJ  ver.  14 ;  (Jer.  always  says 

,  •    •    :  I      T  T  T  T  •.■•.• 

TOii  viii.  19 ;  1.  38  ;  li.  47,  52),  Ijpj  in  the  sense  of  nDDO  ver.  14  (:]p  J  in  Jer.  is  always  libatio,  vii.  18 ;  xix.  3 ;  xxxii.  29 ; 

xliv.^17  sqq.)  ,  Thr\  and  \2T\^  ver.'lC. 


118 


THE   I'^.OPiiET  JEREMIAH. 


From  all  this  might  well  proceed  some  suspicion  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  passage  vers.  1-16.  In  opposition  t» 
Movers,  Hitzig  and  De  Wette,  Ouat  has  fully  sliown  that  the  supposed  Isaiah  II.  could  not  be  the  author  (S.  171  Anm.), 
althovigh  many  relations  are  not  to  be  denied.  Who  was  the  author  and  when  and  by  whom  the  addition  was  made  can 
scarcely  be  ascertained. 

2  Ver.  1. —  7^  in  DD' 7 V  is  used  here,  as  frequently  in  Jeremiah,  as  synonymous  with   7X  (comp.  the  exchange  of  the 

two  in  xi.  2;  xviii.  11 ;  xxiii.  3.") :  xxv.  2;  xxvii.  19  ;  xxxvi.  31  ;  xliv.  20;  besides  xxv.  1  ;  xxvi.  1.5  ;  xxxv.  1.5  ;  xlii.l9  coll. 
Hos.  xii.  11). 

3  Ver.  2. — ^3  7  with  7X  liere  only.     But  it  is  found  in  xiii.  21  with  the  synonymous  7!^.     Comp.  Gkat  on  this  passage. 

— With  ^  and  the  following  subst.,  Deut.  iv.  10 ;  xiv.  23 ;  xvii.  19  ;  Ps.  xviii.  35 ;  cxliv.  1.    With  7  and  the  following  inf., 

Deut.  xviii  9 ;  Isa.  xlviii.  17 ;  Jer.  xii.  16 ;  Ezek.  xix.  3,  6  ;  Ps.  cxliii.  10. 

*  Ver.  3. — nb^lTD  is  the  accusative  of  the  object.  Comp.  1  Kings  xviii.  32  :  "  he  built  the  stones  to  an  altar."  (N.^eqelsb. 
6r.  §  G9,  3). — As  r\S3  denotes  not  to  hew  but  only  to  fell,  the  object  designated  is  not  the  immediate  but  remote  end  of  the 

-  T 

activity. 

sVer.  3. — 'i^fj;;^  is  found  only  in  Isa.  xliv.  12  in  a  similar  connection.     The  connection  and  the  dialects  are  both  in 
T  -:  |- 
favor  of  the  meaning  of  axe.    In  Arabic  the  corresponding  word  designates  a  cutting  instrument.    Comp.  Aram.     HJfn 

metere.    The  prefix  3  may  depend  on  nt^yO  or  on  in^3,  or  on  both.    The  latter  is  the  more  probable  since  in  fact  the 

•.■-:|-  t: 

axe  is  the  instrument  which  serves  for  felling  and  hewing.    Comp.  Isa.  xliv.  14. 

6  Ver.  5.— X^ltl'r  for  -INtiT.     Comp.  Ewald,  §  194  6 ;  Olsh.  §  38  b,  Anm.  g ;  265  «. 

.T-  :  |T- 

I  Ver.  5.— OniX  for  DflX.     Comp.  rems.  on  i.  16. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

According  to  ver.  2  the  object  of  this  passage 
is  to  warn  Israel  from  the  worship  of  idols.  In 
this  behalf  first  the  nothingness  of  idols,  the 
dead  work  of  men,  is  shown  (vers.  1-5).  Then 
the  incomparable  greatness  of  Jehovah  and  in 
contrast  with  the  origin  of  the  idol  images  His 
overwhelmingly  impressive  self-existence  and 
power,  in  view  of  which  the  adoration  of  empty 
idols  appears  disgraceful  folly,  are  set  forth  as 
the  source  of  all  great  phenomena  in  nature  and 
history  (vers.  6-16). 

Vers.  1,  2.  Hear  the  word  .  .  .  affrighted 
at  them.     Ij^^,  way.     Comp.   v.   4,  5.     It  is 

simply  =  religion,  cultus.  On  this  account  and 
from  what  follows  (ver.  3  sqq.)  the  "signs  of  the 
heaven"  cannot  be  passing  and  chance  signs,  be 
they  constellations  (Hitzig),  or  comets,  dark- 
ness, etc.  (RosENM.,  Graf),  but  only  permanent 
signs  which  are  connected  with  permanent  wor- 
ship, and  affrighted  is  to  be  understood  not  of 
the  momentary  impression  excited  by  an  extra- 
ordinary phenomenon,  but  only  of  the  constant 
religious  terror  manifesting  itself  in  the  ordinary 
worship   (comp.  Mai.  ii.  6,  and  ^^3,  Gen.   xxxi. 

42,  53).  Were  we  to  take  affrighted  in  the 
former  sense  it  would  signify  either  an  emphasis 
on  the  point  of  terror:  ye  may  feel  joy  at  favor- 
able signs  but  ye  are  not  to  be  terrified  at  sup- 
posed unfavorable  signs — which  would  be  a  con- 
tradiction and  at  the  same  time  confirm  the 
superstition — or  it  would  be:  ye  are  not  to  con- 
ceive of  the  signs  of  heaven  as  under  the  influ- 
ence of  higher  powers  and  therefore  indifferent 
to  human  life,  which  would  be  a  warning  against 
astrology  not  in  correspondence  with  the  con- 
nection. In  accordance  with  the  subsequent 
warning  against  the  worship  of  images  idolatry 
only  can  be  here  spoken  of,  which  renders  not 
merely  the  extraordinary,  but  above  all  the  ordi- 
nary signs  of  the  heavens  the  object  of  adora- 
tion. The  expression  "signs"  would  refer 
less  to  the  destination  determined  by  the  stars, 
Gen.  i.  14,  than  to  the  ancient  constellations 
(Job  ix.  9),  as  whose  signs  appear  the  stars  which 
form  them  (comp.  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac, 


2  Kings   xxiii.   5). — Because   the   heathen, 

etc.,  is  not  the  argument  of  the  author  against 
idolatry — this  does  not  come  till  ver.  13 — but  a 
statement  of  the  reason,  from  the  soul  of  the 
Israelites,  why  this  service  has  so  much  that  is 
seductive  for  them.  This  causal  sentence  cor- 
responds to  "accustom  yourselves  not."  The 
learning  and  becoming  accustomed  is  the  effect 
of  the  example.  How  dangerous  this  was  to  the 
Israelites  we  learn  from  the  warnings :  Exod. 
xxiii.  24,  32,  38;  Lev.  xviii.  3;  Deut.  vii.  1  sqq. 
Comp.   Judges    ii.    and    iii. — '3    here=because. 

Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  |  110,  1. 

Ver.  3.  For  the  institutions  of  the  na- 
tions .  .  .  with  an  axe. — The    institutions, 

cKc,  stand  in  unutliesis  10  tli  _■  (..i-iiiiiiinces  of  Je- 
hovah, Lev.  xviii.  3,  4. — Breath  are  they  [lit.: 
is  it].  The  singular  of  the  pronoun  appears  to 
involve  a  contemptuous  collective  sense=all  that 
trash.  Comp.  ver.  8 ;  Ewald,  §  319,  c ;  Josh, 
xiii.  14. — The  nothingness  of  the  deities  which 
are  here  identified  with  the  idol-images,  is  clear 
from  their  origin.  If  we  trace  the  origin  of  the 
idol  we  find  that  the  artificer  found  it  as  a  tree 
standing  among  others  in  the  forest,  and  as 
adapted  to  his  purpose  cut  it  down. — On  the 
subject  in  cut  out  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  ^  101, 
2  b.  As  to  the  object  it  is  formally  undefined, 
but  from  the  connection  is  clearly  recognizable 
as  the  idol. — Second  stage :  the  forest  tree  be- 
comes a  work  of  art  in  the  hands  of  an  artificer 
and  by  the  aid  of  an  axe. 

Ver.  4.  "With  gold  and  silver  .  .  .  that  it 
totter  not.  Third  stage  :  adornment  with  pre- 
cious metals  (Isa.  xxx.  20;  xl.  19).  Fourth 
stage:  fastening  on  the  place  of  exhibition  (Isa. 
xii.  7). — Fasten  them.  Observe  the  change 
of  number.  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  105.  7, 
Anm.  2).  With  these  words  the  construction 
passes  into  the  plural.  Comp.  ver.  5.  The  sub- 
ject of  p'B"'  is  ideal,  namely  the  idea  of  the 
fastened  derived  from  Dilpin"'.— Comp.  xlvi.  6,  7. 

Ver.  5.  They  are  as  the  pillars  ...  is  not 
in  their  power. — Pillars  in  a  cucumber 
field.  Jerome  :  insiniililtidinerii  palmse  fahricata 
sunt.  Syr.;  tanquam  palmie  surd  erectse,  in  which 
lOh  is  taken  according    to    analogy  from    "lOn 


CHAP.  X.  6-16. 


11& 


and  Judges  iv.  5,  but  HtypO  is  very  freely  trans- 
lated. Others,  following  Kimchi's  example  take 
iph=nin''r^,  columna  (Joel  iii.  3;  Song  of  Sol.  iii. 
6)  and  D'lnpn  (Jer.  xxxi.  21) ;  H^pO  however 
=turned  work  (Exod.  xxv.  18;  xxxi  oj;  xxxvii. 
7,  17,  22  ;  Numb.  viii.  4  ;  x.  2  coll.  Isa.  iii.  24). 
The  comparison  is  strange.  More  satisfactory 
is  the  explanation  proposed  by  Movers,  Fuerst 
{H.  W.  B.,  S.  781),  Graf,  according  to  which 


njJ'piD,  as  in  Isa.  i.  8,  signifies  a  cucumber  field 
and  Ton  the  scarecrows,  or  more  correctly  the 
priapus-pillars  erected  as  such.  These  priapus- 
pillars  are  elsewhere  ridiculed  as  useless  watch- 
guards  (comp.  Epist.  Jerem.  ver.  70 :  oianep  h 
aiKVJjpdTif)  npojiaaKdviov  ov6ev  (p'vTiaaaov  oiirug  e'lalv 
ol  deot  avTuv.  Comp.  Passow,  s.  v.,  npofiaoKaviov, 
Selden  de  Diis  Syriis,  p.  300). — They  must  b* 
borne.     Comp.  Isa.  xlvi.  7. 


h.  The  idols  contrasted  with  Jehovah. 
X.  6-16. 

6  None  is  like  Thee,^  O  Jehovah! 

Great  art  Thou,  and  great  is  Thy  name  in  might. 

7  Who  should  not  fear  Thee,  Thou  King  of  nations? 
For  unto  Thee  is  it  due.'' 

For  among  all  the  wise  men  of  the  nations. 

And  in  all  their  dominion  there  is  none  like  Thee. 

8  But  altogether  they  are  stupid^  and  become  fools  :* 
Vain  instruction  !     It  is  wood  !^ 

9  Silver  plates  are  brought  from  Tarshish  and  gold  from  Uphaz, 
The  work  of  the  smith  and  the  hands  of  the  smelter ; 

Blue  and  red  purple  is  their  raiment, 
Artists'  work  are  they  all. 

10  But  Jehovah  is  truly  God, 

He  is  a  living  God,  and  an  everlasting  King : 
Before  His  anger  the  earth  trembleth, 
And  the  nations  cannot  endure  His  wrath. 

11  Ye  shall  therefore  say  unto  them :   The  gods. 
Which  have  not  made  heaven  and  earth,^ 

Shall  vanish  away  from  the  earth  xmder  the  heaven, 

12  Who  made  the  earth  by  His  power. 
Established  the  world  by  His  wisdom. 

And  by  His  understanding  spread  out  the  heavens. 

13  At  the  sound  of  His  voice  a  heaving  of  waters  in  the  heavens, 
He  bringeth  up  vapors  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  ; 

He  produceth  lightnings  with  the  rain. 

And  bringeth  the  wind  out  of  His  storehouses. 

14  Stupid  are  all  men  there  without  understanding ; 
All  the  founders  of  idol-images  are  put  to  shame. 

For  a  lie  is  their  casting,  and  there  is  no  spirit  in  them. 

15  For  they  are  vapour  and  work  of  deceit ;' 
In  the  time  of  their  visitation  they  perish. 

16  Not  like  these  is  the  portion  of  Jacob ; 

For  He  forms  all  things  and  Israel  is  the  stock  of  His  inheritance : 
Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  His  name. 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  6. — ^TO3    TNO  is  remarkable.    Venema  supposes  a  transposition  of  the  D  from  DPIX  at  the  close  of  yer.  6,  m 

hjrpothesis  to  which  we  can  have  recourse  only  in  extreme  cases,  especially  as  the  initial  ami  final  O  are  different  in  form. 
Neumann  vvuuld  take  ['NO  in  u  causiil  suu.sc,  Ipiit  1.  it  would  be  scarcelj'  appropriate  to  designate  the  Lord  as  great  merely  ia 

mparison  with  other  great  ones;  2.  rx*D  niust  also  then  be  taken  as  causal  in  ver.  7.    Neumann  indeed  does  this,  but 

thus  he  obtains  only  a  linguistic  monstrosity,  which  condemns  itself  and  also  his  rendering  of  the  word.     Hitzig  would 


120 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


read  TNO,  as  in  xxx.  7,  and  with  similarity  of  thought  we  should  certainly  expect  similarity  of  expression.    But  might 

■we  not  just  as  well  require  TNO  to  be  read  in  xxx.  7,  as  in  this  place  1    The  expression,  from  whence  Thy  like?  is  at  least 

quite  unusual.    In  this  sense  we  elsewhere  always  find  'O  (Deut.  iii.  24;  iv.  7;  2  Sam.  xxii.  32;  2  Kings  xviii.  35  ;  Ps.  xviii. 

32;  Ixxvii.  14;  Mic.  yii.  18  and  the  passages  adduced  by  HiTZiG  himself  Ps.  xxxv.  10;  Ixxi.  19)  while  ^X  or  ri'X  occurs 

only  in  an  ironical  negative  sense  (ex.gr.  Ps.  xlii.  4;  Ixxix.  10;  cxv.  2;  Jer.  ii.  27),  or  in  the  sense  of  earnest  search  (Jer. 
ii.  6,  8  ;  2  Kings  ii.  14;,  but  TXO  never  occurs  in  that  sense. — f'XO  occurs  frequently  in  Jeremiah,  more  frequently  than 

in  any  other  author  of  the  Old  Testament. — The  preposition  |0  is  in  this  connection  used  evidently  sometimes  in  a  causal  sense 

(vii.32:  xix.  11;  Isa.  1.2;  Ezek.xxxiv.  8),  but  mostly  in  a  negative  sense=away  from,  without.  Two  negatives  thus  united  do 
not  make  an  affirmative,  but  strengthen  the  negation.  Comp.  Naeoelsis.  Gr.,  g  lOG,  5 ;  Gesen.  g  152,  2.  Everywhere,  however, 
except  here,  ?D  depends  on  a  preceding  verb  or  noun,  and  indeed  for  the  most  part  mediately,  so  that  the  preposition  is  to 

be  considered  as  depending  on  an  idea  of  existence  {conatrnctio  pnegnans)  latent  in  the  verb  (or  noun).  Comp.  Isa.  vi.  11; 
Jer.  iv.  7;  xx.  9;  xxxii.  4a;  xxxiii.  10,  12;  xxxiv.  22  ;  xliv.  22;  xlvi.  19;  xlviii.  9;  Ii.  29,37;  Ezek.  xxxiii.  28 ;  Zeph.  ii. 
5 ;  iii.  6.    In  Jer.  v.  9  only  is  this  idea  of  existence  explicitly  present. — That  in  this  place  rxo  stands  so  abruptly  is  very 

remarkable  and  contrary  to  the  usage  of  Jeremiah. 

2  Ver.  7.— nr*X''  from  HN'  (which  occurs  only  in  this  single  form  and  place)  =  PIN],  decorum,  consentaneum  fuU, 

T  |tt  1  r  TT 

Isai.  Iii.  7 ;  Ps.  xciii.  5 ;  Song  of  Sol.  i.  10.    On  the  feminine  in  the  impersonal  sense,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  g  60,  6,  6. 

*Ver.  8. — niO^  comp.  vers.  14  and  21.  Elsewhere  occur  only  the  participial  forms  □''1J.'3  (Ps.  xciv.  8;  Ezek.  xxi. 
36)  and  MIJ^SJ  (Isai.  xix.  11).  The  meaning,  according  to  the  analogy  of  1J?3,  T^^»3=6ardMni,  stolidum,  esse. 

*  Ver.  8.-1^03'').    The  verb  here  only— meaning  (comp.  703    rD2)  stultum,  stupidum  esse. 

6  Ver.  8. — [Blatnet  renders :  the  very  word  itself  being  a  rebuker  of  vanities  ;  Notes  better :  Most  vain  is  their  confi- 
dence; it  is  wood — with  the  note,  " Lit.  <7ieir  doctrine,  their  instruction:  i.  e.,th.a,t  in  which  they  are  taught  to  confide." 
Henderson  has :  The  tree  itself  is  a  reproof  of  vanities. — S.  R.  A.] 

6  Ver.  11.— XpTX  is  a  harsher  form  of  XV  1i<.    Comp.  Ecerst,  S.  W.  B.  1,  S.  142.    Buxtorf,  Lex.  Chald.  p.  228.    n7X 
It:-  "t   :  -         .  t  V  •• 

is  again  Hebrew  and  is  referred  by  the  LXX.  to  X'DU?  but  by  most  commentators  to  XTl/X- 

T  -  :  -  T  •.•: 

'  Ver.  l^.—W^P^^r\  TWyO-    The  noun  here  only,  the  verb  Gen.  xxvii.  12 ;  2  Chron.  Xixvi.  16. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Vers.  6  and  7  contain  the  theme  of  the  strophe  : 
Jehovah  is  the  highest,  there  is  none  like  Him, 
all  the  world  should  fear  Him.  It  is  stupidity 
which  opposes  this  truth,  says  ver.  8.  The  im- 
propriety of  this  opposition  is  proved  by  the  ex- 
position of  what  idols  really  are.  On  the  other 
hand  the  right  of  Jehovah  maintained  in  ver.  7 
is  proved  by  the  exposition  of  His  attributes  and 
works,  vers.  10,  12,  13.  From  this  exposition  it 
is  evident  how  well-founded  on  the  one  hand  is 
thejudgment  pronounced  against  this  opposition 
(vers.  14, 15),  and  on  the  other  hand  the  justice  of 
Jehovah  and  the  welfare  of  the  people  who  serve 
Him.  (ver.  16.) 

Vers.  6  and  7,  None  is  like  thee  .  .  .  none 
like  thee. — In  might  is  to  be  referred  both  to 
Thou  and  Thy  name.  Since  the  latter  in  rela- 
tion to  the  former  can  designate  only  the  name 
in  the  objective  sease,  the  renown,  glory,  in 
might  is  equivalent  to  in  manifestation  of  might, 
comp.  xvi.  21. — Who  should  not  negative  ex- 
pression for  the  positive, — all  must  fear  Thee. 
— For  among  all.  Seb.  Schmidt  here  rightly 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  '3  here  is  to  be 

regarded  as  local  not  partitive,  because  otherwise 
God  would  be  compared  with  men :  among  all 
the  wise  men  and  in  the  whole  circuit  of  their 
dominion,  therefore  in  the  whole  domain  of  their 
wisdom  and  might,  no  God  is  found  like  unto 
Jehovah.  Comp.  Caspabi,  Micha  der  Morastite, 
S.  13  flF. 

Ver.  8.  But  altogethet ...  it  is  wood.  That 
which  really  is  does  not  correspond  to  that  which 
ought  to  be.  The  entirety  of  the  heathen  (r\nX3 
x=un&,  Targum  Jon.  NIHS;  the  meaning  in  one 
contradicts  the  connection)  feareth  not  the  Lord, 
as  it  becomes  them.  This  is  to  say,  they  are 
Stupid  as  brutes. — Vain  instruction  !     It  is 


•wood !  If  with  Graf  we  should  construe  these 
words  like  3  a,  we  should  develop  the  meaning 
that  wood  is  wooden.  But  since  this  could  not 
possibly  be  meant  in  the  figurative  sense,  in 
which  we  use  the  word  wooden,  we  should  be 
obliged  to  take  it  literally,  which,  however  we 
interpreted  1D1D,  would  yield  only  nonsense. 
Accordingly  V^  cannot  be  the  predicate  of  1D1D. 
We  must  therefore  regard  the  latter  as  a  decla- 
ration made  absolutely,  with  pregnant  brevity,  an 
exclamation  which  represents  a  sentence. — Since 

the  radical  meaning  of  /^H  is  breath,  vanitas, 
we  are  perfectly  justified  by  passages  likeEccles. 
i.  2;  V.  6;  xii.  8,  in  taking  the  plural  in  this 
sense,  although  an  adhesion  to  the  derived  mean- 
ing (idols)  may  certainly  be  contained  in  the 
words  'Tl  1D1D  is  theTe{ore=institutio  vanitatum, 

in  the  double  sense  of  vain  instruction  and  that 
which  treats  of  vanities.  At  the  same  time  the 
author  may  have  had  in  mind  an  opposition  to  the 
"chastisement  of  Jehovah"   {'''  IDIO)  (Deut.  xi. 

2 ;  Prov.  iii.  11 ;  Job  v.  17). — Whatever  also  in  idol 
doctrine  is  declared  great  and  glorious  of  the 
idols  is  all  vain  lies  and  deceit.  For  the  idol  is 
wood !  This  points  back  to  ver.  3,  and  at  the 
same  time  declares  in  contradiction  of  what  fol- 
lows, that,  though  the  idols  may  be  ornamented 
with  precious  metals  and  material,  the  heart  is 
still  always  wood.  X^H  is  used  here,  as  in  ver. 
3,  collectively  with  a  contemptuous  side-meaning. 
Ver.  9.  Silver  plates  are  brought  .  .  .  ar- 
tists'  work  are   they  all.     'D    ^03   beaten 

silver,  therefore  silver  plates,  comp.  Gen.  i.  6-8; 
Numb.  xvii.  3,  4.  I  do  not  think  that  these  and 
the  following  words  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  con- 
tinuation of  It  is  wood  or  are  brought,  as 
forming  a  relative  sentence.  For  ver.  8  compared 
with  vers.  3,  4,  is  evidently  intended  to  express 
that  the  idol  is  wood,  a  common  material,  and 
that  the  more  precious  metals,  etc.  are  only  the 


CHAP.  X,  1-16. 


121 


shell  which  covers  the  base  kernel.  The  thought 
therefore  that  the  idol  is  wood,  silver  and  gold  is 
remote  from  the  connection.  For  what  object 
silver  and  gold  are  brought  from  a  great  distance 
is  not  expressly  stated,  but  is  understood  from 
the  context,  and  especially  from  ver.  4. — Tar- 
tessus  in  Spain  is  mentioned  as  producing  silver 
in  Ezek.   xxvii.  12. — The  name  I31X  occurs  be- 

T 

sides  only  in  Dan.  x.  5,  where  T31K  ^f}?.  is  spoken 
of.  There  are  three  views  with  respect  to  it:  1. 
Uphaz  is  designated  as  a  real  locality,  and  Boch- 
ART  {Phaleg.  II.  27],  supposes  it  to  be  Tabrobana 
(Ceylon)  where  according  to  Ptolemy  (VII.  4) 
there  was  a  river  and  harbor  Phasis;  (HiTzioand 
FuERST,  H.  W.  B.  S.  87)  a  place  in  Yemen  (comp. 
Usal,  Gen.  x.  27;  Ophir,  Sheba,  Ps.  xlv.  10;  1 
Chron.  xxix.  4;  Ps.  Ixxii.  15);  in  which  case 
Uphaz  may  be  regarded  either  as  a  compound  of 
1X=1K  and  T3  i.  e.  gold  coast,  or  =  Vipa9a  (Hy- 

phasis)  ;  2.  Uphaz  is  regarded  as  incorrectly 
written  for  TfliX.  So  the  Chaldee  and  Syriac, 
Theodoret  and  many  of  the  moderns;  3.  T2Wp 
is  taken  to  be  identical  with  I£31D  purgatum 
(Part.    Hoph.    from    HD    1    Kings     x.    18,     Vid. 

FuERST,  Cone.  p.  895).  But  since,  1.  The  hypo- 
thesis of  a  scriptural  error  is  opposed  to  the 
critical  principle  of  preferring  the  more  difficult 
reading;  2.  Tartessus  is  designated  only  as  a 
land  of  silver  never  of  gold  (with  the  exception 
of  the  general  and  later  passage.  Mace.  viii.  3); 
3.  The  East  is  elsewhere  generally  represented 
as  the  home  of  gold  (comp.  Havila,  Gen.  ii.  11, 
12;  Ophir,  Sheba,  Mi  «M/>ra) — and  finally,  4.  The 
connection  of  the  passage  requires  the  thought 
that  the  materials  of  the  idols  were  brought  from 
the  most  distant  and  opposite  places.  I  am  in 
favor  of  regarding  Uphaz  as  a  definite  locality  to 
be  sought  in  the  East,  although  it  is  not  possible 
now  to  determine  its  position  more  exactly. — 
The  ■work  of  the  smith  is  in  apposition  with 

silver  and  gold. — n/pri  blue,  pj'lN  red  pur- 
ple, comp.  Exod.  xxvi.  31,  36;  xxvii.  16;  xxviii. 
8,  15,  33. — Artists'  [lit.  skilful  ones]  comp.  ix. 
16  ;   Isai.  xl.  20. 

Ver.  10.  But  Jehovah... endure  his  wrath 
In  contrast  to  the  merely  imaginary  deity  of 
the  idols,  Jehovah  is  designated  as  the  true 
God  (r\DX  in  apposition,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr. 
§  66)  in  contrast  to  their  lifelessness  as  the  living 

(D"n  adject,  comp.  ii.  13  ;  the  plural  as  in  Deut. 
V.  23;  1  Sam.  xvii.  26;  Jer.  xxiii.  36  coll.;  Josh, 
xxiv.  19;  Isai.  xxxvii.  4,  17.  Vide  Naegelsb.  Gr. 
I  105,  4,  a)  in  contrast  to  their  powerlessness 
finally  as  the  eternal  governor  (comp.  Exod.  xv. 
18;  Ps.  X.  16;  Ixvi.  7;  xciii.  1  sqq.;  xcvii.  1). 
Before  such  a  mighty  God  the  earth  trembles 
(Exod.  xix.  16  sqq.;  Ps.  Ixviii.  9;  xcvii.  6;  Nah. 
i.  5)  and  the  nations  are  not  in  a  condition  to 
hold  or  to  bear  the  fulness  of  His  anger  (the 
figure  is  that  of  a  vessel  which  is  burst  by  the 
liquid  poured  into  it.  Matt.  ix.  17  ;  comp.  Jer. 
ii.  13). 

Ver.  11.  Ye  shall  therefore  say  .  .  .  under 
the  heaven.  Houbiq\nt,  Venema,  D.\the, 
Blayney,  Dodeklein,  Rosenmueller,  Mauher, 
EwALD,  Graf,  [Henderson — S.  R.  A.]  and  others 
declare  this  verse  to  be  a  gloss  which  has  crept  | 


into  the  text.  Even  Neumann  {S.  549  Anm.)  in- 
clines to  this  view.  I  must  also  decide  in  its 
favor.  For  1.  Since  we  must  suspect  the  au- 
thenticity of  vers.  1-10,  12-16,  we  have  no  in- 
terest in  maintaining  that  of  this  verse,  but  a 
reason  is  afforded  for  the  insertion  of  the  verse 
just  here.  To  the  marginal  gloss  of  a  second  a 
third  might  have  added  a  second  gloss  in  a  foreign 
language.  He  would  not  have  ventured  to  make 
such  an  irrelevant  addition  to  the  text  of  the 
prophet.  Both  glosses  have  in  later  times  been 
unjustifiably  admitted  into  the  text.  Jeremiah 
would  certainly  not  have  interrupted  a  Hebrew 
discourse  by  a  Chaldee  interpolation,  when  he 
elsewhere  never  uses  this  language,  not  even  iu 
the  letter  to  the  exiles,  ch.  xxix.  The  reasons 
which  have  been  adduced  in  favor  of  their  au- 
thenticity are  specious  only.  They  may  be  found 
in  Neumann,  S.  f»47,  sqq.  [  Vide  a,\so  Eng.  Trans, 
of  Calvin,  II.  p.  31,  n.—S.  R.  A.].  2.  The  verse 
breaks  the  connection  in  the  most  abrupt  manner. 
Ver.  12  is  by  this  verse  suspended  in  the  air, 
while  without  it,  ver.  12  is  connected  quite  regu- 
larly with  ver.  10.  The  assumption  of  a  paren- 
thesis also  (J.  D.  Michaelis)  does  not  avail.  For 
then  the  verse  must  be  a  necessary,  not  inter- 
ruptive  supplement  to  ver.  10,  or  preparation  for 
ver.  12,  neither  of  which  is  the  case. 

Ver.  12.  "Who  made  the  earth  . .  .  the  hea- 
vens— Who  made  (i^^lP)  is  in  apposition  to 

the  main  idea  of  ver.  10:  Jehovah  Elohim.  The 
absence  of  the  article  before  such  a  participle 
standing  in  apposition  after  a  JVom.  determ.  is 
frequent.  Comp.  ii.  27 ;  Ps.  ix.  12 ;  civ.  2-4 ; 
Zech.  xii.  1.  Vide  Naegelsb.  Gr.  \  97,  2,  a. — 
The  contents  of  vers.  12  and  13  serve  by  the  enu- 
meration of  facts  as  a  confirmation  of  ver.  11, 
comp.  ch.  xxvii.  5;  xxxii.  17. — established, 
etc.  comp.  Ps.  Ixv.  7;  Ixxxix.  12;  xciii.  1. — 
spread  out,  etc.  comp.  civ.  2 ;  Isai.  xl.  22 ; 
xliv.  24;  Ii.  13;  Zech.  xii.  1. 

Ver.  13  At  the  sound  ....  storehouses. 
This  verse,  with  the  exception  of  the  beginning 
is  found  in  Ps.  cxxxv.  7. — Sound  of  his  voice. 
It  is  not  necessary  with  Ewald  to  take  this  for 

"710  ST\7h,  or  with  MAURERfor  I'^'lp  nnS,  or  with 

HiTZiQ  to  make  Jion  depend  on  IDH  as  the  ob- 
ject. For  the  words  mean  simply  ad  vocem, 
quam  edit.  We  are  not  then  to  take  JHJ  in  the 
general  sense  (on  the  noise  which  His  giving 
makes)  but  in  the  special  sense  which  lies  at  the 
root  of  the  expression  7ip3  jJ^J  (xii.  8 ;  Ps.  xlvi. 
7;  Ixviii.  34)  i.  e.,  "to  make  a  noise,  sound  with 
the  voice."  That  the  thunder  is  meant  is  evident 
from  the  context.  Thunder,  lightning,  clouds, 
rain  and  storm  are  mentioned  as  the  essential 
constituents  of  a  tempest,   comp.  xi.  16. 

Vers.  14  and  15.  Stupid  are  all  .  .  .  they 
perish.  In  contrast  to  the  living  power  of  God 
the  vanity  of  the  idols  is  again  set  forth.  AVhile 
before  Jehovah,  when  He  arises,  all  trembles  and 
is  afraid,  the  worshippers  of  idols  are  by  these 
merely — put  to  shame.  The  two  members  of  ver. 
14  a,  stand  in  the  relation  of  explicative,  not  of 
synonymous  parallelism.  The  second  is  the  ex- 
planation and  more  exact  definition  of  the  first. 
A  change  of  reading  therefore  (mx   into  DDFIJ 


122 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


or  of  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word  (D^'l=^arte 
factum,  idol-image)  is  unnecessary.  "^Jl^^  we 
take  in  the  explicative  sense=to  appear  stupid, 
to  prove  so,  comp.  Isai.  xix.  11;  Ewald,  §  123, 
b.  r>^!|0  v?ithout  insight,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr. 
g  112,  5,  d. — Men  appear  in  the  entire  naked- 
ness of  their  stupidity,  in  so  far  as  they  are  put 
to  shame  by  their  idols,  which  are  not  God,  but 
dead  castings. — "Work  of  deceit.  The  sense 
is:  a  work  by  which  they  themselves  are  stulti- 
fied and  put  to  shame  who  make  it. 

Ver.  16.  Not  like  these  ...  is  his  name. 
The  worshippers  of  .Jehovah  are  yet  again  com- 
prised with  the  idolaters,  Jehovah  is  opposed  to  the 
idols,  and  the  whole  force  of  the  demonstration 


is  concentrated  into  the  significant  name  of  th« 
true  God.  The  first  hemistich  falls  into  two 
members.  1.  Not  like  these  is  the  portion  of  Jacob. 
The  expression  portion  of  Jacob  reminds  us 
of  Deut.  xxxii.  9 ;  Ps.  xvi.  5.  Observe  how  by 
this  expression  Jehovah  and  His  servants  are 
aptly  comprised  together.  2.  Again  the  first  sen- 
tence has  a  double  basis:  as  former  of  all  things 
Jehovah  is  not  like  the  idols,  and  as  those  who 
have  this  God  for  their  portion  and  inheritance 
the  Israelites  are  not  like  the  heathen. — Stock 
of  his  inheritance.  Comp.  Deut.  iv.  20;  Ps. 
Ixxiv.  2. — On  the  relation  of  this  passage  to  li. 
19,  and  of  the  Hebrew  original  of  the  Alexan- 
drian translation,  consult  Naegelsb.  Jeremia  u. 
Bab.  S.  93,  131. 


2.  Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  retribution :  Command  to  the  people  to  retire ;  Lament  of  the  desolated 
land;  last  watch-erg  of  the  Prophet:   the  enemg  is  here! 

X.  17-22.1 

17  Pick  up  thy  bundle*  from  the  earth,  thou  that  sittest'  in  distress ! 

18  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  :  Behold ! 

I  sling  away  the  inhabitants  of  this  land  at  this  once, 
And  bring  them  into  straits,  that  they  may  find  it  so. 

19  Wo  is  me  for  my  hurt!  My  wound  is  incurable.* 

But  I  say :  this  is  now  my  suffering  and  I  will  bear  it. 

20  My  tent  is  laid  waste  and  all  my  cords  are  broken.^ 
My  children  forsake  me  and  are  never  here. 

There  is  none  to  pitch  my  tent  and  set  up  my  curtains  , 

21  For  the  pastors  are  become  stupid  and  seek  not  Jehovah. 

Hence  they  have  effected  nothing  prudent  and  their  whole  flock  is  dispersed. 

22  Hark,  a  message  comes  and  great  tumult  out  of  the  north  country, 
That  the  cities  of  Judah  are  to  become  a  desolation, 

For  the  habitation  of  jackals. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  This  strophe  apart  from  the  general  relationship  which  it  bears  to  chh.  vii.ix.,  also  has  many  particular  points  of  con- 
nection with  this  passage,  especially  with  viil.  13  sqq.  Comp.  ver.  ITwith  viii.  14— _I?Vlp,  ver.  ISwith  "iriDStyn  vii.  15.— 

1-13K/  ver.  19  with  vUi.  21.— ''JK:f''  ver.  20  with  0  ■IJDi;/  i^-  18.— j'li):;  X^^J?.  '^^''-  ^^  ^'*^  '*'"'•  1^.— njl  DIE'S  ver.  22 

2  Ver.  iV.— n^J3  (aT  Acy)  from  _jrj3=  the  bowed  together,  twisted  together,  pack,  bundle.    On 'iJDX  comp.  Olsh. 

T  T :  ~  T  *  :    • 

3'ver.  17.— The  Keri  jn^UT  is  superfluous.    Comp.  xxii.  'IS;  Gen.  xlix.  11;  Hos.  x.  11;  Olsh.  g  123,  d.:   Naeqelsb. 

Cfr.  g  43, 1.    On  the  construct  state  before  prepositions,  comp.  lb.  g  63, 4  c.    [Henderson  renders :  0  inhabiters  of  the  siege.] 

*  Ver.  19.- nSn J  (OLSn.^ns.  g  2G6,  a).    Comp.  xiv.  17  ;  xxx.  12.    [Hendersox  :  My  stroke  is  grievous.] 
6  Ver.  20. — [Henderson  :  all  my  tent  pins  aru  plucked  up,  but  without  reason. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

After  by  ix.  25  it  is  affirmed  that  the  last  and 
only  means  of  safety  is  despised  the  prophet  now 
in  vers.  17  and  18  addresses  a  command  to  the 
people  to  remove  into  exile.  The  now  desolated 
land  is  hereupon  introduced  as  lamenting  its 
misfortune  and  its  causes  (vers.  19-21).  At  last 
the  prophet  announces,  as  a  herald  or  watchman 


on  the  lookout,  that  the  enemy  (long  predicted 
and  called  to  execute  judgment)  is  present  (ver. 
22). 

Ver.  17.  Pick  up  thy  bundle  .  .  .  dis- 
tress. It  is  the  prophet  who  speaks. —  1*."????= 
from  the  earth,  away  from  the  ground,  for  here 
we  have  to  do  not  with  the  retirement  of  the  pos- 
sessors from  the  country,  but  only  of  the  hasty 
gathering  up  of  the  few  eflfects,  which  a  poor  ex- 
ile might  take  with  him.     The  word  "bundle" 


CHAP.  X.  23-25. 


123 


has  therefore  a  contemptuous  side-meaning. — In 
distress.     The  prophet  speaks  this  of  the  people 
already  severely  distressed  by  the  enemy  in  the 
cities  whither  they  have  fled,  viii.  14.  Comp.  xix 
9;  lii.  5. 

Ver.  18.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  may 
find  it  so.  .Jehovah  Himself  is  now  introduced 
as  speaking,  to  give  a  reason  for  tlie  command  in 
ver.  17. — Since  the  time  of  the  Judges  the  people 
had  often  been  oppressed  by  foreign  enemies  within 
their  borders,  now  they  are  to  be  dragged  far 
away   into  banishment,   comp.   Isa.    xxii.   17  — 

That  they  may  find  it  so.  1N2fD^  |;'dV     This 

expression,  which  has  been  very  variously  inter- 
preted is  explained  most  easily  by  remembering, 
a.  its  relation  to  bring  into  straits,  b.  the  ease  of 
supplying  the  indeiinite  object  "it"  (Naegelsb. 
Gr.,  ^  78,  2  Anm.),  c.  the  close  connection  of  the 
ideas  "to  find"  and  "to  know."  With  respect  to 
the  latter,  I  refer  especially  to  Eccles.  viii.  17 
(and  I  saw  that  man  cannot  find  all  God's  work, 
that  is  done  under  the  sua;  though  a  man  labor 
to  seek  [it],  yet  he  finds  it  not,  and  though  a  wise 
man  think  to  know  [it],  yet  can  he  not  find  it). 
Comp.  also  Jer.  xvi.  21. — He  who  is  driven  into 
straits  must  go  whither  he  is  driven.  So  God  by 
afiliction  drives  Israel  into  such  straits  that  they 
must  find,  i.  e.,  know  what  it  is  above  all  neces- 
sary and  desirable  for  them  to  know,  that  great 
"it,"  namely,  which  though  unnamed,  is  well 
understood.  Chap.  Isa.  xliii.  20;  Hos.  ix.  7. 

Vers.  19  and  20.  Wo  is  me  .  .  .  set  up  my 
curtains.  That  both  these  verses  are  the  words 
of  the  country  personified,  is  seen  from  "my 
•hildren,"  etc.,  in  ver.  20,  for  neither  the  prophet 


says  this,  nor  the  people,  who  are  identical  with  the 
children  and  not  forsaken,  but  forsaking. — And 
I  say.  In  these  words  also  we  have  a  proof 
that  the  land  is  the  speaker.  For  the  words  ex- 
press no  consciousness  of  guilt,  but  a  comfort, 
which  the  innocent  land  alone  could  find,  in  the 
fact  that  a  calamity  is  laid  upon  it,  which  must 
be  borne.  At  the  same  time  we  perceive  in  these 
words  the  first  gleam  of  hope  in  a  future  deliver- 
ance. For  men  speak  thus  composedly  only  when 
they  know  that  they  will  not  have  to  bear  per- 
petual but  only  transient  suflEering.  Comp.  v.  4. 
Also  the  suffixes  of  the  Isfc  Pers.  in  ver.  20  are 
in  favor  of  the  land  as  the  speaker. — Forsake 
me.  Comp.  Gen.  xliv.  4;  Numb.  xxxv.  26; 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  I  70,  b. 

Ver.  21.  For  the  pastors  are  become  stu- 
pid .  .  .  dispersed.  The  land  is  the  speaker: 
1.  on  account  of  "'3;  2.  because  the  metaphor  of 
pastoral  life  is  continued ;  8.  because  in  the 
mouth  of  the  land  this  statement  does  not  appear 
as  the  repetition  of  things  which  have  been  al- 
ready frequently  said,  but  as  it  were  a  confirma- 
tory testimony  from  an  impartial  witness. — Be- 
come stupid.  Comp.  ver.  8, — effect  nothing 
prudent.  The  meaning  is  to  eff"ect  that  which 
is  prudent,  sensible  and  in  so  far  also  prosptjr- 
ous,  comp.  XX.  11;  Prov.  xvii.  8. 

Ver.  22.  Hark,  a  message  .  .  .  jackal. — 
These  words  are,  as  it  were,  a  last  watch-cah 
and  signal  which  denotes  (comp.  i.  14;  iv.  6;  vi. 
1,  22;  viii.  16)  that  the  enemy  so  frequently  an- 
nounced is  present. — For  a  habitation,  comp. 
ix.  10. 


3.  Comolatory  glance  into  the  future. 
X.  23-25. 

23  I  know,  Jehovah,  that  not  to  man  belongs  his  way, 
It  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps.^ 

24  Correct  me,  Jehovah,  but  only  as  it  is  just. 

Not  in  thine  anger,  lest  thou  bring  me  to  nothing. 

25  Pour  out  thy  wrath  on  the  nations  that  know  thee  not, 
And  on  the  nations  that  call  not  on  thy  name  ; 

For  they  have  devoured  Jacob,  yea  they  consumed  and  destroyed  him, 
And  his  pasture  have  they  laid  waste. 


TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 
^  Ver.  23. — v^  |'3nV  Prom  the  LXX.  (ouSe  ovrjp  Tropeuo-erai  koI  KaTopdunrei  nopeCav  avTov)  and  the  Vulgate  (necviri  est, 
tit  amhulet  et  dirigat  gressus  stios),  we  might  conclude  that  they  read  jOm  ^ /H,  if  we  might  assume  any  exactness  in 
these  translations,  and  if  it  were  not  evident  from  the  Chaldee  (jpnoi  7"X"i  qui  ambalat  et  dirigit),  and  the  Syriac,  that 
they  also  read  ^/D-  It  is  impossible  to  justify  the  Tau  grammatically,  when  it  stands  before  the  infinitive.  EvenEWALD 
has  accomplished  nothing  by  reference  to  §  S-l-l,  a.  Gaab,  by  transposing  the  Vau,  would  read  13 7(1,  which  is  an  equally 
unusual  construction,  and  gives  a  feeble  sense.  The  easiest  way  would  be  to  read  T^H  7)  'f  the  very  facility  of  this  reading 
did  Qot  stand  in  its  way.  The  general  meaning  is  clear,  but  we  must  abandon  for  the  present  an  exact  determination  of  th« 
word. 


V2i 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

These  verses  form  a  very  appropriate  conclu- 
Bion.  They  iuvolve  an  huiiust  confession  of  sin 
in  view  of  the  numerous  charges  of  the  discourse. 
To  the  threatenings  of  punishment,  however,  cor- 
responds the  petition  to  punish  not  too  severely, 
not  in  anger,  but  to  pour  out  the  fury  on  tlie 
heathen  nations;  the  basis  of  which  petition  is 
the  theocratic  hope  that  Israel  cannot  be  wholly 
rejected,  but  there  must  in  the  future  be  a  day 
of  grace  for  them,  and  vengeance  on  their  ene- 
mies. The  prophet  must  be  regarded  as  the 
speaker,  but  as  speaking  not  in  his  own  name, 
but  in  that  of  the  people. 

Ver.  23.  I  know  .  .  .  his  steps.  Man  has 
not  the  power  to  determine  how  and  where  he 
will  go.    Comp.   Ps.  xxxvii.  23;  Prov.  xvi.  1,  9; 

xix.  21.— '^Hn  is  taken  by  HiTZiG=perishable, 
mortal.  And  the  word,  according  to  passages 
like  Ps.  xxxix.  14;  Iviii.  9;  cix.  23;  Job  xix.  10, 
cannot  be  denied  this  meaning.  But  since  the 
most  natural  sense:  it  is  not  for  man,  so  long  as 
he  walks,  to  determine  his  course — seems  equally 
appropriate,  the  word  may  be  regarded  as  having 
a  double  sense,  or,  as  uniting  both  these  meanings. 
Vers.  24  and  25.  Correct  me  .  .  .  and  his 
pasture  have  they  laid  waste.  In  ver.  23 
the  thought  is  implicitly  contained  that  Israel 
had  wished  in  his  own  strength  to  walk  in  his 
own  way  contrary  to  the  will  of  God.  He  now 
sees  how  greatly  he  has  sinned  and  submits  to 
the  necessary  and  merited  punishment,  praying 
only  for  the  utmost  possible  mildness  and  forbear- 
ance. The  final  conversion  and  re-acceptance  of 
the  people  is  thus  set  forth  as  prospective. — As 
is  just,  comp.  XXX.  11;  xlvi.  28.  As  was  re- 
marked on  vii.  5 ;  ix.  23,  justice  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  not  opposed  to  grace,  but  to  brutal  vio- 
lence.    The  antithesis  of  pH^  is  not  to  TpH,  but 

to  V'"^;^  the  violence  (p'^j?)  exercised  toward  the 
poor,  the  stranger,  orphan  and  widow.     In  con- 
trast to  this  he   who  consciously  maintains  the 
straight  line  of  justice  appears  fairly   disposed 
and  mild,  not  making  his  subjective  desires  his 
law,  but  submitting  himself  to  the  objective  law. 
Accordingly  this  as  it  is  just,  which  evidently 
has  its  antithesis  in  the  following:  in  thine  an- 
ger, also  involves  the  idea  of  mildness,  because 
justice  in  contrast  to  that  anger  which  is  ite  own 
law,  and  respects  no  other,  appears  like  mild- 
ness.    It  must  be  granted  that  this  dualistic  con- 
ception of  God  as  just  towards  Israel,  but  wrath- 
ful  towards  the  heathen,  is  not  that  of  the  New 
Testament.     That  it  is  the   genuine  Old  Testa- 
ment view  is  shown  by  passages  like  Ps.  vi.  2; 
xxxviii.  2;  Ixxix.  (where  in  vers.  6  and   7   our 
ver.   24  is  reproduced);  cxxxvii.    8.      Observe, 
moreover,  how  the  prophet  here  turns  the  tables. 
To  Israel,  now  being  severely  punished,  he  pre- 
sents the  prospect  of  grace,  but  before  the  hea- 
then, who  are  now  God's  instruments  in  the  pun- 
ishment of  Israel,  is.complete  destruction.  Comp. 
Isa.  xlvii.  6;  Hab.  i.  11 ;  iii.  8-12,  and  Jer.  1.  and 
li.,  especially  1.  10  sqq. — The  repetition  and  ac- 
cumulation of  verbs  in  25  b,  is  to  portray  graphi- 
tally  the  rage  of  the  enemies,  comp.  li.  84. 


DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  6.  There  cannot  be  two  highest  Be- 
ings, or  there  would  be  noue.  In  the  idea  of  the 
Absolute  is  involved  that  of  uniqueness.  Poly- 
theism has  therefore  no  highest  Being  in  the  ab- 
solute sense.  Where,  however,  traces  of  such 
are  found,  polytheism  is  about  either  to  rise  to 
monotheism  (comp.  Friedrich  Naegelsbach, 
nachhom.  Theol.  S.  140),  or  to  dissolve  into  pan- 
theism. 

2.  "Who  shall  not  fear  thee?  etc.,  ver.  7, 
Ghislerds  remarks:  "  (S*.  Remigius,  Episc.  Rhe- 
mensis  ex  hoc  loco probat,  multos  ex  geiitibus  credidisse 
et  placuisse  Deo,  additque  in  hoc  multo  magis  diet 
Deum  gentium,  quoniam  multo  plures  credunt  in  eum 
ex  gentibus,  quam  ex  Judseis.^'  Comp.  Rom.  ii.  14, 
15,  and  Tholuck  ad  h.  I. — John  i.  4  {16yoq  a-n-ep- 
/laTiKdg). 

8.  Augustine  remarks  on  the  Infinity  of  God, 
de  Trin.,  V.  1.  "I7itelligimus  Deum  sine  qualitate 
bonum,  sine  quantitate  magnum,  sine  indigentia  cre- 
atorein,  sin"  stluprxsentem,  sine  habitu  omnia  con- 
tinentem,  sine  loco  uhique  totum,  sine  tempore  sempi- 
ternum,  sine  ulla  sui  mutalione  mutabilia  facientem 
nihilque  patientem." 

4.  On  ver.  10.  In  hemist.  a,  a  proof  of  the 
Trinity  has  been  repeatedly  found.  So  ex.  gr., 
Hailbrunner  (Jer.  proph.  monumenta  in  locos 
comm.  Theol.  digesta,  Lauingen,  1586,  page  38), 
FoRSTER  {S.  61),  and  among  the  moderns  Neu- 
mann (<?.  547).  The  latter  says  .  .  .  "the passage 
afl"ord3  a  sure  testimony  of  the  trinitarian  view 
of  God  in  the  Old  Testament;  the  truth  of  the 
Spirit,  the  life  of  the  Father,  the  kingdom  of  the 
Son,  comprising  in  themselves  the  fulness  of  all 
emanations  of  the  divine  existence  in  opposition 
to  heathen  superstition."  But  against  this  it  may 
be  urged  that  in  opposition  to  the  multiplicity  of 
idols  the  author  had  to  set  forth  not  the  trinity, 
but  the  unity  of  the  divine  nature,  as  he  has  done 
in  vers.  6  and  7,  and  that  his  purpose  here  (ver. 
10)  is  merely  to  contrast  the  false  gods  with  the 
true,  the  dead  with  the  living,  the  powerless  with 
the  Almighty.  That  the  contrast  is  exhibited  in 
three  points,  we  are  not  indeed  to  regard  as  ac- 
cidental, but  to  explain  it  rather  by  the  general 
significance  of  the  number  three,  than  by  the 
purpose  of  intimating  the  Trinity. 

5.  On  ver.  14:  ^^All  men  are  fools.  Ye  fools 
and  blind,  says  our  Saviour  (Matt,  xxiii).  Such 
a  word,  spoken  in  season  takes  hold  and  pro- 
duces conviction;  but  it  must  be  administered 
with  spirit  and  fire;  for  if  it  is  only  human 
words  to  men,  they  will  make  a  quarrel  out  of 

them."    ZiNZENDORF. 

6.  On  ver.  14  (A  lie  is  their  casting).  This 
applies  not  only  to  the  idols  which  men  make  of 
earthly  materials,  but  to  all  self-made  idols  of 
the  heart.  The  carnal  mind,  which  tends  down- 
wards, feels  annoyed  by  the  nearness  of  God, 
and  seeks  therefore  at  all  times  to  escape  from 
it.  But  since  man  cannot  do  without  God,  he 
makes  himself  a  god  or  gods,  as  he  wants  them. 
Whether  these  gods  are  visible  and  palpable 
images,  or  the  abstract  forms  of  speculation,  the 
words  of  the  text  always  apply  to  them;  they 
are  a  lie,  and  there  is  no  spirit  in  them.  Ac- 
cordingly  there   is    heathenism    enough   in  the 


CHAP.  X.  23-25. 


125 


midst  of  Christianity,  and  it  may  be  asked,  which 
is  worse,  the  new  or  the  old  ? 

7.  On  ver.  16.  What  perfect  historical  reality 
and  peisoiiality  is  here!  A  creator  of  the  uni- 
verse stands  before  us,  one  therefore,  who  has 
called  all  things  into  existence  by  His  free,  per- 
sonal will,  and  who  at  the  same  time  as  the  liv- 
ing personal  Head  of  all  the  spirits  governing 
the  world  is  infinitely  exalted  above  every  limi- 
ted local  deity.  But  at  the  same  time  the  re- 
lation of  this  Deity  to  the  world  is  not  an  ab- 
stract, and  general,  but  a  living  and  personal 
relation.  For  this  God  primarily  holds  immediate 
personal  intercourse  with  one  nation  of  the  earth, 
as  a  father  with  his  son,  and  He  is  this  nation's 
greatest  treasure  and  inalienable  property,  as  on 
the  other  hand  the  nation  belongs  to  Him  as  the 
object  of  His  free  personal  election,  which  none 
may  dispute  or  annul. 

8.  On  ver.  19  (I  must  bear  it).  "  I  pray  all 
teachers  for  God's  sake,  that  they  reflect  and  err 
not,  that  they  do  not,  in  order  to  retain  their  liv- 
ing, repeat  these  words  of  Jeremiah,  and  cover 
up  their  laziness,  ill-success,  frivolity,  their  own 
unfruitfulness  and  selfishness,  with  the  excuse, 
♦  this  is  my  plague.'  0  no,  what  we  should  call 
a  plague  is  burdens  of  a  hundred-weight,  from 
which  we  long  to  be  freed,  which  crush  us  al- 
most to  death;  persons  from  whom  we  would  flee 
as  a  bird  from  a  cage;  a  pressure  under  which 
we  are  martyred  with  shame,  and  yet  have  no 
permission  to  depart.  These  lead  one  finally, 
after  mauy  struggles  and  cries  unto  the  Lord  for 
his  dismission,  and  after  an  answer  of  absolute 
denial,  to  say  in  calmness:  I  believe  this  is  now 
my  plague,  and  I  must  bear  it."    Zinzendorf. 

9.  On  ver.  20.  "The  jealousy  of  the  Saviour 
is  so  strict,  that  He  will  have  His  children  di- 
rected to  Him  (Isa.  xlv.  11),  and  the  idea  of  the 
pastoral  office  with  which  some  good  teachers  are 
infected,  of  regarding  and  treating  souls  as  their 
souls,  sheep  as  their  sheep,  children  as  their  chil- 
dren, is  in  the  highest  degree  opposed  to  His  will. 
Hence  He  often,  for  a  just  judgment,  does  not  al- 
low their  joy  in  souls  to  last,  but  lets  them  see  and 
conclude  more  of  their  decline  and  less  of  their 
success,  than  there  really  is.  For  He  will  not 
give  His  glory  to  another,  and  the  teachers  are  not 
Christ,  but  sent  by  Him,  before  ffem."  Zinzendorf. 

10.  On  ver.  21.  "  .\s  sheep  must  either  starve 
or  be  led  to  filthy  and  poisonous  pasture,  if  their 
shepherds  are  fools,  who  do  not  know  how  to 
manage  sheep,  so  is  this  much  moj-e  the  case  in 
the  spiritual  pastorate."  Cramer. 

11.  On  ver.  23.  "  The  steps  of  every  man  are 
ordered  by  the  Lord,  what  man  understands  His 
way?  (Prov.  xx.  24).  And  every  man's  way  is 
right  in  his  own  eyes,  but  the  Lord  alone  maketh 
the  hearts  certain  (Prov.  xxi.  2).  Therefore  we 
must  pray:  Lord,  make  known  to  me  the  way  in 
which  I  should  walk,  for  after  Thee  is  my  desire. 
Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will,  for  Thou  art  my  God; 
let  Thy  good  Spirit  guide  me  in  a  plain  path{Ps. 
cxliii.  H-10)."  Cramer. 

12.  On  ver.  23.  '•  Cerium  est,  nos  velle,  cum  vo- 
lumus,  sed  ilk  facit,  ut  velivitm  honum,  de  quo  dic- 
tum est,  quod  prxparatur  voluntas  a  Domino  (Prov. 
viii.  3-5  sec.  Sept.)  Certum  est.  nos  facere,  cam  fa- 
cimua,  sed  ille  facit,  ut  faciamus  prxhendo  vires  cffi- 
iacissimas  voluntati,  qui  dixit ;  faciam  ut  in  juslifi- 


cationibus  meis  ambuletis  et  judicia  mea  observetia 
(Ezek.  xxxvi.  26,  27)."  Augustin.  De  grat.  et 
lib.  arbitr.   Cap    16. 

13.  On  ver.  24.  "  There  is  a  beautiful  distinc- 
tion between  the  suffering  and  punishment  of 
the  pious  and  the  ungodly,  which  consists  in  modo 
et  in  fine.  For  when  God  chastises  the  pious  He 
does  it  not  with  anger  and  fury,  bui  as  a  discreet 
and  kind  father  or  teacher  may  discipline  his  son 
and  disciple,  without  ill-humor.  Thus  also  God 
does  with  His  children.  He  does  it,  not  that  He 
may  bring  them  to  nothing,  but  that  they  may 
not  esteem  themselves  innocent  (xxx.  11).  On 
the  other  hand  he  makes  an  end  of  the  ungodly, 
and  they  must  drink  up  the  dregs  (Ps.  Ixxv. 
8)."  Cr.^mer. 

14.  On  ver.  25.  "  Quseri  potest  hie,  an  contra 
infidcles,  ut  hodie  sunt  Turcse  et  Judsei,  orandum  ? 
Orandum  est  contra  eos  et  pro  i-s.  Contra  eos,  quate- 
nus pcrseqmintur  ecclesiam,  pro  w.t,  quatenus  ecclesiam 
non  persequuntur,  ut  convertantur,  quemadmoduiii  fit 
tn  Litania ;  forgive  our  enemies,  persecutors  and 
slanderers,  and  turn  their  hearts."     Foester. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  [On  ver.  7.  Saurin: — Fear  maybe  1.  Ter- 
ror. 2.  A  disposition  to  render  God  all  the  wor- 
ship He  requires,  to  submit  to  all  the  laws  He  im- 
poses, to  conceive  all  the  emotions  of  admiration, 
devotedness  and  love,  which  the  eminence  of  His 
perfections  demands.  3.  A  disposition  which 
considers  Him  as  alone  possessing  all  that  can 
contribute  to  our  happiness  and  misery.  In  the 
last  sense  (which  is  meant  here)  God  is  the  only 
object  of  fear  ;  for  1.  God  is  a  being  whose  will 
is  self-efficient;  2.  the  only  being  who  can  act 
immediately  on  spiritual  souls  ;  3.  the  only  be- 
ing who  can  make  all  creatures  concur  in  His 
designs."— S.  R.  A.] 

2.  On  ver.  10.  There  are  three  main  forms  of 
idolatry :  1.  Polytheism,  which  does  not  deny  the 
predicates  of  deity,  but  attributes  ihem  to  false 
subjects. — 2.  Pantheism,  which  denies  the  sub- 
jects and  the  predicates. — 3.  Deism,  which  con- 
fesses the  subject  but  denies  the  predicates. — 
These  errors  are  opposed  in  ver.  10,  from  which 
we  derive  the  theme: — The  Scriptural  doctrine 
of  God  in  opposition  to  the  errors  of  idolatry. — • 
This  teaches  us  to  know  God,  1.  as  the  true,  real 
God  in  opposition  to  those  who  attribute  the  di- 
vine properties  to  imaginary  false  gods  ;  2.  as 
the  living  God  in  opposition  to  those  who  repre- 
sent God  as  a  mere  all-pervading  force ;  3.  as 
the  eternal  King,  in  opposition  to  those  who  re- 
present God  only  as  a  transient  work-master, 
and  not  as  the  ever  active  ruler  of  the  world. 

3.  There  isa  homily  of  Origen  (Horn.  VIII.  ed. 
Lomjiatzsch)  on  vers.  12-14,  in  which  by  the  earth 

he  understands  the  body,  by  73r>  [o'lKovfievi])  the 

soul,  by  the  heavens  the  spirit.  The  clouds  (mist) 
ver.  13  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  are  the  saints 
whom  God  has  chosen  from  the  least  of  the  earth. 

4.  On  vers.  14-16.  It  is  manifest  that  the  task 
of  religion  is  not  to  make  God,  but  to  receive 
Him,  who  is,  in  faith.  Every  manufactured  god 
is  an  idol,  be  it  a  visible  one  made  with  hands, 
or  an  invisible  one  made  only  in  thought.  The 
latter  kind  of  idolatry  is  alas !  very   prevalent 


126 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


among  us  Christians.  For  a  warning  against 
such  ruinous  heresies,  and  for  the  confirmation 
of  our  faith  in  the  God,  whom  as  Christians  we 
ought  to  serve,  we  institute  on  the  basis  of  the 
text,  a  comparison  between  the  manufactured 
gods  and  the  God,  of  whom  the  Scriptures  teach 
us.  I.  The  manufactured  gods,  1.  are  deceit, 
etc.,  vers.  14,  b;  15,  a.  2.  They  perish  when 
they  are  visited  (in  the  day  of  divine  judgment 
upon  tbem  they  vanish  into  nothing).  8.  Those 
who  made  them  are  with  all  their  skill  put  to 
shame.  II.  The  God,  of  whom  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures teach  us.  1.  He  is  not  a  lifeless  deceptive 
image,  for  He  has  created  all  things,  the  visible 
and  the  invisible  (Jehovah  Zebaoth).  2.  Being 
the  source  of  all  life  He  cannot  perish.  3.  Those 
who  serve  Him  are  not  put  to  shame,  for  He  is 
their  treasure,  as  they  again  are  His  heritage 
(He  is  not  only  infinitely  exalted  above  time  and 
•pace,  t)ut  infinitely  near  us,  His  children). 


5.  On  ver.  10.  From  these  words  of  the  pro- 
phet we  may  learn  what  it  is  in  great  affliction 
and  sorrow  of  heart  to  bow  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God.  It  is  1,  that  a  man  recognize  the  suffering 
as  his  suffering,  i.  e.,  (a)  as  that  which  he  has  him- 
self prepared,  (6)  as  tliat  which  is  right  for  him, 
i.  e.,  not  too  heavy  and  not  too  light,  but  exactly 
corresponding  to  its  beneficent  purpose;  2,  that 
they  suffer  willingly,  (a)  in  patience,  (6)  in  hope. 

6.  On  ver.  23.  Theme:  Man  proposes,  God 
disposes.  This  is  1,  a  humbling  of  our  pride,  2, 
a  strong  support  of  our  hope. 

Note. — Forster  remarks  that  these  words 
may  serve  for  the  text  of  a  concio  valedictoria. 

7.  On  ver.  25.  Theme:  How  we  should  behave 
under  the  chastisements  of  God.  1.  We  should 
humbly  submit  to  them  as  necessary  and  whole- 
some means  of  improvement.  2.  We  should  be 
certain  that  they  will  not  then  transgress  those 
bounds  nor  proceed  to  our  destruction. 


4.  FOURTH  DISCOURSE. 

(Chapters  XL— XII.) 

WITH    AN    APPENDIX.    CHAP.  XIII. 

The  three  chapters  xi.-xiii.  are  headed  in  common  by  a  longer  superscription  (xi.  1)  such  as  those  with  which 
Jeremiah  is  accustomed  to  introduce  the  greater  sections.  A  similar  one  occurs  again  in  xiv.  1.  But 
chaps,  xi.  and  xii.  only  form  a  connected  whole,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown.  In  the  passage  xii.  14, 
where  the  prophet  speaks  of  the  wicked  neighbors  by  which  the  inheritance  of  Israel  was  assailed,  an 
allusion  has  been  found  to  the  event  reported  in  2  Kings  xxiv.  2  and  the  time  of  composition  of  this  dis- 
course determined  accordingly.  {So  Dahler,  Maurer,  Hitziq,  Umbreit,  Graf).  The  discourse 
would  accordingly  pertain  to  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim.  But  m  this  case  Jeremiah  must  have 
named  the  Chaldeans  as  the  instruments  of  punishment,  as  he  does  without  exception  in  all  the  dis- 
courses delivered  after  the  battle  of  Carchemish.  The  fact  that  the  Chaldeans  are  not  mentioned  is  a 
sure  sign  that  the  discourse  ivas  delivered  before  the  date  mentioned,  which  falls  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Jehoiakim  (xxv.  1  ;  xlvi.  2).  Since  now  in  the  lifetime  of  Josiah  a  violation  of  covenant  in  the  degree 
with  tvhich  the  people  are  reproached  in  xi.  9-13  {observe  especially  ver.  13)  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  and 
the  three  months'  reign  of  Jehoahaz  is  scarcely  worth  consideration,  we  are  referred  to  the  first 
years  of  Jehoiakim,  consequently  the  same  period  to  which  the  preceding  discourse  (ch.  vii.  10)  belongs. 
If  what  is  said  in  xii.  9  sqq.  of  wicked  neighbors  has  some  reference  to  2  Kings  xxiv.  2  it  can  only  be 
that  we  may  perceive  in  the  latter  the  at  least  partial  fulfilment  of  the  former.  Comp.  the  comments  on 
xii.  14. — Ch.  xiii.  is  not  connected  with  chaps,  xi.  and  xii.  It  forms  a  well-compacted  whole,  the 
time  and-origin  of  which  may  be  perceived  partly  from  itssilence  ivith  respect  to  the  Chaldeans,  and  partly 
from  what  is  said  concerning  the  pride  of  the  king.  It  must  likewise  belong  to  the  first  years  of  Jehoia- 
kim. Comp.  the  preliminary  remarks  ore  ch.  xiii.  The  principle  of  chronological  arrangement  is  here 
also  perceptible. 

tliat  xii.  7-17  is  not  a  later  addition,  as  Mauree,  Hitziq  and  Graf  suppose,  is  evident,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  from  the  structure  of  the  loliole. 

The  fundamental  thought  of  the  discourse  is : 

The  contrast  of  the  covenant  and  conspiracy. 

(nn3  and  It^^p...) 

1.  Reminder  of  the  recent  renewal  under  Josiah  of  the  covenant  between  Jehovah  and  the  people,  xi.  1-8. 

2.  First  stage  of  the  conspiracy  ;  entire  Israel,   instead  of  keeping  the  covenant  with   Jehovah,  conspires 

against  Ilim,  xi.  9-13. 

3.  Puni.thmerU  of  the  conspiracy   an  inevitable,   severe  judgment,   xi.  14-17.   {Appendix  to   the  previous 

strophe). 

4.  Second  stage  of  the  conspiracy :  the  plot  of  the  Anatoiites,  xi.  18-23. 

6.    Third  stage  of  the  conspiracy :  the  plot  in  the  prophet's  own  family,  xii.  1-6. 

6.  The  conspiracy  of  Israel  punished  by  the  conspiracy  of  the  neighbors  against  them,  xii.  7-13. 

7.  Solution  of  all  antitheses  by  the  final  union  of  all  in  the  Lord,  xii.  14-17. 


CHAP.  XI.  1-8. 


127 


Chapter  XI. 
1.  Reminder  of  the  recent  renewal  under  Josiah  of  the  Covenant  between  Jehovah  and  the  people. 

XI.  1-8. 

1  The  word  which  came  to  Jeremiah  from  Jehovah,  saying : 

2  Hear  ye  the  words  of  this  covenant, 
And  speak  ye  to  the  men  of  Judah, 
And  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 

3  And  say  to  them  :  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel : 
Cursed^  be  the  man  who  hears  not  the  words  of  this  covenant, 

4  Which  I  commanded  to  your  fathers 

In  the  day  that  I  brought  them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 

And  out  of  the  iron  furnace,  saying, 

Hearken  ye  unto  my  voice  and  do  them  [my  commands] 

According  to  all  that  which  I  command  you ; 

So  shall  ye  be  my  people  and  I  will  be  your  God ; 

5  To  perform  the  oath  which  I  swore  to  your  fathers; 

To  give  them  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  as  it  is  this  day. 
And  I  said.  Amen,  Jehovah  I 

6  And  Jehovah  said  unto  me. 

Proclaim  all  these  words  in  the  city  of  Judah 

And  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  saying, 

Hear  ye  the  words  of  this  covenant  and  do  them ! 

7  For  I  testified  to  your  fathers  on  the  day* 
That  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
Evea  to  this  day  urgently  and  unceasingly : 
Hearken  ye  unto  my  voice  ! 

8  But  they  hearkened  not,  nor  inclined  their  ear. 

And  went,  every  man  in  the  hardness  of  his  wicked  heart ; 
And  I  brought  upon  them  all  the  words  of  this  covenant. 
Which  I  commanded  them  to  keep ;  but  they  kept  them  not. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

iTer.  3. — i-l  "IIIX  ver.  3,  and  the  corresponding  ?"3X,  ver.  5,  remind  us  of  Deut.  xxvii.  15aqq.,  especially  ver.  26.— 
IRON  FURNACE  is  found  only  in  Deut.  iv.  20  and  (as  a  quotation)  in  1  Ki.  viii.  51.  ^'\  lj;n  is  not  exclusively  yet  especially  pe- 
culiar to  Deut.,  since  besides  Gen.  xliii.  3  ;  Exod.  six.  21,  '21  it  occurs  in  the  Pentateuch  only  Deut.  i v.  26  ;  viii.  19 ;  xxx.  10 ; 
xxxi.  -If, ;  xxxii.  46. — HITIiy  ver.  S,  is  found  in  the  Pentateuch  only  in  Deut.  xxix.  18.   Also  the  expressions  so  shall  ye  bt 

my  people,  ver.  4,  and  a  land  flowing,  etc.,  are  not  indeed  peculiar  to,  but  very  common  in  Deuteronomy.  (Comp.  in  reference 
to  the  former  Exod.  vi.  7  ;  Levit.  xxvi.  12  ;  and  Deut.  iv.  20  ;  vii.  6  ;  xiv.  2  ;  xxvi.  18;  xxix.  9  ;  xxix.  12, — in  reference  to 
the  latter  Exod.  iii.  8,  17,  and  Deut.  vi.  3 ;  xi.  9 ;  xxvi.  9,  15  ;  xxvii.  3 ;  xxxi.  2U). 

2  Ver.  7. — QV2  we  should  expect  QTD-    The  former  is  perhaps  occasioned  by  DV3,  ver.  i. 


EXEGETIOAL    AND   CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  forms  the  basis  of  the  discourse. 
It  must  therefore,  to  be  understood,  be  rendered 
in  closest  connection  with  what  follows.  It  re- 
lates how  the  Lord  once  (in  the  18th  year  of  king 
Josiah,  2  Kings  xxii.),  after  the  discovery  of  the 
book  of  the  law,  admonished  to  the  observance  of 
the  covenant  formed  between  him  and  their  fa- 
thers, and  especially  according  to  the  standard 
of  the  5th  book  of  the  Torah,  both  on  the  whole 
(yers.  1-5)  and  particulars  («.  e.,  by  repeated  pro- 
clamation in  the  cities  of  Judah  and  streets  of 
Jerusalem,  vers.  6-8)  indicating  both  the  blessed 
consequences  of  covenant-fidelity  (vers.  4  and  5) 
and  the  ruinous  consequences  of  infidelity  (ver. 
8).      In  so  far  as  Ter.  10  relates  the  breach  of  the 


covenant  so  expressly  enjoined  in  this  strophe  it 
is  seen  that  this  injunction  must  have  been  made 
previously,  that  therefore  this  strophe  gives  a 
representation  of  a  past  fact.  But  so  far  as  the 
strophe  reports  only  this  inculcation  of  the  cove- 
nant it  is  clear  that  it  points  to  something  later 
than  its  redintegration. 

Vers.  1  and  2.  The  word  ■which  came  ,  .  . 
and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem.  The 
superscription  is  like  vii.  1. — Hear,  etc.  Since, 
as  previously  remarked,  what  follows  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  narrative  of  a  fact  which  occurred 
in  foi-mer  times,  hear  does  not  refer  to  the  con- 
tents of  the  word  proclaimed  in  ver.  1,  but  of  an 
earlier  word.  Ver.  1  refers  therefore  to  the 
whole  discourse,  and  before  hear  is  to  be  sup- 
plied an  introductory  formula  leading  back  to 
the   real  time    of   this  inculcation   of  the   cove- 


128 


THE  PROPHET  JERExMIAH. 


naut.  The  subject  of  hear  is  most  probably 
according  to  ver.  6,  tlie  people  of  Judab  aud  Je- 
rusalem. The  words  stand  at  the  head  as  a 
general  call  of  awakening  and  admoniiioa. 
Dn"12Tl,  LXX.,  Kal  XaX//C£ig,  which  recommends 
the  reading  Di"\13'11.  But  according  to  the  read- 
ing of  the  text  it  is  the  priests,  elders  aud  pro- 
phets, who  in  2  Kings  xxii.  1 ;  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  29, 
are  expressly  mentioned  as  participating  in  the 
covenant.  There  are  as  it  were  three  concentric 
circles.  The  smallest  represents  Jeremiah,  who 
would  bring  home  to  the  people  the  importance 
of  keeping  the. covenant.  But  it  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  the  want  of  an  express  designation  of 
the  subject  is  remarkable.  Perhaps  the  brevity 
of  the  expression  may  be  thus  explained  that  the 
prophet  wished  to  give  mere  hints,  knowing  that 
these  would  be  sufficient  to  recall  to  the  mem- 
ory of  his  hearers  the  former  more  extended 
discourses. — The  -words  of  this  covenant. 
The  pronoun  this  designates  the  covenant  as  one 
before  their  eyes  and  well-known.  Comp.  this 
passage  with  2  Kings  xxii.  and  xxiii. ;  2  Chron. 
xxxiv.  (  Vid.,  especially  2  Kings  xxiii.  3,  coll. 
xxii.  13;  xxiii.  2  ;  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  30),  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  by  the  words  this  cove- 
nant in  vers.  2,  3,  6,  8,  is  meant  that,  the  ar- 
chives of  which  were  contained  in  the  book  found 
by  Hezekiah.  The  expression  is  found  besides 
only  in  Deut.  (v.  3;  xxix.  13).  The  expression, 
•words  of  the  covenant,  besides  2  Kings  xxiii. 
2  ;  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  30,  is  found  only  Deut.  xxviii. 
69 ;  xxix.  8,  and  in  Jer.  xxxiv.  18.  This  passage 
also  (to  anticipate)  contains  several  references  to 
Deuteronomy,  from  which  it  follows  that  the  cove- 
nant-record, which  both  Jeremiah  in  this  pas- 
sage and  the  authors  of  the  books  of  Kings  and 
Chronicles  (2  Kings  xx.  and  xxiii. ;  2  Chron. 
xxxiv.)  have  in  view,  is  to  be  understood  at  least 
primarily  and  especially  to  be  Deuteronomy. — 
Men  of  Judah.  Comp.  rems.  on  iv.  4.  On  the 
exchange  of  '7X  and  7^,  see  rems.  on  x.  1. 


Vers.  3-5.  And  say  to  them 


Amen, 


Jehovah!  Jeremiah  receives  the  special  com- 
mission to  present  before  the  people  the  impor- 
tance of  keeping  the  covenant:  cursing  and  bles- 
sing being  dependent  on  it.  While  in  vers.  3,  5, 
the  discourse  seems  to  be  addressed  to  the  whole 
of  the  people,  it  turns  in  vers.  6-8,  to  the  par- 
ticular portions.  Further,  while  the  prophet  in 
vers.  3-5  holds  before  the  people  the  divine  curse 
and  blessing,  he  seeks  in  vers.  6-8  to  make  an 
impression  on  them  by  pointing  to  the  fulfilment 
of  the  curse  already  taken  place  on  their  diso- 
bedient fathers. — In  the  day,  etc.  Comp.  vii. 
22;  xxxiv.  13. — The  pronoun  them  is  to  be  re- 
ferred to  the  plural  conception  of  commands  im- 
plied in  according  to  all,  comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gr.,  ^  61,  1. — To  perform  the  oath.  In  order 
to  realize  the  existence  of  the  oath,  comp.  Deut. 
viii.  18,  coll.  ;  xxvii.  26. — Amen,  Jehovah  is, 
as  remarked,  a  quotation  from  Deut.  xxvii.  15 
sqq  The  prophet  gives  it  to  be  understood  by 
this  A?nen,  that  he  has  understood  the  allusion 
contained  in  cursed,  ver.  3. 

Vers.  6-8.  And  Jehovah  said  unto  me  .  .  . 
but  they  kept  them  not.  The  prophet  here 
reads  the  commission  given  him  in  the  18th  year 
of  Josiah,  to  make  known  the  words  of  the  cove- 
nant by  reading  them  not  only  in  the  central 
sanctuary  (comp.  2  Kings  xxiii.  1-3),  but  also  by 
repeated  readings  in  the  cities  of  Judah  and  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem.  The  prophet  may  have 
accompanied  king  Josiah  on  his  circuit,  which  is 
spoken  of  in  2  Kings  xxiii.  15-20.  Since  it  was 
the  making  known  of  a  written  document,  the 
proclamation  is    most    probably    meant    in    the 

sense  of  reading,  as  N'^D  generally  signifies  to 
read  aloud;  comp.  2  Kings  xxii.  8,  10,  16;  xxiii. 
2;  Jer.  xxxvi.  6,  8,  10,  13,  e^c— For  I  testi- 
fied. Comp  Ps.  1.  7,  and  the  previously  cited 
passages  of  Deut. — urgently.  Comp.  vii.  13,  25. 
— But  they  hearkened  not.  Comp.  vii.  24.i- 
hardness.  Comp.  rems.  on  iii.  17.  ' 


2.  Entire  Israel,  instead  of  keeping  the  covenant  with  Jehovah,  enters  into  conspiracy  against  Him. 

XI.  9-13. 


9       And  Jehovah  said  unto  me, 

A  conspiracy  is  found  among  the  men  of  Judah, 
And  among  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem. 
10  They  are  returned  to  the  sins  of  their  fathers. 
Who  scorned  to  hear  my  words  ; 
And  are  gone  after  other  gods,  to  serve  them. 
The  house  of  Israel,  and  the  house  of  Judah 
Have  broken  the  covenant  which  I  made  with  their  fathers. 
Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah,  Behold  ! 
I  bring  upon  them  evil,  from  which  they  cannot  escape ; 
And  they  will  cry  to  me,  but  I  will  not  hear  them. 
And  the  cities  of  Judah  and  citizens  of  Jerusalem  shall  go. 
And  cry  to  the  gods  to  which  they  burn  incense. 
But  help  them — this  they  will  not  at  the  time  of  their  calamity. 


11 


12 


CHAP.  XI.  14-17. 


12§ 


13  For  as  the  number  of  thy  cities  are  thy  gods,  O  Judah  I 
And  as  the  number  of  the  streets  in  Jerusalem 
Have  ye  set  up  altars  of  shame, 
Even  altars  to  burn  incense  unto  Baal, 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  Lord  has  made  a  covenant  with  the  people, 
but  when  the  people  are  regarded  now  (at  the  time 
when  Jeremiah  thus  speaks),  there  is  no  longer 
any  trace  of  it  (the  covenant  made  in  the  reign  of 
Josiah)  tobefound,  but  only  conspiracy.  The  pro- 
phet shows  the  existence  of  such  a  conspiracy  in 
three  stages:  1,  in  the  entire  people  of  Israel 
(vers.  9,  10) ;  2,  among  the  people  of  Anathoth 
(vers.  18-23) ;  3,  in  the  prophet's  own  family  (xii. 
1-6). — In  this  strophe  the  existence  of  such  con- 
spiracy among  the  people  in  general  is  just  stated 
(vers.  9  and  10),  then  its  punishment  is  an- 
nounced, (ver.  11)  which  will  be  of  such  a  nature 
that  the  gods  will  be  unable  to  deliver  from  it 
(ver.  12),  though  Judah  and  Jerusalem  worship 
so  large  a  number  of  them  (ver.  13). 

Vers.  9  and  10.  A  conspiracy  is  found  .  .  . 
■which  I  made  w^ith  their  fathers.  On  is 
found  (X3fOJ),   comp.   ii.  34;  v.  26.  1K'p=con- 

spiracy  against  the  rightful  Lord,  in  opposition 


to  the  covenant  (r>n3)  which  is  in  accordance 
with  right  and  duty.  In  such  conspiracies  the 
time  of  the  kings  was  especially  rife  (comp.  1 
Kings  xvi.  20;  2  Kings  xii.  20;  xiv.  19;  xv.  15, 
30;  xvii.  4),  as  generally  a  disposition  to  con- 
spire is  attributed  to  the  Jews  (comp.  Drechsler 
on  Isa.  viii.  12;  Acts  xxiii.  12  sqq.). — The  ex- 
pression DK'  presupposes  the  covenant  mentioned 
in  ver.  1  sqq.,  and  proves  that  this  section  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  reminder  of  a  past  fact. — 
House  of  Israel,  etc.  A  comprehensive  sur- 
vey :  not  merely  Judah  and  Jerusalem  (ver.  9), 
but  Israel  and  Judah  have  broken  the  covenant. 
Vers.  11-13.  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah 
...  to  burn  incense  to  Baal.  Announce- 
ment of  punishment. — For  gives  the  reason  and 
explanation  of  the  declaration  of  ver.  12,  that 
Israel  will  take  refuge  with  the  idols.  This  may 
happen  because  they  have  idols  in  numbers,  and 
offer  to  them  numerous  acts  of  worship. — as  the 
number.  Comp.  ii.  28.  — altars  of  shame. 
Comp.  rems.  on  iii.  24;  Hos.  ix.  10 


3.  The  punishment  of  the  conspiracy  is  an  inevitable  and  severe  judgment. 

XL  14-17. 

14  Therefore  pray  not  thou  for  this  people, 
Nor  raise  for  them  crying  and  supplication  ; 

For  I  hear  not,  if  they  cry  unto  me  on  account  of  their  calamity. 

15  What  has  my  beloved  to  do  in  my  house? 
To  practise  it — the  enormity  ? 

Will  crying  and  holy  flesh  take  away  from  thee  thy  hurt  ?^ 
Then  mayest  thou  exult ! 

16  "  Green  olive-tree,  splendid  with  goodly  fruit," 
Thus  did  Jehovah  call  thy  name. 

Amid  rattling  thunder  he  set  fire  to  it ; 
And  they  broke — its  branches. 

17  And  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  who  planted  thee, 
Hath  pronounced  evil  against  thee 

"  On  account  of  the  wickedness  of  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah 
Which  they  practised  to  their  own  hurt,'^ 
Provoking  me  and  burning  incense  to  Baal." ' 


TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  15.— The  text  here  is  certainly  corrupt;  1,  because,  as  it  reads  at  present,  it  affords  no  intelligible  meaning;  2, 
because  the  ancient  translations  indicate  other  readings.     D"'3"^n  especially  is  unintelligible,  whether  we  connect  it  with 

what  goes  before  or  after.  The  LXX.  translate  /htj  cvxal  koI  Kpea  ayia  a(f>e\ov<Ti.v  airo  aov  ra?  Kaxta?  <tov.  They  seem  then 
to  have  read  D'llJn  as  some  suppose,  or  more  probably  D'^TH  (Bdxtorf,  Maurer,  Graf).  This  latter  word,  indeed,  oc- 
curs only  in  Ps.  xxx.i.  7  in  the  expression  inhi^  '51 :  t>ut  since  the  word  is  formed  quite  regularly  (comp.  pn,  '2\  TJ/,  «<«•) 
the  plural  U'l^  (instead  of  D'ill,  which  elsewhere  is  certainly  the  form  exclusively  used  :  comp.  Olsh.,  §156),  being  analo- 
gous to  the  forms  'j;-!,  'JP,  efc  ,  since  further  Hil,  also  vii.  16;  xi.  14;  xiv.  12,  coll.  Ps.  xvii.  1 ;  1  Ki.  viii.  28,  etc.,  signifies 

supplication,  prayer,  and  is  translated  in  xi.  14;  xiv.  12  by  the  LXX.  SeTjcrw,  since  finally  the  idea  of  "beseeching,  crying," 
corresponds  exactly  to  DNTp.     I  regard  it  as  most  probablo  that  D'JI  was  the  original  word  in  this  place,  but  that  th» 
T    :It 

9 


130 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


•word,  either  purposely,  because  it  does  not  occur  elsewhere,  or  by  mistake,  was  changed  into  the  slightly  differing  form 

O'i'l.     If  tlie  question  begins  with  □''iliri,  the  following  1  in  '■1  "M^^^  is  entirely  in  place.— tj;ib-1ty3  is  found  also  in 

•XT  -  :  •.•  I         -  : 

Hagg.  ii.  12  of  the  flesh  of  saoriflce.  and  scM-ms  here  especially  to  indicate  the  TTnlnraiiit'n  or  burnt-ofi'iTings,  in  which  the  flesh 
of  the  animal  is  burnt  (Levit.  ij.  Tlie  tullowiiii;  words  also  are  scai-i-ely  iulrlli-ilil  ■  without  an  altrratimi  of  the  text.  We, 
therefore,  after  the  example  of -many  commentators,  either  render  .113^'"  as  Hiph.  (like  OIT'''-'!^-   Fi'de  tw  toe),  or  read 

^'^2^\  '^e  connect  '2  after  tSj.'O  (LXX.,  Ewald,  Meier,  etc ),  and  obtain  the  sense,  Will  t'h;/  prayers  and  sacrifices  take 

away  thy  loickedness  (nj^T  has  the  double  sense^ln  and  punishment)  from  thee  f    The  thought  then  corresponds  exactly 

to  the  close  of  ver.  14. 

fBL.\yNF.Y  renders :  Shall  vows  and  holy  flesh  be  allowed  to  come  from  thee  ?  When  thou  art  malignant,  shalt  thou  then 
rejoice?  Notes  and  Henderson,  adhering  to  the  text,  render,  the  former:  While  many  pollute  it  with  wickedness? — The 
holy  flesh  shall  pass  away  from  thee.  For  when  thou  doest  evil,  thou  rejoicest ;  the  latter  :  Committing  as  she  doth  the 
manifold  enormity?  And  the  holy  flesh  hath  passed  away  from  thee,  etc.  It  seems,  however,  strained  to  render  this  ex- 
pression "  pass  away  "  of  their  sacrifices  being  unacceptable  to  God. — S.  R.  A.] 

2  Ver.  17. — [Henderson:  Which  they  committed  against  themselves.] 

»  Ver.  17.— On  the  infinitives  'JDj^DnS,  IDpS-  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  \  95,  e. 


EXEQETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  section  is  closely  attached  to  the  pre- 
ceding as  an  appendix.  In  ver.  11  it  was  said 
that  a  punishment  of  Israel  was  determined  upon, 
which  they  coald  not  escape.  For  neither  will 
the  Lord  hear  their  cries,  nor  the  idols  be  able 
to  help  them. — The  thought  I  hear  not  (Ver.  11 
6),  is  further  explained  in  this  strophe :  1.  The 
Lord  will  not  even  hear  the  prophet  (ver.  14  a) ; 
2,  nor  the  people  (ver.  14  h)  even  though  they 
offer  prayers  and  sacrifices  in  His  temple  (ver. 
15).  Although  the  Lord  even  acknowledges  Is- 
rael to  be  a  beautiful  olive-tree  which  He  Him- 
self planted,  yet  He  must  adhere  to  His  determi- 
nation to  punish  on  account  of  the  wickedness 
which  Israel  has  practised  (vers.  16  and  17). 

Vers.  14  and  15.  Therefore  pray  not  thou 
.  ,  .  then  mayest  thou  exult.  At  first  the 
Lord  explains  that  the  intercession  of  the  pro- 
phet will  be  of  no  avail  in  the  same  words  as  in 
yii.  16  coll.  xiv.  11.  He  then  says  that  the  peo- 
ple's own  supplication  to  avert  the  calamity  will 
be  in  vain.  This  he  elucidates  in  ver.  14,  by 
showing  that  this  beseeching,  though  offered  in 
the  temple  and  with  sacrifices,  is  only  a  deceptive 
mask,  under  which  is  hidden  the  object  of  con- 
tinuing in  sin.  T'T  is  not  Jehovah  nor  the  pro- 
phet, but  the  people,  this  being  imperatively  de- 
manded by  the  sense  of  the  question.  What  has 
my  beloved  to  do  in  my  house?  can  be  asked 
only  of  such  a  beloved,  whose  appearance  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  is  not  welcome.  This  can  be 
Israel  alone,  who,  although  in  themselves  and 
originally  the  beloved  of  Jehovah,  have  yet  been 
so  estranged  from  Him,  that  the  question  may  be 
fairly  asked,  what  this  faithless  beloved  (now 
ironically  so  called)  has  to  do  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  ?  The  expression  appears  to  be  based  on 
Deut.  xxxiii.  12,  where  Benjamin,  in  evident  al- 
lusion to  his  dwelling  in  the  vicinity  of  the  na- 
tional sanctuary,  is  called  the  beloved  of  Jehovah. 
Comp.  besides  Isa.  v.  1:  Ps.  Ix.  7;  cviii.  7; 
cxxvii.  2. — The  answer  to  the  question  is:  To 
practise  it.  .  .  the  enormity.  As  to  the  con- 
struction of  these  words,  the  anticipation  of  the 
object  by  a  pronoun  is  nothing  unusual.  Comp. 
xxvii.  8;  li.  56;  1  Sam.  ix.  13;  Naegelsb.,  Or., 
§  77,  2. — But  why  this  anticipation  here?  It 
presupposes  that  the  object  has  been  already 
mentioned,  or  is  generally  known.  Now  this 
nSTJp,  by  which  not  any  wickedness,  but  in  ac- 
cordance  with    the   question,  the    hypocritical 


pseudo-worship  of  Jehovah  is  to  be  understood, 
has  not  been  mentioned  in  the  discourse  hither- 
to. But  in  rhetorical  vivacity  the  prophet  pre- 
supposes as  known,  that  which,  now  as  before, 
deeply  troubles  him,  and  which  by  the  initial 
words  of  the  verse  he  has  indicated  with  suf- 
ficient plainness.  The  thought  and  the  expres- 
sion recall  unmistakably  (as  Maurer  remarks) 
vii.  10:  "and  then  ye  come  and  stand  before  me 
in  the  house  which  bears  my  name,  and  say,  we 
are  hidden — to  do  all  these  abominations."  As 
here  (vii.  10)  the  head  of  the  wickedness  is 
foundin  this,  that  Israel  regard  the  temple-service 
as  a  sort  of  sow-washing  (2  Pet.  ii.  22),  to  which 
they  betake  themselves,  not  to  purify  themselves 
thoroughly,  but  only  to  make  room  for  fresh  filth, 
so  in  this  passage  the  prophet  says  that  Israel  has 
nothing  to  do  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  but  "to 
do  it,  the  wickedness,"  namely,  that  described  in 
chap,  vii  ,  which,  under  the  appearance  of  wish- 
ing to  be  fri'ed  from  sin,  only  hides  the  object  of 
more  completely  committing  it.  Accordingly 
nraiD  is  here  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  in  which  it 

T  •  : 

most  frequently  occurs,  viz.,  in  that  of  evil  de- 
sign, of  purposed,  conscious  wickedness  (Ps.  x. 
2;  xxi.  12;  cxxxix.  20;  Job  xxi.  27,  etc.).  The 
more  full-sounding  form  (comp.  Olsh.  \  133)  has 
a  rhetorical  reason,  as  also  the  rarer  sufiix  forms 
following  ''p.  This  double  form,  (which  does  not 
occur  elsewhere  in  Jeremiah)  may  both  in  itself 
and  in  its  accumulation,  be  for  the  purpose  of 
rhetorical  effect  and  more  particularly  that  of 
irony.  With  this  agrees  the  distinctly  ironical 
expression,  then  mayest  thou  exult,  which 
bears  reference  to -what  has  my  beloved?  etc., 
that  is,  to  the  manner  in  which  the  proud  and 
secure  people  appeared  in  the  temple.  Not  now, 
the  prophet  means  to  say,  but  then  may  you  ex- 
ult, when  your  prayers  and  sacrifices  have  helped 
you. 

Vers.  16  and  17.  Green  olive-tree  .  .  .  in- 
cense to  Baal.  Tlie  occasion  of  the  thought, 
prayers,  etc.  will  not  avert  thy  calamity.  This 
will  be  on  this  account,  viz.,  that  the  Lord,  though 
He  acknowledges  Israel  to  be  a  beautiful  olive- 
tree,  planted  by  Himself,  has  determined  to  de- 
stroy him.  The  parable  of  the  olive-tree  in  re- 
ference to  Israel  is  found  also  in  Ps.  lii.  10  [8];  Isa. 
xvii.  6;  xxiv.  13;  Hos.  xiv.  6. —  Amid  rattling, 

etc.,  \>^Y>)  comp.  on  x.  13. — n/IDH  synonymous 
with  port,  besides  only  in  Ezek.  i.  24.  The  pro- 
phet compares  the  catastrophe  threatening  Israel 
to  a  tempest.  —  Set  fire,  etc.,  comp.  xvii.  27;  xxi. 


CHAP.  XI.  18-23. 


131 


14;  xliii.  12;  xlix.  27;  1.  32;  Am.  i.  14.— They 
broke.  Since  an  intransitive  meaning  of  the  origi- 
nal word  cannot  be  proved,  we  must  regard  as  the 
subject  either  (by  a  rapid  transition  from  figure 
to  reality)  the  enemies,  or  it  is  to  be  derived 
from  another  root  ^J^l,  the  radical  meaning  of 
which  is  tuiiiiiJtnari,  agitari,  concitari  (comp. 
FuERST,  H.  W.  B  and  Concord,  s.  v.)  The  for- 
mer is  to  be  preferred,  since  lire  is  not  followed 
by  a  mere  shaking  but  a  breaking  of  branches, 
— And  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  etc.  If  in  and 
they  broke   we  perceived  a  partial  transitioa  I 


into  the  sphere  of  reality  (namely,  in  respect  ta 
the  subject),  here  we  perceive  the  transition  ta 
be  complete.  It  is  declared  in  plain  words  that 
the  Lord  has  pronounced  the  judgment  of  con- 
demnation on  Israel,  (xix.  15;  xxvi.  19).  In  the 
word  planted  only,  which  contains  a  corrobo- 
rative point,  as  it  traces  not  only  the  name  but 
also  the  existence  of  the  beautiful  olive  tree  to 
God  (comp.  ii.  21)  is  the  figure  still  retained.  Oa 
practised  to  their  own  hurt,  comp.  vii.  19; 
xliv.  3. 


2.  Second  stage  of  the  conspiracy :  the  plot  of  the  Anathothites. 

XI.   18-23. 

18  And  Jehovah  instructed  me  and  I  learned. 
Then  didst  thou  show  me  their  doings. 

19  But  I  was  as  a  tame  sheep,  that  is  led  to  the  slaughter, 

And  remarked  not,  that  they  had  had  thoughts  concerning  me : 

"  Let  us  destroy  the  tree  with  its  fruit, 

And  extirpate  him  from  the  land  of  the  living, 

That  his  name  may  no  more  be  mentioned." 

20  But  Jehovah  Zebaoth  judges  with  justice ; 
He  tries  the  reins  and  heart. 

I  shall  see  thy  vengeance  on  them, 
For  on  thee  have  I  devolved  my  cause. 

21  Therefore  this  saith  Jehovah  of  the  men  of  Anathoth, 
Who  sought  after  thy  life,  saying  : 

"  Prophesy  not  in  the  name  of  Jehovah, 
That  thou  die  not^  by  our  hand  " — 

22  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth : 
Behold,  I  visit  them, 

The  young  men  shall  die  by  the  sword ; 

Their  sons  and  their  daughters  shall  die  of  famine. 

23  And  there  shall  be  no  remnant  of  them, 

For  I  will  bring  calamity  on  the  men  of  Anathoth 
In  the  year  of  their  visitation.^ 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  21. — On  tho  construction  of  niOil  X71  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  89,  3  6. 

T  : 

2  Ver.  22. — ifl'  JM^fJ  is  not  the  accusative  of  the  object  bnt  of  the  time.    Comp.  x.  15  Dmp3  flVS   rHsNDEBSON  ren- 

T  t\\:      *••  : 
aers  it  as  the  former:  the  year,  etc. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  here  also  evidently  speaks  of  a 
oonspiracy,  and  of  one  which  existed  in  a  nar- 
rower circle  (the  city  of  Anathoth),  Ver.  18 
opens  with  the  declaration  that  in  what  follows 
a  fact  will  be  communicated,  of  which  the  pro- 
phet received  intelligence  only  from  the  Lord. 
In  ver.  19  it  is  stated  that  this  fact  consisted  in 
a  plot  against  the  life  of  the  prophet.  In  ver.  20 
the  prophet  expresses  his  hope  that  the  Lord  will 
avenge  him.  Vers.  21-23  announce  the  ven- 
geance of  the  Lord  in  response. 

Vers.  18  and  19.  And  Jehovah  instructed 
me  .  .  .  nt    more  be  mentioned.     The  con- 


nection with  1  shows  that  the  following  verses 
are  closely  connected  with  the  preceding.  The 
construction  in  ver.  18  a  is  like  xx.  7  a.  By 
instructed  me  the  prophet  gives  the  Lord  the 
gloi-y  and  preintimates  at  the  same  time  that  it 
was  something  secret. — Their  doings  declares 
that  this  consisted  in  an  act  of  wicked  men. — 
Tame,  comp.  iii.  4;  2  Sam.  xii.  3.  [Hender- 
son:— A  lamb  that  has  been  tamed  so  as  to  be 
familiar  and  play  with  children.  One  such  is 
commonly  to  be  found  in  the  house  of  the  Arab. 
— S.  R.  A.] — With  its  fruit.  Hitzio  would 
read  in73  in  its  uip  (comp.  Dent  xxxiv.  7 ; 
Ezek.  xxi.  3)  because  DPI/  signifies  corn,  not 
the  fruit  of  a  tree.     But  the  idea  of  the  product 


132 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


afforded  by  the  tree  such  as  serves  for  food  is 
here  essential.     Comp.  ver.  21  b.     Since,  as  it  is 

acknowledged  Dn?  originally  meant  food  in  ge 
neral  (comp.  Gen.  xlvii.  12;  Isai.  Ixv.  25;  Job 
xxviii.  5;  Prov.  xxvii.  27)  we  here  also  under- 
stand by  it  the  edible  product  of  the  tree.  This 
is  certainly  the  fruit  in  opposition  to  the  sap, 
wood,  leaves,  etc.    On  3  =zzz  cum  comp.  Naegelsb. 

Gr.  I  IK,  5,  a. 

Vers.  20  23.  But  Jehovah  Zebaoth  .  •  in 
the  year  of  their  visitation.  Ver.  20  is  re- 
peated almost  verbatim   in  xx.  12  coll.  xvii.  10. 


— Tries.  The  prophet  appeals  for  a  confirmation 
of  his  innocence  to  the  omniscient  God. — 'jTSj. 
The  form  according  to  Piel,  from  PI/J.  The 
connection  however  requires  the  meaning  "  to 
shove,  to  roll,"  which  is  also  favored  by  the  ana- 
logy of  the  passages,  Ps.  xxii.  9;  xxxvii.  5-, 
Prov  xvi.  3,  comp.  Ewald,  §  121,  a.  — prophesy 
not.  Comp.  Am.  ii.  12;  vii.  13.  Doubtless  the 
plot  was  to  perform  the  unsuccessful  threatening. 
— In  ver.  22  the  introductory  formula  is  repeated 
after  the  interruption. — I  v^ill  bring  cala- 
mity, comp.  xix.  16;  xxiii,  12. 


5.  Third  stage  of  the  conspiracy :  the  plot  in  the  prophefs  own  family. 

XII.  1-6. 

Thou  maintainest  justice,  O  Jehovah,  when  I  plead  with  thee. 
Only  on  matters  of  judgment  will  I  speak  with  thee. 
Why  is  the  way  of  the  wicked  prosperous  ? 
Why  do  all  live  in  peace,  who  practise  knavery  ? 
Thou  hast  planted  them  and  they  have  taken  root ; 
They  grow  up,  they  also  bear  fruit : 
Thou  art  near  in  their  mouth,  but  far  from  their  reins. 
But  thou,  O  Jehovah,  knowest  me, 
Regard  me  and  prove  my  heart  towards  thee :  ^ 
Pluck  them  out  as  sheep  to  the  slaughter,^ 
And  set  them  apart  for  the  day  of  execution. 
How  long  shall  the  land  mourn. 
And  the  green  of  the  whole  plain  wither? 
From  the  wickedness  of  those  who  dwell  in  it, 
Beast  and  bird  are  consumed  f 
For  they  say,  he  shall  not  see  our  end. 
If  thou  hast  run  with  footmen  and  they  wearied  thee, 
How  mayest  thou  contend^  with  the  horses  ? 
And  in  a  land  of  peace  thou  wast  secure. 
But  how  wilt  thou  do  in  the  pride  of  Jordan  ? 
For  even  thy  brethren  and  the  house  of  thy  father. 
Even  they  have  practised  knavery  towards  thee ; 
Even  they  with  a  loud  cry*  have  pursued  thee. 
Trust  them  not  when  they  speak  good  to  thee. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  3.— 'npx  depends  on  '^.    The  meaning  is  as  in  2  Sam.  xvi.  17 ;  Zech.  vii.  9. 

2  Ver.  4.— nniJD-  On  the  construction  comp.  Naeoeisb.  Gr  ,  g  l(i.'>,  4  6. 

»  Ver.  5.— n^nnjl  TipUel.    Comp.  .xxii.  15;  Gesen.  g  5.5,  5;  Ew.\li),  g  122a;  Olsh.  §256  a. 

*  Ver.  6.— kS  0  aa  adverb  (Nah.  i.  10)  =  pleru,  plena  vooe.    Comp.  iv.  5, 12. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  attaches  itself  closely  to  the  pre- 
ceding, proving  conspiracy  even  in  the  narrow- 
est circle,  in  the  family  of  the  prophet,  where  it 
was  tlie  least  to  be  expected.  After  the  prophet 
had  given  the  Lord  to  understand  his  dissatisfac- 


tion that  the  ungodly,  of  whom  ch.  xi.  treats, 
still  pursue  their  course  in  safety  (vers.  1,  2)  and 
after  he  has  expressed  the  hope  of  his  justifica- 
tion and  their  destruction  (ver.  3)  the  more  con- 
fidently, that  these  people  infect  the  air,  as  it 
were,  with  the  poisonous  breath  of  their  unbe- 
lief, and  render  the  land  uninhabitable  (ver.  4), 
the  Lord   answers  him:  If  even  the  enmity  of 


CHAP.  XII.  1-6. 


133 


those  at  a  distance  is  so  intolerable,  what  wilt 
thou  do  when  the  members  of  thine  own  family 
treacherously  waylay  thee  (vers.  5  and  6)  ? 

Vers.  1-3.  Thou  maintainest  justice  .  .  . 
day  of  execution.  The  prophet  (compare  Jo- 
nah before  Nineveh)  has  waited  in  vain  for  the 
performance  of  the  threatenings  pronounced  i.i 
xi.  11-21,  etc.  He  now  ventures  to  speak  to  tlu 
Lord  concerning  it.  He  knows  that  the  Lor  1 
will  maintain  the  right  (comp.  Ps.  li.  6;  Job  ix. 
2,  3  sqq. ;  xxxix.  32  ;  Rom.  iii.  4  ;  ix.  20)  he  will 
only  therefore  inquire  into  His  judgments  (i.  IG; 
iv.  11)  in  order  to  receive  illumination.     On    ^X 

comp.  V.  5.    Bring  forth  fruit,  reference  to  xi 
17,  18.     Comp.  Ps.  xxxvii.  35.  — Near,  etc.    Re- 
futation of  the  objection  that  these  people  serve 
Jehovah.     It    is    only   lip-service,    while   their 
hearts  are  alienated   (Isai.  xxix.  13;  Matth.  xv. 
8).     The  prophet  on  the  other  hand  can  appeal 
for  the  rectitude  of  his  disposition  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  whom,  moreover, 
for  the  sake  of  perfect  satisfaction,  he  invites  to 
a  renewed  observation  and  trial  of  his  heart. — 
Pluck  them  out.     On  the  subject  matter  comp. 
Job  xxi.  27  sqq. ;  Ps.  vii.,  ix.,  x.,  xi.,  Ixxiii. ;  Mai. 
iii.  13  sqq.,  etc. — pilj  comp.  vi.  29.  — set  them 
apart.     Comp.  vi.  4;  xxii.  7;  li.  27;  Isai.  xiii.  3. 
In  the  words  pluck  them,  etc.,  Jeremiah  has  ex 
pressed  what  in  his  opinion  is  to  be  done  to  the  un- 
godly (comp.  Ps.  xlix.  15 sqq.)    In  what  follows  he 
supports  this  opinion  from  another  point  of  view. 
Ver.  4.  How  long  shall  the  land  mourn 
.  .  .  not  see  our  end.     In  this  verse  a  contra- 
diction has  been  found  to  the  preceding,  and  Hit- 
ziQ  would  therefore  strike  out  the  verse  here  and 
insert  it  at  xiv.    1-9.     But  Graf  correctly  re- 
marks that  the  wicked  (ver.  1)  also  appear  as 
guilty  in  the  curse  of  barrenness,    as   this  cala- 
mity is  ever  regarded  as  a  divine   punishment 
(iii.  3;  v.   24,   25;  xiv.  2  sqq. ;  xxiii.    10;  Hos. 
iv.  3).     I  add  to  this,  that  it  is  not  single  wicked 
individuals  who  are  designated  as  the  authors  of 
the  adversity  of  all  their  fellow-citizens,  but  that 
the  "  inhabitants  of  the  land,"  the  men  generally 
(as  in  fact  in  xi.  9  the  whole  population  is  ac- 
cused) are  considered   guilty  of  the  destruction 
of  innocent  irrational  creatures.     2.   That  by  the 
sentence  for  they  say,    etc.,   their  unbelieving 
scorn  of  the  divine  word  proclaimed  by  the  pro- 
phet is  especially  represented  as  the  cause  of  this 
curse    which   has    come  upon    the    whole   land. 
"When  in  ver.  1  it  is  said    "  the  way  of  the  un- 
godly is  prosperous ;   all  they  live  in  peace  who 
practise  knavery,"  this  is  to  be  understood  rela- 
tively.    In  the  midst  of  the  national   calamity  it 
is    comparatively    still    well    with    them. — We 
shall  not  see.     The  subject  must  be  the  pro- 


phet. H'^nx  ii  the  last,  extreme  end,  the  final 
fate  (comp  Isai.  xlvi.  10).  Wlien  they  say  that 
the  prophet  will  not  see  their  extremity,  their 
final  fate,  they  mean  that  they  will  survive  him, 
that  he  wiil  perish  before  them.  Comp.  on  the 
subject  v.  18.  [Henderson: — "I  take  this  to  be 
iuipersonal:  No  one  shall  see  mir  end;  that  is,  it 
shall  not  be  realized,  we  shall  not  be  destroyed. 
The  worldly  Jews  flattered  themselves  that  they 
might  securely  pursue  their  ungodly  course,  dis- 
believing all  the  predictions  of  calamity  uttered 
by  the  prophet."— S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  5  and  0.  If  thou  hast   run  -with  the 
footmen  .  .  vrhen  they  speak  good  to  thee. 
To  the  question  of  the  prophet   (vers.  1,  2)  the 
Lord    makes   no   other   answer   than   this:  the 
power  of  the  ungodly,  of  which  thou  complainest, 
is  not   the   worst.     Still   worse    is    threatening 
thee,  the  enmity  of  the  members  of  thine  own  fa- 
mily.    Hei-e  is  evidently  the  point  of  the  climax 
begun  in  xi.  9,  the  conspiracy  of  his  associates 
in  the  nation,  the  town  and  the  family.    The  last 
is  the  most  deplorable. — In  a  land,  etc.    Instead 
of  -wast  secure,  nL313,  Hitzig  would  read  11^13 
fleeing.     The  expression  would  certainly  be  more 
correct.     But  the  structure  of  the  second  member 
is  not  like  that  of  the  first.     Here  it  is  not  ad- 
mitted that  the  prophet  has  hitherto  had  an  evil 
experience.    The  Lord  says,  thy  condition  hither- 
to has  been  comparatively  secure,  as  of  a  man  who 
lives  in  a  peaceful  country.    The  attacks  previ- 
ously made  left  thee   in  a  condition  of  security 
compared  with  what  is  before  thee.     It  is  evi- 
dent that  here  there  is  a«limax,  the  second  mem- 
ber of  the  sentence  being  stronger  than  the  first. 
— Pride  of  Jordan,  ("-'n  pxj^)  Hitzig,  Meier, 
Graf  understand  by  this  the  bank  of  the  Jordan 
overgrown  with  trees  and  tall  reeds  (comp.  Rau- 
MER,  Paldst.  IV.  Aufi.  S.  68),  which  according  to 
Jer.  xlix.  19;  1.  44;  Zech.   xi.   3   serves  for  the 
residence  of  lions   (comp.  Kohler,  Sack.   II.  S. 
109).     Since  nothing  is  known  of  inundations  of 
the  Jordan  as  particularly  extensive  and  dan- 
gerous, this  explanation  may  be  correct,  though 
tiie  expression  in  itself  (comp.  Job  xxxviii.  11) 
might  certainly  be  used  of  inundations.     In  ver. 
G  we  perceive  the  traces  of  a  conspiracy ;  on  the 
one  hand  behaviour  intended   to  awaken  confi- 
dence, on  the  .other  HJS,  treachery  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  this,  that  behind  the   back  of  him 
who   is    threatened  ('J'^.l!'!?  designates  absence, 
removal  to  such  a  distance,  as  to  be  out  of  hear- 
ing of  a  call)  they  loudly  cry  and  agitate  against 
him. — On  the  subject  matter  comp.  Matth.  x.  36; 
xiii.  57. 


134 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


6.   The  conspiracy  of  Israel  punished  by  the  conspiracy  of  the  neighbors  against  them, 

XII.  7-13. 

7  I  have  forsaken  my  house,  repudiated  my  heritage; 

I  have  given  the  desire  of  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  her  enemies. 

8  My  heritage  is  become  to  me  as  a  lion  in  the  forest ; 
It  has  roared  against'  me,  therefore  have  I  hated  it. 

9  Is  my  heritage  to  me  a  parti-colored  bird  ?'^  Birds  round  about  it  ? 
Go,  assemble  ye  all  the  beasts  of  the  field, 

Fetch*  them  to  devour. 

10  Many  pastors  have  destroyed  my  vineyard. 

They  have  trodden  under  foot  my  ground  property. 

Have  made  the  ground  property  of  my  desire  a  barren  waste. 

11  They*  have  made  it  a  desert,  it  mourneth  towards  me  as  a  desert. 
Desolated  was  the  whole  land,  for  there  was  no  one  who  took  it  to  heart. 

12  On  all  the  heights  in  the  desert  are  come  spoilers : 

For  Jehovah  has  a  sword,  which  devours  from  land's-end  to  land's-end. 
There  is  no  flesh  that  can  find  means  to  escape. 

13  They  have  sown  wheat  and  reaped  thorns ; 

They  have  tormented  themselves  and  will  profit  nothing : 
So  then — ye  shall  be  ashamed  of  your  revenue* 
Before  the  fierceness  of  Jehovah's  wrath. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  8. — The  expression  7lp3  jjlj  is  found  also  in  Ps.  xlvi.  7.    Oomp.  rems.  on  x.  13. 

2  Ver.  9. — [Henderson  :  a  speckled  bird  of  prey.   Notes  following  the  LXX. :  a  rapacious  beast,  a  hyena;  BlatniT:  th« 
ravenous  bird  Tseboa. — S.  R.  A.] 

3  Ver.  9. — On  VnH  as  an  imperative  form  comp.  Olsh.  §256  6,  S.  568. 

T  •• 
*  Ver.  11. — The  subject  of  nDC  is  formally  undetermined  (=  they,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  101,  2)  but  from  the  conneo 
T  T  .... 

tion  it  is  the  previously  mentioned  enemies.    Observe  the  play  upon  words  HDty,  nODK?,  nODIi?,  HfStl'J,    Ua-    The 

TT        tt:  t":  t-t  t 

last  is  used  with  reference  to  T\0'O,  while  HOOK'S  HiDtJ?  corresponds  to  ^VS  V  Dty  xS. 

TT  TT.:-TT  "—  T 

6  Ver.  13. — It  is  not  necessary  to  read  QriTIXOnOi  after  the  LXX.    The  change  of  person  need  not  offend  (comp. 
Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  101,  Anm.)  nor  the  emphatic  Vau  before  the  imperative  (comp.  rems.  on  ii.  19). 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

As  the  undertakings  of  the  conspirators  against 
the  prophet  were  virtually  against  the  Lord  also, 
80  the  prophet's  action  is  a  symbol  of  the  judg- 
ment which  the  Lord  will  inflict  in  larger  and 
severer  measure.  Therefore  what  is  said  in  vers. 
7  and  8  of  abandoning  house  and  heritage  ap- 
plies at  the  same  time  to  the  prophet  who  leaves 
his  paternal  house  in  Anathoth,  and  to  the  Lord 
who  forsakes  Israel.  The  positive  punishment, 
however,  which  will  consist  in  the  combination 
of  many  enemies  against  Israel  (vers.  9-11)  cor- 
responds exactly  to  that  triple  combination 
against  tlie  Lord  and  His  propliet,  spoken  of  in 
x\.  9 — xii.  6. 

Vers.  7  and  8.  I  have  forsaken  my  house 
.  .  .  have  I  hated  it.  After  what,  iiccording 
to  ver.  G,  his  house  has  inflicted  upon  him,  noth- 
ing is  more  natural  than  he  should  leave  it.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  course,  to  regard  the 
prophet  himself  as  the  subject  of  the  verb  have 


forsaken.  But  in  the  course  of  the  speech  it 
certainly  becomes  evident  that  Jehovah  is  the 
forsaker  and  Israel  the  forsaken  and  abandoned 
house  (ver.  9  sqq.).  Zwingli  and  Bdgenhagen 
regard  vers.  7  and  8  as  the  words  of  the  prophet. 
The  former  considers  that  Jehovah  begins  to 
speak  at  "  Go."  I  am  of  opinion,  as  already  re- 
marked, that  the  words  are  to  be  understood  as 
having  a  double  reference.  The  prophet  declares 
that  he  has  forsaken  his  father's  house  in  Ana- 
thoth, that  he  has  abandoned  his  heritage,  hia 
beloved,  to  the  hands  of  those,  who  from  enmity 
towards  its  possessors  would  abuse  it.  Yea,  he 
has  been  compelled  to  hate  and  shun  his  heritage, 
since  it  has  become  hostile  to  him,  and  no  longer 
afl"ords  him  any  security.  He,  whose  life  the 
inmates  of  the  house  were  seeking,  was  most 
threatened  in  the  very  house,  which  he  was  in- 
habiting with  them.  He  therefore  says  tlmt  his 
heritage  has  become  to  him  as  a  lion,  which  one 
meets  in  the  forest ;  and  that  he  does  not  fear 
the  lion  without  reason,  is  seen  from  the  fact  that 
it  has  roared  against  him,  in  which  is  an  evi- 


CHAP.  XII.  14-17. 


135 


dent  allusion  to  "  with  a  loud  cry  have  pursued 
thee,"  ver.  6.  At  the  same  time,  as  all  the  com- 
mentators recognize,  these  words  are  perfectly 
applicable  to  Jehovah.  The  point  of  connection 
is  this,  that  the  inimical  relation  of  the  prophet 
and  his  house  is  only  a  symptom  of  the  enmity 
which  Israel,  as  an  entire  nation,  cherish  towards 
the  Lord  their  God.  Hence  it  results,  that  the 
perfects  in  this  entire  passage  are  not  altogether 
prophetic  perfects.  For  they  are  based  on  the 
fact  that  the  prophet  is  obliged  to  speak  of  that 
■which  has  occurred  between  himself  and  his 
house  as  of  past  facts.  He  cannot,  ex.  gr.,  speak 
otherwise  in  vers.  7  and  8,  than  I  have  forsaken, 
repudiated,  given,  hated.  But  since  this,  at  the 
same  time,  refers  to  Jehovah,  these  in  so  far  still 
future  facts  are  expressed  by  praeterites,  which 
yields  the  meaning  that  the  action  of  the  prophet 
as  emblematical  includes  the  action  of  Jehovah. 
Hence  it  is,  that  in  accordance  with  the  main 
fact  in  vers.  7  and  8,  the  whole  discourse  is  pre- 
sented as  in  past  time.  In  so  far  as  the  words 
of  ver.  7  refer  to  Jehovah,  we  may  apply  my 
house  to  the  temple  (comp.  vii.  2-10,  etc.),  and 
my  heritage  to  the  people  of  Israel  (comp. 
Deut.  xxxii.  9),  while  the  desire  of  my  soul 
(nni],  OTT.  /ley.,  comp.  xi.  15;  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  2)  re- 
fers to  the  whole. 

Ver.  9.  Is  my  heritage  ...  to  devour. — 
That  D]j?    is   a   bird    of    prey,    or  collectively, 

birds  of  prey,  is  placed  beyond  doubt  by  Gen. 
XV.  11;  Isa.  xviii.  6;  Ezek.  xxxix.  4;  Jobxxviii. 
7.  This  meaning  is  therefore  assured  for  this 
passage  and  Isa.  xlvi.  11. — V}^'^,  according  to 
;r3X,  D'Jtr^y,  Judges  V.  30  (comp.  Aram,  j;?^  tin' 

gere)  can  signify  only  the  colored,  variegated,  as, 
from  Jerome  and  the  Syriac  downwards,  most  of 


the  commentators  translate  it:  this  parti-colored 
bird,  which  appears  in  their  midst,  is  attacked 
by  the  other  birds.  Comp.  the  vouchers  in  Hitziq 

— '^  to  me,  is  not  equivalent  to  in  relation  to  me, 
but  merely  expresses  interest  [Dat.  ethicus). 
Whether  the  H  in  the  second  tO'^H  is  an  article 

or  interrogative  is  doubtful.  Grammatically  the 
latter  is  preferable,  but  the  former  accords  best 
with  the  sense.  Olshausen,  |  lOU,  1,  maintains 
that  it  is  grammatically  admissible  Taken  as  a 
question,  it  expresses  astonishment  (comp.  vii. 
9). — Go  is  affirmative  and  confirmatory:  yea, 
not  only  the  birds,  all  birds  {i.  e.,  all  nations) 
shall  fall  upon  the  heritage  of  the  Lord. 

Ver.  10.  Many  pastors  ...  a  barren  waste. 
The  same  matter  in  a  new  form.  Comp.  vi.  3; 
Mic.  V.  4,  5.  — The  ground  property  of  my 
desire,  comp.  iii.  19. 

Vers.  11  and  12.  They  have  made  it  a 
desert .  .  .  find  means  to  escape.  Not  only 
the  inhabited  country,  but  the  plains  which 
serve  for  pasturage  with  their  hills  (comp.  iii.  2, 
21 ;  xiv.  6),  are  laid  waste,  so  that  the  devouring 
sword  has  swept  through  the  whole  land  from 
one  end  to  the  other  (comp.  vi.  25;  xxv.  29,  xlvi. 
10,  14). 

Ver.  13.  They  have  sown  wheat  .  .  .  Je- 
hovah's wrath.  Total  result: — No  harvest, 
labor  is  vain, — weakness,  shame.  The  thought 
is  not,  what  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  reap, 
but  what  a  man  soweth  he  shall  not  reap,  the 
harvest  shall  fail,  all  the  labor  expended  shall 
be  lost.  Of  course  it  is  a  material  harvest  alone 
which  is  spoken  of,  comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  30  sqq. ; 
Isa.  Ixv.  21,  22;  Ixii.  8. — On  tormented  them- 
selves, comp.  X.  19:  Ezek.  xxxiv.  4,  21. — On 
profit  comp.  Isa.  xlviii.  17. 


7.  Solution  of  all  antitheses  by  the  final  union  of  all  in  the  Lord. 

XII.  14-17. 

14  Thus  saith  Jehovah  against  all  my  neighbors,^  the  wicked, 

Who  attacked  the  inheritance  which  I  gave  to  Israel,  my  people,  to  possess  : 

Behold  I  pluck  them  forth  out  of  their  land, 

And  the  house  of  Judah  I  will  pluck  forth  out  of  their  midst. 

15  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  after  I  have  plucked  them  out, 
I  will  again  have  compassion  upon  them, 

And  bring  them  back'*  every  man  to  his  heritage  and  every  man  to  his  land. 

16  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  they  learn  the  way  of  my  people, 
To  swear  by  my  name  '  Jehovah  liveth,' 

As  they  have  taught  my  people  to  swear  by  Baal : 
Then  shall  they  be  built  in  the  midst  of  my  people. 

17  But  if  they  hear  not,  I  will  utterly  pluck  up 
And  destroy  such  a  nation,  saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  14. — 'J^tJ?,  transition  to  the  first  person,  as  in  xiv.  15.    The  connection  with  the  preceding  strophe  is  unmistak»> 

ble.  Comp.  nSnJ  and  \fJT\l  with  nSnj  and  t^£3J,  ver.  7,  sqq. 
T-:|-  -  T  T-:  |-  -  T 

2  Ver.  15.— On  0  3!|ij;X      Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  ?  95,  g.,  Anm. 


136 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Even  in  these  concluding  words  the  funda- 
mental idea  is  evidently  that  of  association.  The 
conspiracy  of  the  nations  against  the  covenant 
people  who  have  conspired  against  their  Lord 
(xi.  9;  xii.  6)  has  for  its  first  consequence,  that 
the  two  are  associated  in  punishment  (ver.  14). 
But  afterward  when  they  have  made  common 
cause  in  penitence,  and  turning  to  the  Lord,  they 
are  to  be  equally  regarded  in  their  redemption 
and  re-establishment  (ver.  16).  In  this  only  is 
there  dissimilarity,  that  in  the  heathen  nations  a 
possibility  of  disobedience  and  consequent  total 
destruction  is  assumed,  which  is  not  the  case 
with  respect  to  Israel  (ver.  17). 

Ver.  14.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  pluck 
forth  out  of  their  midst.  The  enemies  who, 
according  to  ver.  9,  combine  against  Israel,  are 
here  seen  to  be  chiefly  their  neighbors;  comp.  2 
Kings  xxiv.  2,  to  which  passage,  however,  I  refer 
not  as  the  occasion,  but  as  the,  at  least,  partial 
fulfilment  of  our  prophecy.  The  Syrians, 
Moabites  and  Ammonites,  are  here  mentioned, 
and  in  Ps.  cxxxvii.  7  the  Edomites  also,  as  auxili- 
aries of  the  Chaldees  in  the  work  of  Judah's  de- 
struction.— Judah  and  the  neighboring  nations 
will  meet  the  same  fate,  because  they  have  both 
sinned  against  Jehovah:  Judah  directly,  the 
others  indirectly;  for  what  they  did  against  Ju- 
dah, was  against  Judah's  God. — Out  of  their 
midst  refers  to  the  geographical  position  of  Ju- 
dah, and  at  the  same  time  to  ver.  9. — The  carry- 
ing away  of  Judah  involves  their  liberation  from 
the  attacks  of  their  neighbors.  Comp.  besides 
XXV.  15  sqq. 

Vers.  15-17.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass 
.  .  .  destroy  such  a  nation,  saith  Jehovah. 
Every  nation  shall  be  brought  back  (comp. 
xlvi.  26;  xlviii.  47  ;  xlix.  6,  39),  therefore  also 
Israel.  Consequently  they  are  alike  in  this. — 
The  highest  and  most  glorious  stage  of  the  asso- 
ciation is  this,  that  the  nations  will  be  one  among 
themselves  and  with  Judah  in  the  true  worship 
of  Jehovah,  which  is  expressed  as  swearing  by 
His  name  alone  (comp.  iv.  2  ;  v.  7  ;  Deut.  vi.  13; 
X.  20).  In  this  is,  at  the  same  time,  given  the 
unity  of  God  with  men;  He  in  them,  they  in  Him 
(John  xvii.  21,  23).  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  na- 
tions are  to  be  built  ('c)J^  ^1^3)  in  the  midst 
of  my  people.  Before  Israel  was  in  their 
midst  (vers.  7,  9);  now  (hey  are  in  the  midst  of 
Israel.  Israel  is  now  not  merely  the  ideal,  but 
the  real  stock  which  bears  all.  (Comp.  Rom.  xi. 
17  sqq. — Isa.  xlv.  22  sqq.;  Ivi.  1  sqq.;  Ixv.  and 
Ixvi.). — In  this  only  a  dissimilarity  between  Is- 
rael and  the  nations  comes  fairly  to  light,  that 
the  possibility  of  resistance  to  the  loving  purpose 
of  God  is  presupposed  of  the  latter,  but  not  of  the 
former  (comp.  xxx.  10,  11). — On  learn  the 
■ways,  comp.  x.  2;  ii.  33. 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xi.  3.  "The  curse  of  the  Law  excites 
anger,  but  the  curse  of  the  covenant  abashes.  I 
have  seen  an  atheist  tremble  at  the  words  'If 
any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him 
be  anathema  (1  Cor.  xvi.  22).'     He  remarked  it 


himself,  and  sought  to  excuse  himself  by  saying 
'it  was  niotus  involuntarii.'  But  it  was  the 
words  of  the  covenant.  Thou  shalt  Idve."  Zinzen- 

DORF. 

2.  On  xi.  5.  ' 'Hic  tt ai6ev/ia  latet  et pro  minis- 
tris  verbi,  et  pro  eorum  auditoribus.  Ministri  exem- 
plo  prophetse  monentur,  ut  similem  in  officio  promti- 
tudinem  et  animi  alacritatem  Deo  prohmt,  quemad- 
modum  etiam  de  Jesaja  legitur,  vi.  8.  Auditores 
hie  docentur,  ut  de  voluntale  Dei  ex  verba  moniti 
in  corde  suo  dicant ;  amen,  promti  et  parati  ad  obe- 
dientiam  verba prsestandam."    Forster. 

3.  Onxi.  14.  "Intercession  for  all  men  has  good 
reason  for  it  in  the  love  which  is  due  to  one's 
neighbor,  and  it  is  also  commanded,  1  Tim.  ii.  1, 
2,  but  on  the  part  of  those  who  offer  it,  a  certain 
order  is  required  so  that  it  may  be  heard  (Luke 
xiii.  8,  9;  John  ix.  31)."     Lanoii  Op.  bibl. 

4.  On  xi.  15.  "It  is  a  snare  to  a  man  to  blas- 
pheme the  holy,  and  after  that  to  seek  vows 
[after  vows  to  make  inquiry]  (Prov.  xx.  24). 
For  that  is  the  manner  of  hypocrites,  to  offer  St. 
Martina  penny  and  then  steal  a  horse;  and 
when  they  have  opposed  God  and  His  word 
to  the  utmost,  to  turn  afterwards  to  sacrifices, 
fasting  and  alms,  and  wish  thus  to  exculpate 
themselves."  Cramer. 

5.  On  xi.  16,  17.  "God  has  appointed  us  to  be 
trees  of  righteousness,  plants  of  the  Lord  for  His 
glory  (Isa.  Ixi.  3).  He,  however,  who  bringeth 
not  forth  good  fruit,  is  hewn  down  and  cast  into 
the  fire  (Matt.  vii.  19)."  Cramer.  ["Every  sin 
against  God  is  a  sin  against  ourselves,  and  so 
it  will  be  found  sooner  or  later."  Henry. — 
S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  xi.  18.  "Although  the  human  heart  can- 
not be  fathomed  (Jer.  xvii.  9),  yet  nothing  can 
be  hidden  from  God,  and  He  frequently  reveals 
secret  counsels,  so  that  they  are  known  and 
manifest,  as  in  the  case  of  Absalom  and  Ahithophel 
(Isa.  viii.  10).  Therefore  do  nothing  in  secret, 
in  the  hope  that  it  will  remain  hidden,  for  the 
birds  of  heaven  carry  the  voice,  and  the  winged 
repeat  it  (Eccles.  x.  20)."  Cramer. 

7.  On  xi.  20.  "The  first  New  Testament  ven- 
geance was  executed  on  the  cross,  when  an  evil- 
doer who  had  mocked  at  Jesus,  cringed  on  the 
cross,  and  asked  for  a  gracious  remembrance. 
The  Lamb  of  God  could  scarcely  wait  the  time  of 
vengeance:  To-day,  said  He,  shalt  thou  be  with 
Me  in  Paradise.  According  to  this  may  the  Jer- 
emiahs of  our  times,  the  preachers  of  righteous- 
ness, take  the  measure  of  their  holy  desire  for 
vengeance."  Zinzendorf.  ["It  is  a  comfort, 
when  we  are  wronged  that  we  have  a  God  to 
commit  our  cause  to;  and  our  duty  to  commit  it 
to  Him,  with  a  resolution  to  acquiesce  in  His  de- 
finite sentence;  to  subscribe  and  not  prescribe  to 
Him."  Henrt.— S.  R.  A.] 

8.  Onxi.  20.  "A  teacher  is  advised  to  say 
this  if  he  can,  '  I  have  ceased  to  concern  myself 
about  myself.'     Dr.  Luther  says, 

Once  I  grasped  too  many  thinga : — 

None  staid  ;  they  all  had  wings : 

But  since  I've  weary  grown. 

And  all  away  have  thrown. 

Not  one  from  me  has  flown. 

And  do  you  ask,  how  can  it  be  thus  ? — 

Because  I've  cast  my  all  on  Jesus. 

Messengers  and  servants,  who  concern  them- 


CHAP.  XII.  14-17. 


137 


selves  about  their  own  injuries  must  have  bad 
masters."  Zinzendorp. 

9.  On  xi.  22.  When  the  people  will  not  endure 
the  rod  of  Christ's  mouth,  with  which  He  smites 
the  earth  (Isai.  xi.  4),  item  His  rods  Beauty  and 
Bands  (Zech.  xi.  7),  God  sends  one  with  the  sword 
to  preach,  which  is  followed  by  the  i-ed  spice,  and 
then  we  see  what  the  smooth  preachers  have  ef- 
fected (Isai.  XXX.  10)."  Cramer. 

10.  On  xii.  1.  "  But  can  we  conceive  anything 
more  humane  and  gracious  than  our  dear  Lord? 
We  know  beforehand  that  we  are  wrong  ;  we  do 
not  doubt  that  He  does  all  well,  but  it  yet  op- 
presses us.  We  should  like  to  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it.  Where  shall  we  find  one  with  whom 
we  could  do  this?  The  fly  on  the  wall,  the  do- 
mestic, the  child,  that  comes  in  our  way  ?  As- 
suredly not!  Straight  to  our  Lord,  the  eternal 
and  living  God,  with  all  our  ill-humor,  doubt, 
care,  scruples  !      Pour  out  your  heart  before  Him 

(Ps.   Ixii.   8)."    ZiNZENDORF. 

11.  On  xii.  1-3.  "It  is  a  common  grievance, 
to  live  and  experience  that  the  ungodly  are 
prosperous  and  the  godly  are  unfortunate  (Ps. 
xxxviii.  20;  Ixxiii.  12;  Job  xxi.  7;  xxxi.  2), 
against  which  David  wrote  the  xxxvii.  Ps.  Have 
recourse  to  the  testimony  that  there  is  another 
life,  when  the  tables  will  be  turned  and  the  evil 
will  be  recompensed  with  evil  and  the  good  with 
good  (Isai.  Ixv.  13)."  Cramer. 

12.  On  xii.  3.  "  The  prosperity  of  the  ungodly 
should  exhoi't  them  to  repentance  by  the  long- 
sufl'ering  of  God  (Rom.  ii.  4).  But  when  even 
this  does  not  avail,  there  are  still  people  of  this 
world,  who  have  their  portion  in  this  life,  who 
fill  only  their  belly  (Ps.  xvii.  14)  and  carry 
nothing  away.  What  profit  then  is  there  to  them 
even  if  they  had  the  whole  world,  and  sufi'er  in- 
jury to  their  souls  (Matth.  xvi.  26.  The  rich 
man  in  Luke  xvi.  23)."  Cramer. 

18.  On  xii.  4.  "  It  is  strange  that  even  in  the 
people  of  God  the  Epicurean  opinion  has  found 
acceptance,  that  God  sits  idly  in  the  heavens, 
caring  nothing  about  what  goes  on  below,  doing 
neither  that  which  is  good  nor  that  which  is 
evil,  (Zeph.  i.  12),  seeing  not  what  men  do  (Ezek. 
viii.  10,  ix.  9),  and  that  future  things  are 
altogether  hidden  both  from  him  and  his  prophet. 
So  powerful  is  the  devil  among  the  children  of 
unbelief."  Cramer. 

14.  On  xii.  4.  ^'■Tales  hodie  sunt  Epicuri  de  grege 
porci,  quibus  ssRpe  est  in  ore,  the  devil  is  not  so 
black,  hell  is  not  so  hot,  as  the  parson  in  the  pul- 
pit makes  out.  Sed  his  historia  divitis  epulonis 
occinenda  (Luke  xvi).  Namibi — Christ  puts  forth 
his  hand  into  hell-fire,  snatches  a  brand  out 
therefrom,  and  holds  it  in  the  face  of  all  Epi- 
cureans, as  though  He  would  say,  Smell,  smell, 
how  hot  hell-fire  is."  Forster. 

15.  On  xii.  5.  "I  have  heard  that  an  able 
preacher,  when  he  had  to  deliver  a  trial  sermoii 
for  the  position  of  court-preacher,  took  this  text. 
The  exposition  is  plain.  No  servant  of  the  Lord 
should  long  for  more  respectable,  rich,  discreet, 
sociable  hearers.  Let  every  one  approve  him- 
self thoroughly  in  all  changes,  and  be  sure  of 
his  cause  and  lean  not  to  his  own  understanding." 

ZiNZENDORF. 

16.  On  xii.  6.  "  Many  must  add  to  this,  wife, 
child,  colleague,  domestics,  and  whatever  more 


the  Saviour  mentions,  which  may  be  against  a 
man.  One  is  often  offered  by  his  mother  to  the 
dear  God  [i.  e.  dedicated  to  the  pastoral  office) 
but  in  an  altogether  different  sense  ;  and  when 
he  afterwards  walks  as  becomes  him,  according 
to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  those  are  his  bitterest 
enemies,  who  hoped  that  he  might  comfort  them 
in  all  their  travail,  and  who  not  only  do  not  gain 
anything  from  his  labors  as  a  witness,  but  must 
bear  the  shame  and  ridicule,  that  their  son, 
brother,  cousin,  husband,  father,  friend,  etc.  will 
yet  render  them  all  unfortunate."  Zinzendorf. 

17.  On  xii.  7,  sqq.  "They  are  sweet  worda 
and  beautiful  names  with  which  the  Lord  bap- 
tizes and  names  His  city,  and  it  is  so  hard  for  it 
to  be  punished  by  God  for  its  sins  that  we  are 
long  in  learning  to  consider  our  own  account." 
(Rom.  xi.  21).  Cramer. 

18.  On  xii.  7,  sqq.  "The  heart  of  a  believer 
is  God's  most  cherished  abode,  but  if  man  cor- 
rupt it  with  wilful  sin,  God  must  forsake  this 
house."  (Isai.  lix.  2).  Starke. 

19.  On  xii.  10,  sqq.  "A  servant  of  the  Lord 
who  should  follow  on  twelve  hirelings  or  wolves 
may  depend  on  this,  that  he  will  find  nothing  else 
than  a  house,  a  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  but  a  de- 
secrated house,  an  uprooted  vineyard,  in  which 
many  preparations  are  needed  before  he  can  pro- 
ceed to  his  regular  work."  Zinzendorf. 

20.  On  xii.  14,  sqq.  "The  Christian  church 
has  a  triple  consolation.  1.  That  its  enemies  will 
be  punished;  2.  That  God  again  has  mercy  oa 
it;  3.  That  it  also  converts  a  part  of  its  enemies 
and  gathers  them  into  its  little  flock  of  believers." 
Cramer. 

21.  On  xii.  16.  "Some  time  since  I  found  in  the 
so-called  Herrnhut  lot-book  for  the  year  1737  the 
words  in  the  vision  of  Isaiah,  lix.  17:  Thy  de- 
stroyer and  they  that  made  thee  waste  shall  go 
forth  of  thee !  Under  them  were  these  two 
lines,  'let  them  rather  remain  and  attach  them  to 
us.'  This  is  what  Jeremiah  says  ;  they  may  yet 
come  out  right. — Paul  has  confirmed  it  by  his 
example.  Within  three  days  he  was  a  persecutor, 
a  false  teacher,  a  poor  sinner,  a  justified  sinner, 
a  witness,  an  apostle.  With  joy  would  I  bestow 
the  same  happiness  on  every  one  of  those,  whom 
I  at  this  moment  cannot  regard  otherwise  than 
as  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ."  Zinzen- 
dorf. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  Onxi.  1-10  there  is  extant  ahomily  of  Orioen 
(the  9th  in  Lommatzsch's  ed.)  likewise  on  xi.  18- 
xii.  9  (the  10th)  and  on  xii.  11-xiii.  1  (the  11th.) 

2.  Forster  remarks  that  xi.  19,  20  accords 
with  Matth.  xxii.  15  sqq.  (XXIII.  Sunday  after 
Tr.)  and  that  the  persecution  of  Jeremiah  cor- 
responds to  the  sufferings  of  the  Lord.  Like- 
wise tluit  xii.  2  bears  relation  to  Luke  xvi.  19 
sqq.  (I.  Sund.  after  Trin.)  and  xii.  7  to  Acts  vi. 
8  sqq.  (St.  Stephen's  day,  Sunday  after  Christ- 
mas), and  to  Luke  xix.  4*1  sqq.  (X.  after  Trin.) 

3.  On  xi.  16,  17.  The  divine  election  is  never 
intended  to  be  a  license  from  all  discipline.  In- 
deed when  men  break  the  covenant,  the  Lord  in- 
terposes with  punishment,  which  may  proceed  to 
instantaneous  destruction,  tiurely  God's  gifts 
and   calling    are    without  repentance.     If   th« 


133 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


branches  cut  ofif  abide  not  in  unbelief  they  shall 
be  grafFed  in;  for  God  is  able  to  graflF  them  in 
again,  Rom.  xi.  23,  29. 

4.  On  xi.  21.  That  which  the  people  of  Ana- 
thoth  say  here  to  .Jeremiah,  the  people  of  this 
world  say  everywhere  and  at  all  times  to  the 
preachers  of  the  truth.  Comp.  2  Tim.  iv.  3,  4. 
It  is  important  then  to  preach  the  word,  to  be 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  ;  to  reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long-suffering  and  doc- 
trine (2  Tim.  iv.  2). 

6.  On  xii.  5.  It  is  not  becoming  that  we  pre- 


scribe to  God,  to  what  extent  He  shall  lay  bur- 
dens upon  us.  Our  patience  and  steadfastness 
are  as  ehistic  and  extensible  as  our  faith  is  firm 
and  rock-like  (Petrine,  Matth.  xvi.  18). 

6.  On  xii.  14-17.  When  mankind  depart  from 
God  they  lose  the  boud  of  unity  and  of  peace. 
They  are  divided  then  into  parties,  which  con- 
tend with  and  exterminate  each  other.  But 
when  these  have  again  united  themselves  with 
the  Lord,  the  unity  of  the  members  is  restored. 
Therefore  there  is  liberty,  equality  and  frateiv 
nity  only  in  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  Xm. 

Since  the  foregoing  discourse  is  complete  in  itself,  it  is  not  correct  to  say  that  ch.  xi.-xiii. /orwj  "a  whoUy 
one  prophetic  discourse  "(Graf,  S.  174).  Cliap.  xiii.  on  the  contrary  is  an  independent  portion,  but 
contemporaneous  with  the  preceding.  For  although  the  cleft  in  the  rock  by  the  river  Euphrates  in- 
volves an  obscure  intimation  of  the  place  of  exile,  the  enemies  from  the  North  are  still  spoken  of  indefi- 
nitely (comp.  on  ver.  20).  This  portion  therefore  belongs  to  the  period  before  the  fourth  year  of  Je- 
hoiakim.  The  reign  of  Jehoiakim  is  also  indicated  in  what  is  said  of  the  pride  of  the  great,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  King,  ver.  12  sqq. — Comp.  on  the  despotism  of  Jehoiakim,  Comni.  on  xxii.  13-19. 

As  to  the  purport  of  this  passage — it  is  a  reproof  of  pride.  Comp.  ver.  9,  "/  will  mar  the  pride  of  Judah 
and  the  pride  of  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  great  ;^^  ver.  2,  ''bottle,"  and  the  interpretation  given  of  it ;  ver. 
15,  "be  not  proud ;"  ver.  17,  ''for  your  pride ;"  ver.  18,  "humble  yourselves,  sit  down." — 
The  reproof  is  however  addressed  to  the  people  in  a  threefold  gradation — first  the  pride  of  the  chosen 
people  generally  (ver.  9,  Judah  and  Jerusalem)  is  rebuked  under  the  figure  of  a  destroyed  girdle.  This 
is  then  done  with  respect  to  the  particular  orders  enumerated  in  ver.  13,  which  are  represented  under 
the  figure  of  drunken  pitchers  breaking  each  other;  finally  the  prophet  humbles  the  pride  of  the  high- 
est, the  king  and  the  king's  mother  (ver.  18)  and  the  form  of  the  concrete  mother  of  the  country  gradu- 
ally passes  over  into  the  abstract,  i.  e.,  ideal,  person  of  the  daughter  of  Zion  [Jerusalem,  ver.  27). 
There  are  thus  three  strophes  : 

1.  Vers.  1-11.   The  entire  chosen  nation  a  destroyed  girdle. 

2.  Vers.  12-17.    The  particular  orders  broken  pitchirs. 

8.  Vers.  18-27.   The  father  and  mother  of  the  country  humbled,  driven  away,  insulted. 

1.   The  entire  chosen  nation  a  destroyed  girdle. 
XIII.  1-11. 

1  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  unto  me,  Go  and  get  [buy]  thee  a  linen  girdle, 

2  and  put  it  upon  thy  loins  and  put  it  not  in  water.  So  I  got  [bought,  procured]  a 
[the]  girdle  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  and  put  it  on  my  loins. 

3  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  [was  communicated]  unto  me  the  second  time, 

4  saying  :  Take  the  girdle  that  thou  hast  got  [bought,  procured],  which  is  upon  thy 
loins,  and  arise,  go  to  Euphrates  [Phrath]  and  hide  it  there  in  a  hole  [cleft]  of  the 

5  rock.     So  [And]  I  went  and  hid  it  by  Euphrates  [in  Phrath,  or  on  the  Phrath]  as 

6  the  Lord  [Jehovah  had]  commanded  me.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  many  days,  that 
the  Lord  [Jehovah]  said  unto  me,  Arise,  go  to  Euphrates  [Phrath]  and   take 

7  [fetch]  the  girdle  from  thence,  which  I  commanded  thee  to  hide  there.  Then  I 
went  to  Euphrates  [Phrath]  and  digged,  and  took  the  girdle  from  the  place  where 
I  had  hid  it,  and  behold,  the  girdle  was  marred  [spoiled]  ;  it  was  profitable  [good] 

8  for  nothing.     Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  unto  me,  saying : 

9  Thus  saith  Jehovah  : 

Thus  will  I  spoil  the  pride  of  Judah, 
And  the  pride  of  Jerusalem,  which  is  great. 
10  This  wicked  people,  who  refused  to  hear  my  words. 
Who  walked  in  the  hardness  of  their  heart, 
And  went  after  other  gods  to  serve  them  and  to  worship  them, 
They  shall  even  be  as  this  girdle,  which  is  good  for  nothing. 


CHAP.  XIII.  1-11. 


131 


11  For  as  a  girdle  lies  around  the  loins  of  a  man, 

So  have  I  laid  around  myself  the  whole  house  of  Israel, 
And  the  whole  house  of  Judah,  saith  Jehovah, 
That  they  may  be  to  me  for  a  people. 
For  a  name,  for  praise,  and  for  beauty  ; 
But  they  hearkened  not. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Vers.  1  and  2.  Go  and  buy  thee  a  girdle  .  . 
on  my  loins.  The  reason  why  the  prophet  was 
to  buy  a  girdle  appears  in  ver.  11.  As  of  all  parts 
of  the  clothing  the  girdle  is  that  which  fits  most 
closely,  so  Israel  of  all  nations  is  the  most  closely 
connected  with  Jehovah.  And  as  a  beautifully 
ornamented  girdle  serves  to  adorn  a  man  (comp. 
Hebzoq,  Real-Enc,  V.  S.  407  ;  VII.  717)  so  the 
Lord  thought  to  put  on  Israel  as  an  armament. 
The  prophet  was  to  buy  a  linen  girdle  without 
doubt,  because  the  sacred  garments  of  the  priests 
were  linen  (comp.  Exod.  xxviii. 40;  Herzog,  R.- 
Enc.  VII.  S.  714)  and  because  Israel  was  to  be  a 
holy,  priestly  nation  (Exod.  xix.  6).  On  the 
question  why  the  prophet  was  not  to  put  the  gir- 
dle in  water  there  has  been  much  debate. 
Graf's  view  that  the  girdle  was  to  be  preserved 
from  the  injurious  effects  of  the  water,  and  kept 
new  and  undamaged,  refutes  itself.  For  no  da- 
mage would  be  done  to  a  linen  girdle  by  wash- 
ing, but  it  would  rather  be  renewed.  The  pro- 
hibition to  put  the  girdle  in  water  evidently  pre- 
supposes that  the  prophet  would  have  washed 
the  girdle  when  it  became  dirty.  But  this  was 
not  to  be  done.  It  was  to  remain  dirty.  As  a 
dirty  girdle  it  was  to  be  taken  to  the  Euphrates. 
Since  now  the  girdle  denotes  the  people,  it  was 
thus  to  be  set  before  their  eyes  what  was  im- 
pending over  them  as  having  become  unclean, 
and  yet  long  borne  by  the  Lord  in  their  filth.  So 
RosENMULLER  and  Maurkr. 

Vers.  3-7.  Take  the  girdle  .  .  .  profitable 
for  nothing,     mi)  is  in  Jeremiah  always  the 

Euphrates,  xlvi.  2,  6,  10;  li.  63,  though  in  ch. 
xlvi.  we  always  find  ri^S'^HJ.  Now  it  is  incon- 
ceivable that  Jeremiah  made  the  long  journey 
to  the  Euphrates  twice  "merely  to  show  that  a 
linen  girdle  is  destroyed  by  lying  a  long  time  in 
the  damp."     Therefore  flli)   is  said  by  some  to 

be  a  water-gap  (]'?3)  near  Jerusalem  (Ewald), 

by  others  an   abbreviation  of  r>13X  (Bochart, 

Venema,  Hitzig),  by  others  again  the  whole  is 
regarded  as  merely  an  allegorical  narrative 
(Stabudlin,  Neue  Beitr.  zur  Erl.  d.  bihl.  Proph. 
Gott.,  1791,  S.  129  sqq.,  Graf).  But  I  do  not 
see  why  the  words  may  not  be  regarded  as  his- 
torical truth,  if  only  we  do  not  apply  the  stand- 
ard of  the  paltry  present  to  the  great  past.  Was 
it  too  much  for  a  prophet  to  make  a  long  journey 
in  order  to  set  visibly  before  the  eyes  of  his 
people  their  impending  fate  ?  Tliere  are  indeed 
narratives  of  such  a  kind  as  bear  in  themselves 
the  necessity  of  a  parabolic  interpretation,  ex.gr. 
when  Jeremiah  in  xxv.  10  sqq.  says  that  he  took 
the  wine  cup  of  fury  fi-nm  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
and  Cijused  Jerusalem  with  all  the  cities  of  Judah, 
Pharaoh  and  many  other  kings  and  princes   to 


drink  of  it.  But  where  this  is  not  the  case  we 
must  be  on  our  guard  against  transferring  our 
standard  of  the  suitable,  or  of  the  morally  and 
physically  possible  to  those  times.  I  therefore 
do  not  perceive  why  the  account  in  Hos.  i.  ; 
Ezek.  iv.  5  is  less  real  than  what  we  read  in 
Jer.  xix.  1  sqq. ;  xxvii.  2;  Isa.  xx.  o.  And  here 
also  Jeremiah  may  have  really  made  a  double 
journey  to  the  Euphrates  for  the  most  palpable 
warning  of  his  people.  But  let  us  not  expect 
that  Jeremiah  will  trouble  himself  to  affirm  in 
many  words  what  great  result  he  accomplished 
by  these  journeys.  He  who  relates  so  simply, 
without  even  an  exclamation,  how  he  was  thrown 
into  the  miry  pit  (ch.  xxxviii.)  might  here  also 
leave  it  to  his  readers  to  estimate  the  importance 
of  the  facts. 

[Henderson  : — "On  the  authority  of  the  LXX., 
Vulg.  and  other  ancient  versions,  it  has  been 
taken  for  granted,  that  by  JT13   here  the   river 

Euphrates  is  to  be  understood.  That  the  name 
is  elsewhere  employed  to  designate  that  river  is 
beyond  dispute.  Not  reckoning  the  present  verse, 
it  occurs  fifteen  times  with  this  application,  but 
except  in  three  instances.  Gen.  ii.  14;  2  Chron. 
XXXV.  20 ;  Jer.  li.  63,  it  never  stands  alone,  but 
always  has  ^^J,  river,  attached  to  it.  Indeed 
the  same  must  have  taken  place  Gen.  ii.  14  if 
that  word  had  not  been  used  immediately  before 
m3,  so  that  this  passage  ought  not  to  be  taken 
into  account.  With  respect  to  Jer.  li.  63  also, 
there  was  no  necessity  for  employing  the  quali- 
fying noun,  as  Seraiah  is  supposed  to  be  at 
Babylon  at  the  time  to  which  reference  is  there 
made,  consequently  in  the  closest  contact  with 
the  Euphrates.  It  seems  not  a  little  strange, 
therefore,  that  the  name  siiould  appear  not  fewer 
than  four  times  in  the  present  verse  without  the 
use  of  the  qualifying  term,  if  that  river  had 
really  been  intended.  This  circumstance  appears 
to  have  struck  the  LXX.,  whose  text,  ver.  7,  ex- 
hibits Tov  ^{'(ppaTTjv  TTora/iiov.  Ewald,  who  re- 
jects the  Euphrates,  renders  the  word  by  Fluss- 
vfer  (bank  of  the  river)  and  thinks  that  it  may 
be  used  of  fresh  or  sweet  water  rivers  generally, 
or  that  it   may  express  the  same  as  the  Arab. 

2j^     i>    a  rent  in  the  land  formed  by  water. 

I  prefer  the  solution  proposed  by  Bochart,  and 
adopted  by  Venema,  Dathe  and  Hirzin,  th.it  r\"li) 
is  here  only  an  abbreviation  of  m3N,  Ephrath, 

which  appears  to  have  been  the  original  name 
of  Bethlehem  and  its  vicinity,  and  most  com- 
monly appears  with    the  paragogic    H— HmSK, 

Ephratha.  The  aphaeresis  of  the  prosthetic  K 
is  not  without  examples. — The  whole  extent  of 
the  prophetic  journey  therefore  was  only  about 
six  miles  northward  of  Jerusalem.  There  at 
Bethlehem,  he  was  to  hide  the  girdle  in  a  fissure 


140 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  i'*2^'I!>  '^*  '■°<^*>  some  well-known  rock  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  town.  Why  he  was  especially 
sent  to  that  place  it  is  impossible  to  say,  except 
that  it  may  have  been  that  the  use  of  the  term 
Prath  might  lead  the  Jews,  when  the  symbolical 
actions  came  to  be  understood  by  them,  to  think 
of  the  Euphrates,  to  which  they  were  to  be  car- 
ried away  captive,  as  designated  by  the  same 
name."— S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  8-11.  Then  the  word  .  .  .  but  they 
hearkened  not.  Observe  in  vers.  9  and  10 
the  relation  of  this  parable  to  that  which  fol- 
lows, of  the  pitchers.  The  girdle  signifies  the 
entirety  of  the  people,  the  pitchers  the  indivi- 
duals o'f  all  ranks.  Hence  in  ver.  9,  "  the  pride 
of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,"  and  in  ver.  10,  «'  this 
evil  people,"  ia  spoken  of,  while  in  ver.  13  all 


ranks  are  enumerated.  The  meaning  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  girdle  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock  i3 
declared  in  vers.  9  and  10  :  pride  shall  be  brought 
low,  the  chosen  people  shall  become  as  a  girdle, 
which  is  profitable  for  nothing.  And  certainly, 
though  there  was  a  partial  return  from  exile,  yet 
with  the  captivity  in  Babylon  ceased  the  exist- 
ence of  Israel  as  an  independent  State  with  com- 
pact national  unity.  Observe  in  ver.  9  the 
doubling  of  the  strong  word  tlXJ,  pride,  with 
the  addition  SID,  great.     The  main  thought  of 

the  passage  is  thus  emphasized. — In  the  words, 
for  a  name,  for  a  praise,  etc.,  there  appears  to 
be  an  allusion  to  Exod.  xxviii.  2,  where  it  is  said 
of  the  holy  garments  of  Aaron  that  they  should 
be  "for  glory  and  for  beauty." 


2.  The  particular  orders — broken  pitchers. 
XIII.  12-17. 

12  Therefore  [And]  thou  shalt  speak  unto  them  this  word  :  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
[Jehovah  the]  God  of  Israel,  Every  bottle  [vessel,  pitcher]  shall  be  filled  with 
wine ;  and  they  shall  [will]  say  unto  thee,  Do  we  not  certainly  know  that  every 

13  bottle  [pitcher]  shall  be  filled  with  wine?  Then  shalt  thou  say  unto  them,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  : 

Behold,  I  fill  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  land, 

And  the  kings  who  sit  for  David  on  his  throne, 

And  the  priests  and  the  prophets  and  all  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem  with  drunkenness, 

14  And  dash  them  one  against  another. 

And  the  fathers  and  sons  together,  saith  Jehovah. 

1  will  not  spare,  nor  have  pity,  nor  be  merciful, 
So  as  not  to  destroy  them. 

15  Hear  ye  and  attend  1     Be  not  high-minded !     For  Jehovah  hath  spoken. 

16  Give  to  Jehovah,  your  God,  the  glory, 
Before  he  causes  darkness. 

And  your  feet  stumble  on  mountains  of  twilight. 

And  ye  wait  for  light,  but  he  turneth  it^  into  dark  shadow. 

And  change  if^  into  cloudy  night. 

17  But  if  ye  hear  it'  not,  my  soul  will  weep  in  secret  for  your  pride 
And  mine  eyes  shall  weep  sore  and  run  down  with  tears,* 

That  the  flock  of  Jehovah  is  carried  away  captive. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

^  Ver.  16.— riDty  refers  to  "^IX,  which  is  used  as  a  feminine  besides  only  in  Job  xxxvl.  32.    Comp.  Ewaid,  g  174  c 

2  Ver.  10.— The  Chothibh  n't!?!  f'H"  jTiV'  '^  foolisii. 

8  Ver.  IT.— ni  1? Ot!/r>  referable  to  ver.  1.5.     The  feminine  suflSx  in  a  neuter  sense.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  60,  6  h. 
*  Ver.  17.— On  the  construction,  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  69,  2  a.;  Jer.  ix.  17  ;  xiv.  17  ;  Lam.  i.  16 ;  iii.  48. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  12.  Announcement  of  tlie  punitive  judg- 
ment under  a  new  figure,  that  of  pitchers  to  be 
filled,  which  is  not  understood  by  the  people. 
Jehovah  explains  the  figure,  vers.  18,  14.  Ad- 
monition of  the  prophet  to  follow  the  warning 
of  Jehovah,  vers.  15-17. 


Ver.  VI.  Therefore  thou  shalt  speak  .  .  . 
shall  be  filled  with  wine.  After  the  decla- 
ration, in  the  words  "they  would  not  hear,"  ver. 
11,  tliat  the  symbolical  action  had  been  unsuc- 
cessful, a  new  attempt  is  set  on  foot  by  a  visible 
parable  to  make  an  impression  on  the  people. 
The  first  symbolical  act  was  intended  to  bring 
the  thoughts  of  God  home  to  the  people  in  an 
analytical  way,  the  new  parable  takes  a  syntheti- 


CHAP.  XIII.  18-27. 


141 


cal  form.  The  short  sentence,  "every  bottle 
shall  be  filled  with  wine,"  is  set  at  the  head  of 
an  obscure,  mysterious  problem.  The  people 
express  their  understanding  of  the  sentence  in 
the  most  natural  physical  sense,  but  with  the 
silent  assumption  (we  knew  that  before,  no  one 
need  tell  us  that.  Comp.  Gen.  xliii.  7)  that  this 
interpretation  is  not  satisfactory.  The  Lord 
therefore  develops  His  meaning  more  particu- 
larly in  what  follows. 

Vers.  13  and  11.  Then  shalt  thou  say  unto 
them  .  .  .  destroy  them.  It  should  first  be 
observed  that  in  the  three  parts  of  this  discourse 
(ch.  xiii.)  there  is  a  climax,  in  so  far  as  the  first 
part  (vers.  9,  10)  is  addressed  to  the  mass  of 
the  people,  without  distinction  of  the  particular 
orders,  the  second  part  specifies  these  orders 
with  evident  emphasis  on  the  favored  classes, 
the  third  part  applies  to  the  king  and  the  king's 
mother  alone  (ver.  18).  The  prominence  of  the 
higher  classes  in  the  second  part  is  doubtless 
connected  with  the  purport  of  the  parable.  They 
are  compared  with  earthen  pitchers.  [Hendek- 
SON :  "  These  bottles  are  frequently  of  a  large 
size.  On  entering  the  city  of  Tiflis,  in  1821,  the 
author  found  the  market-place  full  of  such  bot- 
tles, consisting  of  the, skins  of  oxen,  calves,  etc., 
distended  with  wine. — It  is  from  this  custom  that 
our  English  word  hogshead  is  derived — that  term 
being  a  corrupt  pronunciation  of  ox-hide." — 
But  HiTZiG  renders  wiuQ-piichers,  earthen  vessels 
or  pots. — S.  R.  A.]  (Comp.  Jer.  xlviji.  12;  Isa. 
XXX.  14;  Lam.  iv.  2).  These  pitchers  are  bel- 
lied, to  a  certain  extent  swollen,  but  internally 
they  are  hollow  and  empty  and  moreover  of 
frangible  material.  They  are  therefore  an  ex- 
cellent emblem  of  that  carnal  aristocratic  pride 
to  which  there  is  no  corresponding  inner  merit. 
That  this  is  the  prophet's  meaning  is  clear  from 
the  emphatically  prefixed  Be  not  high-mind- 
ed (^najJl-Sx),  ver.  15,  and  from  pride  (HjJ), 
ver.  17. — What  a  suitable  punishment  for  such 
men,  who  are  like  pitchers,  to  be  filled  with  wine 
0f  intosication  !     |n32^,  drunkenness,  desig- 


nates the  immediate  subjective  effect  of  the  wine 
of  fury  (comp.  xxv.  15;  Isa.  xxviii.  7;  li.  17; 
Ps.  Ix.  5),  of  which  the  further  objective  effect 
is  collision  and  breaking  to  pieces.  The  Midi- 
anites  (Judges  vii.  22)  and  the  Philistines  (1  Sam. 
xiv.  20),  who  exterminated  each  other,  were 
also  seized  by  a  spirit  of  intoxication.  If  not 
in  this  sense,  yet  in  that  of  mutual  hatred,  re- 
ciprocal oppression  and  injury  in  general,  the 

prophet  applies  0  D'ili'aj,  dash   them,  to  the 

Israelites.  But  when  a  kingdom  is  divided 
against  itself  it  cannot  stand,  Mark  iii.  24. — The 
plural  kings  in  ver.  13,  intimates  that  not  merely 
the  then  reigning  king,  but  several,  one  after 
another  (as  the  majority  of  the  kings  contempo- 
rary with  Jeremiah  were  evil-disposed)  were  in- 
cluded in  this  category.  The  addition,  who 
sit  for  David  (comp.  xxii.  4),  sets  forth  that 
very  element  on  which  the  pride  of  these  kings 
especially  rested.     (Comp.  2  Sam.  vii.). 

Vers.  1-5  and  17.  Hear  ye  and  attend  .  .  . 
carried  away  captive.  The  prophet  inter- 
poses as  a  mediator  with  an  earnest  admonition 
to  observe  the  divine  warning.  On  high-minded 
comp.  the  foregoing  remarks. — For  Jehovah 
hath  spoken,  viz.,  every  bottle,  etc.,  ver.  12. — 
Give  glory.  Comp.  Josh.  vii.  19.  It  is  op- 
posed to  be  proud. — Cause  darkness.  Comp. 
Ps.  cv.  28;  cxxxix.  12.  According  to  the  con- 
nection it  is  easiest  to  regard  God  as  the  subject. 
— Stumble,  reference  to  dash  together,  ver. 
14. — Dark  mountains  are  more  than  stones  of 
stumbling.  The  prophet  imagines  them  to  be 
wandering  in  a  mountainous  country  and  in  a 
dark  ravine.  Comp.  Ps.  xxiii.  4. — In  secret 
places.  The  prophet  will  retire  from  the  pub- 
licity, in  which  he  has  hitherto  lived  and  labored, 
into  solitude,  in  order  that  he  may  give  way  to 
his  sorrow. — Weep  in  contrast  with  drunken- 
ness, ver.  13 :  the  prophet's  eyes  will  overflow 
with  tears. — Flock.  Comp.  ver.  20;  Zech.  x. 
3.  Even  the  disobedient  people  continue  to  be 
the  Lord's  flock. 


3.  The  father  and  mother  of  the  country  humbled,  driven  away,  insulted. 

XIII.  18-27. 

18  Say  to  the  king  and  the  princes,  sit  down  low,^ 

For  fallen  is  your  chief  ornament,^  your  glorious  crown! 

19  The  cities  of  the  south  are  shut  up,  and  no  man  openeth  them; 
Judah  is  carried  away'  wholly,  carried  away  completely.* 

20  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  see  who  are  coming  from  the  north. 
Where  is  the  flock  that  was  given  thee,  thy  beautiful  flock? 

21  What  wilt  thou  say,  when  he  sets  over  thee  those,^ 

Whom  thou  hast  thyself  drawn®  to  thee  for  friends,  as  chief?* 
Will  not  pangs  seize  thee  as  a  parturient  woman  T 

22  And  if  thou  sayest  in  thy  heart,  why  have  these  things  happened  to  me?- 
For  the  greatness  of  thy  iniquity  are  f,hy  skirts  discovered,* 

Thy  heels  abused.'" 


142  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


23  "Will  a  Cushite  change  liis  skin,  or  a  leopard  his  spots  ? 

Then  shall  ye  also  be  able  to  do  good,  ye  accustomed  to  evil-doing ! 

24  Therefore  I  will  scatter  them  as  the  stubble," 
That  hasteth  away^^  before  the  wind  of  the  desert. 

25  This  is  thy  lot,  thy  measured^^  portion  from  me,  saith  Jehovah, 
Because  thou  didst  forget  me  and  trust  in  falsehood. 

26  Therefore  I  also  have  discovered  thy  skirts  from  before, 
That'*  thy  shame  may  be  seen : — 

27  Thy  adulteries  and  ardent  neighings,  the  enormity  of  thy  unchastity — 
On  the  hills  in  the  field  have  I  seen  thy  abominations ! 

Wo  to  thee,  O  Jerusalem !     Wilt  thou  not  be  cleansed — still  after  how  long ! 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

I  Ver.  IS. — On  the  construction  camp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  95,  Anm. 

*  Ver.  18. — □D'mC'XTO.     Thus  punctuated  the  word  is  found  here  only.    On  the  derivation  comp.  OlSH.  g  197,  e,  <S 

374.    The  meaning  is  :  that  which  is  found  at  the  head  or  on  the  head.    (Comp.  r\l7J13  Ruth  iii.  4,  7,  8, 14).    Elsewhero 

T  :  ~ 
we  find  (occurring  only  in  this  form)  VmC'X'^'D,  Gen.  xxviii.  11,  18;  1  Sam.  xix.  13,  16,  etc.:  and  (erroneously  punctuated) 

T      -:  "  : 
'nti'NID,  1  Sam.  xxvi.  12. — That  which  is  found  on  the  head  is  the  ornament,  which  is  more  particularly  designated  as  the 

crown.    On  the  sing.  masc.  ^"V  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.   g  105,  4  6,  3. 

3  Ver.  19.— nb  jn.    Comp.  Lev.  xxv.  21 ;  xxvi.  34 ;  2  Ki.  ix.  37  (Chethibh) :  Ewald,  g  194  a  ;  OWH.,  g  226  6,  S.  449. 

*  Ver.  19.— D'DlSiy  adjective=D''7K'  integer.    Comp.  Am.  i.  6,  9. 

"   T 

6  Ver.  21. — Since  there  is  no  nominative  to  TpS"",  either  mentioned  or  implied,  in  the  connection,  it  must  be  either  the 
ideal-general  subject  (One),  or  Jehovah,  which  in  sense  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  All  the  commentators  recognize  a 
parenthesis  as  beginning  with  j'lXV  But  some  conclude  this  with  DHX  (Gaab),  others  with  ^7^^  (Hitzio,  Graf),  others 
with  D'3  vX  (EiCHHORN,  De  Wette,  Umbreit).  It  is  opposed  to  the  first  rendering  that  then  the  sense  of  ''ms  7  remains 
indefinite,  to  the  second,  that  then  the  parenthesis  is  either  superfluous,  if  we  consider  T7j^^T7N,  or  as  incorrectly  in- 
troduced by  1,  if  "VlV  is  to  be  considered  sts=adversum  te  (Vulg.,  Hitzig).     It  would  then  need  to  be  ^2-    I  therefore  agree 

:        '•  -  T  I 

with  those  who  conclude  the  parenthesis  with  D'flvX.     Then  pXI  is  sentence  of  condition  with  an  adversative  meaning 

(comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  109,  4  e)  which  in  its  entirety  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  object  of  Tpj)'.  The  meaning  of  this  verb 
is  that  which  occurs  frequently  :  to  set,  ordain  over  one  (comp.  xv.  3). 

«  Ver.  21. — nQ7=to  accustom,  to  train,  of  beasts  (xxxi.  18  ;  Hos.  x.  11),  of  men  (x.  2).  In  the  latter  passage  it  is  con- 
strued with  7 X  for  which  we  here  have  jp,  which  prepositions,  as  frequently  remarked,  are  often  used  as  synonymous  by 

Jeremiah  (comp.  on  x.  2). — The  construction  with  a  double  accusative  is  similar  to  ii.  33,  only  here  it  is  a  double  accusa- 
tive of  person,  since  it  is  not  said  :  thou  teachest  them  intimacy,  liut  as  intimates,  which  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  prolepsis  and 
to  be  included  in  the  cases  enumerated  in  Naegelsb.  Gr.  g  69,  3. 

7  Ver.  21. — tj;Xl7,  the  thought  is  the  same  as  in  Lam.  i.  5. 

8  Ver.  21.— mS    nC?X,  mulier  partus;  elsewhere  mSV  (comp.  vi.  24;  xxii.  23  ;  xlix.  24),  HI/  besides  only  in  2  Ki. 

T"  T- 

xix.  3  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  3;  Hos.  ix.  11. 

9  Ver.  22.— OJI    ibjj.    Comp.  Nah.  iii.  5. 

10  Ver.  22.— The  Niph.  ^Don  J  hero  only.    Comp.  xxii.  3.    The  captive  driven  before  the  enemy  is  exposed  both  to  shame 

and  abuse.  [Henderson  :  "  The  reason  why  the  heels  are  particularly  mentioned,  seems  to  be  that  the  sandal  was  fastened 
by  a  strap  or  thong  which  came  round  above  the  lieel  to  the  instep.  As  the  sandal  was  not  so  easily  removed  as  the  skirt 
was  turned  up,  hence  the  appropriate  selection  of  the  verb  DDPt,  to  tear  ofl",or  do  anything  with  violence.     Both  parts  of 

~  T 

the  description  literally  apply  to  those  who  were  removed  into  a  state  of  expatriation  by  a  victorious  army." — S.  R.  A.] 

II  Ver.  24.— U/p  stubble.    Comp.  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  14 :  Isa.  xli.  2  ;  xlvii.  14. 

12  Ver.  24.— m"lS  "l^lj^,  literally  stubble,  which  is  related  to  the  wind  as  going  along,  which  runs  from  the  wind. 
That  "^^^J,'  also  signifies  discedere,  dbire,  auferri  is  seen  from  passages  like  Ruth  ii.  8 :  2  Chron.  xviii.  23  ;  Ps.  Ixxii.  7 ;  Ezek. 

xlviii.  14.    Comp.  T3J?  VD,  Isa.  xxix.  .5. 

18  Ver.  25.— inD~r\3D-    In  Job  xi.  9  also  rnD  is  to  be  derived  from  HD,  with  the  meaning  menmra=T\1l:^.    Comp. 

Olsh.,  1 139,  S.  208 ;  Fuerst.,  Cone.  S.  616,  s.  v.,  ID.     Therefore  it  is  not  necessary  to  render  ID  here=wpi>er  garment,  with 

reference  to  Rutli  iii.  15  (coll.  Ps.  xi.  6;  Isa.  Ixv.  6),  [as  Hitzig  does,  declaring  that  10  never  means  ?nensMra.     Henderson: 

"  As  the  noun  is  here  parallel  with  hl1J>.  the  lot,  which  was  specially  employed  in  determining  portions  of  land,  it  seems 

T 

preferable  to  explain  it  of  such  measurements." — S.  R.  A.] 

H  Ver.  26.— "):yx  is  causal.    Comp.  Josh.  iv.  23  ;  1  Ki.  viii.  33 ;  Zech.  i.  15. 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

The  discour.se  of  the  prophet  still  rising  higher, 
is  now  addressed  to  the  king  and  his  mother,  thus 


to  the  heads  of  the  State  (comp.  on  ver  13).  He 
announces  humbling  of  pride  (ver.  18),  overthrow 
of  power  anil  exile  (ver.  19).  Enemies  fi-om  the 
iiortli  (ver.  20),  whose  friendship  was  formerly- 
sought,    will  bring  this  about   to   the   extreme 


CHAP.  XIII.  18-27. 


14.^ 


misery  of  the  subjects  (ver.  21),  as  a  punishment 
for  their  sins  (ver.  22).  And  since  Israel  is  cor- 
rupt to  the  core,  an  amelioration  on  their  part  is 
not  to  be  expected  (ver.  24),  wherefore  the  Lord 
must  also  scatter  them  to  the  winds  (ver.  24),  and 
as  a  just  punishment  of  their  wickedness  (vers. 
25-27  a),  deliver  them  up  to  inconceivable  woe 
(ver.  27  6).  The  address,  which  at  first  has 
the  king  and  his  mother  alone  in  view  (vers.  18, 
19),  passes  over  gradually  more  to  the  latter 
(vers.  20-22),  and  at  last  (since  the  king's  mother 
may  easily  be  regarded  as  the  mother  of  the 
country  and  representative  of  the  mother-coun- 
try) to  the  entirety  of  the  nation  (vers.  23-27), 
the  end  of  the  discourse  thus  returning  to  the 
beginning  (comp.  vers.  9  and  10). 

Vers.  18  and  19.   Say  to  the  king   .  .  . 

carried  aw^ay   completely.  —  ni'3J   is  the 

queen-mother,  who  had  precedence  in  rank  over 
the  many  chosen  women  of  the  harem.  There- 
fore the  book  of  Kings  (with  two  exceptions)  al- 
ways mentions  with  the  name  of  the  king,  that 
of  his  mother. — Comp.  xxix.  2  ;  1  Kings  xv.  12;  2 
Kings  X.  13  (2  Chron.  xv.  16). — Sit  down.  Here, 
also,  the  prophet  attacks  worldly  pride. — Of 
the  south.  As  the  enemy  comes  from  the  north, 
the  siege  of  the  cities  of  the  south  is  a  sign  that 
the  capital  is  surrounded,  and  that  flight  to  the 
south,  is  no  longer  possible.  [Henderson  fol- 
lowing HiTZiQ,  more  correctly  refers  this  to  the 
complete  desertion  of  the  cities, — "the  inhabi- 
tants having  all  been  carried  away  into  cap- 
tivity, and  not  so  much  as  one  left  to  open  the 
gates  to  a  traveler." — S.  R.  A]. 

Vers.  20-22.  Lift  up  your  eyes  .  .  .  thy 
heels  abused.  The  circumstance  that  the 
princess  is  mentioned  immediately  before,  and 
that  ver.  20  b  appears  to  refer  to  the  shepherds 
of  the  people  (the  ideal  person  of  the  people  is 
represented  as  wife,  mother,  daughtei",  but  never 
as  shepherdess),  appears  to  me  to  indicate  that 
the  prophet  has  made  use  of  the  feminine  forms 

'K'},  'XK?  (lift  up  and  see),  with  primary  refer- 
ence to  princess: — thou  hast  thyself  drawn, 
ver.  21,  also  seems  to  favor  this.  For  such  acts 
always  proceeded  especially  from  the  heads  of 
the  people,  and  how  powerful  the  influence  of 
the  princesses  was,  is  shown  in  Maachah,  the 
mother  of  Asa  (1  Kings  xv.  13),  Jezebel  (1  Kings 
xvi.  31  sqq.),  and  Athaliah  (2  Kings  xi.).  The 
sudden  change  of  number  is  not  unusual.  Comp. 
Naegblsb.  Gr.,  §  105,  7.  Anm.  2. — As  certainly 
as  the  prophet  means  by  those  coming  from  the 
north  the  same  enemies,  of  which  he  has  already 
spoken  ini.  14,  15;  iv.  6,  etc.,  so  certain  is  it  also, 
that  he  does  not  know  definitely  what  northern 
people  were  meant ;  comp.  remarks  on  i.  14. 
Thus  it  is  also  declared  that  this  prophecy  must 
have  been  delivered  before  the  fourth  year  of  Je- 
hoiakim.  For  from  this  year  (comp.  chap.  xxv. ) 
Jeremiah  knows  definitely  that  the  nation  is  the 
Chaldeans. — What  wilt  thou  say,  ver.  21.  It 
having  been  said  of  the  ruling  pair  in  the  pre- 
vious verse,  that  they  are  to  lose  their  flock,  it  is 
here  added  by  way  of  climax,  that  tbey  will  them- 
selves come  under  the  dominion  of  others,  and 
indeed  of  those  whose  friendsiiip  might  rather 
have  been  expected  from  the  previous  relations 
of  the  kings  of  Judah  towards  them.     This  can- 


not, indeed,  be  said  of  Jehoiakim,  for  although 
he  had  not  engaged  in  direct  hostilities  against 
the  king  of  Babylon  (his  revolt,  2  Kings  xxiv.  1, 
must  have  taken  place  after  the  battle  of  Car- 
chemish,  and  therefore  long  after  this  prophecy), 
he  was  yet  a  creature  of  his  opponent  Pharaoh 
Nechoh  (2  Kings  xxiii.  34).  But  of  his  pre- 
decessors, from  Ahaz  onward  (comp.  2  Kings 
xvi.  7  sqq.),  most  of  them  had  entered  into  more 
or  less  intimate  relations  with  the  northern  em- 
pire, partly  as  seeking  aid  from  it  (comp.  on  ii. 
18,  36),  partly  as  introducing  among  themselves 
the  forms  of  religion  there  prevailing  (comp. 
Manasseh,  2  Kings  xxi.  3  ;  Amon,  lb.  xxi.  20; 
Zeph.  i.  5  coll.  2  Kings  xxiii.  5,  11  sqq.),  partly  at 
least  like  Hezekiah  in  an  apparently  innocuous, 
but  really  fatal  display  of  courtesy.  If  with  this 
we  take  into  account  the  relations  of  the  Jewish 
kings  to  Assyria,  as  well  as  to  Babylon,  we  are 
justified,  both  by  the  words  of  this  passage,  which 
speaks  only  generally  of  |i£32^0  D'N^,  and  the  in- 
ner unity  of  those  empires  (comp.  the  name  As- 
shur,  transferred  to  the  Babylonian  and  Persian 
monarchy;  2  Kings  xxiii.  29;  Ezr.  vi.  22). 

Vers.  23-27.  Will  the  Cushite  .  .  .  after 
how^  long!  There  might  still  be  a  means  of  es- 
cape— Reform.  But  this  is  not  to  be  expected, 
because  evil-doing  has  become  the  people's  se- 
cond nature.  Comp.  v.  3;  vi.  10,  13-15,  27  sqq. ; 
viii.  4-7 ;  ix.  24,  25. — Therefore  I  also.  Ver. 
26.  The  declaration  of  cause  and  consequence 
are  entwined  after  the  manner  of  a  chain  in 
vers.  23-27 ;  ver.  23  cause,  vers.  24,  25  a,  con- 
sequence;  ver.  25  b,  repeated  cause;  ver.  26, 
consequence;  ver.  27  a,  cause  again;  ver.  27 
b,  the  final  consequence.  Yet  since  I  have 
discovered  thy  skirts,  evidently  points  back 
to  ver.  22,  where  the  same  is  said  of  the  enemy, 
there  is  in  the  words,  Therefore  I  also,  not 
merely  the  antithesis  to  thou  didst  forget 
me,  ver.  25,  but  also  the  thought :  whatever  the 
enemy  does  to  thee  is  done  according  to  my  will; 
I  am  He  who  does  it.  — From  before.  Jeremiah 
quotes  here  only  Nah.  iii.  5,  which  passage  also 
refers  back  to  Isa.  xlvii.  1-3  (comp.  Kueper,  S. 
136,  Strauss  on  Nahum,  S.  95). — Graf  strangely 

maintains  that  '^'J3~7j^  cannot  mean  "  over  thy 
face;"  that  the  expression  never  has  this  mean- 
ing. I  refer  only  to  1  Kings  xviii.  7,  39.  But 
I  also  believe  that  the  meaning  face  is  not  to  be 
insisted  upon,  but  that  D'Ji3  here  as  frequently 
(comp.  i.  13)  signifies  the  fore-part.  — Still  after 
how  long!  Jeremiah  had  maintained  in  ver. 
23  the  incorrigibility  of  the  people.  From  the 
conclusion  of  ver.  27  it  is  seen,  that  he  under- 
stands this  only  of  the  Israel  of  the  present.  In 
the  future,  though  far  distant,  he  sets  forth  in 
prospect  the  purification  of  the  people,  comp.  iii. 
18  sqq. ;  xii.  14  sqq. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xiii.  1-11.  The  Lord  has  put  on  Israel 
as  a  girdle  for  His  own  adornment  and  for  Israel's 
highest  glory.  This  figure  is  unquestionably  one 
of  the  most  precious  which  the  Scripture  employs 
to  represent  the  mystery  of  election.  Elsewhere 
Israel  is  called  Jehovah's  inheritance  (Deut.  iv. 
20  ,  vii.  6),  His  wife  and  His  beloved  bride  (Hos. 


144 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


ii.  16  sqq. ;  Jer.  ii.  2),  his  first-born  son  (Exod. 
iv.  22),  His  servant,  (Isa.  xli.  8),  His  flock  (Jer. 
xiii.  17),  his  vineyard  (Isa.  v.  7),  his  signet-ring 
(Hagg.  ii.  23.  Vid.  Kohler,  S.  114).  Like  the 
last  emblem,  the  girdle  also  denotes  the  closest 
intimacy,  indispensable  service,  a  valuable  orna- 
ment. But  great  as  is  the  love  which  the  Lord 
thus  shows  to  Israel  in  calling  them  His  girdle, 
as  great  is  the  severity  with  which  he  declares, 
that  the  honor  thus  received  will  not  save  them 
from  destruction.  Let  every  particular  Christian 
church  mark  this !  However  closely  it  may  be 
attached  to  the  Lord,  this  saves  it  neither  from 
internal  corruption,  nor  from  external  judgment, 
comp.  Luke  iii.  8,  9.  Not  this  or  that  particular 
church,  but  the  whole  church  only  has  the  promise 
of  infallibility  (John  xvi.  13)  invincibility  and 
permanent  existence.   (Matt.  xvi.  18). 

2.  On  xiii.  17.  "This  is  a  good  advice.  In  the 
words  of  a  hymn,  '  when  witnesses  have  sown 
God's  word,  they  water  it  with  prayer  and  many 
thousand  tears.'  In  one  hour  more  grace  is 
drawn  by  weeping  from  God  the  lover  of  life, 
who  allows  Himself  to  be  implored,  and  who 
hearkens  to  the  voice  of  His  servants;  and 
hearts,  which  feel  the  tears  of  their  lover,  are 
thus  brought  nearer  to  their  object  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  than  could  be  accomplished  by  three 
sermons  .  .  .  'Everything  is  born  in  pain.'  .  . 
When  ye  can  do  no  more,  ye  witnesses,  go  and 
weep  and  moisten  your  seed,  then  you  will  come 
again  with  joy  bringing  your  sheaves  with  you." 
ZiNZENDORF.    Preces  et  lacrimx  sunt  arma  ecclesim. 

3.  On  xiii.  18.  "When  the  enemies  are  at  the 
gate,  the  plague  in  the  city  or  the  village,  and 
there  is  no  escape,  and  human  help  there  is  none, 
then  it  is  of  some  use  for  preachers  to  speak  to 
their  princes  out  of  tune ;  at  other  times  they 
would  be  regarded  as  insolent.  .  .  .  Sometimes 
God's  witnesses  are  clothed  with  an  authority 
which  no  one  understands,  but  all  feel.  Jeho- 
ram's  visit  to  Elisha  was  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
capitating him,  and  a  polite  conversation  was 
the  result,  (2  Kings  vi.  30  sqq.)"     Zinzendorf. 

4.  On  xiii.  18.  "A  preacher  is  not  to  take 
court-soup  and  robes  of  grace  and  leave  the 
hare's  head  unstript,  but  put  salt  even  into  He- 
rod's wounds."  FoRSTER  from  a  sermon  of  Ce- 
liCH,  3  Dom.  Adv. 

5.  [On  ver.  23.  "Inveterate  habits  are  justly 
regarded  as  a  second  nature ;  but  being  moral 
in  their  character,  instead  of  extenuating  they 
aggravate  the  guilt  of  those  who  are  the  subjects 
of  them.  Strong,  therefore,  as  is  the  physical 
reference  here  made,  it  can  with  no  propriety  be 
employed  in  support  of  the  physical  impossibility 
of  moral  reformation."  Henderson. — "Learned 
men  in  our  age  do  not  rightly  refer  to  this  pas- 
sage, when  they  seek  to  prove  that  there  is  no 
free-will  in  man;  for  it  is  not  simply  the  nature 
of  man  which  is  spoken  of  here,  but  the  habit 
that  is  contracted  by  long  practice.  Aristotle, 
a  strong  advocate  of  free  will,  confesses  that  it 
is  not  in  man's  power  to  do  right,  when  he  is  so 


immersed  in  his  vices  as  to  have  lost  a  free 
choice  (7  Lib.  Ethicon)  and  this  also  is  what  ex- 
perience proves.  We  hence  see  that  this  pas- 
sage is  improperly  adduced  to  prove  a  sentiment 
which  is  yet  true  and  fully  confirmed  by  many 
passages  of  Scripture."  Calvin. — S.  R.  A.] 

IIOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xiii.  1-11.  "God  has  cast  off  His  first 
people,  the  whole  house  of  Judah  and  the  house 
of  Jerusalem  .  .  God  has  put  on  us  as  a  girdle  in 
their  stead.  For  He  has  not  thrown  away  the 
girdle  and  remained  naked,  but  has  woven  Him- 
self another.  This  girdle  is  the  church  from  the 
heathen.  It  should  know  that  as  God  spared  not 
the  former,  much  more  will  He  not  spare  it,  when 
it  sins  and  is  not  worthy  of  God's  loins.  But  he 
who  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit  (1  Cor.  vi. 
17)  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  whom  be  glory  and  domi- 
nion forever.     Amen."     Origen,  Horn.  XI.  6. 

2.  On  xiii.  12-17.  Exhortation  to  repentance: 
The  earthen  wine-pitchers  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 
1.  What  they  signify  (the  proud  yet  perishable 
world);  2.  What  will  be  their  fate  (vers.  14,  17); 
3.  What  is  the  means  of  escaping  this  fate  (vers. 
15  and  16). 

3.  [On  ver.  17.  "  Pride  the  great  hindrance  to 
the  reception  of  the  word.  Pride  will  not  seek 
1,  the  knowledge  of  God.  Pride  (a)  will  not 
brook  a  rival :  (6)  is  unwilling  to  be  taught,  (c) 
is  unwilling  to  use  the  means  of  knowledge,  [d) 
is  unwilling  to  pray  ;  2,  the  favor  of  God ;  3, 
likeness  to  God  ;  4,  communion  with  God."  Pat- 
son  on  Ps.  X.  14. — S.  R.  A.] 

4.  On  xiii.  23  sqq.  The  expression  in  ver. 
23  opens  up  to  us  a  comfortless  perspective.  But 
with  God  nothing  is  impossible  (Matth.  xix.  26). 
The  conclusion  of  ver.  27  shows  us  that  a  puri- 
fication, though  slow  and  successive  is  possible, 
in  that  we  obtain  a  point  of  support  without 
ourselves,  (Archimedes),  and  a  new  principle  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus.  [On  ver.  23.  I.  The  great 
difficulty  of  reforming  vicious  habits,  or  of 
changing  a  bad  course,  arises  1,  from  the  gene- 
ral nature  of  habits  ;  2,  from  the  particular  na- 
ture of  bad  habits ;  3,  the  natural  and  judicial 
consequences  of  the  great  progress  and  long  con- 
tinuance of  a  bad  course.  II.  This  difi&culty  is 
not  desperate,  but  there  is  some  ground  of  hope 
and  encouragement.  1.  There  is  left  even  in 
the  worst  of  men  a  natural  sense  of  the  evil  and 
unreasonableness  of  sin.  2.  Very  bad  men  when 
they  have  any  thought  of  becoming  better  are 
apt  to  conceive  some  good  hopes  of  God's  grace 
and  mercy.  3.  Who  knows  what  man  thoroughly 
roused  and  startled  may  resolve  and  do  ?  4.  The 
grace  and  assistance  of  God  when  sincerely 
sought  is  never  to  be  despaired  of.  Tillotson. — 
S.  R.  A.] 

5.  [Jer.  Taylor  uses  ver.  26  as  the  text  of  a 
sermon  on  the  invalidity  of  a  death-bed  repent- 
ance.— S.  R.  A.] 


CHAP.  XIV.  1-9.  246 


THE  FIFTH  DISCOURSE. 

(Chap.  XIV.— XVII.  18). 

A  fearful  drought  gives  the  prophet  occasion  to  offer  a  hearty  and  touching  intercession  for  his  people.  Thi. 
twice-repeated  decisive  refusal  of  his  petition,  based  on  the  revolt  of  the  people  (xiv.  10  coll.  iii.  3) 
compels  him  to  take  into  view  his  own  situation,  rendered  exceedingly  dangerous  in  consequence  of  his 
prophetic  ministry,  and  then  also  to  present  before  the  people  the  sad  prospect,  that  from  the  present 
calamity  which  is  not  spoken  of  after  xiv.  22,  there  is  no  hope  of  escape,  but  that  far  worse,  even  a 
fearful  punitive  judgment  ending  in  captivity,  is  impending. 

As  to  the  time  of  composition  no  data  are  furnished  by  the  mention  of  the  drought  (comp.  rems.  on  xiv.  1). 
That  it  was  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  and  therefore  before  the  decisive  turning  point  in  the 
history  of  the  theocracy  and  in  Jeremiah's  prophecies,  is  evident  from  the  circumstance,  already  urged, 
that  nowhere  in  the  discourse  is  the  enemy  mentioned  as  known.  Twice  only  and  in  passages  critically 
suspicious,  are  the  northern  iron  (xv.  12)  and  the  north  country  as  the  place  of  exile  (xvi.  15)  men- 
tioned. On  the  other  hand  there  are  many  traces  that  the  discourse  cannot  have  originated  long  before 
the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  or  the  discourse  preserved  in  ch.  xxv.  The  prophet,  when  he  delivered 
this  discourse,  must  have  been  a  long  time  in  office.  For  the  hatred  against  him  has  become  as  much 
deeper  as  more  general  (xv.  lOsqq.):  he  is  mocked,  because  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecy  is  so  long 
delayed  (xvii.  15):  he  moreover  complains  of  the  endless  duration  of  his  sufferings  (xv.  18),  while  on 
the  other  hand  he  represents  to  the  Lord  that  he  has  obtained  universal  recognition  as  a  prophet  of  Je- 
hovah (xv.  16).  The  command  not  to  take  a  wife  (xvi.  2)  further  indicates  that  the  prophet,  who  at 
his  calling  was  only  a  ^J/J  (i.  6,  7)  has  in  the  meantime  reached  a  mature  age.  The  words  "  this 
once"  also  (xvi.  21)  seem  to  indicate  that  the  great  catastrophe  was  very  near.  It  is  also  seen  that 
this  discourse  must  belong  to  the  same  period  as  ch.  xiii.  Gomp.  the  introduction  to  the  fourth  dis- 
course. 

The  attempts  to  ascribe  different  parts  of  the  discourse  to  different  periods  (comp.  Graf,  S.  208,  9)  are 
rendered  abortive  by  the  fact  that  it  is  a  well-compacted  whole,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  ta- 
ble of  contents. 

FIRST  MAIN  DIVISION. 

THE  TWICE  REPEATED  INTERCESSION  OF  THE  PROPHET  CONCERNING  THE  DROUGHT,  AND  ITS  TWICE  RE- 
PEATED REJECTION. 

XIV.     1— XV.    9. 

1.  The  first  petition,  xiv.  1-9. 

2.  The  first  refusal,  xiv.  10-18. 

3.  The  second  petition,  xiv.  19-22. 

4.  The  second  refusal,  xv.  1-4. 

5.  Further  portrayal  of  the  sad  fate  which  is  impending  over  the  thus  rejected  nation,  xv.  5-9. 

SECOND  MAIN  DIVISION. 

THE  CONSEQUENCES  OF  REFUSAL  WITH   RESPECT  TO  THE    PERSON    OF    THE    PROPHET   AND   INSTEUCTIOIT 

CONCERNING  HIS  FURTHER  COURSE. 

XV.    10— XVI.   9. 

1.  Complaint  and  petition  of  theifprophet  on  account  of  the  consequences  of  the  refusal  with  respect  to  his 

own  person,  xv.  10-18. 

2.  Tranquilizing  and  consolatory  answer  of  the  Lord,  xv.  19-21. 

3.  Instructions  how  the  servant  of  the  Lord  should  conduct  himself  among  the  people  on  whom  the  'Judg- 

ment has  fallen,  xvi.  1-9. 

THIRD  MAIN  DIVISION. 

REASON  OF  THE  REJECTION  AND  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  CAPTIVITY. 

XVI.   10— XVII.   4. 

1.  Idolatry  is  the  cause  of  the  removal  into  exile,  xvi.  TO-15. 

2.  More  particular  description  of  the  removal  announced  in  xvi,  13,  xvi.  16-18. 

3.  Refutation  of  the  objection  (xvi.  10)  that  the  people  had  committed  no  sin  by  their  idolatry,  xvi.  19  -21. 

4.  Refutation  of  the  objection  (xvi.  10)  that  the  people  generally  had  not  served  idols,  xvii.  1-4. 

10 


146  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


CONCLUSION. 

XVII.  5-18. 

1.  Retrospective  glance  at  the  deep  roots  of  the  corruption,  xvii.  5-13. 

2.  Petition  of  the  prophet  for  the  safety  of  his  person  and  the  honor  of  his  official  ministrations,  xvil 

1J:-18. 


FIRST  MAIN  DIVISION. 

THE  TWICE  REPEATED  INTERCESSION  OF  THE  PROPHET  CONCERNING  THE  DROUGHT,  AND  ITS  TWICE  UI- 

PEATED  REJECTION.     (XIV.    1 XV.   9.) 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1 .   The  first  petition. 
XIV.  1-9. 

1  The  word  which  came  to  Jeremiah  concerning  the  drought^ : 

2  Judah  mourns  and  her  gates  are  in  trouble, 
Covered  by  mourning'^  even  to  the  earth ; 
And  the  cry  of  Jerusalem  goes  up. 

3  And  their  mighty  ones  have  sent  their  mean  ones'  for  water. 
They  came  to  the  cisterns,  found  no  water ; 

Returned  with  their  vessels  empty. 

Ashamed  and  confounded  are  they  and  cover  their  heads. 

4  On  account  of  the  ground,  which  is  dismayed,  because  there  was  no  rain  in  the  land, 
The  husbandmen  are  ashamed  and  cover  their  heads, 

5  For  the  hind  also  in  the  field  has  brought  forth 
And — forsaken,*  for  there  is  no  green  thing  there. 

6  And  the  wild  asses  stand  on  the  high  places, 
They  gasp  for  air  like  the  jackals. 

Their  eyes  have  failed,  for  there  is  no  herb  there. 

7  Though  our  sins  testify  against  us,  O  Jehovah, 
Act^  for  thine  own  name's  sake ; 

For  many  are  our  apostasies,  against  thee  have  we  sinned, 

8  O  thou  Hope  of  Israel,  his  deliverer  in  distress ; 
Why  wilt  thou  be  as  a  stranger  in  the  land, 

Or  as  a  traveller  who  pitches  (his  tent)  for  the  night? 

9  Why  wilt  thou  be  as  a  man  taken  by  surprise," 
As  a  warrior  who  can  give  no  help? 

Yet  thou  art  in  our  midst,  O  Jehovah  ! 
And  we  bear  thy  name ;  forsake  us  not !'' 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— JinVDn  may  be  the  plural  of  Hll^D  Jer.  xvii.  8,  which  undoubtedly  signifies  drought,  in  case  711^3  Ps- 

IX.  10;  x.l  is  to  be  Otherwise  rendered.    Comp.  mnt^^  from  mnc^-     The  plural   does  not  necessarily  imply  many 

things,  as  Graf  supposes.     In  Uebrew  all  things  which  have  extension  in  time  or  space  (comp.  D''3E'ri,    D'' 7^r>3,  etc. 

Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  61,  2,  c)  may  be  in  the  plural.  The  word  means  a  drought,  which  extends  through  a  plurality  of  moments 
(perhaps  also  of  points  of  space).  I  HiTZio :  The  phiral  stands  here  aU  designandam  diuturnam,  continuationem  siccitatis,  Ch. 
B.  Mich.— S.  R.  A.] 

»  Ver.  2.— >.7  mp  Const,  prxf/nans.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gh:,  §112,  7. 

9  Ver.  3.— The  form  ^1^'};  is  found  here  only,  and  xlviii.  4  in  the  Chethibh.     Elsewhere  Tj^Jf. 

*  Ver.  5.-2)]^),  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  62,  2,  a;  Exod.  viii.  11 ;  Gen.  xli.  43 ;  Jer.  xxxii.  33, 44. 

5  Ver.  7.— On  Htyj^  comp.  reras.  on  xviii.  23. 

6  Ver.  9. — Dm  J  an.  Aey.,  since  ScnuLTENS,  is  by  most  commentators  derived  from  the  Arabic  (dahama=^to  fall  upon, 

surprise). 

'  \  er.  9. — 1  jn jn~7X  literally  ne  deponas,  dejieias  nos  (comp.  Num.  xix.  9).    From  this  are  developed  the  meanings  r«- 
Unqwre  (Gen.  xlii.  33)  and  deserere. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL, 

A  fearful  drought  prevails  in  the  land.     Pro- 
ceeding from  the  whole  to  the  particulars,  from 


the  higher  to  tlie  lower,  the  prophet  shows  how 
the  whole  of  .Judah  and  .Jerusalem  mourns  (ver. 
2),  how  the  rulers  of  the  people  send  out  their 
subjects  in  vain  for  water  (ver.  3),  how  the  hus- 
bandmen also  in  like  distress  stand  in  like  con- 


CHAP.  XIV.   10-18. 


147 


sternation.  Passing  to  the  beasts  he  describes 
how  the  terrible  thirst  conquers  even  the  mater- 
nal feeling  of  the  hind  (ver.  6)  and  how  the  wild 
asses  seek  the  heights  in  order  to  obtain  some 
mitigation  at  least  from  stronger  currents  of  air 
(ver.  6).  To  this  the  prophet  attaches  a  hearty 
prayer  that  the  Lord  will  not  have  regard  only 
to  the  acknowledged  sins  of  Israel,  but  for  the 
sake  of  His  own  glory  (ver.  7),  will  no  longer  act 
towards  His  people  as  a  stranger,  who  will  not 
help  (ver.  8),  or  as  one  who  has  become  power- 
less and  cannot  help  (ver.  9  a),  but  as  one  who  is 
near,  their  shield  and  Father,  and  who  accord- 
ingly will  not  forsake  His  people  (ver.  9  6). 

Ver.  1.  The  word  which  .  .  drought.  Con- 
traction of  two  sentences  into  one,  the  predicate 
of  the  main  sentence  having  been  attracted  by  the 
subordinate  sentence  and  become  its  predicate, 
so  that  the  subject  of  the  subordinate  sentence 
becomes  the  predicate.  Comp.  the  same  con- 
struction xlvi.  1  ;  xlvii.  1 ;  xlix.  34. — Most  com- 
mentators following  the  example  of  Jerome  un- 
derstand this  of  a  future  drought,  which  they 
believe  to  be  intimated  in  2  Kings  xxv.  3.  The 
connection  is,  however,  opposed  to  deferring  the 
drought  to  the  future,  as  well  as  that  the  his- 
torical accounts  contain  no  data  for  the  determi- 
nation of  any  real  time. 

Vers.  2-4.  Judah  mourns  .  .  .  cover  their 
heads. — Gates  =  those  assembled  in  the  gates. 
Comp.  Isai.  iii.  26  ;  xiv.  31  ;  Ruth  iii.  11. — In 
dark,  mourning-attire  they  seat  themselves  on 
the  ground.  Isai.  iii.  26;  Jer.  viii.  21;  Ps. 
XXXV.  14. — The  cry  of  Jerusalem  goes  up, 
in  contrast  to  covered  to  the  earth. — They  do 
not  send  their  private  servants,  but.  as  it  is  a 
matter  of  general  interest,  mean,  common  peo- 
ple generally. — T\r\T\,  dismayed,  is  a  relative 
sentence  (comp.  Isai.  li.  1.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  80, 
6,  1).     r\n,    dismayed,    forms   a   climax   with 

E'13  ashamed  (comp.  Fuerst,  H.  W.  B.  s.  v.) 
and  can  therefore  be  used  of  impersonal  objects 
like  the  latter.  Comp.  li.  47;  Isai:  xxiv.  23; 
Joel  i.  10. — The  husbandmen  are  ashamed, 
etc.  Comp.  Joel  i.  11. 

Vers.  5  and  6.  For  the  hind  also  ...  no 
herb   there.     It   is   not   necessary  to  take  '3 

[with  HiTZiG  and  Henderson. — S.  R.  A.]  in  the 


insecure  sense  of  Tea.  It  is  causal:  what  is  said 
of  the  distress  of  the  men  is  confirmed  by  the  dis- 
tress of  the  beasts. — Forsaken.  The  hind  is  ce- 
lebrated by  the  ancients  for  her  tender  maternal 
aifection  (Bochakt,  Hieroz,  P.  I.,  L.  III.,  Cap. 
17)  to  which  may  be  added,  that  she  is  said  to 
bring  forth  with  ditficulty  (comp.  Ps.  xxix.  9  ; 
Job  xxxix.  1). — Like  the  jackals.  Hitzio  and 
Graf  suppose  that  jackals  cannot  be  meant  here, 

but  that  D'jr5  must  stand  for  TilH  (comp.  Ezek. 
xxix.  3  ;  xxxii.  2)  =  sea  monsters.  But  I  do 
not  see  why  the  open,  panting  wolf-jaws  (the 
jackal  like  the  wolf  belongs  to  the  canine  spe- 
cies) should  not  serve  for  a  comparison  in  a  case 
like  the  present.  Comp.  ii.  24. — Their  eyes 
have  failed.  Comp.  Job  xi.  20;  Lam.  ii.  11. 
[Henderson: — The  wild  asses  betake  themselves 
to  the  heights  in  order  to  discover  some  supply. 
They  are  very  sharp-sighted,  and  travellers  in 
the  desert  often  avail  themselves  of  their  appear- 
ance, knowing  that  there  must  be  herbage  and 
water  in  the  vicinity. — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  7-9.  Though  our  sins  .  .  forsake  us 
not!  —  Act  for  Thy  name's  sake  (comp.  ver. 
21)  i.  e.,  though  we  cannot  ask  that  thou 
shouldest  interpose  actively  for  our  sake,  yet 
do  it  in  behalf  of  Thine  own  glory,  which  is 
pledged  partly  for  the  sake  of  the  election,  part- 
ly for  the  sake  of  Thy  renown  among  other 
nations.  Comp.  Num.  xiv.  13-16 ;  Deut.  v.  28, 
29;  Ezek.  xx.  14;  Ps.  cix.  21.— Pitches  (his 
tent).  HiTzia  supposes,  that  the  traveller 
does  not  trouble  himself  with  a  tent.  But  tra- 
veller (n!?i*)  is  collective,  (comp.  nn")X,  the 
caravans).  These  certainly  take  tents  with  them. 
I  do  not  think  therefore  that  HDJ  is  =  to  de- 

TT 

viate  from  the  way,  to  turn  in  (for  the  night). 
In  this  sense  "^^D  is  elsewhere  always  used. 
(Gen.  xix.  2;  Judges  iv.  18;  xv.  19,  etc.)  I  sup- 
ply with  the  elder  commentators  wHN,  his  tent 
(comp.  Gen.  xii.  8). — Yet  thou  art  in  our 
midst  (comp.  x.  21)  i.  e.,  thou  art  constantly  and 

permanently  with  us  (antithetic  to  "IJ  ver.  8). — 

We  bear  thy  name,  we  are  called  the  people 
of  Jehovah.  Comp.  Exod.  v.  3  ;  Deut.  xxviii.  10, 
coll.  Jer.  vii.  10. 


A  The  First  Refusal. 
XIV.  10-18. 


10  Thus  saith  Jehovah  to  this  people: 

They  loved  so  to  wander,  their  feet  they  restrained  not ; 

Jehovah  moreover  hath  no  pleasure  in  them ; 

Now  he  will  remember  their  guilt  and  visit  their  sin. 

11  Then  said  Jehovah  unto  me : 

Pray  not  on  behalf  of  this  people  for  good. 

12  Though  they  fast,  I  hearken  not  to  their  cry. 

And  though  they  offer  holocausts  and  oblations,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  thems 
But  by  the  sword,  by  hunger  and  pestilence  I  consume  them 


148 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH 


13 


14 


And  I  said  : 

Ah,  Lord  Jehovah !     Behold  the  prophets  say  to  them, 
"  Ye  will  not  see  the  sword,  and  famine  will  not  come  to  you, 
For  I  will  give  you  assured  peace  in  this  place." 
And  Jehovah  said  unto  me : 
The  prophets  prophesy  falsehood  in  my  name, 
I  have  not  sent  them  nor  commissioned  them, 
Nor  have  I  spoken  to  them  ; 
False  vision  and  divination  and  nothingness 
And  the  deceit'  of  their  heart  they  prophesy  to  you. 
15  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  concerning  the  prophets, 
Who  prophesy  in  my  name  though  I  have  not  sent  them, 
And  who  say,  There  shall  be  no  sword  or  famine  in  this  land: 
By  the  sword  and  by  famine  shall  these  prophets  perish. 
And  the  people  to  whom  they  prophesy 
Shall  lie  cast  out  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem, 
By  reason  of  the  famine  and  the  sword  • 
And  will  have  none  to  bury  them. 
Them,  their  wives,  their  sons  and  their  daughters : 
And  I  pour  out  over  them  their  wickedness. 
And  thou  shalt  say  to  them  this  word : 

Mine  eyes  shall  flow  with  tears  day  and  night  and  cease  not, 
For  the  virgin  daughter  of  my  people^  is  stricken  with  a  grievous  stroke. 
With  a  wound  very  incurable. 

If  I  go  forth  into  the  field,  behold  !  the  slain  with  the  sword, 
If  I  return  to  the  city,  behold  !  the  tortures^  of  famine ! 
For  even  prophet  and  priest  go  into  the  country  and  know  nothing. 


16 


17 


18 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  14. — The  forms  7I7X  and  HWIH  here  only,  everywhere  else  Jl'D^H)  7' /K- 

2Ver.  17.— 'j;  O  n'7in3-    Comp.  Na'egelsb.  Or.,  §64,  4;  Isa.  xxxvii.  22. 

3  Ver.  18. — ''K1  bnH)  sufferings,  torments.    Comp.  xvi.  4 ;  Deut.  xxix.  21 ;  Ps.  ciil.  3 ;  2  Chron.  xxi.  19. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

The  Lord  answers  the  prophet's  petition,  that 
in  the  description  of  the  thirst-stricken  beasts 
he  only  describes  the  conduct  of  the  idolatrous 
people  and  has  thus  himself  shown  the  reason 
why  the  Lord  must  punish  them  (ver.  10). 
Therefore  he  (the  prophet)  may  cease  his  inter- 
cession (ver.  11),  and  the  people  their  ceremo- 
nies, for  their  destruction  by  famine,  sword  and 
pestilence  is  determined  upon  (ver.  12).  There- 
upon the  prophet  ventures  to  interpose  in  behalf 
of  the  people  from  another  side.  He  calls  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  the  prophets  have  sus- 
tained the  people  in  their  errors  by  false  pro- 
mises (ver.  13).  Upon  this  the  Lord  declares 
them  to  bo  false  prophets  (ver.  14),  and  pro- 
nounces their  destruction  (ver.  15).  Moreover 
the  same  destruction  is  impending  over  the  people 
who  believe  in  tliem  (ver.  16),  from  which  it  is 
seen  that  the  prophet  has  accomplished  nothing 
by  his  intervention.  The  wound  is  incurable 
(ver.  17) ;  everywhere  in  the  country,  as  he 
wanders  hither  and  thither,  the  prophet  meets 
with  death  in  its  most  terrible  forms.  He  learns 
that  neither  prophet  nor  priest  is  any  longer  in 
a  condition  to  propitiate  the  Lord,  or  avert  the 
ealamity  from  the  people  (ver.  18). 

Ver.    10.    Thus   saith    Jehovah  .  .  .  their 


sin.     The  commentators  mistake  the  conneotioa 
of  this   verse   with   the   preceding,  when   they 

overlook,  that  in  \2,  thus,  the  Lord  refers  to  the 
description  of  the  animals  tormented  with  thirst 
(vers.  5  and  6),  and  finds  in  it  a  description  of 
the  passionate,  ungovernable  lust  of  the  people 
for  idolatry,  the  true,  final  cause  of  the  ruin 
now  come  upon  Israel.  As  the  hind,  impelled 
by  her  desire  for  refreshment,  abandons  her 
newly  born  young  in  order  to  seek  for  food,  so 
Israel  forsakes  the  Lord  in  order  to  satisfy  his 
lust  for  idolatry.  As  the  wild-ass  runs  to  the 
high  places,  in  order  there,  with  wide-open  jaws, 
to  drink  in  at  least  a  cooler  breath  of  air,  so 
Israel  pants  for  idols.  We  are  justified  in  this  in- 
terpretation the  rather  as  the  prophet  has  previ- 
ously used  essentially  the  same  emblems  of  idola- 
try. In  ii.  24  he  compared  idolatrous  Israel  with 
the  wild-ass,  who  (there indeed  in  theheatof  sexu- 
al impulse)  gasps  for  breath  (comp.  xiv.  6).  Wan- 
dering (J^IJ)  is  there  also  censured  in  the  people, 
as  a  symptom  of  their  lust  for  idols,  as  in  those 
who  cannot  restrain  the  foot  (comp.  ii.  25).  In 
ver.  10  a,  then  there  is  a  statement  of  the  rea- 
son, why  He  is  compelled  to  refuse,  as  He  does 
in  ver.  10  b,  the  petition  of  the  prophet  (ver.  7 
sqq.).  This  second  half  of  the  verse  is  more- 
over taken  verbatim  from  Hos.  viii.  13;  ix.  9. 
Vers.  11  and  12.  Then  said  Jehovah  .  . . 


CHAP.  XIV.  19-22. 


149 


I  consume  them.  To  this  denial  the  Lord 
adds  by  way  of  climax  as  before  (vii.  16)  a  pro- 
hibition of  further  intercession,  at  the  same 
time  announcing  that  the  people  also  will  accom- 
plish nothing  by  the  ceremonies  of  divine  wor- 
ship, which  train  of  thought  we  found  also  in 
xi.  14  sqq. — For   good.     Comp.   Deut.    xxviii. 

II  ;  XXX.  9;  Jer.  xxi.  10  ;  xxiv.  5.  6. 

Vers.  13-lG.  And  I  said  .  .  .  pour  out  over 
them  their  •wickedness. — Assured  peace 
[lit.,  peace  of  truth].  Comp.  right  seed,  ii. 
21.  So  here  genuine,  lasting,  secure  prosperity. 
Comp.  Isa.  xxxix.  8  ;  Jer.  xxxiii.  ti.  In  general 
comp.  vi.  14  ;  iv.  10. — Divination  (Op.p.)  is 
used  here  in  a  bad  sense,  as  almost  always, 
comp.  Numb,  xxiii.  23;  1  Sam.  xv.  23;  Ezek. 
xiii.  6,  23,  etc. — With  the  description,  cast  out 
in  the  streets,  comp.  viii.  2  ;  xvi.  4  ;  xxv.  33. 
— I  -will  pour  out,  etc.  Comp.  ii.  19;  Hos. 
ix.  15. 

Vers.  17  and  18.  And  thou  shalt  say  to 
them  .  .  .  know  nothing.  Tlie  formula  in 
ver.  17  never  introduces  greater  sections.  It 
occurs  verbatim  as  here  only  in  xiii.  12.  Here 
certainly  at  the  beginning  of  a  strophe.  But 
there  is  nothing  in  the  tenor  of  the  words  to 
prevent  their  being  used  wherever  a  definite 
single  word  is  to  be  marked.     Comp.  xxviii.  7. — 


Let  mine  eyes,  etc.  As  before  (viii.  23  ;  xiii. 
17),  th«  prophet  here  expresses  the  thought  that 
nothing  but  weeping  is  left  for  him. — Stroke, 
etc.  Comp.  X.  19;  xxx.  12. — For  even  pro- 
phet, etc.  The  prophet  evidently  wishes  to  say, 
that  he  has  looked  about  everywhere,  both  in 
the  country  and  the  city,  but  has  found  only 
symptoms  of  irretrievable  destruction.  This 
moreover  was  not  only  his  conclusion,  for  all 
the  priests  and  prophets  who.  like  him,  had 
gone  into  the  country,  had  also  learned  that 
there  was  nothing  more  to   be  done,  so  that  it 

must  be  said  of  them :  IJJT'  Vh,  i.  e.  non  sapiunt 
(comp.  Ps.  Ixxiii.  22 ;  Job  xxxiv.  2),  they  know 
nothing. — "ino  occurs  only  in  Gen.  xxxiv.  10, 
21  ;  xiii.  31,  as  a  finite  verb,  is  contrasted  in 
these  passages  with  the  Accusative  and  signifies 
at  any  rate  not  simply  to  go  directly  out,  but 
(after  the  manner  of  business-people)  to  go  hither 
and  thither  (commeare,  E/iTTopevecr^at).  Here  thea 
at  any  rate  we  must  suppose  a  journeying  di- 
rected to  several  points.  The  /N  is  explained 
by  Jerusalem's  being  considered  as  the  central 
point  from  whicii  they  went  now  this  way  now 
that  way.  The  omission  of  the  article  befors 
yMi  is  not  uncommou  (comp.  on  ill.  2.) 


3.  The  Second  Petition. 
Xiy.  19-22. 


19  Hast  thou  utterly  rejected  Judah,  or  has  thy  soul  disgust  at  Zion? 
Why  then  hast  thou  smitten  us  and  there  is  no  cure  for  us  ? 

We  hoped  for  peace  but  there  came  nothing  good ; — 
For  a  time  of  healing,  and  behold  terror ! 

20  We  acknowledge,  O  Jehovah,  our  wickedness. 

The  guilt  of  our  fathers,  that  we  have  sinned  against  thee. 

21  Reject  us  not  for  thy  name's  sake ; 
Disgrace  not  the  throne  of  thy  glory ; 

Hold  in  remembrance,  break  not  thy  covenant  with  us. 

22  Are  there  then  among  the  vain  deities  of  the  heathen  rain-dispensers  ? 
Or  will  the  heaven  [itself]  give  rain  ? 

Art  not  tliou  He,  Jehovah,  our  God  ? 

And  our  hope  because  thou  hast  made  all  these  things? 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  is  not  easily  turned  from  his  in- 
tercession. He  here  begins  again  the  second 
time.  He  asks  the  Lord  why  He  has  rejected 
Judah  and  Zion  (ver.  19).  He  then  adduces 
three  reasons  why  this  cannot  be.  1.  Israel  ac- 
knowledges his  sins  (ver.  20);  2.  Jehovah  must 
help  for  His  own  glory  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
covenant  (ver.  21)  ;  8.  There  is  no  other  dispen- 
ser of  rain  and  of  blessing  than  He  (ver.  22). 

Ver.  19.  Hast  thou  utterly  .  .  .  terror. 
^  nil?  repetition  from  viii  16. 


Vers.  20,  22.  We  acknowledge  .  .  .  made 
all  these  things.  As  in  ver.  7,  so  also  here 
(ver.  20),  the  prophet  supports  his  petition  on 
the  confession  of  sin.  Therefore  he  likewise 
adds,  as  in  ver.  7,  an  appeal  to  the  Lord's  own 
honor.  Hence  he  further  strengthens  his  ap- 
peal by  urging  (a)  that  Zion's  destruction  would 
disgrace  the  throne  of  the  Lord  Himself,  in  so 
far  as  Zion  in  part  is  the  throne  of  the  Lord, 
and  in  part  conceals  Him  in  its  midst  (comp.  on 
xvii.  12);  (h)  he  reminds  the  Lord  of  the  co\-^'- 
nant  made  with  Israel,  which  is  to  be  kept,  not 
to  he  broken.  Comp.  xi.  1  sqq.  ;  Lev.  xxvi.  11, 
12,  which  passage  seems  to  have  been  in  the 


150 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


prophet's  mind. — From  ver.  22  we  perceive 
plainly  the  connection  with  the  first  petition, 
ver.  1  sqq. — Art  not  thou  He?  Xin  is  never 
a  simple  copula,  not  even  in  Eccles.  (comp.  i.  17 
with  ii.  13).  Here  it  is  demonstralive,  i.  e.  re- 
ferring to  the  previously  mentioned  idea  of 
rain-dispenser.  Thou  alone  art  He,  who  art  at 
the  same  time  our  God  and  the  object  of  our 
hope.     God  alone  is  the  rain-dispenser,  for  He 


has  made  all  things.  Comp.  .Job  v.  10 ;  xxxviii. 
25,  26. — For  thou  hast  made  is  the  basis  of 
Thou   art  he  ; — our   God,  etc.,  is  therefore  a 

parenthesis.     Comp.   Naegklsb.  Gr.   |   80,   3 

[Henderson:  "  Fromtlie  commencement  of  ver. 
19  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  the  people  are  in- 
troduced as  doing  what  the  prophet  was  forbid- 
den to  do  on  their  behalf." — S.  E.  A.] 


CHAPTER  XV.  I 

4.   The  Second  Refusal, 
XV.  1-4. 

1  And  Jehovah  said  unto  me  : 

If  Moses  and  Samuel  stood  before  me, 

Yet  my  soul  is  not  inclined  towards  this  people  : 

Away  with  them  from  my  presence  !     Out  with  them  ! 

2  And  if  they  say  to  thee :  Out  whither  shall  we  go  ? — 
Then  say  to  them :  Thus  saith  Jehovah : 

He  who  is  for  death  to  death,  he  for  the  sword  to  the  sword. 

And  he  who  is  for  famine  to  famine,  and  he  for  captivity  to  captivity. 

3  And  I  appoint  over  them  four  kinds,  saith  Jehovah  : 
The  sword  to  kill  and  the  dogs  to  tear, 

The  birds  of  heaven  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  to  devour  and  to  destroy. 

4  And  I  make  them  a  horror^  to  all  kingdoms  of  the  earth, 

On  account  of  Manasseh,  the  son  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah, 
And  on  account  of  what  he  did  at  Jerusalem. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  4. — Here  and  in  Ezek.  xxiii.  46  HI  y  T  is  found  without  marginal  reading,  but  in  Isa.  xxvili.  19  the  older  form  7^V^'f. 

t"^:-  tt: 

In  the  other  places  (besides  those  quoted  in  .Jeremiah  also  2  Chron.  xxix.  8),  where  Ewald  (comp.  g  53,  h)  would  read  nj!1T 
(scarecrow,  sport  [of  chance])  there  is  always  the  Keri  TW^h    Except  in  Isa.  xxviii.  19,  the  word  occurs  only  as  the  desig- 

T — ;~ 
nation  of  the  terminus  in  quern  after  f  flj  or  before  riTI-     The  root  T?^r  has  both  in  the  Hebrew  (it  occurs  in  the  Old  Test. 

1    -  T  TT 

only  in  Eccl.  xii.  3;  Esth.  v.  9  ;  Hab.  ii.  7)  and  in  the  dialects  (comp.  Dan.  v.  19;  vi.  27)  the  meaning  of  violent  motion, 
commotion.    Hence  H^'II  is  commotion,  quaking,  horror. 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

The  second  petition  is  refused  with  a  decisive- 
ness which  allows  of  no  repetition  and  the  peo- 
ple are  rejected  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
(ver.  1),  but  not  to  a  definite  place,  for  they  are 
delivered  up  to  destruction  in  the  most  various 
forms  (ver.  2),  and  to  destroyers  of  the  most 
terrible  kinds  (ver.  3),  so  tliat  tlieir  destruction 
will  excite  tlie  horror  of  all  nations;  but  all  this 
will  correspond  to  the  seed  of  abomination  which 
Manasseh,  the  son  of  Hezekiah,  scattered  in 
Judah  (ver.  4). 

Ver.  1.  And  Jehovah  said  .  .  .  out  "with 
them!  Moses  is  an  intercessor,  Exod.  xvii.  11 
sql)[.;  xxxii.  11  sqq.;  Numb.  xiv.  13;  Ps.  cvi. 
23.— Samuel  in  1  Sam.  vii.  8  ;  viii.  6;  xii.  16-23; 
XV.  11 ;  Ps.  xcix.  6;  Ecclus.  xlvi.  16.  Comp.  Her- 
EOG,  Real-Enc.  XIII.  S.  398. — Noah,  Daniel  and 


Job  are  mentioned  in  a  similar  manner  in  Ezek. 
xiv.  14;  and  in  later  times  Jeremiah  himself  in 
2  Mace.  XV.  14. ^The  object  of  away,  according 
to  the  preceding  context,  and  to  whither  shal] 
we  go  ?  ver.  2,  can  be  no  other  than  the  people. 
Vers.  2  and  3.  And  if  they  say  ...  to  de- 
stroy. The  question,  w^hither  shall  we  go  ? 
presupposes  the  thought  of  a  mere  banishment. 
It  is  declared  in  what  follows  that  far  worse  than 
tills  is  meant. —  He  who  is  for  death.  A  fear- 
ful destructive  blow  is  to  follow,  which  causes 
the  people  to  be  scattered  and  drives  individuals, 
without  selection  or  respect  of  persons,  into  the 
hands  of  the  agents  of  death. — Death,  with 
sword,  famine  and  captivity,  is  evidently  the  re- 
latively spontaneous  death  by  disease  or  pesti- 
lence C^^.)'  wherefore  the  latter  word  is  also 
used  with  the  other  in  xiv.  12;  Ezek.  xiv.  21; 
xxxiii.  27  ;  comp.  Jer.  xliii.  11. — Ver.  3  fortifies 
this  judgment  of  destruction,  by  declaring  it  in 


CHAP.  XV.  5-9. 


151 


a.  certain  measure  permanent.  For  and  I  ap- 
point declares  that  Israel  is  to  be  placed  as  it 
were  under  the  jurisdiction  of  these  four  de- 
structive forces,  as  also  in  Ezek.  xiv.  21  it  is  ex- 
pressly said  that  the  Lord  will  send  His  "  four 
sore  judgments — the  sword  and  the  famine  and 
the  noisome  beast  and  the  pestilence,"  upon 
Jerusalem. — Kinds,  ninaU'D.  Comp.  '^^1,  the 
four  generations,  Prov.  xxx.  11  sqq.  Since  the 
four  instruments  here  mentioned  correspond  to 
the  four  kinds  of  destruction  mentioned  in  ver. 
2,  it  is  evident  that  ver.  3  bears  to  ver.  2  not  a 
logical  but  rhetorical  relation.  The  sword  more- 
over repre8ent3  the  judgment  on  the  living,  the 


three  others  the  judgment  on  the  dead.     Comp. 
xiv.  IG;   Deut.  xxviii.  26. 

Ver.  4.  And  I  make  them  ...  at  Jerusa- 
lem. Repetition  of  the  first  half  of  the  verse 
xxiv.  9;  xxix.  18;  xxxiv.  17.  The  expression 
is  taken  from  Deut.  xxviii.  25.  Concerning  Ma- 
nasseh  comp.  2  Kings  xxi.  1-17;  xxiii.26;  xxiv. 
3.  The  biblical  accounts  dismiss  the  long  reign 
of  this  king  with  remarkable  brevity.  We  ob- 
tain the  impression  that  this  is  the  effect  of  a 
certain  reluctance  to  recall  this  name,  which  re- 
presents the  darkest  portion  of  the  history  of  Ju- 
dah,  an  epoch  which  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
concentration  and  end  of  all  ungodliness. 


5.  Further  description  of  the  sad  fate  impending  over  the  refected  nation. 

XV.  5-9. 

6       For  who  will  have  pity  on  thee,  O  Jerusalem  ? 
Or  who  will  have  sympathy  for  thee  ? 
Or  who  will  turn  aside  to  wish  thee  well  ? 

6  Thou  hast  rejected  me,  saith  Jehovah,  [and]  wentest  backwards.* 
Then  I  stretched  out  my  hand  against  thee  and  destroyed  thee : 
I  was  weary  of  repenting. 

7  And  I  winnowed  them  out  with  a  fan 
At  the  gates  of  the  land ; 

I  orphaned,  I  destroyed  my  people, — 

For  they  had  not  turned  them  from  their  ways. 

8  Their  widows  are  become  to  me  more  than  the  sand  of  the  sea. 

I  brought  them  over  the  mother  of  the  chosen^  the  spoiler  at  noon-day ; 
I  caused  to  fall  on  her  sudden  anguish^  and  terror. 

9  She  who  bore  seven  is  exhausted ; 
She  breathed  out  her  soul  [expired]  ; 
Her  sun  went  down  while  it  was  yet  day  ; 

She  was  ashamed  and  confounded  [put  to  shame] ; 
But  the  residue  I  will  give  to  the  sword. 
Before  their  enemies,  saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  6.— oSn  "linX.     The  imperfect  is  frequently  used  to  designate  a  fact  often  repeated  in  the  past.    Comjj.  Naw- 
•ELSE.  Gr.,  §  87,  f.  J        .  T, 

2  Ver.  8.— [A.  V.  "  I  have  brought  upon  them  against  the  mother  of  the  young  men  a  spoiler  at  noon-day ;'    Boothrotd: 

"  against  their  mother  city,  a  chosen  one  that  spoileth,"  etc.    Hexberson  :— "  The  words   1in3    P^~7;^  (ver.  8)  have  been 

very  differently  construed.     Nor  is  the  difficulty  which  they  present  by  any  means  easy  of  solution,  however  simple  the 

words  may  be  in  themselves.     LXX.  inX  iiriTepa  veauitTKovi.    Some  compare  the  phrase  D'J3  1^  DX  the  mother  imth  her 

children  [Syr.,  Arab.,  C.  B.  Mich.,  Ewald,  etc.— S.  R.  A.]  but  the  position  of  the  preposition  before  and  not  after  DN  Tenders 

such  construction  untenable.    Others  take  "I^FIS  DX  to  be  in  the  construct  state:  the  mother  of  the  young  man  [Chalp., 

KiMCHi,  J.  D.  Mich.,  Hitzio,  cfc.— S.  R.  A.]  or  regarding  the  nouns  as  collectives  :  the  mothers  of  the  young  mw  [De  Wette, 
Maurer,  Rorenmueller.  etc..—'&.  R.  A.]  hut  neither  of  these  affords  a  suitable  sense.  .Takchi,  Capellus^  Castalio.  Ue  Uieu,  Uoe- 
DERLEIN,  EiOHHORN,  Dahler,  Consider  DK  motlier,  to  mean  the  metropolis,  as  2  Sam.  xx.  19,  and  nSN  ^  cam-  vm.  1.  ine  word 

is  thus  used  on  Phoenician  coins.    Comp.  the  Arab.    1,    the  Greek  ^r,Tr,p ;  Callin.  Fragm.,  112 ;  and  the  Latin  mater,  Flor. 


iii.  7,  18 ;  Ammian,  xvii.  13  ;  Gesenius,  in  voc.  The  objection  of  Schnurrer,  that  it  wants  the  article  is  of  little  force,  as  the 
prophets  sometimes  omit  it  for  the  sake  of  condensation.  See  Isai.  .xxi.  12,  and  Nordheimer  S  Gr.,  II.  p.  13,  note.  This,  on 
the  whole,  as  the  text  now  stands,  is  the  preferable  interpretation." — S.  R.  A.]  ..«_....,  j-     ,, 

3  Ver.  8— D'ini'3  has  tlie  meaning  of  unusual,  unexpected.    Comp.  vi.  4;  Am.  viu.  9.— I";;  av.  \ey.  radically  re- 
lated to  11V,  TV  =  cnarctatio,  angor. 


152 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

After  the  definite  refusal  in  vers.  1-4,  the  pro- 
phet can  declare  only  that  there  is  no  further 
prospect  of  pity  or  succor  for  Jerusalem  (ver.  5). 
The  people  having  rejected  the  Lord,  He  rejects 
them,  and  will  not  as  before  retract  this  deter- 
mination (ver.  6).  Winnowed  out  of  the  coun- 
try, Israel  is  bereaved  of  his  men  and  sons  (vers. 
7-9  a) ;  and  the  enemy  will  come  with  the  sword 
after  the  fugitive  remnant  (ver.  9  b). 

Ver.  5.  For  who  will  take  pity  ...  to 
wish  thee  well.  From  vers.  1-4  it  follows  with 
absolute  certainty  that  Jehovah  will  no  longer 
help,  and  that  therefore  Israel  is  inevitably  lost. 
■"^I,  For,  implies  a  reference  to  this  thought.  No 
longer  any  escape!  If  the  Lord  will  not,  who 
else  will  have  pity  on  the  people?  (Isai.  li.  19  ; 
Nah,  iii.  7).     Who  indeed  will  even  ask  how  they 

are?  (Dl/iy;  i\X0  properly z:=  to  ask  after  one's 
good  health,  to  greet,  Gen.  xliii.  27  ;  Exod.  xviii. 
7;  Judges  xviii.  15,  etc.)  The  thought  seems 
to  be  thus  implied,  that  still  less  will  any  one  do 
duglat  for  the  welfare  of  the  people,  or  any  longer 
intercede  for  them  as  the  prophet  has  done  (xiv. 
7  sqq. ;  19  sqq.).  — Turn  aside.  "IID  is  here,  as 
frequently,  to  deviate  from  the  direct,  proposed 
way,  in  order  to  turn  to  some  other  object,  with 
which,  as  here,  the  idea  of  taking  trouble  may  be 
connected.  Ruth  iv.  1 ;  1  Ki.  xx.  39  ;  Exod.  iii.  3. 
Ver.  6.  Thou  hast  rejected  me  ...  of  re- 
penting.    The  reason  for  the  declaration  in  ver. 

5,  that  Israel  is  irretrievably  lost,  is  stated  in  ver. 

6,  and  more  particularly  in  ver.  7  sqq.  The  rea- 
son first  given,  in  ver.  6  a,  is  objective,  it  being  de- 
clared what  Israel  has  done  to  draw  upon  himself 
such  a  punishment.  The  words  then  I  stretched 
to  repenting  express  the  subjective  reason,  i.  e., 
they  declare  what  facts  on  the  part  of  the  speaker 
(i.e.,  of  God)  are  presented  as  caM.sase^'c*e72<es  of  de- 
struction. The  prseterite  £3X1,  etc.,  is  not  strange; 
as  the  apostasy  is  an  already  accomplished  fact, 
so  also  is  the  hostile  position  which  God  assumes 
towards  it.  The  "  stretched-out  arm,"  which  is 
so  often  mentioned  as  Israel's  saving  arm  (Deut. 
iv.  34;  V.  15;  xxvi.  8,  etc.),  signifies  the  hostile 
position  of  God  towards  the  enemies  of  the  peo- 
ple. Elsewhere  the  stretching  out  of  the  hand 
frequently  designates  the  declaration  of  war,  or 
the  command  to  use  force;  1  Ki.  xiii.  4;  Jobxv. 
25;  Isai.  V.  25;  ix.  11;  x.  4  ;  Jer.  vi.  12  ;  li.  25; 
Ezek.  vi.  14;  xiv.  9,  13,  etc. — Perhaps  also  the 
assonance  of  £0N1  to  i^X  is  intended. — Destroyed 
thee  is  a  summary  intimation  of  the  import  of 
the  gesture  I  was  w^eary,  etc.,  a  more  particu- 
lar definition,  in  so  far  as  it  declares  that  the  de- 
struction will  no  longer  be  deferred  as  hereto- 
fore by  a  gracious  "repenting."  Comp.  iv.  28; 
vi.  11 ;  Isai.  i.  14 


Vers.  7-9.  And  I  w^inno^ved  them  .  .  be- 
fore their  enemies.  I  do  not  think  with  Graf 
that  I'lxn  ""I^E^  is  to  denote  the  uttermost  lands 
of  the  earth.  How  then  could  2  be  used?  The 
preposition  retains  its  proper  meaning,  if  as  in 
Nah.  iii.  13  we  understand  the  exits  of  the  land. 
The  Lord  winnows  so  powerfully  that  as  the  chaff 
flies  out  over  the  threshing-floor,  so  Israel  flies 
out  through  the  exits  of  the  land  to  a  distance. — 
Had  not  turned,  etc.,  is  a  causal  sentence. — In 
vers.  8  and  9  the  prophet  uses  similar  colors  to 
those  in  xiv.  IG,  17.  Comp.  xi.  22;  xviii.  21. — 
The  words  "I!in3  DX,  variously  interpreted  by  the 

commentators,  are  most  easily  explained  by  the 

antithesis  to   the  subsequently  mentioned  ^1.7.; 
T\^'2WT\.     Even  the  strongest  women,  both  those 

who  have  borne  distinguished  warriors,  and 
those  who  have  had  numerous  sons,  shall  perish. 
Without  insisting  on  the  singular  in  TlPli  I  be- 
lieve that  it  includes  the  idea  of  quality,  as  71^31^ 
does  of  quantity.  (Comp.  1  Sam.  ii.  6). — [Hen- 
derson:— "By  the  'young  spoiler'  [text  'de- 
stroyer'] is  meant  Nebuchadnezzar  II.,  who, 
when  his  father  was  old  and  infirm,  had  part  of 
the  Chaldean  army  committed  to  him,  and  after 
defeating  Pharaoh  Necho  at  Carchemish  marched 
forward  against  Jerusalem  and  captured  it.  The 
attack  being  made  at  noon  indicates  the  unexpect- 
edness by  which  it  was  characterized,  that  being 
the  time  of  day  when,  owing  to  intense  heat,  mi- 
litary operations  are  carried  on  with  less  vigor." 
— HiTzio:  "The  description  in  ver.  8  points  to  a 
lost  battle  ;  and  on  this  hypotliesis  all  the  single 
features  of  the  picture  in  vers.  7-9  may  be  brought 
into  one  point  of  view,  so  as  to  present  one  event. 
The  author  then  refers  to  the  battle  of  Megiddo, 
the  more  probably  (2  Ki.  xxiii.  29)  as  the  figure 
of  the  sun  setting  in  bright  daylight  might  then 
be  founded  on  the  eclipse  which  took  place  in 
that  valley  30th  Sept.,  A.  D.  610.  (Vid.  Thenius 
on  2  Ki.)"— S.  R.  A.]— Breathed,  etc.,  nnSJ. 
From  Job  xxxi.  39  the  meaning  of  the  word  ex- 
spirare  seems  plain.  The  rendering  "  to  sigh  " 
is  too  feeble  in  this  connection. — Her  sun,  the 
sun  of  her  life,  and  the  happiness  (comp.  Mai. 
iii.  20  ;  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  12)  which  she  had  in  her  sons 
is  gone  down.     71X3  as  in  Gen.    xv.  17;  2  Sam. 

ii.  24;  Mic.  iii.  6.  M  Tj^J,  comp.  the  previous 
"at  noon-day." — And  confounded.  ^1  TMff}2. 
The  reference  to  the  mother  is  to  be  preferred; 
for  the  sun  itself  does  not  suff'er  shame,  but  those 
who  by  the  setting  of  the  sun  are  reduced  from  the 
condition  of  an  honored  mother  to  the  wretched 
state  of  a  bereaved  and  childless  one.  In  Isai. 
xxiv.  23  it  is  the  sun  and  moon  themselves  which 
must  pale  before  a  more  brilliant  star. — Deliver 
to  the  sw^ord.     Comp.  Mic.  vi.  14. 


CHAP.  XV.  10-18.  153 


SECOND  MAIN  DIVISION. 

THE  CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  REFUSAL  WITH  RESPECT  TO  THE  PERSON  OF  THE  PROPHET  AND  INSTRUO 

TIONS  CONCERNINO  HIS  FURTHER  COURSE  (XV.  10 XVI.  9). 

1.    Complaint  and  petition  of  the  prophet  on  account  of  the  consequences  of  the  refusal  with  respect  to 

his  person. 

XV.   10-18. 

10  Wo  unto  me,  my  mother,  that  thou  hast  borne  me, 

A  man  of  strife  and  a  man  of  contention  to  the  whole  land : 
I  have  not  borrowed  nor  lent,  yet  all  curse  me.^ 

11  Jehovah  said :  Verily,  I  distress  thee*  for  thy  good, 
Verily  the  enemy  shall  approach  thee  imploringly* 
In  the  time  of  calamity  and  in  the  time  of  distress. 

12  Will  then  iron  break  iron  from  the  north  and  brass? 

13  Thy  substance  and  thy  treasures  will  I  give  up  for  spoil,  not  for  hire,* 
But  on  account  of  all  thy  sins  and  in  all  thy  borders. 

14  And  I  take  thee*  with  thine  enemies  into  a  land  that  thou  knowest  not. 
For  a  fire®  is  kindled  in  my  nostrils  which  shall  burn  over  you.* 

15  Thou  knowest  it,  O  Jehovah,  remember  me, 
And  visit  me,  and  avenge  me  of  my  persecutors ; 
Sweep  me  not  away  by'  thy  long  suffering ; 
Know  that  for  thy  sake  I  have  suffered  reproach. 

16  Thy  words  were  offered  and  I  devoured  them, 

And  thy  words*  were  to  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart. 
For  I  bear  thy  name,  O  Jehovah,  God  of  Zebaoth. 

17  I  sat  not  in  the  assembly  of  the  joyful,  nor  was  merry. 

Before  thy  hand  I  sat  solitary,  for  thou  hast  filled  me  with  indignation. 

18  Why  then  has  my  pain  become  perpetual,® 
And  my  wound  helpless,^"  that  will  not  heal  ? 
Art  thou  then  become  to  me  as  a  deceitful  brook," 
As  precarious  water  ? 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  10.— ''Jl77p0  T\12-  This  wholly  abnormal  form  (comp.  Olsh.,  §  206  6)  which  as  forma  mixta  has  been  vari- 
ously explained,  is  evidently  due,  as  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Hitzig,  Graf,  Meier  have  recognized,  to  a  wrong  division.  It  should 
read  "'J^77p  Dn73-  The  attraction  of  the  Q  to  the  following  word  may  have  been  occasioned  by  the  circumstance  that 
the  form  ending  with  it  is  not  found  elsewhere  (similar  formation  D372)  Deut.  i.  22.  Comp.  DHniX  Ezek.  xxiii.  45,  47; 
Dnr\X  Oen.  xxxii.  1 ;  xix.  8).    The  1st  Pers.  DH  v3  however  is  found  iii  2  Sam.  xxiii.  6. 

2  Ver.  11. — ?Tr\nt!?  X7  DX.  The  Chetbibh  may  be  read  nnilK?  (who  attack  thee,  anomalous  inf.  Kal.  from  "T1K', 
as  Hitzig),  ?im"ltJ?  (solvendo  ie,  Rosenmueller),  ?ir\-ntJ'  (initium  tuum,  Gesen.),  firil'IK'  solutio  tua  sc.  erit,  Winee), 
^i^nty  (in  different  meanings  :  confirmabo  te  or  exhilarabo  te,  J.  D.  Michaelis  ;  firmaho  te,  Maurer,  Ewald  ;  I  do  thee  in- 
jury, I  oppress  thee,  Gesen.,  Thesaur.,  Meier).    The  Keri  is  ^'jT'li;/  Piel  from  T}'^^!  which  verb  occurs  besides  only  in 

Job  XXX vii.  3  (disputed  in  the  latter  place)  and  is  said  to  signify  to  loosen  like  the  Aram.  NIK/  (comp.  Dan.  ii.  22;  iii.  25; 

T  : 
Ezr.  V.  2).    [So  Henderson. — S.  R.  A.]    The  old  translators  vacillate  and  alter  arbitrarily.    Vulg.,  Targ.,  Raschi,  Kimchi 

read  ^n'lK/  for  ^jT'^NE'  (comp.  1  Chron.  xii.  38 ;  Olsh.,  S.  70  and  412),  which  they  regard  as  =  reliquise  tuss  or  finis  tuus 
thy  remnant,  thy  exit,  for  which  however  r\^"inX  always  stands  elsewhere.  [A.  V. :  it  shall  be  well  with  thy  remnant]. 
I  agree  with  Gesenius  in  his  Thesaurus  and  Meier.  The  scriptio  defect,  is  no  objection.  Comp.  ex.gr.  'nnjy  Nah.  i.  12; 
'jnDS^  Song  of  Sol.  iv.  9.  "lljy  meatus  torsit,  cmvtorsit.  Hence  llti^,  of)prMsor  (Pa.  viii.  3 ;  xxvii.  11;  liv.  7),  TtJ' cloud 
(contortum)  7112/  torques,  n'^tyTtl'  catena.  The  Lord  tells  the  prophet  for  his  consolation  that  the  oppression  will  eventu- 
ate in  favor  of  his  best  interests.  Comp.  vor.  19 sqq.,  31D7  besides  only  in  xxxii.  39.  Elsewhere  HDICD/  (xiv.  11;  xxi. 
10 ;  xxiv.  5,  6 ;  xxxix.  16 ;  xliv.  27). 


154 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


•  Ver.  11. — ^1  'nj^J3n-  3  J?J3  signifies  in  vii.  IG  ;  xxvii.  18  ;  Job  xxi.  15 ;  Ruth  i.  16  to  apply  to  one,  press  one  with 

petitions.  Accordingly  Hiphil  here  quite  regularly  =  to  cause  such  application,  urging,  although  the  Hiph.  is  elsewhere  used 
in  the  sense  of  the  Kal.  (Isai.  liii.  12  ;  lix.  16  ;  Jer.  .xxxvi.  25). 

*  Ver.  13. — "ITIO^  X^-    There  is  probably  here  a  corruption  of  the  text.    In  the  parallel  passage  xvii,  3  we  read  after 

jnX  tbe  words  ySoj^Sj^  flXCOn^  ITIDJ.     Since  now  y^D^  might  very  easily  become  TTIDS,  especially  if  we 

consider  the  difficulty  of  this  word,  it  is  very  natural  to  perceive  in  the  latter  a  corruption  of  the  formt-r.    The  uumeau- 

ingness  of  .he  sentence  then  led  to  the  addition  of  j<7  which  is  wanting  in  the  LXX.  The  author  of  the  gloss  might  also 
have  had  in  mind  passages  like  Isai.  xlv.  13  ;  Hi.  3  ;  Iv.  1.  What  occasioned  the  deviation  from  xvii.  3  it  is  difficult  to  tell. 
At  any  rate,  if  the  words  are  to  yield  any  sense,  the  first  1  must  be  rendered  by  "and  indeed  "  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  111, 

1),  and  T7l3J~7D^1  he  referred  to  the  first  section  of  the  verse. 

6  Ver.  14.— TIIDJ^m.     Iq  xvii.  4  we  have  TmDj7ni,  which  is  also  given  by  the  LXX.,  Syr.,  Chald.    The  Hiphil  from 

"13^^  is  evidently  a  corruption,  but  in  the  gloss  the  genuine  text,  and  therefore  to  be  retained,  although  no  commentator 

has  yet  been  able  to  give  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  it.  From  n^T  X  7  we  see  that  the  people  (at  any  rate  with  the 
previously  mentioned  treasures)  is  regarded  as  the  object. — Comp.  ix.  15. 

6  Ver.  14.— jyx~'3,  etc.    The  words  are  taken  verbatim  from  Deut.  xxxii.  22,  while  in  xvii.  4  we  have  Dnmp  {transit. 

aa  in  Isai.  1. 11;  Ixiv.  1).    For  DDwJ^  we  find  in  xvii.  4  more  appropriately  oSiy  Ht?. 

t  Ver.  15.— S  as  in  HJ^IDnSJ  ix.  2  ;  ^agK'fab,  xxx.  11.    Comp.  Isai.  xi.  3 ;  xxxii.  1. 

8  Ver.  16.— y  131.    The  Chethibh  t-ji^i  is  quite  impertinent.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  J  105,  4  6,  3. 

9  Ver.  18. — n)f  J-    Subst.  (comp.  Ps.  Ixxiv.  3  ;  1  Chron.  xxix.  11)  ==  perpetuitas.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  I  74. 

10  Ver.  18.— He/uX,  comp.  xxx.  15 ;  Isa.  xvii.  11 ;  Mic.  i.  9. 

11  Ver.  18.— 373X.     Comp.  Mic.  i.  14.     It  is  the  opposite  of    jn'N    7ni   D>3ut.   xxi.  4;  Am.    v.  24.    Comp.   Bxod. 
T  :  -  It"  — 


xiv.  27. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

After  a  sorrowful  lament  of  the  prophet,  that 
without  any  fault  of  his,  all  curse  him  (ver.  10), 
follows  (if  vers.  11-14  are  genuine)  first  a  com- 
forting assurance  from  the  Lord,  that  all  will 
accrue  to  his  advantage  and  that  even  his  ene- 
mies in  their  distress  will  turn  to  him  as  suppli- 
ants (ver.  11);  and  then  a  description  of  this 
distress  :  it  comes  as  iron  from  the  North  which 
cannot  be  broken  by  other  iron  or  brass  (ver.  12) ; 
all  wealth  in  all  the  borders  of  Israel  will  be 
plundered  on  account  of  tlieir  sin  (ver.  13),  and 
the  people  will  be  carried  away  into  a  strange 
land  in  consequence  of  the  violent  and  inex- 
tinguishable anger  of  Jehovah  (ver.  14).  In 
vers.  15-18  follows  a  further  address  of  the  pro- 
phet to  the  Lord,  which,  by  the  words  "Thou 
knowest  it,"  may  possibly  be  connected  with 
ver.  12,  but  may  also  be  connected  with  ver.  10. 
The  prophet  prays  the  Lord  for  His  gracious  in- 
terposition, for  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  for 
long-sufiFering  forbearance,  since  he  is  indeed 
suffering  for  God's  sake  (ver.  15).  He  grounds 
his  petition  further  on  his  willing  devotion  to  the 
Lord  as  His  instrument  (ver.  16),  and  his  having 
walked  worthy  of  this  great  honor  (ver.  17). 
In  conclusion  another  lament  of  the  prophet: 
Why  is  there  then  for  me  no  cure,  no  recreation? 
(ver.  18). 

Ver.  10.  Wo  unto  me  ...  all  curse  me. 
Had  the  intercession  of  the  prophet  in  eh.  xiv. 
been  heard,  his  lot,  in  so  far  as  it  depended  on 
his  countrymen,  would  have  been  more  agreeable. 
But  now  that  so  stern  a  refusal  has  been  given 
he  sees  the  whole  fury  of  the  people  discharged 
upon  his  person.  The  mention  of  the  cahimity 
of  the  mother,  vers.  8  and  9,  reminds  the  pro- 
phet of  his  own  mother,  not  however  to  lament 
on  her  account,  but  on  his  own,  that  he  was  ever 
born.  Comp.  xx.  14;  Job  iii.  u;  1  Mace.  ii.  7. 
— Lending  and  boi-rowing  cause  most  law-suits. 
The  prophet  neither  receives  loans  from  others 


(ntJ^J,  Isa.  xxiv.  2),  which  as  a  bad  debtor  he  did 

not  repay,  nor  does  he  himself  lend  money 
(3  nE'J,  Deut.  xxiv.  11,  H^J  creditor,  exactor,  Ps. 
cix.  11),  which  as  a  stern  creditor  he  calls  in 
with  rigor. — Observe  the  contrast  between  the 
accusations,  which  according  to  ver.  10  were 
universally  raised  against  the  prophet,  and  the 
touching  petitions,  which  he,  xiv.  7-19,  offers 
for  his  people.  He  thus  gives  a  reply  to  those 
accusations,  which  causes  their  unrighteousness 
most  distinctly  to  appear. 

Ver.  11.  Jehovah  said  ...  in  time  of  dis- 
tress.     The   formula   Jehovah   said  C^'  IDX) 

~  T 

thus  prefixed  is  found  besides  only  in  Jer.  xlvi. 
25,  and  in  no  other  propliet.  I  cannot  agree 
with  Graf,  who  in  xlvi.  25  would  attach  it  to 

the  preceding  context.  (Comp.  np£3  ''P^^')-  We 
cannot  then  say  that  this  position  of  the  formula 
is  a  proof  of  the  spuriousness  or  corruption  of 
the  text. — The  Lord  presents  to  the  prophet's 
view  a  second  pleasing  turn  in  his  affairs :  even 
his  opponents,  who  now  press  him  in  a  hostile 
way,  shall  then  be  brought  to  press  him  with 
supplications,  because  they  perceive  their  only 
salvation  to  be  in  his  intercession.  This  is  more 
particularly  explained  in  ver.  12. 

Ver.  12.  Will  then  iron  .  .  .  brass  ?  The 
words  are  very  variously  construed.  The  most 
simple  construction,  which  agrees  well  with  the 

context,  is  to  take  the  first  iron,  7T13,  as  the 
nominative,  and  the  two  following  as  in  the  ob- 
jective case.  Will  then  iron,  i.  e.  any  other 
iron,  brought  by  men,  break  the  northern  iron  or 
brass?  That  the  northern  iron  is  the  northern 
empire  (xiii.  20)  is  clear.  The  most  celebrated 
iron  and  steel  manufacture  among  the  ancients 
was  that  of  the  Chalybeans  in  Pontus,  of  whom 
Strabo  says,  o'l  6s  vvv  XaX^aloi  XdlvfiEC  tu  naV.aihv 
G)pn/ini;ovTo,  XII.  p.  826.  Comp.  J.  D.  Michaelis. 
Observv.  phil.  et  crit.,  in  Jer.,  Ed.  Schleusner, 
p.  136.  [Comp.  Winer,  R.-W.-B.,  II.  ^S".  512; 
Smith,  Bibl.   Diet.,  II.   p.  1376.— S.  R.  A.].     It 


CHAP.  XV.   10-18. 


153 


is  accordingly  quite  suitable  to  represent  this 
northern  nation  itself  under  the  iigure  of  the 
strongest  iron.  The  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding is  this  :  thine  enemies  among  the  people 
will  yet  turn  to  thee  as  their  only  refuge,  when 
they  have  learned  their  inability  to  master  the 
northern  iron.  For  the  fulfilment  see  xxxvii.  3  ; 
xlii.  2  sqq. 

Vers.  13  and  14.  Thy  substance  .  .  .  burn 
over  you.  These  verses  are  evidently  intended 
to  give  a  plainer  description  of  the  distress, 
merely  intimated  in  ver.  11,  and  briefly  and  ob- 
scurely described  in  ver.  12.  The  words  are, 
however,  taken  from  xvii.  3,  4,  where  they  are 
found  in  the  more  original  form  and  proper  con- 
nection.— Not  for  hire.  The  thought  occurs 
similarly  only  in  Ps.  xliv.  12.  In  this  passage, 
however,  it  is  the  selling  of  the  people,  not  of 
their  property  and  treasures,  which  is  spoken 
of.  It  is  also  a  question  whether  in  Ps.  xliv.  12 
the  selling  is  to  be  understood  in  a  literal  sense 
:^thou  causest  thy  people  to  be  sold  into  slavery 
by  their  conquerors  at  a  mean  price  (comp.  Joel 
iii.  8,  11,  12:  Vaihinger  on  Ps.  xliv.  12).  Since 
now  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  thought  that  God 
sells  His  people  for  nothing  or  without  return  is 
biblical,  and  still  more  doubtful  whether  it  may 
be  said  God  sells  the  treasures  of  His  people  for 
nothing,  the  view  gains  in  probability  that  there 
is  here  a  corruption  of  the  text.  Comp.  the 
Textual  Note  4. 

Verses  11  and  12  contain  in  themselves  nothing 
to  lead  us  to  doubt  their  integrity,  nor  do  they 
in  the  connection  form  an  incongruous  element. 
Ver.  11  contains  a  preliminary  tranquilization 
of  the  prophet,  ver.  12  a  more  particular  charac- 
terization of  the  distress  intimated  in  ver.  11, 
and  the  reason  of  approach  imploringly,  etc. 
— Thou  kno'west,  in  ver.  15,  may  be  con- 
nected with  ver.  12,  in  the  sense  :  I  cannot  in- 
deed conceive  how  that  is  possible,  but  Thou 
Lord  knowest  it.  For  since  vers.  11  and  12  con- 
tain the  words  of  the  Lord  to  the  prophet,  "  Thou 
knowest  it "  cannot  be  an  appeal  by  the  prophet 
to  the  divine  testimony,  but  only  for  the  purpose 
of  self-tranquilization.  But  on  the  other  hand 
it  cannot  be  denied,  that  this  interruption  in  the 
prophet's  lament  is  the  more  remarkable,  as 
Jeremiah  afterwards  continues  in  ver.  15  as 
though  he  had  received  no  consolation  (comp.  espe- 
cially ver.  18)  and  the  consolatory  statements 
of  ver.  11  recur  in  ver.  19  sqq.  For  these  verses 
also  declare  that  the  affliction  will  accrue  to  the 
honor  and  welfare  of  the  prophet  and  that  the 
enemies  will  yet  be  compelled  to  apply  to  him. 
This  is  also  favored  by  tlie  perfect  appropriate- 
ness with  which  ver.  15  is  connected  with  ver. 
10.  The  prophet  had  in  ver.  10  protested  his 
innocence,  for  which  in  ver.  15  he  appeals  to  the 
Omniscient  as  a  witness.  Verses  13  and  14  bear 
in  a  much  higher  degree  the  stamp  of  spurious- 
ness.  For  1.  They  prolong  in  an  unnecessary 
manner  (as  mere  filling  out  of  the  portrayal  of 
the  previously  intimated  distress)  the  interrup-  ' 
tion  of  the  connection  ;  2.  They  are  a  mere  quo- 
tation from  xvii.  3,  4  and  textually  corrupt,  with 
which  it  accords,  that  they  contain  an  address 
to  the  people  which  does  not  suit  the  connection; 
3.  The  words  Thou  know^est,  ver.  15,  are  then 
disconnected,  for  neither  can  they  be  referred  to 


the  close  of  ver.  14  nor  to  vers.  13  and  14  to- 
gether, since  these  verses  contain  neither  the 
words  of  the  prophet,  nor  anything  which  ap- 
peared incredible  to  the  prophet. 

Ver.  15  a.  Thou  knowest  it  .  .  .  thy  long- 
suffering.  On  thou  knowest  it  vid.  supra; 
comp.  Ps.  xl.  10  ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  3. — And  visit 
me,  Ipa  is  frequently  used  of  a  gracious  visita- 
tion of  God  after  a  period  of  disfavor:  Gen.  xxi. 
1;  Esod.  iii.  IG ;  iv.  31;  Ruth  i.  16;  Ps.  viii. 
5,6;  Isa.    xxiii.    17,   etc.     Comp.    Ps.   cvi.    4. — • 

Avenge,  etc.  ""D  ''7  Dpjm  properly=avenge 
Thee  for  my  good  upon  my  enemies.  This  con- 
struction here  only.  Comp.  1  Sam.  xxiv.  13; 
Numb.  xxxi.  2. — By  thy  long-suffering.  Since 
the  prophet  is  not  himself  conscious  of  having 
deserved  the  divine  anger,  the  long-sufi'ering  can 
be  referred  only  to  the  enemies:  "Suffer  not 
that  in  consequence  of  the  delay  of  Thy  ven- 
geance I  be  swept  away  of  my  enemies." 

Vers.  15  6-17.  Know  that  .  .  .  filled  with 
indignation.  In  these  words  the  prophet  pre- 
sents the  grounds  on  which  he  expects  help  from 
the  Lord.  He  first  prays  the  Lord  to  consider 
that  he  is  suS"ering  for  His  (the  Lord's)  sake. 
Comp.  Ps.  Ixix.  8  (Zeph.  iii.  18).  He  then  appeals 
to  the  willingness  with  which  he  offered  himself 
as  the  Lord's  organ,  and  his  life  in  accordance 
with  his  high  calling. — Thy  Twords,  etc.  The 
prophet  did  not  excogitate  what  he  was  to  pro- 
claim but  found  it,  it  was  offered  to  him.  The 
found  is  according  to  Old  Test,  usage  frequently 
that  which  is  present  of  itself  in  opposition  to 
that  which  one  has  produced  or  procured  by  his 
own  activity.  Comp.  Gen.  xix.  15;  1  Sam.  xxi. 
4;  XXV.  8. —  Devoured.  As  in  Ezek.  ii.  8;  iii. 
3  coll.  Rev.  X.  9,  10,  he  designates  by  eating  the 
eager  complete  reception  of  them  into  the  mind. 
The  commentators  refer  to  Plautus,  Aulul.  III. 
6,  1,  nimium  lubenter  edi  sermonem  tuum. — For  I 
bear,  etc.  The  word  of  the  Lord  may  then  have 
become  the  joy  of  his  heart  because  it  effected 
that  "the  name  of  Jehovah  was  named  over 
him "  (comp.  rems.  on  vii.  10),  i.  e.  that  he 
was  designated  as  a  prophet  of  Jehovah  in  op- 
position to  the  prophets  of  the  idols  (comp.  tlie 
prophets  of  Baal,  1  Kings  xviii.  19;  2  Kings  x. 
19).  This  designation  was  to  him  an  honorary 
title  of  the  highest  value.  But  by  this  it  is  not 
excluded  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  in  itself  was 
already  a  cause  of  rejoicing  to  him. — I  sat  not. 
The  prophet  here  describes  how  his  life  exter- 
nally had  been  spent  in  accordance  with  the 
prophetic  calling.  He  had  avoided  the  society 
of  idle,  pleasure-seeking  men,  he  had  sat  in 
solitude,  the  feeling  of  being  divinely  possessed 
as  well  as  the  sorrow  caused  by  the  predominant 
objects  of  his  vision,  viz.  human  sin  and  divine 
punishment,  rendering  him  incapable  of  taking 
part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  merry. — Before 
thy  hand.  The  expression  "  hand  "  designates 
the  divine  operation  as  immediate  and  irresisti- 
ble. Comp.  Isa.  viii.  11;  Ezek.  iii.  14;  viii.  1; 
xi.  5  ;  xxxvii.  1,  etc. — For  thou  hast  filled  me, 
etc.  The  prophet  is  filled  with  indignation  and 
anger  by  what  he  beholds  in  consequence  of  the 
divine  operation.  He  cannot  possibly  be  angry 
with  God.  Rather  is  he  full  of  the  divine  wrath 
(vi.  11)  at  the  sin  of  men  and  at  the  necessity 


156 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  punishing  them.  Moreover  we  see  from  ver. 
16  that  indignation  is  not  the  only  feeling  of  the 
prophet,  nor  the  only  reason  which  detained 
him  from  the  society  of  men.  He  was  in  part  too 
divinely  troubled,  in  part  too  joyful  in  God,  to 
feel  at  home  in  such  society.  [Henderson: 
"The  hilarity  which  the  prophet  had  experienced 
was  not  that  of  the  ungodly,  who  at  their  festive 
meetings  treated  divine  things  with  scorn.  With 
these  he  had  had  no  fellowship,  but  because  of 
the  faithful  communication  of  his  inspired  mes- 
sages he  had  been  expelled  from  society  and 
made  the  object  of  their  fiercest  indignation. 
The  occurrence  of  "indignation"  with  "hand" 
in  this  verse  has  generally  induced  the  suppo- 
sition that  by  the  latter  the  aiflicting  power  of 
God  is  intended;  but  it  seems  more  in  accord- 
ance with  the  bearing  of  the  connection  to  re- 


gard the  expression  as  designed  to  convey  the 
idea  of  powerful  divine  impulse  or  prophetical 
inspiration.  Conip.  Ezek.  i.  3;  iii.  14,  and  fre- 
quently.    Thus  Vatabhis,  Clarius."— S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  18.  Why  then  .  .  .  precarious  water. 
The  prophet  concludes  with  an  exclamation  of 
hopelessness.  After  what  he  could  declare  of 
himself  in  vers.  16  and  17  he  thought  he  had 
some  claim  for  protection  and  consolation.  But 
there  is  no  prospect  of  this.  As  in  despair  he 
therefore  inquires,  Why  is  this  ? — According  to 
the  sense  the  whole  verse  must  be  rendered  as  a 
question,  and  why  therefore  be  referred  to  the 
second  section  of  the  verse. — Precarious.  Comp. 
Isa.  xxxiii.  16.  ["  On  Tindals  objections  to 
this  passage,  see  Waterland,  Scripture  Vindicated, 
p.  245."  Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 


2.  The  Lord's  tranquilizing  and  consolatory  answer. 
XV.  19-21. 

19  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah : 

If  thou  return,  I  will  cause  thee  again  to  stand  before  me  ;^ 

And  if  thou  bring  forth  the  precious  without  the  base,  thou  shalt  be  as  my  mouth.* 

They  shall  return  to  thee,  but  thou  shalt  not  return  to  them. 

20  And  I  will  make  thee  to  this  people  a  brazen  wall,  a  strong  one ; 
And  they  will  contend  against  thee,  but  not  prevail  over  thee ; 
For  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver 

And  to  preserve  thee,  saith  Jehovah. 

21  And  I  preserve  thee  from  the  hand  of  the  wicked. 
And  redeem  thee  from  the  might  of  the  violent. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 


1  Ver.  10.— •^a'K^XI,  etc.    The  construction  is  lilse  1^    ^N"lp\  "'S^'pn    xS,  Isa.  xlvii.  1,  5.    Comp.  NAEaELSB.  Gr.  I 


95,  g,  Anm. 

2  Ver.  19.— '33,  Kaph  veritatis.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  g  112,  5  c. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

The  Lord  answers  the  prophet  by  promising 
him  anew,  together  with  a  mild  correction  and 
on  the  condition  of  blameless  purity,  the  honor 
of  being  permitted  to  serve  Him  as  His  organ 
(ver.  19  a).  He  then  promises  the  return  to  him 
of  his  enemies  (ver.  19  b),  inexpugnable  firmness 
(ver.  20),  protection  and  deliverance  from  all 
dangers  (ver.  21). 

Ver.  19.  Therefore  thus  .  .  .  return  to 
them. — If  thou  return.  In  these  words  there 
is  evidently  a  gentle  reproof.  In  the  preceding 
context,  especially  ver.  18,  the  prophet  had  al- 
lowed himself  to  be  carried  away  into  doubt  of 
the  fidelity  and  trustworthiness  of  the  Lord.  In 
this  there  was  an  element  of  alienation  from  the 
Lord.  Without  entering  on  a  confutation  or  ac- 
cusing the  prophet  directly  of  his  departure, 
he  gives  him  to  understand  that  such  a  depar- 
ture  has   taken   place   only  by  the   conditional 


sentence,  "  If  thou  return."  For  turning  back 
presupposes  a  turning  away.  Comp.  iv.  1. — To 
stand  before  me,  in  the  sense  of  mediatorship, 
which  at  the  same  time  includes  the  honor  of  a 
servant  and  of  one  who  stands  very  near  his 
Lord:  xv.  1;  xviii.  20;  xxxv.  19;  xl.  10. — 
Bring  forth,  etc.  From  the  context  such  a 
bringing  forth  only  can  be  spoken  of  as  on  the 
one  hand  is  opposed  to  the  blameworthy  utter- 
ances of  the  prophet  in  ver.  18,  and  as  on  the 
other  hand  qualifies  him  to  be  the  Lord's  mouth. 
N'yin  is  therefore  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  in 
which  it  occurs,  ex.  gr.  in  Job  xv.  13,  which  pas- 
sage has  in  general  a  remarkable  resemblance  to 
the  present.     Then  jO  is  aivaij  from,  far  from, 

loithout.  Comp.  x.  14  ;  Job  xi.  15  ;  xxi.  9.  Vid. 
Naegelsb.  Gr.  |  112,  5  d. — On  the  subject-mat- 
ter comp.  Exod.  iv.  16. — They,  etc.  The  triumph 
of  a  witness  of  the  truth  consists  in  this  that  his 
opponents  finally  agree  to  his  testimony.  Comp. 
Prov.  xvi.  7. 

Vers.  20   and   21.  And  I  w^ill .  .  .  violent. 


CHAP.  XVI.   1-9. 


1G7 


The  Lord  confirms  the  prophet  in  his  office  and 
His  promise  in  the  same  words  in  which  He  had 
assured  him  of  both  in  the  beginning,  i.  18,  19. 
— Brazen  •wall.  ["  The  Roman  Poet  felt  some- 
thing of  the  great  truth  contained  in  these  divine 
words,  when  he  said, 


'/Tin  miirus  aheneiis  esto, 
jVtl  conscire  sibi,  nulla  pallescere  culpa.' 


(HORAT.     1. 

R.  A.] 


Epist,  i.   60)."     Wordsworth. — S. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

3.  Instructions  as  to  the  conduct  of  tM  Lord's  servant  among  the  people  who  have  incurred  judgment. 

XVI.  1-9. 

1  The  word  of  Jehovah  came  also  unto  me,  saying, 

2  Thou  shalt  not  take  to  thee  a  wife. 

Nor  shalt  thou  have  sons  and  daughters  in  this  place : 

3  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  of  the  sons  and  of  the  daughters  born  in  this  place, 
And  of  their  mothers  that  bare  them. 

And  of  their  fathers  that  begat  them  in  this  land : 

4  Miserable  deaths^  shall  they  die, 
They  shall  not  be  mourned  nor  buried ; 

They  shall  become  dung  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  ; 
And  by  sword  and  famine  shall  they  perish  ; 

And  their  carcases  shall  serve  for  food  to  the  fowls  of  heaven  and  the  beasts  of  tha 
earth. 

5  For  thus  saith  Jehovah :  Enter  not  into  the  house  of  mourning,* 
And  go  not  to  bewail  them  or  to  commiserate  them  ; 

For  I  have  taken  my  peace  from  this  people,  saith  Jehovah, — 
The  loving-kindness  and  the  mercy. 

6  Both  great  and  small  shall  die  in  this  land  ; 

They  shall  not  be  buried  and  men  will  not  mourn  them. 
Nor  cut  themselves,  nor  make  themselves  bald  for  them: 

7  Nor  will  men  break  bread^  for  them  in  mourning, 
To  console  them  concerning  the  dead ; 

Nor  will  they  present  them  the  cup  of  consolation, 
Concerning  father  or  mother. 

8  Aud  also  thou  shalt  not  go  into  the  house  of  feasting  [lit.  drinking], 
To  sit  with  them  to  drink  and  to  eat. 

9  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel : 

Behold,  I  take  away  from  this  place  before  your  eyes  and  in  your  days, 

The  voice  of  joy  and  the  voice  of  gladness, 

The  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  voice  of  the  bride. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  i. — □'N7nn    'niDD  [literally,  deaths  of  diseases],  different  liinds  of  death  in  torment.    Comp.  Jer.  xiv.  18  [tht 
sick  (pining)  of  famine].    rilOD  here  only  and  in  Ezek.  xxviii.  9 ;  comp.  'JllO,  Ezek.  xxviii.  10. 

2  Ver.  .5. — n*TO    n'3.     HTTO  occurs  besides  oiil.v  in  Am.  vi.  7  (in  the  construct  state,  HTTO-    Comp.  Olsh.  §  198,  a.  b. 
S.  376, 7),  in  the  latter  place  with  the  meaning  of  jubilation.    The  root  HT"!,  which  does  not  occur  in  the  Hebrew,  ha*  ac- 

—  T 

cording  to  the  dialects  (Arab,  marsih,  vox  rehcmens)  the  meaning  of  loud  crying,  be  it  for  joy  or  sorrow. 

3Ver.  7.— D"13  interchangeably  with   iy^!^  (Lam.  iv.  4:)=frangere,  dividere.     With   Dil/  Isa.  Iviii.  7.     Here   DH?   ia 

-T  -T 

■wanting,  but  is  found  in  some  cudd.  of  Kennicott.  The  LXX.  and  Jerome  also  express  it.  At  any  rate  the  bread,  correspond- 
ing to  the  cup  of  consolatio.i,  is  intended,  which  in  EzjIc.  xxiv.  17,  22  is  called  D'u^J^?  DH?;  IIos.  ix. -1  Q'JIX  DH/. 
The  suuixes  in  ionj/  as  in  V3X  and  I^X  refer  to  the  idea  present,  not  in  the  words  but  in  the  mind  of  the  mourner 
(Comp.  EWALD,  2  318  a). 


158 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

.  The  prophet  (in  xv.  10)  had  cried  to  his  mother 
in  complaint:  Why  hast  thou  borne  me?  He 
had  explained  in  ver.  17  that  he  lived  alone  and 
far  from  all  society  of  cheerful  men.  The  Lord 
had  thereupon  in  vers.  19-21  consoled  him  and 
promised  him  protection  and  deliverance.  But 
the  great  national  calamities  should  nevertheless 
continue.  Hence  both  the  complaint  of  the  pro- 
phet in  ver.  10  and  his  separation  in  ver.  17  are 
approved.  Yea,  it  is  added  in  confirmation  that 
he  is  not  even  to  take  a  wife  and  beget  children 
(xvi.  2),  for  these  would  not  escape  the  universal 
calamity  of  death  (vers.  3  and  4),— further  that 
he  is  not  to  go  into  any  house  of  mourning  or 
give  any  token  of  sympathy  in  the  cases  of  death, 
in  order  to  indicate  that  the  dead  will  remain 
without  burial  or  mourning ; — finally  that  he  is 
not  to  go  into  any  house  of  feasting,  in  order  to 
indicate  that  all  joy,  especially  all  nuptial  re- 
joicing, will  cease. 

Vers.  1-4.    The  word  .  .  .  beasts  of  the 
earth.     The  prohibition  to  marry  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  complaint  of  the  prophet  in  ver. 
10  :  let  it  not  be  that  thy  children  charge  thee  as 
thou   hast   charged  thy  mother.    Comp.  viii.  2 
xxvi.  33. — With  the  sword,  comp.  xiv.  12, 15 
xliv.  12,  27. — Become  food.    Comp.   vii.   33 
xix.  7  ;  xxxiv.  20. 

Vers.  5-7.  For  thus  saith  .  .  .  father  or 


mother.  The  connection  of  ver.  4,  with  ver.  5 
sqq.,  is  as  follows:  the  inhabitants  shall  perish 
miserably  and  lie  unburied,  for  it  is  the  com- 
mand of  the  Lord  that  the  prophet  go  into  no 
house  of  mourning,  i.  e.,  it  is  the  divine  purpose 
to  decree  tliat  punishment  of  which  the  command 
to  the  prophet  is  only  the  outward  sign.  The 
ground  of  this  purpose  is  that  God  has  withdrawn 
His  favor  from  the  people.  (For  I  have  taken, 
etc.). — Commiserate.  Comp.  xv.  5;  xxii.  10; 
Job  ii.  11;  xlii.  11. — For  I  have  taken,  etc. 
Comp.  Joel  ii.  10;  iv.  15;  Gen.  xxx.  23. — Lov- 
ing-kindness. Comp.  Hos.  ii.  21 ;  Zech.  vii.  9. 
— Cut.  make  bald,  customs  forbidden  by  the 
law  (  Vid.  Lev.  xix.  28;  Deut.  xiv.  1),  but  which 
were,  however,  practised.  Comp.  xli.  5  (xlviii. 
37).    nn"lp  [baldness]  is  mentioned  with  especial 

frequency:  Isa.  xxii.  12;  Ezek.  vii.  18;  Am. 
viii.  10;  Mic.  i.  16.  Comp.  Ewald,  Alterthumer 
d.  V.  Isr.  \_Jeiviish  Antiquities]  S.  22-5;  Saalschuetz, 
Mos.  Recht.,  S.  380.— They  shall  not  break 
bread  [A.  V.,  "  tear  themselves."  Comp.  Textual 
Notes].  —  The  cup  of  consolation,  comp. 
Prov.  xxxi.  6,  7. 

Vers.  8  and  9.  And  also  thou  shalt  not .  .  . 
voice  of  the  bride.  In  this  relation  also  the 
absence  of  the  prophet  is  to  indicate  that  joyful 
festivals  are  things  denied  by  the  Lord. — Before 
your  eyes.  This  calamity  will  not  just  come 
upon  a  later  generation,  but  upon  the  present. — 
Voice  of  the  bridegroom.  Comp.  vii.  34 ; 
XXV.  10. 


THIRD  MAIN  DIVISION. 

REASON   OF   THE    REJECTION    AND    ANNOUNCEMENT   OF    THE   CAPTIVITY    (XVI.    10 — XVII.  4). 

1.  Idolatry  the  cause  of  the  removal  into  exile. 
XVI.  10-15. 

10  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  thou  shalt  shew  [declarest  to]  this  people  all 
these  words,  and  they  shall  say  unto  thee,  Wherefore  hath  [doth]  the  Lord  [Je- 
hovah] pronounced  [denounce]  all  this  great  evil  against  us  ?  or  what  is  our  in- 
iquity ?  or  what  is  our  sin  that  we  have  committed^  against  the  Lord  [Jehovah] 
our  God  ? 

11  Then  shalt  thou  say  unto  them : 

Therefore,  because  your  fathers  have  forsaken  me,  saith  Jehovah, 
And  went  after  other  gods,  and  served  tbera  and  worshipped  them, 
And  have  forsaken  me  and  not  kept  ray  law  ; 

12  And  ye  have  done  still  worse'^  than  your  fathers, 

Since  ye  walk.^  every  one  according  to  the  hardness  of  his  evil  heart. 
That  ye  hearken  not  unto  me ; — 

13  Therefore  I  cast  you  away  out  of  this  land 

Into  the  land  that  ye  have  not  known,  ye  and  your  fathers ; 
And  there  ye  shall  serve  the*  other  gods  day  and  night, 
Because^  I  will  shew  you  no  favour." 

14  Therefore  behold,  the  days  come,  saith  Jehovah, 
When  it  shall  no  more  be  vsaid:  As  Jehovah  liveth, 

Who  brought  up  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ; 


CHAP.  XVI.  16-18. 


159 


15  But :  As  Jehovah  liveth, 

Who  brought  up  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  land  of  the  North, 

And  from  all  lands  whither  he  had  driven  them : 

And  I  bring  them  back  into  their  land,  that  I  gave  to  their  fathers. 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  10. — 1 JXDH  ItJ'X.    The  nota  relationis  may  be  regarded  as  apronoun  in  the  accusative,  because  it  is  said— KDH 
nXWn,  Exod.  xxxii.  31 ;  comp.  Lev.  iv.  3 ;  Deut.  xix.  15. 
^2  Ver.  12.— M  Dn;r"in.  Comp.  N.iegelsb.  Gr.,  §  95^  c. 

8  A'er.  12.— ^1 J1   D3  Jill,  causal  sentence.  Comp.  N.4.EGELSB.  Gr.,  §  110, 1,  e. 

*  Ver.  13. — The  i"\N  before  D'n'7X  in  this  passage  may  have  this  reason,  that  the  word  may  be  regarded  as  determinate 
in  itself.    Comp.  N.^eqelsb.  Gr.,  §  68,  1.  Anm.  1. 

5  Ver.  13.— xS-1ii^N.     ItyX  is  causal  here  as  in  xiii.  25.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  2  110, 1. 

6  Ver.  13.— nyjn  oil--  ^ey- 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  grounds  of  the  punitive  judgment  de- 
scribed in  the  previous  context  are  stated  in  this 
way,  that  the  prophet  is  commanded  to  answer 
the  people  when,  assuming  an  air  of  innocence, 
they  inquire  into  these  grounds  (ver.  10):  be- 
cause your  fathers  forsook  me  and  served  other 
gods  (ver.  11),  and  ye  moreover  have  done  worse 
(ver.  12),  therefore  I  cast  you  forth  into  a  strange 
land,  where  you  may  serve  those  gods;  and  will 
show  you  no  more  favor  (ver.  13).  To  this  are 
added  two  verses  repeated  in  xxiii.  7,  8,  in  which 
it  is  declared  that  the  oath  by  Jehovah  who 
brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  will  be  changed  into 
the  oath  by  Jehovah  who  brought  Israel  out  of 
the  north  country.  If  these  verses  are  genuine 
here,  their  object  must  be  adouble  one:  1.  Con- 
firmation of  the  threatening  pronounced  in  ver. 
13.  2.  Mitigation  of  the  harsh  utterance  at  the 
close  of  ver.  13,  by  the  prospect  of  future  deliver- 
ance. This  strophe,  moreover,  forms  the  argu- 
ment of  the  third  division,  for  the  three  following 
strophes  serve  only  to  describe  more  in  detail, 
and  to  elucidate  some  points  in  the  first. 

Vers.  10-13.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass 
,  .  .  shew  you  no  favour.  This  mode  of 
speech,  viz.,  the  hypothesis  of  a  question  of  the 
people  and  answer  to  it,  is  found  v.  19;  xiii.  22. 
— Therefore  that  your  fathers,  etc.  Comp. 
vii.  24-28;  ix.  11-15;  xi.  7,  sqq. — Hardness. 
Comp.  iii.  17;  ix.  13;  xviii.  12.  — that  ye 
hearkened  not.  Comp.  xvii.  23;  xviii.  10; 
xix.  15 ;  xiii.  13. — Therefore  I  cast,  etc.,  comp. 


xxii.  26,  28.— Into  the  land.  The  article  ia 
explained  by  the  prophet's  reference  to  what  has 
been  already  said(xv. 14). — And  ye  shall  serve. 
What  was  before  sin  is  now  punishment.  The 
prophet  has  in  view  Deut.  iv.  28 ;  xxviii.  36,  64. 
— Day  and  night.  The  servants'  toil  consists  in 
this,  that  they  must  attend  to  tlieir  service  day 
and  night.  —  Because  I  •will  shew.  This 
causal  sentence  refers  not  to  the  first  clause  of 
the  verse,  which  is  circumstantially  founded  on 
the  preceding  context  from  ver.  10,  but  on  the 
second.  Because  Jehovah  has  withdrawn  His 
favor,  they  have  to  seek  help  of  their  idols. 
Vers.  14  and  15.    Therefore   behold  .  ,  . 

gave  to  your  fathers,     jjp?,  therefore,  at  the 

beginning  of  ver.  14  is  entirely  in  place.  On 
this  very  account,  because  Israel,  according  to 
ver.  13,  were  to  be  cast  away  into  a  foreign  land, 
the  form  of  oath  is  to  be  correspondingly  altered. 
Accordingly  the  purport  of  vers.  14  and  15  is 
primarily  not  consolatory,  but  sad.  It  confirms 
the  declaration  concerning  the  captivity.  In  so 
far,  and  because  Jeremiah  frequently  quotes  him- 
self, as  well  as  because  interruptions  of  a  pro- 
phecy of  sorrowful  import  by  consolatory  pros- 
pects also  frequently  occur  (comp.  iv.  27  ;  v.  10, 
18),  these  verses  may  well  be  genuine  here.  I 
bring  back  is  then  connected  with  I  cast  away 
in  ver.  13.  Moreover  that  the  words,  even  if 
transferred  by  Jeremiah  himself,  are  in  their 
original  position  in  xxiii.  7,  is  clear  from  the  con- 
nection, as  well  as  from  "the  more  peculiar  and 
concrete  form  of  the  -ext "  (Hitziq)  of  this  passage. 


More  particular  description  of  the  removal  announced  in  xvi.  13. 

XVI.   16-18. 

16  Behold  I  send  for^  many  fishers,^  saith  Jehovah,  who  shall  fish  them.' 
After  that  I  send  for  many  hunters,  who  shall  hunt  them 

Down  from  every  mountain,  and  from  every  hill, 
And  from  out  of  the  clefts  of  the  rocks. 

17  For  my  eyes  overlook  all  their  ways;  they  are  not  hidden  from  me, 
Nor  is  their  iniquity  concealed  from  mine  eyes 


160 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


18  And  I  recompense  the  first  time  d.'uble  their  iniquity  and  sin, 

Because  they  have  desecrated  my  land  with  tlie  circases  of  their  monsters. 
And  have  filled  mine  inheritance  with  their  abominations.* 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  16. — 7  n /ly  is  ised  here  with  the  meaning  of  "  to  send  for,  cause  to  be  brought,"  exactly  as  in  xiv.  3  in  the  ex- 
pression  D"3  7  IP /C'.     It  is,  therefore,  quite  a  mistake  to  assume  an  Aramaism  here  as  in  xl.  2  (comp.  2  Chron.  xvii.  7 ;  Ezr. 

viii.  16),  or,  to  refer  to  entirely  different  passages,  as  1  Kings  xx.  7.     Even  Numb.  xxii.  40,  cannot  be  compared. 

2  Ver.  16. — D'J^I-   The  word  occurs  besides  only  in  Isa.  xix.  8  and  Ezek.  xlvii.  10,  in  the  former  place  iu  the  form  □'' J^^, 

•T-  'T- 

in  the  second  D'jn,  without  any  proposed  alteration  of  reading  in  the  Keri.    In  the  present  passage  the  Keri  probably  pro- 
ceeds from  the  endeavor  to  produce  uniformity  with  D'T'lf. 

■  T  " 

3  Ver.  16.— □1J''11  an.  Key. — FuERST  and  Ewald  (g  127,  a)  would  explain  J"T  as   an  abbreviation  of  J'ln.     But  why 
ihould  there  not  be  a  root  with  a  weak.  ^  as  middle  radical  ?  Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  j)  37  ;  Olsu.  J  233  d,  S.  486. 

«  Ver.  18.— As  k'7D  is  not  construed  with  3,  we  must  connect  with  IX^D  only  Dn'jlU^im  (comp.  ii.  7  ;  xliv.  22). 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  serves  only  to  describe  more  fully 
the  facts  announced  in  ver.  13,  Therefore  I 
cast  you,  etc.  The  deportation  is  to  take  place, 
as  it  were,  according  to  the  rules  of  art.  The 
enemies  are  therefore  compared  to  fishermen  v?ho 
fish  out  a  lake,  and  with  hunters  who  exterminate 
the  wild  animals  from  a  hunting-district,  even 
from  the  most  effectual  covers  (ver.  16).  So  also 
the  hiding  of  the  Israelites  will  not  avail,  for  all 
their  ways  are  so  manifest  to  the  Lord  that  their 
iniquity  lies  displayed  before  His  eyes  (ver.  17). 
And  so  He  recompenses  to  them  for  the  first  time 
double  their  sin  by  banishment  from  the  land 
which  they  have  desecrated  by  their  idolatries. 
In  this  it  is  implied  that  in  case  of  a  second  pro- 
vocation, God's  punitive  justice  will  apply  a  still 
higher  measure  than  that  of  double  retribution. 

Vers.  16-18.  Behold  .  .  .  abominations. — 
Many  hunters.  The  reason  why  the  adjective 
maiii/  is  used,  is  that  the  prophet  means  to  say: 
then  again  I  send  for  many,  viz.,  hunters. — Hunt- 
ers is,  therefore,  epexegetical.  That  D'3"1  is  here 
used  as  a  numeral  (as  in  Ps.  Ixxxix.  51 ;  Prov. 
xxxi.  2'J  ;  1  Chron.  xxviii.  5  ;  Neh.  ix.  28j,  is 
less  probable.  From  vers.  17  and  18  it  is  evi- 
dent that  fisher  and  hunter  were  not  to  bring  to- 
gether the  Israelites  out  of  exile,  but  to  drive 
them  out  of  their  own  land. — As  it  follows  from 
'3,  ver.  17,  the  figure  declares  that  no  conceal- 


ment will  profit  them.  As  fishers  and  hunters, 
who  proceed  according  to  the  rules  of  their  art, 
know  how  to  drive  out  the  animals  from  all  their 
hiding-places,  so  will  the  enemies  do  with  the 
Israelites.  The  former  will  see  through  all  the 
plans  and  measures  of  the  latter  and  defeat 
them,  for  they  are  revealed  to  them  by  God,  be- 
fore whose  sight  those  measures  equally  with  the 
sins  of  Israel  lie  bare  and  exposed.     Comp.  xxiii. 

24;  xxxii.  19.— njlt^X"),  first  time.  [Hender- 
son, following  HiTZiG,  etc.,  renders  "  pre- 
viously."— S.  R.  A.]  The  explanation  accord- 
ing to  which  this  word  is  referred  to  ver.  15 
(HiTzio,  EwALD,  Umbreit),  would  be  perfectly 
satisfactory  if  it  did  not  leave  unregarded  the  evi- 
dently intended  antithesis  to  rut^D  double. 
This  requirement  can  be  met  satisfactorily  with- 
out any  alteration  of  the  text  (as  attempted  by 
Graf,  according  to  Isai.  Ivi.  7),  if  we  recognize 
that  the  prophet  assumes  the  possibility  of  a  se- 
cond visitation.  Then  he  would  say:  for  this 
first  time  double  will  be  recompensed  (Isai.  Ixi. 
7;  Zech.  ix.  12),  but  in  case  of  repetition  a  much 
severer  measure  will  be  rendered  : — as  in  reality 
the  second  destruction  by  the  Romans  was  total 
in  comparison  with  the  first  merely  partial  one. 
— Because,  etc.  The  punishment  has  an  inner 
relation  to  the  sin:  they  have  desecrated  the  land 
and  rendered  it  uninhabitable,  they  must  there- 
fore leave  it. 


3.  Refutation  of  the  objection  (xvi.  10)  that  the  people  had  committed  no  sin  by  their  idolatry, 

XVI.  19-21. 

19  0  Jehovah,  my  strength  and  my  fortress, 
And  my  refuge  in  the  day  of  distress ! 

"  To  thee  will  the  heathen  come  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  will  say : 

Falsehood  only  have  our  fathers  inherited, 

Vapour,  and  there  is  none  among  them  that  profiteth. 

20  Should  a  man  make  himself  gods?     And  they  are  not  gods!" 

21  Therefore  behold  I  teach  them  this  once, 

And  teach  them  to  know  my  hand  and  ray  might, 
And  they  shall  know  that  my  name  [is]  Jehovah. 


CHAP.  XVII.  1-4. 


161 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Having  in  vers.  14-18  given  a  confirmation  and 
further  description  of  the  judgment  threatened 
in  ver.  13,  the  prophet  in  the  two  following  stro- 
phes, xvi.  19-21,  and  xvii.  1-4  goes  back  to  xvi. 
10,  where  it  is  said  that  the  people  deny  having 
sinned  against  Jehovah.  This  denial  may  have 
a  double  meaning.  First  it  may  be  intended  to 
declare  that  it  is  not  a  sin  to  serve  other  gods, 
together  with  Jehovah.  Secondly,  the  meaning 
may  be  that  the  fact  itself  that  Israel  served  other 
gods  is  disputed.  To  this  denial  in  the  first  sense 
the  prophet  replies  by  directing  his  glance  into 
the  proximate  future,  in  which  the  heathen  will 
perceive  what  Israel  has  failed  to  perceive,  viz., 
that  the  gods  are  vanity,  that  Jehovah  is  alone 
God,  and  that  therefore  idolatry  is  sin  (vers.  19, 
20).  Now  since  Israel  might  and  should  long 
ago  have  perceived  that  which  even  the  heathen 
will  perceive  at  last,  but  did  not  do  so,  Jehovah 
■will  bring  this  truth  to  their  knowledge  by  a 
thoroughly  incisive  lesson  (ver.  21). 

Vers.  19  and  20.  O  Jehovah  my  strength  . . . 
not  gods.  Since  the  prophet  addresses  the  Lord 
as  my  strength,  etc.,  and  then  says  that  the 
heathen,  after  they  have  perceived  the  nothing- 
ness of  the  idols,  will  all  come  to  this  Lord,  he 
includes  himself,  as  it  were,  together  with  the 
heathen,  among  the  believers  in  Jehovah,  but 
excludes  Israel  from  this  communion,  until  in- 
structed by  the  judgments  they  recognize  their 
errors,  and  obtain  the  same  saving  knowledge. — 
My  strength.  Comp.  Ps.  xxviii.  7,  8;  lix.  17; 
2  Sam.  xxii.  3. — Heathen  \_lit.,  nations. — S.  R. 
A.]  Even  this  word  shows  that  it  is  not  the 
tribes  of  Israel  that  are  meant.  (Meier). — 
Falsehood  only.  Comp.  x.  14;  li.  17. — Our 
fathers  inherited.  The  expression  is  still 
stronger  than  if  it  had  been  we  inherited.  The 
tradition  is  false  from  the  very  beginning. — Pro- 
fiteth.  Comp.  Isai.  xliv.  10;  Jer.  ii.  8,  11. — 
Should  a  man.  The  words  of  the  heathen  in 
which  they  themselves  set  forth  the  vanity  of  the 


idols.  Manufactured  gods  are  on  this  very  ac- 
count no  gods.  The  sentence  and  they  are  not 
gods  is  to  be  taken  in  a  causal  sense.  Comp, 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  109,  4. 

Ver.  21.  Therefore  behold  .  .  .  my  name 
Jehovah.  From  the  connection  the  prophet's 
object  cannot  be  to  give  instruction  concerning 
the  future  conversion  of  the  heathen.  He  only 
wishes,  by  the  good  which  he  says  of  the  heathen, 
to  set  the  folly  of  Israel  in  a  cleaj'er  light.  We  are 
therefore  after  the  sentences  "  1  come  to  thee," 
and  "  the  heathen  will  come  to  thee"  to  supply: 
but  Israel  comes  not  to  thee.  There  is  a  refe- 
rence to  this  thought  in  therefore.  Because  Is- 
rael has  not  the  knowledge  which  he  might  long 
have  had,  as  well  as,  or  better  than  the  heathen 
will  have  it  in  the  future,  the  Lord  will  this  once 
impart  it  to  them. — This  once  (comp.  x.  18)  like 
the  first  time  in  ver.  18,  refers  to  the  impend- 
ing first  catastrophe  of  the  theocracy  by  the  Chal- 
deans. Israel  is  to  feel  the  hand  of  the  Lord, 
and  thus  learn  to  understand  the  significance  of 
His  name.  The  prophet  evidently  alludes  to 
Exod.  iii.  14.  We  perceive  in  what  sense  the 
understanding  of  the  name  is  meant,  from  the 
words  "I  will  teach  them  to  know  {i.  e.,  to  ex- 
perience, to  feel)  My  hand  and  My  might,"  in 

comparison  with  the  expression  /JH,  which  is 
used  of  the  idols  in  ver.  19.  By  that  visitation, 
namely,  will  Jehovah  manifest  Himself  as  the 
Really  Existent  (this  point  from  the  connection  is 
evidently  here  brought  into  the  foreground)  in 
opposition  to  the  non-existent  deities,  and  thus 
bring  Israel  to  the  consciousness  that  he  has  cer- 
tainly sinned  in  worshipping  other  gods  together 
with  Jehovah.  Comp.  Isai.  Iii.  6,  coll.  Jer. 
xxiii.  27;  Exod.  vi.  3. 

["This  passage  (xvi.  19 — xvii.  14)  is  appointed 
as  the  Haphtorah,  or  Proper  Prophetical  Lesson, 
to  Lev.  xxvi.  3 — xxvii.  34,  where  God  declares 
the  vanity  of  idols,  and  the  blessings  of  faith,  re- 
pentance and  obedience."  Wordsworth. — S 
R.  A.] 


Chapter  XVII. 
4,  Refutation  of  the  objection  (xvi.  10)  that  the  people  had  not  generally  served  idols. 

XVII.  1-4. 

The  sin  of  Judah  is  written  with  an  iron  stylus/ 
Graven  with  a  diamond  point  on  the  tablet  of  their  heart, 
On  the  horns  of  their  altars ; 
As  their  children  remember  their  altars, 

And  their  images  of  Baal^  by^  the  green  trees,  by  the  high  hills. 
My  mountain  together  with*  the  fields, 
Thy  substance  and  all  thy  treasures  will  I  give  up  to  spoil, 
Thy  heights! — for  thy  sin  in  all  thy  borders. 

And  thou  shalt  withhold  thy  hand  from  tho  inheritance  which  I  have  given  thee; 
And  I  cause  thee  to  serve  thy  enemies  in  a  land  that  thou  knowest  not : 
For  ye  have  kindled  a  fire  in  my  nostrils  that  shall  burn  forever. 
11 


162 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1. —  f  13y.     This  word,  which  occurs  besides  only  in  Deut.  xxi.  12  is  the  nail,  unguis,  hut  since  the  finger-nail 

cannot  be  used  for  the  engraving  of  ineffaceable  writing,  the  word  must  mean  a  sharp,  cutting  instrument  in  general,  in 
correspondence  with  the  fundamental  meaning  of  the  root  (=  incidere,  insculpere.    Comp.  Aram.  T3£3). 

-  Ver.  2.— [A.  V. :  their  groves ;  De  Wette  :  their  Astartes  (but  comp.  Exeget.  iVofes).— S.  R.  A.] 

3  Ver.  2. — Explanations  which  render  7J?  as  local  =  with,  together  with  ( 7);X,  R.  Sal.),  or  cumulative  =  una  cum 

(Seb.  Schmidt  and  others)  are  aa  unsatisfactory  as  the  reading  VJ^-^S,  which  is  found  in  the  Chald.,  Syr.,  and  in  16  Codd. 

of  Kennicott  and  9  of  De  Rossi. 

<  Ver.  3. — 3  =  in  the  midst,  but   in   the  sense  of  accompaniment,   together   with.    Comp.   xi.   19 ;  Naegelsb.    Gr.,   J 

112,  5,  o. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  denial  of  having  sinned  against  Jehovah 
(xvi.  10)  must  mean  that  the  fact  of  idolatry  is 
denied.  Against  such  a  bold  and  shameless  as- 
sertion the  prophet  rises  here  with  visibly  in- 
creasing indignation.  He  says  that  the  sin  of 
Judah  is  certified,  and  as  it  were,  recorded  in 
the  archives,  viz.  (a)  in  their  own  conscience,  in 
■which  the  memory  of  their  idolatrous  abomina- 
tions is  fixed  like  an  ineifaceable  brand,  and  (b) 
externally,  on  the  horns  of  the  altars,  where  the 
blood  of  the  slaughtered  children  adheres  as  an 
equally  ineCFaceable  memorial  (ver.  1).  These 
two  testimonies  were  just  as  deep  and  inextin- 
guishable to  them,  the  actors  present,  as  to  the 
children  the  impression  of  that  horrible  cult 
which  had  snatched  away  so  many  from  their 
midst  would  remain  unforgetable.  And  so  deep 
•was  this  impression,  that  the  mere  sight  of  green 
trees  and  high  hills  was  sufficient  to  refresh  it 
continually  (ver.  2).  On  the  basis  of  the  facts 
thus  certified,  the  prophet  repeats  the  announce- 
ment of  the  divine  punishments,  which  will  con- 
sist in  plunder  of  substance,  desolation  of  the 
land,  according  to  the  analogy  of  the  year  of  re- 
lease, and  deportation  into  an  unknown  land 
(vers.  3  and  4). 

Vers.  1  and  2*  The  sin  of  Judah  .  .  high 
hills.  Origen  (Horn.  XVI.  ed.  Lommatzsch.,  S. 
301),  IsiD.  Hisp.  {De  Pass.  Dom.,  ch.  22).  Ghis- 
LER  {ad  h.  I.)  by  Judah  here  understand  Judas 
Iscariot. — Iron  stylus.  Comp.  Job  xix.  24. — 
diamond-point,  TOi^,  which  occurs  besides, 
in  this  sense,  only  in  Ezek.  iii.  9;  Zech.  vii.  12, 
appears  to  designate  especially  the  diamond, 
which  serves  as  a  pointed  cutting  instrument, 

*  The  LXX.  does  not  contain  verses  1-4.  Without  doubt 
Jerome  is  correct  in  saying, /or.sttaK  pepercerunt  populo  suo. 
Orioen  in  the  Hexapla  gives  under  asterisks  the  following 
translation,  which  he  found  in  other  ti'anslators  :  Ver.  1. 
Afxapria  'lovSa  yeypaTTTat.  ei'  ypac^ttw  (rtfir^pai,  €V  oi'u;(t  a6a- 
fiavTiVu,  eyKCKO^aiifievr]  e'iri  Toil  crr^Oovf  T^S  xapSiai  avToiv, 
Ka\  T019  Kepa<Tt.  rati'  BvaiatTTqpittiv  avrdv. 

Ver.  2.  'WviKOL  avap.vr](r9ia<ri.v  oi  vio\  ainuiv  to.  Oy<ria(rT>)pta 
avritv  Ka'i  tA  aAo>)  axniiiv  eirl  ^uAou  &a<reo%,  ejrl  Povfioiv  juere- 
wpuiv,  opiitiv  iv  aytttpC}. 

Ver.  3.  \(T\vv  crou  Ka\  -navra^  ^T^travpou^  trov  ct9  irpovo^iriv 
Ouo'co,  tA  vi^i7Aa  aov  ^v  afxapria  fv  na<TL  Toi?  opioid  trov, 

Ver.  4.  Kai  a<j>at.pr)9Ti<7tTai.  (al.  a(/)atpeS)jo-j}),  Ka'i  TandViuBij- 
aerai  (al.  Tan-eii/we^o-j;)  anb  t^s  KATjpoKO/xias  trov,  ^s  fSuixa. 
<rot,  Kai  ava^i^dtrta  (re  ef  roi<;  e\9pol^  aov  ev  tjj  yfj  fj  ovk  ey- 
fus'  OTt  iriip  iyKeKaviTTaL  if  T(i  Ov/jliZ  fj-ov,  eu?  atwco;  Kavu- 
6ri<TeTai..  Tdoe  Ae'yei  /cu'pios.  Thus  in  Montfaucon,  Hex- 
apl.  Tom.  II.,  p.  210.— EusEnins  als<j,  Dem.  Er.  X.  ."J  (comp. 
ii.  i'jy,  communicates  the  words,  remarkingthat  he  found  them 
if  Tan  Tuiv  AoiTru)!/  ipixiji/evTuif  eicfidcrecri,  en  ^leTft  napaSoaeu^ 
a<TTepi<rKu)v  iv  Toi<;  aKpi^icn  tuiv  napO.  Tois  O.  avTiypaitj>ot.<;. 
Drusids  remarks  that  in  nnnnuUis  codd.  gracis  et  in  uno 
VaticaTio  Uguntur  sub  asUriscis. 


since  everywhere  else  (Isai.  v.  9 ;  vii.  23-25  ;  ix. 
17;  X.  17  ;  xxvii.  4)  it  is  used  in  the  meaning  of 
"thorn."  Comp.  Herzog,  Real-Enc.  III.,  S. 
642;  Winer,  R.-W.-B.  I.,  S.  284.— On  the  ta- 
blet, etc.  Passing  momentary  events  make  only 
a  superficial  impression.  But  whatever  has  ex- 
ercised a  long-continued  and  intensive  activity 
is  deeply  graven.  In  opposition  to  the  assertion 
(ver.  10)  that  Israel  has  not  sinned  against  the 
Lord,  the  prophet  points  to  the  continuance  of 
idolatry  among  the  people,  and  the  deep,  inex- 
tinguishable traces,  which  it  has  left  behind. 
These  are  double;  of  an  external  and  internal 
sort.  Internally  is  the  conscience,  the  remem- 
brance, the  whole  spiritual  habitus,  which  keeps 
before  Israel  the  fact  of  the  long  practised  idola- 
try. Externally  are  the  idol-altars,  with  the 
blood  of  the  children  offered  upon  them,  crying 
towards  heaven,  which  testify  of  the  sin  to  all  the 
world.  It  is  therefore  audacity  on  the  part  of 
the  people  to  pretend  that  they  have  forgotten 
the  fact.  The  expression  write  on  the  table  of  the 
heart  is  found  also  in  Prov.  iii.  3 ;  vii.  3. — horns 
of  the  altars.  That  the  idol-altars  are  meant 
is  evident  1,  from  the  plural,  for  there  was  but 
a  single  altar  of  Jehovah  (J.  D.  Michaelis)  ;  2, 
from  the  connection,  for  Israel's  sin  was  to  be 
read  only  on  the  idol-altars,  not  on  the  altar  of 
the  Lord, — or  on  the  latter  only  in  so  far  as  they 
had  perhaps  used  it  for  idolatrous  worship 
(comp.  2  Chron.  xv.  3 ;  Winer,  s.  v.  Brandopfe- 
raltar).  The  altars  in  ver.  2  are  doubtless  also 
those  of  the  idols,  and  identical  with  those  men- 
tioned in  ver.  1. — On  the  horns  of  the  altar  of 
burnt  ofiFering  and  the  sprinkling  of  these  with 
the  blood  of  the  guilt  oflfering,  comp.  Exod.  xxvii. 
2  (colL  Ps.  cxviii.  27);  xxix.  12;  Lev.  iv.  18,  25, 
30,  34;  viii.  15;  ix.  9.  That  the  idol-altars  also 
had  such  horns  is  clear  from  Am.  iii.  14.  Comp. 
AViNER,  R.-W.-B.  s.  V.  Uorner. — Their  altars, 
lit.,  your  altars.  On  the  change  of  persen  comp. 
rems.  on  v.  14;  xii.  13. — remember.  We  may 
reject  at  the  outset  the  ungrammatical  explana- 
tions  which   either   take  3=7  (so   that  their 

children  remember,  Lutheh,  Zwingle,  substan- 
tially C.vlvin)  or  understand  God  as  the  subject 
of  remember  (Seb.  Schmidt,  Clericus,  Ch. 
B.  Michaelis).  All  those  interpretations  are 
at  least  very  harsh,  which  regard  the  Jews  as 
the  subject,  {ut  recordantiir  filiorum  stiorum  ita  al- 
iarium,  etc.,  i.  e.,  their  altars  are  as  dear  to  their 
hearts  as  their  children,  R.  Salomo,  D.  Kimchi, 
AbarbaneI/,  DioDATUs,  Maurer  ;  remembering 
their  cliildren,  they  remember  also  the  altars  on 
wliich  ihey  offered  them,  Hitzig)  or  which  take 


CHAP.  XVII.  1-4. 


1G8 


3  in  the  sense  of  because,  if,  (Jerome,  Chald., 
Arab.,  and  many  later)  or  which  find  the  apodo- 
sis  in  ver.  3  (Ewald,  Umbreit).  Since  in  ver. 
1  there  is  evidently  likewise  the  idea  of  a  monu- 
mentum,  a  record  assuring  a  perpetual  remem- 
brance, the  reciprocal  relation  of  vers.  1  and  2 
is  indicated  at  the  outset.  There  is  a  third  me- 
morial of  the  sin  denied  by  the  Israelites,  the 
testimony  of  which  is  the  more  unexceptionable 
as  it  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of  children  (Ps. 
viii.  8;  Malth.  xxi.  16):  the  remembrance  by 
the  children  of  that  horrible  worship  to  which  so 
many  from  their  midst  fell  a  sacrifice.  The  pro- 
phet points  to  an  effect  of  that  horrid  ritual, 
which  is  not  indeed  elsewhere  expressly  testified, 
but  is  in  itself  entirely  natural.  Why  should  not 
Moloch  have  been  the  terror  of  the  Israelitish 
children,  when  there  was  such  real  and  sad 
ground  for  it,  as  is  wanting  in  other  bugbears 
wliich  terrify  the  children  of  the  present  day  ?  — 
Thsir  children  is  therefore  the  subject  of  re- 
member, and  the  construction  is  as  ex.  gr.,  v.  26; 
vi.  7.     Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  \  95,  2. — Images, 

ate.  The  CT^X  are  the  masculine  images  of  Baal 
[notof  Astarte,  as  Henderson. — S.R.  A.]  (comp. 
1  Ki.  xiv.  23;  2  Ki.  xvii.  10;  xxiii.  14,  etc.)  as 
r\niJ'N  are  primarily  and  in  general  the  images 

corresponding  to  the  female  principle  of  Baal. 
What  was  their  form  is  still  undecided,  also 
■whether  they  had  special  relation  to  the  service  of 
Moloch.  Should  thelatternotbe  the  case,  yet  their 
relation  to  the  murderous  rites  of  child-sacrifice 
is  beyond  a  doubt.  For  children  were  offered  to 
Baal  in  all  his  forms,  comp.  vii.  31 ;  xix.  5;  xxxii. 
35.    Herzog,  Real-Enc.   I.  S.  638;  IX.,  S.  715.— 

By  the  green  trees,  yV'^-  Hitzig  and  Graf 
rightly  take  7j!  here  in  a  causal  sense  connecting 
it  with  remember,  not  with  altars.  If  the 
place  was  to  be  designated  where  the  altars  and 
images  stood,  we  cannot  conceive  why  the  pro- 
phet should  write  "on  green  trees,"  and  deviate 
from  the  stereotyped  form  of  "under  every  green 
tree."  It  is  accordingly  more  probable  tliat  it 
is  to  express  that  the  mere  sight  of  green  trees 
and  higli  hills  awoke  in  the  Israelite  children  the 
remembrance  of  those  terrible  altars  and  images. 

We  can  certainly  show  no  passage  in  which  7^' 
is  used,  after  a  verb  of  remembrance,  of  that 
which  occasioned  the  remembrance.    But  all  those 

passages  are  analogous  in  which  i]^  designates 

the  occasioning  circumstances  in  general,  ex.  gr.. 
Gen.    xxvi.   7,  9  ;   Ps.    xliv.   32 ;   1  Sam.  iv.  13. 

Comp.  niD-"?^,  Jer.  ix.  11 ;  Job  xiii.  14. 

Ver.  3.  My  mountain  .  .  in  all  thy  borders. 

The  words  mti/D  'Tin  are  either  connected  with 
the  preceding  context  in  various  ways  (Jerome  : 
Sacrijicantes  iii  agro ;  Syr.  ;  in  monkbus  ei  in 
deserlo ;  Chald.  :  Super  montes  in  agro ;  Arab. : 
i7imontibus  el  in  agris ;  R.  Salomo,  Abarbanel, 
KiMCHi :  0  mons  mi,  qui  in  agro  es,  as  a  desig- 
nation of  Jerusalem,  to  which  the  previous  con- 
text is  addressed  ;  Zwingli  :  ut  filii  recordaniur 
ararum  .  .  .  collium,  montirim  et  agrorum;  Ewald, 
Meier:  ■TliS'n  ''7."^n  as  in  apposition  to  m^'^J), 
or  with  the  following,  when  it  is  either  rendered 


as  in  the  vocative,  and  Zion,  as  the  high  place  of 
the  country  kch'  h^oxr/v,  or  Israel  as  sacrificing  on 
mountains,  or  fleeing  to  mountains  (Calvin),  is 
understood  by  it,  or  it  is  connected  with  thy 
heights  (Luther),  or  as  an  accusative  with  thy 
substance  [montem  meuni  una  cum  agro  .  .  . 
daho,  Gesenius,  Gaab,  Rosenmueller, Umbreit). 
Hitzig  calls  attention  to  xviii.  14.;  xxi.  13,  where 
Zion  is  designated  as  HE/  "112f  and  itJ^'Sn  11^. 
But  here  the  connection  is  quite  different.  In 
this  place  the  prophet  would  evidently  say  that 
all  property,  movable  and  immovable,  divine 
and  human,  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  and 
the  service  of  idols  will  be  given  up  to  plunder 
on  account  of  their  intensive  (vers.  1,  2),  as  ex- 
tensive and  universally  diffused  sin  (in  all  thy 
borders).  For  this  reason  also  I  do  not  believe 
that  mountain  is  to  be  rendered  as  in  the  voca- 
tive. It  is  rather  accusative,  dependent  on  I 
will  give,  and  the  explanation  already  men- 
tioned as  that  of  Gesenius,  Gaab,  Rosenmueller 
and  Umbreit,  is  the  correct  one.  The  mountain 
of  the  Lord  also  is  desecrated ;  it  therefore,  in 
so  far  as  it  contains  property  that  can  be  so 
treated,  will  also,  like  the  fruitful  field,  be  given 
up  to  plunder.  The  prophet  says  fields,  be- 
cause he  wishes  to  designate  only  the  land,  which 
produces  substance  and  treasures,  or  things  that 
may  be  plundered.  Thy  substance  and  all, 
etc.,  is  a  more  particular  explanation  of  my 
mountain.  It  tells  us  how  a  mountain  and 
fields  can  be  plundered.  Thy  substance,  thy 
treasures  have  primary  reference  to  fields.  But 
that  also  which  the  mountain  contained  belonged 
in  a  certain  respect  to  the  people,  and  they  were 
likewise  despoiled  of  it.  On  the  subject  comp. 
xxvii.  16;  xxviii.  3;  lii.  17  sqq. — Thy  heights 
is  in  antithesis  to  my  mountain.  Even  the 
sanctuaries  dedicated  to  the  idols  were  to  be  ob- 
jects of  spoliation.  It  is  clear  that  thy  heights 
is  governed  by  give,  but  its  abrupt  position  is 
strange.  If  we  could  connect  exclusively  with 
for  thy  sin,  this  difficulty  would  be  removed. 
But  not  only  the  high  places,  but  all  that  has 
been  previously  mentioned  is  given  up  on  account 
of  their  sin.  Syrus  and  the  Arabic  (MS.  Oxon), 
omit  thy  heights  altogether.  Hitzig  translates 
"for  atonement,"  comparing Zech.  xiv.  17;  Deut. 
xxix.l  l,and  with  respect  to  the  construction,  Deut. 
xxi.  29.  But  the  expression  in  all  thy  borders 
would  then  be  quite  feeble  and  superfiuous. 
Graf  after  Gesenius,  De  Wette  and  others:  — 
Thy  heights  with  the  sin  cleaving  thereto  I  give 
up.  But  was  it  necessary  to  guard  against  the 
thought  that  the  Lord  would  give  up  the  heights 
without  the  sin,  or  that  He  would  omit  the  latter? 
How  is  such  a  separation  of  the  heights  and  the 
sin  even  conceivable?  Thy  heights  may  then 
be  regarded  as  an  emphatic  asyndeton. — For 
thy  sin.  Comp.  Mic.  i.  5;  2  Kings  xxiv  3 — In 
all  thy  borders.  This  addition  corresponds 
exactly  to  the  previously  stated  extent  of  the 
punishment:  Since  the  sin  has  been  universally 
diffused,  so  all  the  possessions  in  the  whole  land 
will  be  made  the  means  of  punishment. 

Ver.  4.  And  thou  shalt  .  .  .  forever.  In 
this  verse  "jDI  causes  the  only  difficulty.  It  haa 
been  either  entirely  passed  over  (Syrus,  Arab., 
Luther),  or  explained  in  a  more  or  lees  forced 


164 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


manner,  as  unfreely  (Vatable),  by  thy  iniquity, 
naked  and  bare,  alone  (so  Jerome,  on  the  gi-ound 

of  which  EwALD  would  alter  to  T13^).  But  it  is 
evident  that  Jeremiah  had  in  view  Deut.  xv.  2, 
3.  This  has  been  recognized  by  many  exposi- 
tors. Some  {ex.  gr.,  Seb.  Schmidt,  Rosenm.) 
supply,  therefore,  ^7'  from  Deut.  xv.  2.  J.  D. 
MicuAELis  was  the  first  to  suppose  that  ^T  alone 
Bhould  be  read.  Graf  expresses  this  distinctly, 
and  without  doubt  correctly.  For  on  the  one  hand 
fj3?,  however  interpreted,  yields  no  satisfactory 
meaning.  On  the  other  hand  the  expression 
0  p  T  (SO'Cf,  withhold  thy  hand,  etc.,  corres- 
ponds perfectly  to  the  connection.  The  year  of 
release  (comp.  Deut.  xv.  1-13),  so  called  from  the 
ntaOK',  the  release  of  the  debtor  from  the  oppres- 
sive hand  of  the  creditor,  coincides  with  the  Sab- 
batic year  (comp.  Exod.  xxiii.  10,  11;  Xevit.  xxv. 
1-7),  in  which  the  land  is  to  remain  uncultivated 
(comp.  Saalschdetz,  Mos.  Recht.,  S.  162  ff . ; 
Herzoq,  R-Unc.  XIII.,  S.  204  ff.).     The  state  of 


desolation,  in  which  the  land  will  be  in  conse- 
quence of  the  destined  exile  of  the  people  is  in 
Lev.  xxvi.  24,  25  expressly  compared  with  that 
Sabbatic  year,  or  year  of  release,  and  is  called 

the  Sabbath-time  of  the  land  (n'r\h3Kf).  In  2 
Chron.  xxxvi.  21  (comp.  3  Esdr.  i.  58)  it  is  ex- 
pressly set  forth  that  the  Babylonian  captivity 
was  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  word  proclaimed 
by   Jeremiah,  according  to  which  the  land  was 

promised  its  holiday  {7)^^\20).  But  in  no  other 
place  than  this  does  Jeremiah  intimate  this 
thought.  If  now  it  is  undoubted  that  this  pass- 
age, with  reference  to  Deut.  xv.  2  coll.  Lev. 
xxvi.  34,  35,  designates  the  exile  as  a  period  of 
release  for  the  land,  we  cannot  avoid  perceiving 
in  ^31  an  altered  form  of  the  ']!''  of  Deuteronomy. 
On  I  cause  thee  to  serve,  vide  supra,  on  xv. 
14. — For  ye  have  kindled,  etc.  The  words 
are  a  free  quotation  from  Deut.  xxxii.  22,  while 
those  in  xv.  14,  at  least  in  their  first  part,  agre* 
verbatim  with  the  original  passage. 


CONCLUSION  (xvii.  5-18). 

1.  Retrospective  glance  at  the  deep  roots  of  the  corruption. 

XVII.  5-13. 


6      Thus  saith  Jehovah :  Cursed  the  man,  who  trusts  in  men, 
And  makes  flesh  his  arm,  and  whose  heart  departs  from  Jehovah. 

6  He  will  be  like  one  forsaken^  in  the  desert 
And  will  not  see  when  good  comes, 

And  will  dwell  in  the  arid  places  in  the  wilderness, 
In  a  land  salt  and  uninhabited. 

7  Blessed  the  man  who  trusts  in  Jehovah, 
And  whose  confidence  Jehovah  is ! 

8  He  is  like  a  tree  planted  by  water, 

And  which  stretches  forth^  its  roots  to'  the  river, 

And  will  not  fear*  when  the  heat  comes,  and  its  leaf  is  green. 

And  in  the  year  of  drought  it  will  not  have  care  nor  cease  from  fruit-bearing. 

9  The  heart  is  more  deceitful  than  anything 
An  I  profoundly  corrupt      Who  can  know  it? 

10  I,  Jehovah,  search  the  heart,  try  the  reins. 
Even*  to  give  every  one  according  to  his  way, 
According  to  the  fruit  of  his  doings. 

11  A  partridge,  which  fosters  without  having  laid, 
Is  he  who  accumulates  riches  not  by  right. 

In  the  half  of  his  days  he  will  leave  them, 
And  at  his  end  he  will  be  a  fool. 

12  O  throne  of  glory,  height®  of  beginning,  place  of  our  sanctuary ! 

13  Hope  of  Israel,  Jehovah! 

All  who  forsake  thee  are  put  to  shame ! 

Those  who  depart'  from  me  must  be  written  in  the  earth. 

Because  they  have  forsaken  the  fountain  of  living  water,  Jehovah. 


CHAP.  XVII.  5-13. 


165 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  "Ver.  6. — '^V'^V3-  The  ancient  translations  all  express  here,  doubtless  on  the  ground  of  the  antithesis  in  ver.  8,  the 
name  of  a  'iree  or  shrub,  while  in  Ps.  cii.  where  alone  the  word  occurs  a  second  time,  they  all,  in  accordance  with  the  con- 
text, express  the  idea  of  miser.    Since  now  "IJ^IJ?  is  formed  after  the  analogy  of  7J 7j,  TTn,  SiSl,  2323  {33)3),  etc. 

t:-  -:--:--:-t:-t 

(comp.  Olsh.  §  189,  a;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  42,  a,  S.  87),  since,  further,  the  corresponding  verbal  root  is  given  by  li.  58 

(^j;i^Mj"^  ^y^J?)  uucjuestionably  with  the  meaning  denudare  (couip.  Isai.  xxiii.  13;  xxxii.  11 ;  Hab.  iii.  9.  "liyo  nuditas, 
D'lj;  nudus,  'TIJ?  nudus,  solitarius;  Gen.xv.  2  ;  Lev.  xx.  20,  21 ;  Jer.  xxii.  30),  the  meaning  of  "naked,  destitute,  wretched," 
is  assured  also  in  this  passage.    [Henderson  :  "  I  acquiesce  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Robinson,  that  it  is  the  same  as  the  Arab. 


^^ 


A  rar,  the  juniper-tree  which  is  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Arabah,  or  the  Great  Valley,  to  the  south  of  the 


Dead  Sea.  See  Bihl.  Res.  II.,  506.  Thus  De  Wette  :  Wacholderbaum.  The  same  form  of  the  word  occurs  Ps.  cii.  18,  where 
the  idea  conveyed  is  that  of  naked,  destitute.  The  point  of  comparison  in  the  two  passages  of  our  prophet  is  the  forlorn  ap- 
pearance of  a  solitary  juniper,  deprived  of  all  nourishment  in  the  arid  desert." — HiTZio  referring  to  the  composition  of  Ps. 
cii.,  after  the  Pight  of  Jonathan  into  the  desert  of  Tekoa,  and  the  connection  with  Jer.  xlviii.  6,  where  also  flight  is  spoken 
of,  decides  that  the  word  designates  one  who  hasfln'l  or  been  driren  into  the  desert,  or  one  who  has  come  into  misfortune  aa 
Starved  or  per ishitig.—Si.  R.  A.j.    On  the  words  in  xlviii.  6,  131,33  "1^1"1J^3,  comp.  rems.  there. 

2  Ver.  8. — 73r.  an.  Key.,  synonymous  with  73',  Isai.  xxx  25 ;  xliv.  4. 

3  Ver.  8.— '7  y  for  '7X  as  frequently  in  Jer.    Comp.  on  x.  1. 

4  Ver.  8.— XT  N^V  The  Keri  reads  PINT'  after  ver.  6.  The  Chethibh  should  be  punctuated  NT  (Imperf.  from  XT'), 
corresponding  to  JXT,  and  is  at  any  rate  to  be  preferred;  as  also  the  ancient  translations  express  it,  with  the  exception  of 

the  Chaldee.  . 

5  Ver.  10. — nn?!-  Comp.  xxxii.  19.  The  Vau,  which  the  ancient  translations  and  many  Codd.  omit,  is  not  so  super* 
fluous  as  Geaf  supposes. 

6  Ver.  12.— D110  might  grammatically  be  in  the  accusative,  but  as  1133  appears  to  be  contrasted  with  r\^3  (iii 

24;  xi.  13),  so  does  0  DHD  with  niD3- 

7  Ver.  13.— mD"'-  TheChethibh  'TD^  would  be  formed  like  3''1',  DID',  "IliT  (Olsh.2212).  The  form  TD'_asanoun, 
does  not,  however,  occur  elsewhere,  and  the  sudden  change  of  person  is  strange.  The  Keri  reads  'l^DI-  The  meaning  is 
the  same  (=  those  departing  from  me.  Comp.  'Dp,  li.  1) ;  the  form  is  likewise  a  rare  one.  (Yet  comp.  ii.  21 ;  Isa.  xUx. 
21;  Olsh.  §  172,  6.)    Meier  reads  mO\ 


EXEGETICAL    AND  CRITICAL. 

This  long  discourse  ends  with  a  concluding  ad- 
dress in  two  parts,  the  first  of  which  relates  to 
general,  the  second  to  personal  matters.  In  the 
first  (vers.  5-13)  the  prophet  indicates  the  most 
inward  and  hidden  roots  of  the  spiritual  and 
physical  corruption  of  his  people.  He  mentions 
three  chief  moral  defects,  attaching  to  eacli  the 
corresponding  punishment.  At  the  head  he  places 
the  perverse  disposition,  which  regards  not  the 
Lord,  but  flesh  as  the  source  and  treasure  of  all 
blessing  (ver.  5).  The  punishment  of  this  sin  is 
mentioned  in  ver.  6,  the  shadow  being  further 
deepened  in  vers.  7  and  8  by  the  contrast  there 
presented.  The  second  radictil  defect,  designated 
in  ver.  9,  is  the  perfidiousness  of  the  heart  in 
connection  with  its  weakness.  In  consequence 
of  this  habitus,  the  human  heart  is  unfathomable 
to  human  sight,  yet  the  Lord  is  in  a  position  to 
look  through  and  to  judge  it  (ver.  10).  Avarice 
is  designated  as  the  third  destructive  root  to 
which  every  means  is  right,  to  which,  however, 
poverty  and  shame  must  follow  as  a  just  recom- 
pense (ver.  11). — The  last  two  verses  express 
once  more  in  a  comprehensive  manner,  and  after 
a  solemn  invocation  of  Jehovah,  the  judgment 
of  destruction  on  all  those  who  have  forsaken 
Jehovah,  the  fountain  of  living  water  (vers. 
12,  13). 

Vers.  5  and  6.   Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .   . 
salt  and  uninhabited.     The  prophet  had  in 
the  previous  context  repeatedly  designated  the 
Lord  as  his  and  Israel's  only  safety:  xiv.  8,  22; 
XV.  20,  21 ;  xvi.  19.     He,  however,  expressly  in- 


timated in  xvi.  19,  that  the  Israel  of  those  times 
was  wanting  in  confidence  in  this  Saviour.  Here 
he  renders  this  sin  of  unbelief  strongly  promi- 
nent, portraying  it  according  to  its  positive  and 
its  negative  side.  He  mentions  the  positive  side 
first.  Man  and  flesh  designate  the  totality  of 
all  earthly  visible  forces  in  antithesis  to  the 
spiritual  power  of  the  invisible  God.  It  is  pre- 
cisely their  visibility  which  withdraws  the  carnal 
mind  from  the  invisible  things  to  be  appre- 
hended by  faith  alone.  The  mind  is  first  taken 
captive  by  things  visible.  Then  having  gained  a 
firm  footing  in  these,  it  breaks  loose  from  the  In- 
visible. It  was  so  in  the  Fall.  This  confidence 
in  things  visible,  however,  is  idolatry  (comp. 
Luther's  explanation  of  the  first  command- 
ment). Hence  the  curse  may  well  be  an  allusion 
toDeut.  xxvii.  15  coll.  xi.  28. — Mac  and  flesh. 
(DIX  and  IK'S)  synonymous  also  in  Isa.  xxxi.  3 

coli.  Job  X.  4;  Ps.  Ivi.  5.  ["The  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, having  three  distinct  words  for  man,  has 
the  advantage  of  our  English  in  the  finer  shades 
of  a  passage  like  this,  'cursed  is  the  man  (strong 
man)  who  trusteth  in  man  (frail  man  of  the 
earth)  who  maketh  flesh  (mere  weakness)  his 
arm.'"  Cowles.— S.  R.  A.] —His  arm,  J^jir, 
the  organ  for  the  exhibition  of  physical  force. 
He  who  delivers  over  this  function  to  another, 
i.  e.  makes  him  his  arm,  has  him  for  his  assist- 
ant, for  protection  and  deliverance  Comp.  Isa. 
xxxiii.  2 ;  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  9. — A  land  salt.e^c.  Comp. 

34._Win  dwell.    3^n 
25;    xxx.  18;   \.  18,  39; 


Job  xxxix.  6 ;  Ps.  cvii, 
intransitive!  as  in  ver 
Isa.  xiii.  20. 
Vers.  7,  8.    Blessed  the   man 


fruit 


166 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


bearing.  We  might  suppose  that  these  verses 
were  so  co-ordinate  with  the  two  preceding  that 
the  two  pairs  would  constitute  an  independent, 
self-contained  whole.  But  then  the  following 
verses  would  be  entirely  disconnected.  I  there- 
fore think  that  verses  7  and  8  are  to  serve  as  a  foil 
to  the  thought  expressed  in  vers.  5,  6,  which  is 
shown  to  be  the  main  thought  by  its  position. — 
As  a  tree.  Comp.  Ps.  i.  3.— Drought.  Comp. 
xiv.  1. 

Vers.  9  and  10.  The  heart  is  more  deceit- 
ful .  .  .  his  doings.  Were  the  hearts  of  men, 
and  especially  of  the  Israelites,  upright  and  di- 
rected to  the  true  and  the  good,  they  must  agree 
in  word  and  deed  with  that  which  the  prophet 
has  declared  in  vers.  5-8.  But  there  is  nothing 
in  the  world  so  deceitful  as  the  human  heart, 
which  understands  the  art  thoroughly  of  pursuing 
the  evil  under  the  appearance  of  wishing  the  right 
(comp.  ch.  V.  and  ix.  2-8).  This  deceitfulness 
is  however  only  a  symptom  of  the  deep  depra- 
vity, the  incurable  sickness  by  which  the  heart  is 
possessed. — Deceitful,  Dp;^.  Comp.  on  ix.  3. 
The  word  occurs  here  only  as  an  adjective  with 
this  meaning.— Corrupt,  lyjX.  The  meaning 
"  desperate  "  is  not  contained  in  the  word.  It  is 
every  where  ==  severely  sick,  incurable  (xv.  18; 
XXX.  12,  15;  Isa.  xvii.  11;  Mic.  i.  9;  Job  xxxiv. 
6),  full  of  the  deepest  pain  (ver.  16).  No  man  is 
in  a  condition  to  see  through  the  deceitful  hypoc- 
risy of  the  human  heart,  but  the  Lord  can  do  it, 
and  founds  on  this  His  knowledge.  His  strict  and 
righteous  judgment.  Comp.  xi.  20;  xii.  3;  xx. 
12. — Even  to  give.  Separating  the  statement 
of  the  object  from  the  fundamental  declaration, 
the  word  even  sets  forth  the  independence  of 
the  latter.  God  is  not  omniscient  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  judging,  but  in  His  essential  nature. 
Comp.  besides  coram,  on  vi.  2. 

Ver.  11.  A  partridge  ...  be  a  fool.  As 
the  third  root  of  spiritual  and  bodily  corrup- 
tion the  prophet  names  avarice,  which  is  the 
root  of  all  evil  (1  Tim.  vi.  10).  The  selfish  in- 
quire not  about  the  right  (comp.  v.  1,  26  sqq.  ; 
vi.  6,  7  ;  xiii.  8,  10),  therefore  the  blessing  of 
God  is  also  denied  them.  Lightly  come  lightly  go. 
Forsaken  and  put  to  shame  the  unrighteous  man 
is  at  last  like  the  bird,  of  which  it  is  said  that  it 
collects  the  young  of  others  and  fosters  them, 
but  is  forsaken  by  them  as  soon  as  they  perceive 
that  a  stranger  has  usurped  a  mother's  rights 
over  them.  The  form  of  comparison  is  like  that 
in  Prov.  x.  20;  xi.  22;  xvi.  24,  etc.  It  is  doubt- 
ful what  bird  is  to  be  understood  by  H'^p. 
The  word  is  found  besides  only  in  1  Sam.  xvi. 
20.  The  ancient  translators  and  most  of  the 
Comm.  understand  the  partridge,  and  the  dialects 
also  favor  this  rendering.  Only  natural  history 
does  not  confirm  this  peculiarity  of  the  part- 
ridge. Comp.  Winer  s.  v.  Rehhuhn.  ["  The 
ancients  believed  that  she  stole  the  eggs  of  other 
birds  and  hatched  them  as  her  own.  See  Epi- 
PHAN.  Physiol,  cap.  ix. ;  Ism.  Origg.  xii.  7." 
Hknderson. — S.  R.A.I. — Fosters.     IJT  occurs 

-■  TT 

besides  only  in  Isa.  xxxiv.  15.  It  is  there  ex- 
pressly distinguished  from  J^p3,  to  hatch,  and  can 
mean  only  the  gathering  together  and  clierishing 
by  warmth  of  the  newly  hatched  young.     Winek 


quotes  inter  al.  a  passage  from  Olympiodorus  : 
b  7r£p(h^  *  *  *  ^oi;f  aTiAoTpiovg  "KpocnaklLrai  veot- 
Tovg  o'lTiveq  yvdvreq  vcrepov,  on  ovk  elalv  avrov, 
naralifinavovGiv  avrdv.  This  agrees  admirably 
with  the  sense  and  connection  of  the  passage, 
though  it  must  still  remain  undecided  whether 
we  have  here  a  real  popular  opinion  existing  at 
the  time  of  Jeremiah,  or  only  one  deduced  from 
this  passage. — Shall  leave  them  refers  to  the 
riches.     On  fool  comp.  x.  8,  14. 

Vers.  12  and  V6.  O  throne  of  glory  .  .  . 
Jehovah.  Comprehensive  conclusion  in  the 
form  of  a  brief  but  solemn  invocation  of  Jeho- 
vah. From  Hope  of  Israel  it  is  evident  that 
the  words  of  the  prophet  were  addressed  in  the 
last  instance  to  the  person  of  the  Lord.  But  he 
mentions  first  the  exteriora,  which  are  the  places 
and  bearers  of  His  glory  :  his  throne,  the  place 
where  His  throne  stands,  the  sanctuary  which 
surrounds  it,  for  he  wishes  to  set  forth  distinctly 
how  foolish  and  criminal  it  is  to  do  that,  which 
he  has  censured  in  vers.  5,  9,  11  and  which  he 
afterwards  comprises  in  one  word,  "forsake  the 
Lord."  Israel  has  given  up  the  truly  real  and 
eternal  sanctuaries  for  the  miserable  high-places 
of  idolatry.  I  do  not  therefore  hold  the  view 
that  ver.  12  is  addressed  to  Jehovah  Himself,  for 
the  reason  given  by  Graf,  that  the  Lord  cannot 
possibly  be  called  place  of  sanctuary. — O 
throne  of  glory.  Comp.  1  Sam.  ii.  8 ;  Isa. 
xxii.  23  ;  Jer.  xiv.  21.  The  Lord's  throne  ap- 
pears in  the  Old  Test,  in  three  degrees.  First, 
Jerusalem  is  thus  named  (iii.  17),  second,  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  (Exod.  xxv.  22;  Ps.  Ixxx. 
2;  xcix.  1),  third,  the  proper,  so  to  speak,  and 
transcendent  throne  (Isa.  vi.  1;  Ezek.  i.  26;  Dan. 
vii.  9  ;  Ps.  ix.  5  ;  xi.  3  ;  xlvii.  9 ;  ex.  1).  These 
three  degrees  are  however  so  connected,  that  he 
who  forsakes  one  does  the  same  to  the  other. 
The  prophet  has  primarily  in  view  here,  as  at 
any  rate  in  xiv.  21,  the  visible  throne  of  the 
Lord. — Height  of  beginning.  The  idea  ex- 
pressed  by  DHD   has   also   several   gradations. 

1.  Mt.  Zion  is  <!alled  hvi^VJ"  D'np  'in,  Ezek.  xvii. 

28  ;  XX.  40  coll.  xxxiv.  14 ;  Jer.'  xxxi.  12.  2.  It 
is  very  often  used  to  designate  the  transcendent 
abode  of  Jehovah,  Isa.  xxxiii.  5;  Ivii.  15;  Mic.  vi. 
6;  Jer.  xxv.  30;  Ps.  xciii.  4;  Ixviii.  19,  etc.     The 

expression  jlE'XIO,  which  occurs  here  only 
(comp.  U/HID,  Prov.  viii.  23)  agrees  with  DTID 
in  both  senses.  For  that  transcendent  abode  is 
from  the  beginning,  eternally  existing  (comp. 
Ps.  xciii.  2),  and  Zion  also  as  chosen  from  eternity 
is  in  idea  the  eternal  dwelling-place  of  God. 
(Comp.  Ps.  cxxxii.  13,  14  coll.  Exod.  xv.  17; 
XX.  24 ;  Dent.  v.  12). — Place  of  our  sanctu- 
ary. Comp.  Isa.  Ix.  13;  Dan.  viii.  11.  Even 
the  sanctuary  of  Israel  (C'TpD)  is  a  double  one, 
an  earthly  and  a  heavenly.  The  former  is  made 
according  to  the  type  of  the  latter  (Exod.  xxv. 
8,  9,  40;  xxvi.  30).  Thus  though  the  expres- 
sion refers  primarily  to  the  earthly  sanctuary 
the  heavenly  is  not  excluded.  There  is  no  ob- 
jection to  the  impersonal  rendering  of  these 
three  substantives  in  the  prophet's  addressing 
words  of  prayer  to  them.  For  what  the  prophet 
declares  with  respect  to  them  :  "  All  who  forsake 
thee  are  put  to  shame,"  would  be  quite  unpreju- 


CHAP.  XVII.  14-18. 


167 


dicial  even  if  "  Hope  of  Israel,"  etc.,  did  not  come 
between.  But  the  three  former  are  entirely 
sunlc  in  this  last  conception,  since  it  is  only  in 
and  by  Jehovah  that  they  have  any  existence  or 
meaning.      Hence   also   the   singular    suffix   in 

1'3TJ^.  The  older  commentators  render  throne 
of  glory  as  nominative,  either  taking  the  first 
and  the  last  three  words  together  [solium  glorise 
excelsum,  ab  initio  locus  sanctuarii  nostri,  Calvin), 
or  regarding  throne  [thronus,  qui  est  altitude  ab 
seterno,  est  locus  sanctuarii,  Sbb.  Schmidt),  or 
height  (a  throne  in  glory  is  the  height  of  begin- 
ning, the  place  of  our  sanctuary,  Neumann)  as 
the  nominative.  According  to  these  renderings 
however  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  find  a  suitable 
connection. — Hope  of  Israel.  Comp.  xiv.  8; 
1.  7. — Written  in  the  earth.  In  the  eartli 
(in  the  dust,  Job  xiv.  8),  where  what  is  written 


will  be  speedily  effaced,  shall  those  who  depart 
from  me  be  written.  The  antithesis  on  the  one 
hand  would  be  to  xvii.  1  (the  sin  in  brass,  the 
sinners  in  dust),  on  the  otlier  hand  to  the  book 
of  life  (Exod.  xxxii.  32;  Ps.  Ixix.  29;  Dan.  xii. 
1;  Mai.  iii.  16;  Luke  x.  20;  Phil.  iv.  3  ;  Rev. 
iii.  5;  xiii.  8;  xvii.  8;  xxi.  27).  Meier  reads: 
they  vanished  away  in  the  laud  (Job  xv.  30),  all 
who  are  recorded  in  it  (xvii.  1 ;  xxii.  30)  that  they 
have  forsaken  the  fountain,  etc.     This  exegesis 

also  is  exposed  to  several  objections :  1.  that  I^D 
must  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  vanish  away;  2.  the 
imperf.  '3ri3\  I  therefore  prefer  to  adhere  to 
the  reading  of  the  Chethibh.  The  rapid  change 
of  person  forms  no  objection  to  this.  Comp.  on 
v.  14 ;  ix.  7  ;  xii.  13 ;  xvii.  1.  The  Lord  then  con- 
tinues in  confirmation  of  the  prophet's  address. 
— Fountain,  etc.     Comp.  ii.  13 ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  10. 


2.  Petition  of  the  prophet  for  the  safety  of  his  person  and  the  honor  of  his  official  ministrations. 

XVII.  14-18. 

14  Heal  me,  Jehovah,  that  I  may  be  healed  ; 

Deliver  me  that  I  may  be  delivered,  for  thou  art  my  praise  ! 

15  Behold,  they  say  to  me:  Where  is  the  word  of  Jehovah?     Let  it  come  now. 

16  But  I  have  not  hastened  away  from  being  a  pastor  after  thee ; 
And  the  calamitous  day  I  have  not  desired,  thou  knowest. 
That  which  went  forth  from  my  lips  was  from  thee. 

17  Be  not^  a  terror  to  me,  my  refuge  in  the  day  of  distress! 

18  My  persecutors  must  be  put  to  shame, 
But  I  must  not  be  put  to  shame ; 

They  must  be  dismayed,  but  I  must  not  be  dismayed  I 
Bring*  upon  them  the  day  of  calamity, 
And  doubly'  with  destruction  destroy  them ! 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  17. — nTtO,  comp.  Ewald,  §  224  c ;  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  3S,  Anm.  2. 

aVer.  18.— X' jn,  a  rare  form  instead  of  X3n.  Init  comp.  1  Sam.  xx.  4U;  OLSH.,g  256  b,  S.  669. 
sVer.  18.— njtyo  (not  r\WD)  is  accus.  modi.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §  70  g. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  second,  personal  half  of  the  conclusion. 
The  prophet  prays  for  safety  and  deliverance  for 
himself  (ver.  14).  In  opposition  to  the  scornful 
doubt  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  predictions,  ex- 
pressed in  ver.  15,  he  prays  on  the  ground  of  the 
fact  that  he  had  not  hastened  into  the  prophetic 
office,  or  declared  his  own  inventions  (ver.  16), 
that  the  Lord,  his  refuge,  would  not  be  a  terror 
to  him  or  suffer  him  to  be  put  to  shame,  but  his 
persecutors,  and  bring  upon  them  the  day  of 
calamity  and  double  destruction  (vers.  17,  18). 

Ver.  14.   Heal  me  .  .  .  thou  art  my  praise. 

The  prophet  begins  with  a  prayer  for  safety  ami 
deliverance  in  general. — Heal  me.  Deut.  xxxii. 
39;  Ps.  vi.  3;  ixx.  3. — My  praise,  the  object 


of  my  confident  boasting.  Comp.  Deut.  x.  21 ; 
Ps.  Ixxi.  6. 

Vers.  15  and  16.  Behold,  they  say  .  .  .  was 
from  thee.  The  prophet  resumes  the  thought 
in  XV.  10,  15-19  (coll.  xx.  7-12). — Where,  etc. 
Comp.  Isa.  V.  19;  Ezek.  xii.  22  sqq.  It  is  used 
ironically  also  in  Ps.  xlii.  4,  11  ;  Ixxix.  10;  2 
Kings  xviii.  34,  etc. — On  Let  it  come  now, 
comp.  xxviii.  8,  9;  Deut.  xviii.  21,  22  coll.  xiii. 
2. — But  I  have  not,  etc.  The  prophet  would 
deserve  such  scorn,  if  he  had  taken  the  word  of 
the  Lord  into  his  mouth  in  his  own  strength,  or 
deceitfully,  as  others  did,  xiv.  14,  15. — But  he  is 
not  a  pseudo-prophet,  but  a  prophet  against  his 
will.    Comp.  i.  6  sqq.;  xx.  7. — The  words  I  have 

not  hastened  (I'D  TiyN  N?)  have  been  variously 
explained.  But  all  the  commentators  (when  they 
do   not   alter   the   reading,  as  the  Syr.,  which 


168 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


reads  T\y'\'0)  concur  in  understanding  n>^'^  of 
the  spiritual  pastorate.  The  thought  that  he 
had  not  hastened  from  the  pastoral  office  or  spi- 
ritual pasture  after  Jehovah  does  not  however 
suit  the  connection.  For  he  can  wish  only  to 
defend  himself  against  the  imputation  of  having 
hurriod.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  not  a  single 
comm.  has  yet  thought  of  taking  nj7/1  in  a  phy- 
sical sense;  doubtless  because  the  knowledge  of 
Jeremiah's  priestly  descent  has  seemed  to  pre- 
clude the  thought  of  his  having  been  a  shepherd. 
But  why  may  not  Jeremiah,  who  was  called  as  a 
"l^J  to  the  prophetic  office,  have  previously  tended 
his  father's  sheep  ?  The  shepherd's  state  was 
rendered  sacred  to  the  Israelites  by  the  example 
of  their  fathers,  and  kings  as  well  as  prophets 
had  proceeded  from  it  (comp.  Am.  i.  1 ;  vii.  14 
coll.  Exod.  iii.  1).  Moreover  the  K'"^JO  [pasture, 
common],  which  was  possessed  by  every  priestly 
and  levitical  city  (comp.  Josh.  xxi.  and  1  Chron. 
vi.),  was  according  to  Num.  xxxv.  4  expressly  in- 
tended "for the  cattle."     Anathoth  also  had  its 

^"MD  (Josh.  xxi.  18).     Comp.  Herzoo,  R.-Enc. 

VI.  S.  150.  How  well  now  it  suits  the  connec- 
tion if  Jer.  says :  They  scorn  me  as  a  prophet 
and  yet  I  did  not  hurry  away  from  being  a  shep- 
herd (nj;^o=nj;.'i  nrnn.    Comp.  ii.  25 ;  xiviii. 

2;  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  5;  1  Sam.  xv.  23,  26)  after  thee. 
— y^iiz=:  to  press,  to  haste:  Exod.  v.  13  ;  Josh.  x. 

13;  Prov.  xix.  2;  xxi.  5;  xxviii.  20. — yiHX. 
Comp.  ii.  2  ;  iii.  19.  Going  after  Jehovah  is  in 
antithesis  to  going  after  the  flock  (comp.  1  Chr. 
xvii.  7).  [Hitzig:  '■'■  I  have  not  hastened  away 
not  to  keep  after  thee.  In  |'-"IX  is  the  idea  of  wil- 
fulness, following  one's  own  impulse  in  any  di- 
rection. '  I  did  not  struggle  away  so  that  I  should 
not  be  pasturing,'  etc.     yinx  does  not  suit  the 

usual  rendering  of  Hi^l  as  the  trade  of  the 
shepherd,  but  leads  to  this,  that  Jahve  is  the 
shepherd,  leader,  and  Jeremiah  the  lamb,  Ps. 
xxiii.  1.  Willingly  following  him  (comp.  1  Sam. 
vii.  2;  Numb.  xiv.  24)  he  allowed  himself  to  be 
fed  by  Jahve  (comp.  Prov.  x.  21)  with  words  of 
truth  and  with  revelation,  xv.  16."  Henderson 
appears  to  follow  Hitzig  in  this  rendering. — 
WoiiuswoKTH :  "Rather,  I  have  not  hastened  back- 
ward/row being  a -shepherd  (a  prophet)  after  thee. 
When  I  was  called  by  Thee,  I  did  not  withdraw 
myself  hastily  from  Thy  service  (see  Gesen.  23), 
but  I  obeyed  Thy  call  without  delay:  and  I  did  no  I 
desirethe  woful  day.''' — So  also  Cowles. — S.  R.  A.] 

And  the  calamitous  day.  Comp.  rems.  on 
ver.  9.  From  the  connection  the  prophet  can 
mean  only  the  day  of  his  entrance  into  the  pro- 
phetic office.  (Comp.  xx.  7  sqq. ;  xv.  10,  11). 
For  he  needed  not  to  give  the  assurance  that  he 
did  not  desire  the  day  of  calamity  for  the  whole 
people.  He  might  indeed  have  been  reproached 
with  loving  to  prnplipsy  evil,  but  thcreis  nothing 
of  this  in  the  text.— Thou  knowest.  Comp. 
XV.  15. — That  which  went  forth,  etc.  That 
which  has  gone  forth  from  his  lips,  since  he  has 
been  a  prophet,  God  knows  and  approves,  he  has 
notliing  then  to  fear  from  the  criticism  of  men. 
Comp.  Prov.  v.  21;   Lam.  ii.  19. 

Vrrs  17  and  18.  Be  not  a  terror ...  de- 
stroy them.     The  negative  petition,  comp.  ver. 


14. — persecutors,  pursuers.  Comp.  xv.  15; 
XX.  11. — doubly  with  destruction.  Comp. 
xvi.  18. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xiv.  7.  "Medicina  erranti  confessio,  qua  di 
re  Ps.  xxxii.  3,  4  et  Ambrosius  elegani.er :  Con- 
fessio verecunda  suffragatur  Deo,  et  poenam,  quam 
defensione  vitare  non  possumus,  pudore  revelamus 
(lib.  de  Joseph.,  c.  36),  et  alibi  idem:  Cessat  vin- 
dicta  divina,  si  confessio  prsecurat  humana.  Etsi 
enirn  confessio  non  est  causa  meriloria  remissionis  pec- 
catorum,  est  tamen  necessarium  quoddam  antecedens." 

FORSTER. 

2.  "  In  earnest  and  hearty  prayer  there  is  a 
conflict  between  the  spirit  and  the  flesh.  The 
flesh  regards  the  greatness  of  the  sins,  and  con- 
ceives of  God  as  a  severe  Judge  and  morose  be- 
ing, who  either  will  not  help  further  or  cannot. 
The  spirit,  on  the  other  hand,  adheres  to  the 
name  of  God,  i.  e.,  to  His  promise ;  he  apprehends 
God  by  faith  as  his  true  comfort  and  aid,  and  de- 
pends upon  Him."     Cramer. 

3.  On  xiv.  9  a.  **  Ideo  non  vult  Dens  cito  dare, 
ut  discas  ardentius  orare.'"     Augustine. 

4.  On  xiv.  9  b.  "  Quia  in  baptismo  nomen  Do- 
mini, i.  e.,  totius  SS.  et  individuse  Trinitatis  super 
nos  quoque  invocatum  est,  eo  et  ipso  nos  infoedus  Dei 
recepti    sumus   et   inde   populus   Dei    salutamur." 

FoRSTER. 

5.  On  xiv.  10.  "  So  long  as  the  sinner  remains 
unchanged  and  uncontrite  God  cannot  remove  the 
punishment  of  the  sin  (xxvi.  13)."  Starke. — 
"  Quotidie  crescit  poena,  quia  quotidie  crescit  et  cul- 
pa."    Augustine. 

6.  On  xiv.  11,  12.  ["We  further  gather  from 
this  passage  that  fasting  is  not  in  itself  a  reli- 
gious duty  or  exercise,  but  that  it  refers  to  an- 
other end.  Except  then  they  who  fast  have  a 
regard  to  what  is  thereby  intended — that  there 
may  be  a  greater  alacrity  in  prayer — that  it  may 
be  an  evidence  of  humility  in  confessing  their 
sins, — and  that  they  may  also  strive  to  subdue 
all  their  lusts; — except  these  things  be  regarded, 
fasting  becomes  a  frivolous  exercise,  nay,  a  pro- 
fanation of  God's  worship,  it  being  only  super- 
stitious. We  hence  see  that  fastings  are  not  only 
without  benefit  except  when  prayers  are  added, 
and  those  objects  which  I  have  stated  are  re- 
garded, but  that  they  provoke  the  wrath  of  God 
as  all  superstitions  do,  for  His  worship  is  pol- 
luted." Calvin.— S.  R.  A.]  "  Unbelief  is  a 
mortal  sin,  so  that  by  it  the  good  is  turned  into 
evil.  For  fasting  or  praying  is  good;  but  when 
the  man  who  does  it  has  no  faith  it  becomes  sin 
(Ps.  cix.  7)."     Cramer. 

7.  On  xiv.  14.  "  He  who  would  be  a  preacher 
must  have  a  regular  appointment.  In  like  form 
for  all  parts  of  divine  worship  we  must  have 
God's  word  and  command  for  our  support.  If  we 
have  it  not  all  is  lost."     Cramer. 

8.  On  xiv.  14  (I  have  not  sent  them).  "This 
docs  not  come  at  all  into  the  account  now-a-days ; 
and  I  do  not  know,  whether  to  such  a  preacher, 
let  him  have  obtained  his  office  as  he  may,  in 
preaching,  absolution,  marrying  and  exorcising, 
or  on  any  otiier  occasion,  when  he  appeals  to  his 
calling  before  the  congregation  or  against  the 
devil,  the  thought  once   occurs,   whether  he  is 


CHAP.  XVII.  14-18. 


169 


truly  sent  by  God.  Thus  the  example  of  the 
sons  of  Sceva  (Acts  xix.  14,  16)  is  no  longei- con- 
sidered, and  it  appears  that  the  devil  is  not  yet 
disposed  by  such  frightful  occurrences  to  inter- 
rupt the  atheistical  carelessness  of  the  teachers." 

ZiNZENDORF. 

9.  On  xiv.  15.  "  The  example  of  Pashur  and 
others  shortly  afterwards  confirms  this  discourse. 
This  is  an  important  point.  One  should  however, 
with  that  modesty  and  prudence,  which  Dr. 
WiESMANN  (Prof,  of  Theol.  in  Tiibingen),  who 
seems  called  of  God  to  be  a  writer  of  church  his- 
tory, in  his  Introd.  in  Memorabilia  historic  sacrse  N. 
T.  (1731  and  1745)  which  I  could  wish  were  in 
the  hands  of  all  teachers,  repeatedly  recommenis, 
have  regard  to  this  also,  when  so-called  judgments 
on  the  wicked  are  spoken  of,  that  when  the  Lord 
in  His  wisdom  and  omnipotence  exercises  justice 
on  such  transgressors  by  temporal  judgments, 
these  are  often  a  blessing  to  them  and  the  yet  re- 
maining means  of  their  salvation.  It  is  related 
that  a  certain  clergyman  in  a  Saxon  village, 
about  the  year  1730,  felt  such  a  judgment  upon 
himself  and  his  careless  ministry,  and  after  happy 
and  humble  preparation  on  a  usual  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer,  presented  himself  before  his 
church  as  an  example,  and  exercised  on  himself 
what  is  called  church  discipline,  whereupon  he  is 
said  to  have  fallen  down  dead  with  the  words, 

'  My  sin  is  deep  and  very  great, 

And  fills  my  heart  with  grief. 
0  for  thy  agony  and  death, 
Grant  me,  I  pray,  relief 

He  is  no  doubt  more  blessed,  and  his  remem- 
brance more  honorable,  than  thousands  of  others, 
who  are  praised  by  their  colleagues  in  funeral 
discourses  as  faithful  pastors,  and  at  the  same 
time,  or  already  before,  are  condemned  in  the 
first  but  invisible  judgment  as  dumb  dogs,  wolves 
or  hirelings."     Zinzendorf. 

10.  On  xiv.  16.  "Although  preachers  lead 
their  hearers  astray,  yet  the  hearers  are  not  thus 
excused.  But  when  they  allow  themselves  to  be 
led  astray,  the  blind  and  those  who  guide  them 
fall  together  into  the  ditch  (Luke  vi.  39)."  Cra- 
mer. ["  When  sinners  are  overwhelmed  with 
trouble,  they  must  in  it  see  their  own  wicked- 
ness poured  upon  them.  This  refers  to  the  wick- 
edness both  of  the  false  prophets  and  the  peo- 
ple ;  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  and  both  fall  to- 
gether into  the  ditch,  where  they  will  be  mise- 
rable comforters  one  to  another."  Henry. — S. 
R.  A.] 

11.  On  xiv.  19.  Chrysostom  refers  to  Rom.  xi. 
1  sqq.,  wtiere  the  answer  to  the  prophet's  ques- 
tion is  to  be  found. 

12.  On  xiv.  21.  "  Satan  has  his  seat  here  and 
there  (Rev.  ii.  13).  I  should  like  to  know  why 
the  Saviour  may  not  also  have  His  cathedral.  As- 
suredly He  has,  and  where  one  stands  He  knows 
how  to  maintain  it,  and  to  preserve  the  honor  of 
the  academy."     Zinzendorf. 

["Good  men  lay  the  credit  of  religion,  and 
its  profession  in  the  world,  nearer  their  hearts 
than  any  private  interest  or  concern  of  their 
own;  and  those  are  powerful  pleas  in  prayer 
which  are  fetched  from  thence,  and  great  sup- 
ports to  faith.  We  may  be  sure  that  God  will 
not  disgrace  the  throne  of  His  glory,  on  earth;  nor 
will  He  eclipse  the  glory  of  His   throne  by  one 


providence,  without  soon  making  it  shine  forth, 
and  more  brightly  than  before,  by  another.  God 
will  be  no  loser  in  His  honor  in  the  long  run." 
Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

13.  On  xiv.  22.  "  Testimony  to  the  omnipo- 
tence of  God,  for  His  are  both  counsel  and  deed 
(Prov.  viii.  14).  Use  it  for  consolation  in  every 
distress  and  for  the  true  apodictica  [demonstra- 
tion] of  all  articles  of  Christian  faith,  however 
impossible  they  may  appear."  Cramer. — ["  The 
sovereignty  of  God  should  engage,  and  His  all- 
sufficiency  encourage,  our  attendance  on  Him, 
and  our  expectations  from  Him,  at  all  times." 
Henry. — "  Hence  may  be  learned  a  useful  doc- 
trine— that  there  is  no  reason  why  punishments, 
which  are  signs  of  God's  wrath,  should  discou- 
rage us  so  as  to  prevent  us  from  venturing  to 
seek  pardon  from  Him ;  but  on  the  contrary  a 
form  of  prayer  is  here  prescribed  for  us;  for  if 
we  are  convinced  that  we  have  been  chastised  by 
God's  hand,  we  are  on  this  very  account  encou- 
raged to  hope  for  salvation ;  for  it  belongs  to  Him 
whio  wounds  to  heal,  and  to  Him  who  kills  to  re- 
store to  life."  Calvin.— S.  R.  A.] 

14.  On  XV.  1.  On  the  part  of  the  Catholics  it 
is  maintained  that  "  hoc  loco  refellitur  hsereticorum 
error  .  .  .  orationes  defunctorum  sanctorum  nihil  pro- 
desse  vivis.  Gontrarium  enim  p alius  ex  hisce  argu- 
endum  suggeritur,  nempe  istiusmodi  sanctorum  mor- 
tuorum  orationes  et  fieri  coram  Deo  solere  pro  viuen- 
iibus,  et  quando  viventes  ipsi  non  posuerlnt  ex  semet 
obicem,  illas  esse  iis  maxime  proftcuas.  Ghisl.  Tom. 
II.  p.  296).  To  this  it  is  replied  on  the  part  of 
the  Protestants.  1.  Enu7itiat,io  isthsec  plane  est 
hypotheiica.  2.  Eo  tantum  special,  ul  s'l  Moses  et 
Samuel  in  vivis  adhue  essent,  adeoque  in  his  terris 
pro  populo  preces  interponereiit  suas,  perinde  ut  ille, 
Ex.  xxxii.  hie  vero  1  Sam.  vii.  (Forstee,  S. 
86)."  He  also  adds  two  testimonies  of  the  fa- 
thers against  the  invocation  of  saints.  One  from 
Augustine,  who  (^contra  Maximin.,  L.  1),  calls 
such  invocation  sacrilegium,  the  other  from  Epi- 
PHANius  who  [Heeres  2)  names  it  an  error  seducto- 
rum,  and  adds  "  non  sanctos  colimus,  sed sanctorum, 
dominum.^' — That  the  intercession  of  the  living 
for  each  other  is  effective,  Cramer  testifies,  say- 
ing "Intercession  is  powerful,  and  is  not  without; 
fruit,  when  he  who  prays  and  he  for  whom  he 
prays  are  of  like  spirit."  Comp.  Rom.  xv.  30;  2 
Cor.  i.  11;  Eph.  vi.  18,  19;  1  Tim.  IL  1,  2;  1 
John  V.  16.  [To  the  same  effect  also  Calvin  and 
Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

15.  On  XV.  4  b.  "  Scilicet  in  vulgus  manant  ex- 
empla  regentum,  utque  ducum  lituos,  sic  mores  castra 
seguuntur." — ^'^  Non  sic  infleclere  sensus  humanos 
edicla  valent  ut  vita  regentum.'^ — "  Qualis  rex  talis 
grex."     F()kster. 

16.  "  God  keeps  an  exact  protocol  [register] 
of  sins,  and  visits  them  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generation."  Cramer.  ["See  what  uncertain 
comforts  children  are  ;  and  let  us  therefore  re- 
joice in  them  as  though  we  rejoiced  not."  Henry. 
— S.  R.  A.] 

17.  On  XV.  5.  "When  Gotl  abandons  us  we 
are  abandoned  also  by  the  holy  angels,  and  all 
creatures.  For  as  at  court  when  two  eyes  are 
turned  away  the  whole  court  turns  away;  so 
\/hen  the  Lord  turns  away  all  His  hosts  tura 
away  also."     Cramer. 

18.  On  XV.  7.    "  God  as  a  faithful  husbandman 


170 


THE  PROPHET  JEREJIkllAH. 


has  all  kinds  of  instruments  for  cleaning  His 
grain.  He  has  two  kinds  of  besoms  and  two 
kinds  of  winnowing-fan.  With  one  He  cleanses, 
•winnows  the  grain  and  sweeps  the  floor,  so  that 
the  chaflF  may  be  separated  from  the  good  wheat. 
This  is  done  by  the  Fatherly  cross.  But  if  this 
does  not  avail  He  takes  in  hand  the  besom  of  de- 
struction." Cramer. 

19.  On  XV.  10.  "  The  witnesses  of  Jesus  have 
the  name  among  others  of  being  hard  and  rough 
people,  from  whom  they  cannot  escape  without 
quarreling.  It  is  not  only  a  reproach  which 
Ahab  and  such  like  make  to  Elijah,  'Art  thou  he 
that  troubleth  Israel?'  (1  Ki.  xix.  17).  But 
even  true-hearted  people  like  Obadiah  do  not 
thoroughly  trust  to  them;  every  one  has  the 
thought,  if  they  would  only  behave  more  gently 
it  would  be  just  as  well  and  make  less  noise. 
Meanwhile  the  poor  Elijah  is  sitting  there,  know- 
ing not  what  to  do ;  a  Jeremiah  laments  the  day 
of  his  birth  .  .  .  why  am  I  then  such  a  monster  ? 
Why  such  an  apple  of  discord  ?  What  manner 
have  I  ?  How  do  I  speak?  '  For  when  I  speak, 
they  are  for  war'  (Ps.  cxx.  7).  He  does  not  at 
once  remember  that  they  called  the  master  Beel- 
zebub, and  persecuted  all  the  prophets  before 
him ;  that  his  greatest  sin  is  that  he  cares  for 
the  interests  of  Jesus  in  opposition  to  Satan." 
ZiNZENDORF.  ["  Eveu  ihose  who  are  most  quiet 
and  peaceable,  if  they  serve  God  faithfully,  are 
often  made  men  of  strife.  We  can  but  folloio 
peace;  we  have  the  making  only  of  one  side  of 
the  bargain,  and  therefore  can  but,  as  much  as  in 
us  lies,  live  peaceably."     Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

20.  On  XV.  10  b.  (I  have  neither  lent  nor  bor- 
rowed at  usury).  "  My  dear  Jeremiah!  Thou 
mightest  have  done  that;  that  is  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  country,  there  would  be  no 
such  noise  about  that.  There  is  no  instance  of  a 
preacher  being  persecuted  because  he  cared  for 
his  household.  But  to  take  payment  in  such  na- 
tural products  as  human  souls,  that  is  ground  of 
distrust,  that  is  going  too  far,  that  thou  carriest 
too  high,  and  thou  must  be  more  remiss  therein, 
otherwise  all  will  rise  up  against  thee  ;  thou  wilt 
be  suspended,  removed,  imprisoned  or  in  some 
■way  made  an  end  of,  for  that  is  pure  disorder 
and  innovation,  that  smacks  of  spiritual  revolu- 
tionary movements."     Zinzendorf. 

'Jl.  On  XV.  lo  a.  (Thou  knovvest  that  for  thy 
sake  I  have  suffered  reproach).  "  Tiiis  is  the 
only  thing  that  a  servant  of  the  Lamb  of  God 
should  care  for,  that  he  does  indeed  suffer  not  the 
least  in  that  he  has  disguised  and  disfigured  the 
doctrine  of  God  and  his  Saviour.  .  .  .  It  might  be 
wished  that  no  servant  of  the  Lord^  especially 
in  small  cities  and  villages,  would  now  and  then 
make  a  quarrel  to  relieve  the  tedium,  which  will 
occupy  the  lialf  of  his  life,  and  of  which  it  may 
be  said  in  the  end:  vinco  vel  vincor,  semper  ego 
macnlor."     Zinzendorf. 

22  On  XV.  16.  "The  sovereign  sign  of  a  little 
flock  depending  on  Christ  is  sucli  a  hearty,  spi- 
ritual tender  disposition  towards  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, that  they  find  no  greater  pleasure  than  in 
their  simple  but  heart-searching  truths.  I,  poor 
ch'ld,  if  I  but  look  into  the  I'ible,  am  happy  for 
several  hours  after.  1  know  not  what  misery  i 
couhl  not  alleviate  at  once  witli  a  little  Sci'ipiure." 
Zinzendorf.     [On  ver.  17.   "  It  is  the  folly  and 


infirmity   of  some    good   people    that    they  lose 
much  of  tlie  pleasantness  of  their  religion  by  the 
fretfulness  and  uneasiness  of  their  natural  tern 
per,  which  they  humor  and  indulge   instead   of 
mortifying  it."   Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

23.  On  XV.  19,  a.  (ilnd  thou  shalt  stand  before 
me  :  [Luther:  thou  shalt  remain  my  preacher]) 
"  Hear  ye  this,  ye  servants  of  the  Lord  !  Ye 
may  be  suspended,  removed,  lose  your  income 
and  your  office,  suffer  loss  of  house  and  home, 
but  ye  will  again  be  preachers.  This  is  the 
word  of  promise.  *  *  *  And  if  one  is  dismissed 
from  twelve  places,  and  again  gets  a  new  place, 
he  is  a  preacher  to  thirteen  congregations.  For 
in  all  the  preceding  his  innocence,  his  cross,  his 
faith  preach  more  powerfully  than  if  he  himself 
were  there."  Zinzendorf. 

Note. — On  this  it  may  be  remarked  that  in 
order  to  be  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  have  a  church. 

24.  On  XV.  19  b.  (Before  thou  return  to  them) 
"We  can  get  no  better  comfort  than  this,  that 
our  faithful  Lord  Himself  assures  us  against 
ourselves.  I  will  make  thee  so  steady,  so  dis- 
creet, so  well-founded,  so  immovable,  that,  hard 
as  the  human  heart  is,  and  dead  and  opposed,  yet 
it  will  be  rather  possible  that  they  all  yield  to 
thee,  than  that  thou  shouldest  be  feeble  or  slack 
and  go  over  to  them."  Zinzendorf. 

25.  On  XV.  20.  "  A  preacher  must  be  like  a 
bone,  outwardly  hard,  inwardly  full  of  marrow." 
FoRSTER.  ["  Ministers  must  take  those  whom 
they  see  to  hQ  precious  into  their  bosoms,  and  not 
sit  alone,  as  Jeremiah  did,  but  keep  up  conversa- 
tion with  those  they  do  good  to,  and  get  good  by." 
Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

26.  On  xvi.  2.  "It  is  well-known  that  in  no 
condition  is  celibacy  attended  by  so  many  evils 
as  in  that  of  the  clergy  and  that  this  condition 
entails  in  a  certain  measure  a  present  necessity 
of  marrying.  For  if  any  one  needs  a  helpmeet 
to  be  by  his  side,  it  is  the  man  who  must  be  sac- 
rificed to  so  many  different  men  of  all  classes. 
But  all  this  must  be  arranged  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. Ye  preachers!  Is  it  made  out  that 
ye  marry  only  for  Jesus  ?  .  .  .  that  you  have 
the  church  alone  as  your  object  ?  and  that  you 
subject  yourselves  to  all  the  hardships  of  this 
condition  with  its  tribulations  only  for  the  profit 
of  many  ?  First,  then,  examine  maturely  in 
your  offices,  whether  there  is  no  word  of  the  Lord, 
whether  circumstances  do  not  show,  whether 
there  is  not  an  exception  from  the  rule  in  your 
case,  that  you  are  to  take  no  wife  ;  whether  Paul 
does  not  call  to  you  in  spirit,  '  1  would  that  thou 
wert  as  I.'  May  it  not  sometimes  be  saidV  '  Take 
no  wife  at  this  time  or  at  this  place!'  or  '  Take  not 
another!'  How  does  the  matter  look  on  closer 
examination?  The  rather,  as  it  is  known  to 
the  servants  of  Christ  to  be  no  hyperbolical 
speech,  when  it  is  said,  'The  minister  has  slain 
his  tliousands,  but  the  ininister's  wife  her  ten 
thousands.'  He  that  loves  anything  more  than 
Christ  is  not  worthy  of  Him.  If  it  cannot  be 
cured  endure  it.  But  see  to  it  the  more,  that 
tiiose  who  have  wives  be  as  those  who  have  them 
not  (1  Cor.  vii.  29).  Lead  your  wife  in  prayer 
diligently  and  plainly,  as  Moses  with  Zipporah 
(Hxod.  iv.  25,  Surely  a  bloody  husband  art  thou 
to  uie).     If  they  would  not  have  you  dead  they 


CHAP.  XVII.  14-18. 


171 


must  leave  you  your  Lord.  I  know  not  when 
anything  was  so  pleasing  to  me  as  when  I  saw  a 
certain  minister's  wife  weeping  sorely  from  ap- 
prehension that  her  husband  would  not  endure  a 
certain  trial.  She  saw  clearly  that  he  would  re- 
tain his  charge,  but  she  feared  the  Saviour  would 
make  it  hard  to  him."   Zinzendokf. 

27.  On  xvi.  2.  "  Ridiculi  sunt  Fapicolse,  qui  ex 
hoc  typo  articulum  religionis  su%  de  coelibalu  sacer- 
dotumexstruereconanfur.  Nam\.  tola  hsec  res  fuit 
typica.  Typica  auteni  et  symboUca  theologia  non  est 
argumentativa  juxUi  axioma  Tliotnm.  2.  Non  sim- 
pliciter  interdicitur  conjugium  prophetx  in  omni  loco, 
sed  tantum  in  ho-  loco."   Forster. 

28.  On  xvi.  7.  This  passage  (as  also  Isa.  Iviii. 
7)  is  used  by  the  Lutheran  theologians  to  prove 
that  panem  frangere  may  be  equivalent  to  panem 
distribuere,  as  also  Luther  translates :  "  They 
will  not  distribute  bread  among  them."  This  is 
admitted  by  the  Reformed,  who,  however,  remark 
that  it  does  not  follow  from  this  that  frangere  et 
distribuere  also  "in  Sacramento  sequipoUere,  quod 
esset  a  particulari  ad  particulare  argumentari.'" 
Comp.  TuRRETiN.,  Inst.  Theol.  Elencht.  Tom.  III., 
p.  499. 

29.  On  xvi.  8.  "When  people  are  desperately 
bad  and  will  not  be  told  so,  they  must  be  regarded 
as  heathen  and  publicans  (Matt.  xvii.  18;  Tit.  iii. 
10;   1  Cor.  V.  9)."  Cramer. 

30.  On  xvi.  19.  "  The  calling  of  the  heathen 
is  very  consolatory.  For  as  children  are  rejoiced 
at  heart  when  they  see  that  their  parents  are 
greatly  honored  and  obtain  renown  and  praise 
in  all  lands,  so  do  all  true  children  of  God  rejoice 
when  they  see  that  God's  name  is  honored  and 
His  glory  more  widely  extended."  Cramer. — 
This  passage  is  one  of  those  which  predict  the 
extension  of  the  true  religion  among  all  nations, 
and  are  therefore  significant  as  giving  impulse 
and  comfort  in  the  work  of  missions.  Comp. 
Deut.  xxxii.  21;  Hos.  ii.  1,  25;  Joel  iii.  5;  Isa. 
xlix.  6;  Ixv.  1 :   Rom.  x.  12  sqq. 

31.  On  xvi.  21.  "  Nothing  can'be  learned  from 
God  without  God.  God  instructs  the  people  by 
His  mouth  and  His  hand,  verbis  et  verbeributs." 
Cramer. 

32.  On  xvii.  1.  '■'Scripta  est  et  fides  tua,  scripta 
est  et  culpa  tua,  sicut  Jeremias  dixit :  scripta  est 
Juda  culpa  tua  graphio  ferreo  et  ungue  adamantino . 
Et  scripta  est,  inquit,  in  pectore  et  in  corde  tuo. 
Ibi  igilur  culpa  est  ubi  gratia ;  sed  culpa  graphio 
scribitur,  gratia  spiritu  designatur.'"     Ambros.  de 

Sp.  s.  in.  2. 

33.  On  xvii.  1.  "  The  devil  is  God's  ape.  For 
when  he  sees  that  God  by  the  writing  of  His 
prophets  and  apostles  propagates  His  works  and 
wonders  to  posterity,  he  sets  his  own  pulpiteers 
to  work,  who  labor  with  still  greater  zeal,  and 
write  not  only  with  pens  and  ink,  but  also  with 
diamonds,  that  such  false  religion  may  have  the 
greater  respect  and  not  go  down."  Cramer. 

34.  On  xvii.  5. 

"  0  man  in  human  help  and  favor 
Trust  not,  for  all  is  vanity. 
The  curse  is  on  it, — happy  he, 
Who  trusts  alone  iu  Christ  the  Saviour." 

["When  water  is  blended  witlx  fire,  both  perish; 
80  when  one  seeks  in  part  to  trust  in  God  and  in 
part  to  trust  in  men,  it  is  the  same  as  though  he 
wished  to  mix  heaven  and  earth  together,  and  to 


throw  all  things  into  confusion.  It  is  then  to 
confound  the  order  of  nature,  when  men  imagine 
that  they  have  two  objects  of  trust,  and  ascribe 
half  their  salvation  to  God  and  the  other  half  to 
themselves  or  to  other  men."  Calvin. — S.  R.  A.] 

35.  On  xvii.  6.  "  A  teacher  is  commanded  to 
be  the  first  to  honor  the  authorities,  to  pray  for 
them  and  be  subject  to  them  as  God's  servants.  .  . 
But  since  the  authorities,  in  all  which  pertains 
to  the  concerns  of  the  soul,  have  part  only  as  mem- 
bers, there  is  great  occasion  for  this  cursed  de- 
pendence on  flesh  .  .  .  when  one  from  the  hope 
of  good  personal  protection  .  .  .  gives  up  the 
work  of  the  Lord  to  the  powers  of  the  earth. 
...  It  is  true  the  church  is  to  have  foster- 
parents  who  are  kings.  But  nevertheless  neither 
kings  nor  princes  are  its  tutelar  deities,  much 
less  lords  and  commanders  of  the  church,  but 
one  is  our  Master,  one  our  Judge,  one  our  King, 
the  Crucified."  Zin'zexdorf. 

36.  On  xvii.  5.  Reformed  theologians,  ex.  gr., 
Lambertus  DAN.EUS  {ob.  1596)  have  applied 
this  passage  in  the  sense  of  John  vi.  63,  in  their 
controversies  against  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of 
the  Supper.  But  as  Calvin  declared,  it  is  not 
the  flesh  of  Christ,  but  only  earthly  flesh  and 
that  per  contemtum  which  is  here  spoken  of. 
Comp.  FoRSTER,  S.  97. 

37.  On  xvii.  7.  "Blessed  are  those  teachers, 
who  have  betaken  themselves  to  His  protection, 
who  once  promised   His  Church,  that  even  the 

gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  it 

Who  has  ever  been  put  to  shame  who  trusted  in 
Him?"    Zinzendorf. 

38.  On  xvii.  9.  "  This  is  a  spiritual  anatomy 
of  the  heart.  Examples:  Manasseh  (2  Chron. 
xxxiii.)  ;  Hezekiah  (Isa.  xxxviii.  39);  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  (Num.  xiv.).  Alii  sumus  dum  Iseta- 
mur  et  omnia  in  vita  nobis  secundo  vento  succedunt; 
alii  vero  in  tcmporibus  calamitosis,  ubi  quid prseter 
sententiam  acciderit.  Comp.  Ser.  xi.  27."  (MS. 
note  in  my  copy  of  Cramer's  Bibel). 

39.  On  xvii.  9.  Na^e  Kal  fie/LCvaao  aiziaTEiv.  This 
applies  with  respect  to  ourselves  and  others. 
For  the  defiant  it  avails  as  an  extinguisher  (Horn, 
xii.  3) ;  but  the  despairing  may  be  reassured  by 
it  (1  John  iii.  19,  120). 

40.  On  xvii.  14.   (Thou  art  my  praise) 

'•  When  a  teacher  confines  himself  to  the  praisei 
of  the  cross  and  lets  all  other  matters  of  praiso 
go.  wliicli  might  adorn  a  theologian  of  these  times, 
and  adheres  immovably  to  this:  'I  am  deter- 
mined to  know  nothing  among  you  but  Jesuis 
Christ  the  crucified'  (1  Cor.  ii.  2), — amid  all  the 
shame  of  His  cross  He  is  victorious  over  the  rest." 
Zinzendorf. 

41.  On  xvii.  16.  (That  which  I  have  preached 
was  right  before  thee).  "  It  is  not  difficult  to 
know  in  these  times  what  is  right  before  the 
Lord.     There  is  His  word;  he  who  adheres  to  this 

strictly,  knows  in  thcsi  that  he  is  right In 

all  this  it  is  the  teacher's  chief  maxim,  not  to 
make  use  of  the  application  without  need,  but  to 
make  the  truth  so  plain  in  liis  public  discourse, 
that  the  hearers  must  necessarily  make  the  applica- 
tion to  themselves.  ..."  Thus  saying,  thou  re- 
proachest  us  also,'  said  the  lawyer  (Luke  xi.  45). 
.  .  .  .  Other.s  went  away  convicted  in  their  con- 
sciences."   Zinzendorf. 

42.  On    xvii.    17.    "That   is   a    period   whick 


172 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


straitens  the  hearts  of  witnesses,  when  their  rock, 
their  protection,  their  consolation,  their  trust  is 
a  terror  to  them.  But  under  this  we  must  bow 
and  faithfully  endure,  and  we  shall  have  a  peace- 
able fruit  of  righteousness.  Discipline  always 
ends  gloriously."  Zinzendorp. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

On  xiv.  7-9.  Jeremiah  a  second  Israel,  who 
wrestles  with  the  Lord  in  prayer.  1.  In  what  the 
Lord  is  strong  against  the  prophet:  the  sin  of  the 
people.  2.  In  what  the  prophet  is  strong  against 
the  Lord:  the  Name  of  the  Lord,  (a)  in  itself. 
This  compels  him  to  show  that  He  is  not  a  desper- 
ate hero,  or  giant,  who  cannot  help  ;  (6)  in  that 
His  name  is  borne  by  Israel.  Thus  the  Lord  is 
bound  to  show  Himself  as  He  who  is  in  Israel  (not 
a  guest  or  stranger),  and  consequently  the  Com- 
forter and  Helper  of  Israel. — Heim  und  Hoff- 
mann, The  Major  Prophets  (Winnenden,  1839).  As 
Daniel  (ix.  5)  prayed,  We  have  sinned  and  com- 
mitted iniquity,  etc.,  so  Jeremiah  took  his  share 
in  the  sin  and  guilt  of  his  people. — This  is  true 
penitence,  when  one  no  longer  wishes  to  contend 
with  God  in  tribulation,  but  confesses  his  sin  and 
condemnation,  when  he  sees  that  if  God  should 
treat  us  according  to  our  misdeeds.  He  could  find 
no  ground  for  grace.  But  for  His  name's  sake 
He  can  show  us  favor.  He  Himself  is  the  cause 
of  the  forgiveness  of  sin. — Calmer  Handbuch 
[Manual].  Notwithstanding  the  ungodliness  of 
the  people  the  prophet  may  still  say,  "  Thou  art 
among  us,"  because  the  temple  of  the  Lord  and 
His  word  were  still  in  the  land,  and  the  pious 
have  never  all  died  out.  [On  xiv.  7-9.  "Prayer 
hath  within  itself  its  own  reward.  The  prayer 
of  the  prophet  consists  of  confession  and  peti- 
tion. 1.  Confession  fitly  begins.  It  is  the  testi- 
mony of  iniquity,  and  that  this  iniquity  is. against 
God.  When  we  are  to  encounter  any -enemy  or 
difiiculty,  it  is  sin  weakens  us.  Now  confession 
weakens  it,  takes  off  the  power  of  accusation, 
etc.  2.  Petition:  For  Thy  name's  sake.  This  is 
the  unfailing  argument  which  abides  always  the 
same  and  hath  always  the  same  force.  The  chil- 
dren of  God  are  much  beholden  to  their  troubles 
for  clear  experiences  of  themselves  and  God. 
Though  thou  art  not  clear  in  thy  interest  as  a 
believer,  yet  plead  thy  interest  as  a  sinner,  which 
thou  art  sure  of."   Leighton. — S.  R.  A.] 

2.  On  xiv.  13-16.  Against  false  prophets.  1. 
They  tell  the  world  what  it  likes  to  hear  (ver. 
13)  ;  2.  The  Lord  denies  them  (ver.  14)  ;  3.  The 
Lord  punishes  them  (ver.  15)  ;  4.  The  Lord  also 
punishes  those  who  allow  themselves  to  be  de- 
ceived by  them  (ver.  16). — Tub.  Bibelw.:  To  en- 
ter the  preacher's  office  without  divine  calling, 
what  an  abomination  is  that !  But  mark  this,  ye 
iirelings !  the  sentence  of  condemnation  is  al- 
ready pronounced  over  you  (.ler.  xxiii.  21 ;  Matt, 
vii.  15). — OsiANDER  Bibl.:  God  avenges  the  de- 
ception of  false  teachers  most  severely,  if  not  in 
this  world  in  the  next  (Acts  xiii.  10,  11). — 
Starke  :  God  punishes  both  deceivers  and  de- 
ceived, the  latter  cannot  then  lay  all  the  guilt 
on  the  former  (xxvii.  45). 

3.  On  xiv.  19-22.  The  church's  distress  and 
consolation.  1.  The  distress  is  {n)  outward 
(ver.  19),  [b)  inward  (ver.  20,  the  reason  of  the 


outward,  confession).  2.  The  consolation  (a). 
The  Lord's  Name,  [a]  It  is  called  and  is  One 
(ver.  22):  [/3]  His  glory  and  that  of  the  church 
(throne  of  glory)  are  one;  (6)  the  Lord's  cove- 
nant (ver.  21). — What  in  the  present  circum- 
stances should  be  our  position  towards  God?  1. 
The  divine  providence,  in  which  we  are  at  pres- 
ent: 2.  Our  confession,  which  we  make  before 
God :  3.  Our  petition,  which  we  should  address 
to  Him.  Voelter  in  Palmer's  .£■('.  Casual- Reden. 
[Occasional  Discourses],  4th  Ed.,  1865. 

4.  On  XV.  16.  Sermon  on  a  Reformation  or 
Bible- Anniversary.  The  candlestick  of  the  Gos- 
pel has  been  rejected  by  more  than  one  church. 
We  therefore  pray:  Preserve  to  us  Thy  word  (Ps. 
cix.  43).  1.  Why  we  thus  pray  (Thy  Word  is  our 
hearts'  joy  and  comfort) ;  2.  Why  we  hope  to  be 
heard  (for  we  are  named  by  Thy  name). 

5.  On  XV.  19.  Caspar!  [Installation- sermon  at 
Munich,  Adv.,  1855).  These  words  treat;  1,  of 
tlie  firm  endurance  ;  2,  of  the  holy  zeal ;  3,  of  the 
joyful  confidence,  with  which  a  preacher  of  God 
must  come  to  an  evangelical  church. 

6.  Homilies  of  Origen  are  extant  on  xv.  5  and 
6;  (Horn.  XII.,  Ed.  Lommatzsch)  ;  xv.  10-19 
(Hom.  XIV.);  xv.  10;  xvii.  5  (Horn.  XV.).  [On 
XV.  20.  "I.  God's  qualification  to  be  an  over- 
seer of  the  church.  The  metaphor  of  a  wall  im- 
plies, (1)  courage,  (2)  innocence  and  integrity, 
(3)  authority.  II.  The  opposition  a  church- 
governor  will  be  sure  to  meet  with,  (1)  by  se- 
ditious preaching  and  praying,  (2)  by  railing 
and  libels  ;  (3)  perhaps  by  open  force.  III.  The 
issue  and  success  of  such  opposition  (they  shall 
not  prevail)."  South. — S.  R.  A.] 

7.  On  xvi.  19-21.  Missionary  Sermon.  The 
true  knowledge  of  God.  1.  It  is  to  be  had  in 
Christianity  (ver.  19,  a).  2.  It  will  also  make 
its  way  to  the  heathen,  for  (a)  It  is  God's  will 
that  they  should  be  instructed  (ver.  21) ;  (6)  they 
are  ready  to  be  instructed  (ver.  19  b.  20). 

8.  On  xvii.  5-8.  The  blessing  of  faith  and  the 
curse  of  unbelief  (comp.  Ebalund  Gerizim).  1. 
Why  does  the  curse  come  upon  the  unbeliever? 
(He  departs  in  his  heart  from  the  Lord).  2. 
Wherein  this  curse  consists  (ver.  6).  3.  Why 
must  blessing  be  the  portion  of  the  believer?  (ver. 
7).     4.   Wherein  this  blessing  consists  (ver.  8). 

9.  On  xvii.  6-8,  and  xviii.  7-10.  Schleier- 
macher  (Sermon  on  28  Mar.,  1813,  in  Berlin) : 
We  regard  the  great  change  (brought  about  by 
tlie  events  of  the  period)  on  the  side  of  our  worthi- 
ness before  God.  1.  What  in  this  respect  is  ita 
peculiar  import  and  true  nature.  2.  To  what 
we  must  then  feel  ourselves  summoned. 

10.  On  xvii.  9,  10.  The  human  heart  and  its 
judge.  1.  The  antithesis  in  the  human  heart. 
2.  The  impossibility  of  fathoming  it  with  human 
eyes.  3.  The  omniscient  God  alone  sees  through 
it;  and  4,  judges  it  with  justice.  ["  The  heart 
is  deceitful — it  always  has  some  trick  or  other 
by  which  to  shuffle  off  conviction."  Henry. — "It 
is  extremely  difficult  for  sinners  to  know  their 
hearts.  I.  What  is  implied  in  their  knowing 
their  own  hearts.  1.  It  implies  a  knowledge  of 
their  selfishness.  2.  Of  their  desperate  incura- 
ble wickedness.  3.  Of  their  extreme  deceitful- 
ness.  II.  Why  it  is  so  extremely  difficult  for 
them  to  know  their  own  hearts.  1.  They  are 
unwilling  to  know  them.     2.  Because  of  the  de- 


CHAP.  XVII.  19-27. 


17S 


ceitfulaess  of  sin.  They  love  or  hate,  as  they 
appear  friendly  or  unfriendly  to  them:  [a)  God, 
(6)  Christ,  (c)  good  men,  [d)  one  another,  («)  the 
world,  (/)  their  own  hearts,  {g)  the  means  of 
grace,  (h)  their  convictions,  (i)  heaven — Improve- 
ment. The  only  way  to  know  the  heart  is  to  in- 
quire whether  it  loves  God  or  not,  e<c.  2.  Saints 
O'j.u  more  easily  ascertain  their  true  character 
than  sinners  can.  3.  All  changes  in  life  are 
trials  of  the  heart,"  etc.,  etc.  Emmons. — "  I.  The 
human  heart  exhibits  great  fraud  and  treachei-y. 
1.  We  are  changeable  by  that  connection  which 
the  soul  has  with  the  body.  2.  By  its  connec- 
tion with  external  objects  by  our  senses.  3.  By 
its  love  of  novelty  and  variety.  4.  By  its  hasty 
resolutions.  5.  By  its  self-love.  II.  Its  exces- 
sive malice  is  seen  in  history  and  experience. 
III.  Its  deep  dissimulation  and  hypocrisy  render 
it  inscrutable.  Inferences:  1.  We  should  en- 
tertain a  sober  diffidence  of  ourselves.  2.  We 
should  not  be  surprised  when  men  use  us  ill  or 
disappoint  us.  3.  We  should  take  care  and  give 
good  principles  and  a  good  example  to  those 
young  persons  under  our  guidance.  4.  We 
should  be  ready  to  confess  our  offences  to  God. 
5.  We  should  bear  in  mind  that  we  are  under  the 


inspection  of  one  who  searcheth  the  hearts,"  etc. 
JoiiTiN. — See  also  two  Sermons  by  Jer.  Taylor. 
— S.  R.  A.]. 

11.  Run.  KcEGEL  (Court  and  Cathedral  preacher 
at  Berlin,  1865).  Sermon  on  xvii.  9,  19,  and 
Heb.  xiii.  9:  Two  pictures:  1,  the  uuregenerate  ; 
2,  the  regenerate  heart. 

12.  On  xvii.  12,  18.  Sermon  for  the  dedication 
of  a  church,  the  anniversary  of  the  Reformation, 
or  on  Whitsunday.  The  church  of  the  Lord.  1. 
What  it  is  in  itself  (place  of  sanctuary,  throne 
of  divine  glory,  house  of  Him,  who  is  Israel's 
hope).  2.  What  it  will  be  (it  will  ever  remain 
firm,  Matt.  xvi.  18) :  3.  What  they  find  who  for- 
sake it  (ver.  19). 

13.  On  xvii.  14-18.  Cry  for  help  of  a  preacher 
tempted  on  account  of  the  truth.  1.  The  tempta- 
tion (ver.  15).  2.  The  demonstration  of  inno- 
cence (ver.  16).  3.  The  cry  for  help,  (a)  nega- 
tive (vers.  17  and  18),  (6)  positive  (ver.  19).  [On 
xvii.  14.  The  penitent's  prayer.  1.  The  words 
express  an  earnest  desire  for  salvation.  2.  He 
applies  to  Almighty  God  for  it.  3.  Through  the 
medium  of  prayer.  4.  With  confidence  that  he 
will  be  heard.  Dr.  A.  Thomson  of  Edinburgh. — 
S.  R.  A.]. 


6.  THE  SIXTH  DISCOURSE. 

(Chap.  XVII.  19-27.) 

7'his  short  passage  is  closely  connected  neither  with  what  precedes  nor  with  what  follows.  Mttny  commen- 
tators have,  indeed,  devised  an  extensive  frame,  so  as  to  include  this  passage  in  it  together  with  the  pre- 
vious or  subsequent  context,  but  these  artificial  expedients  are  fiot  satisfactory.  The  previous  discourse 
is,  as  shoivn  above,  complete  in  itself,  and  requires  no  further  addition.  The  following  passages  are 
also  as  peculiar  and  independent  as  this.  This  forms  a  small  but  important  and  in  form  a  finished 
whole.      Why  should  not  the  prophet  have  addressed  short  speeches  to  the  people  ? 

As  to  the  date,  all  is  in  favor  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim.  1 .  The  state  still  exists  in  unenfeebled  inde- 
pendence ;  no  trace  betrays  that  the  power  of  the  Chaldeans  had  become  predominant,  or  that  they  were 
immediately  threatening.  2.  The  censure  of  the  transgression  of  so  important  a  command  corresponds 
rather  with  the  times  of  the  godless  Jehoiakim,  than  of  the  pious  Josiah.  The  great  similarity  with 
zxii.  1-5,  which  passage  indubitably  pertains  to  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  is  in  favor  of  referring  this 
discourse  to  the  same  period.  [Henderson:  "  Eichhorn,  Rosenmiiller  and  Maurer,-are  of  opinion 
that  this  portion  of  the  chapter  belongs  to  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  7vho  rapidly  undid  all  the  good  which 
had  been  effected  by  Josiah,  and  among  other  evils  encouraged  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath,  with 
the  due  observance  of  which  the  prosperity  of  the  State  was  bound  up.  The  language  of  the  prophet, 
however,  is  not  objurgatory,  as  we  should  have  expected,  if  the  profanation  in  question  had  actually 
existed.  It  is  rather  that  of  caution  and  warning,  with  a  promise  of  prosperity  in  case  of  obedience, 
and  a  threatening  of  destruction  to  the  city  in  case  of  disobedience.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  to  belong 
to  the  time  of  Josiah,  and  to  have  been  delivered  in  connection  tvith  or  shortly  after  his  reformation." 
— Hitziq  refers  this  passage  together  with  chapter  xwiii.,  to  the  period  of  Jeconiah,  or  that  immediately 
following  the  death  of  Jehoiakim. — S.  R.  A.] 

EXHORTATION    TO    HALLOW   THE    SABBATH. 


XVII.    19-27. 

19  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  unto  me ;  Go  and  stand  in  the  gate  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  people,'  whereby  the  kings  of  Judah  come  in,  and  by  the  which  they 

20  go  out,  and  in  all  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  ;  And  say  unto  them,  Hear  ye  the  word 
of  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  ye  kings  of  Judah  and  all  Judah,  and  all  the  inhabitants 

21  of  Jerusalem  that  enter  in  by  these  gates :  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  Take 
heed  ye  to  yourselves  [Care  with  foresight  for  your  souls],^  and  bear  no  burden  oq 


174 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


22  the  Sabbath-day,  nor  bring  it  in  by  the  gates  of  Jerusalem ;  neither  carry  forth  a 
burden  out  of  your  houses  on  the  Sabbath  day,  neither  do  ye  any  work,  but  hallow 

23  ye  the  Sabbath-day,  as  I  commanded  your  fathers.  But  ihey  obeyed  [heard]  not, 
neither  inclined  their  ear,  but  made  their  neck  stilf,  that  they  might  nut  hear^  nor 

24  receive  instruction.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  ye  diligently  hearken  unto  me, 
saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  to  bring  in  no  burden  through  the  gates  of  this  city  on 
the  Sabbath-day,  but  hallow  the  Sabbath  day  to  do   [by  doing]  no  work  therein;* 

25  then  shall  there  enter  into  [through]  the  gates  of  this  city  kings  and  princes"  sitting 
upon  [who  sit  on]  the  throne  of  David,  riding  in  chariots  and  on  horses,  they  and 
their  princes,  the  men  of  Judah  and  the   inhabitants  of  Jerusalem ;  and  this  city 

26  shall  remain  [be  inhabited]  forever.  And  they  shall  come  from  the  cities  of  Judah 
and  from  the  places  about  [environs  of]  Jerusalem  and  from  the  land  of  Benjamin, 
and  from  the  plains  and  from  the  mountains,  and  from  the  south,  bringing  [people 
who  bring]  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  and  meat-offerings  and  incense,  and  bring- 

27  ing  sacrifices  of  praise  unto  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah].  But  if  ye  will  not 
hearken  unto  me  to  hallow  the  Sabbath  day,  and  not  to  bear  a  burden,  even  enter- 
ing [or  enter]  into  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  on  the  Sabbath-day ;  then  will  I  kindle 
a  fire  in  the  [your]  gates  thereof,  and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  of  Jerusalem 
and  it  shall  not  be  quenched. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  19. — [HiTZio  :  Of  the  common  man].  The  Chethibh  reads  DJ^~' J3,  but  this  does  not  make  any  difference  in  the 
gense.  If  the  absence  of  the  article  is  not  due  to  an  oversight,  it  may  lie  explained  by  the  later,  less  exact  use  of  language, 
of  which  we  repeatedly  find  traces  in  Jeremiah  (comp.  iii.  2  ;  vi.  16;  xiv.  18). 

2  Ver.  21.— D01li'3J3.  The  construction  is  like  Mai.  ii.  15,  16,  DDHnS.  But  3  is  not  =6y,  ^jer,  after  verba  of 
petition  or  conjuration  (by  your  life  not.  Fid.  Gesen.,  Thes.  IIL,  S.  1443),  or^for  the  sake  of  (Meier),  but  the  Niphal  in- 
volves the  meaning  of  having  regard  to,  observing,  and  3  depends  on  this.    Comp.  'nj^J^  'D~nD2/,  2  Sam.  xviii.  12.    That 

this  is  the  sense  of  the  connection  follows  plainly  from  2  Sam.  xx.  10,  "  took  no  heed  to  the  sword  ;"  Deut.  xxiv.  8,  "  take 
heed  to  the  plague."     Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  100,  3. 

8  Ver.  23. — ^yoili?  [Chethibh,  ^MDtJ/J  Hiller  in  Arcano  Kri  et  KHih,  remarks  that  the  Masoretes,  when  they  wished 
to  indicate  the  SIcriptio  plena,  in  order  that  the  difference  of  their  reading  might  be  remarked,  set  the  mater  hctionis  in  an- 
other place  in  the  woril.  So  also  in  ii  25;  ix.  7  ;  xxvii.  1 ;  xxix.  23  ;  xxxii.  23.  Comp.  the  Explicatio  leclionum  masoret.  in 
the  Hebrew  Bible  of  Simonis,  Halle,  1752. 

<  Ver.  24.— On  the  form  T\2-    Comp.  Ewald,  g  84,  & ;  247,  d.    Olsh.  §  96,  c;  40,  h. 

5  Ver.  25. — D'^tJ'1  is  strange.     Graf  not  without  reason,  assumes  au  oversight,  caused  by  the  frequent  juxtaposition 
•  T  : 
of  the  two  words.    Comp.xlix.  38;  Hos.  xiii.  10;  2  Sam.  xviii.  5;   1  Chron.  xxiv.  6;  2  Chron.  xxviii.  21;  xxix.  30;  xxx. 
12;  Esth.  i.  16,  21,  tic. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Jeremiah  is  to  go  under  the  gate  of  the  city  and 
there  warn  all  the  people  from  the  king  down- 
wards against  the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath 
by  bearing  burdens  and  laboring  as  their  fathers 
had  done  (vers.  18-23).  If  they  would  sanctify 
the  Sabbath,  their  city  should  remain  forever, 
and  their  gate  should  be  witnesses  of  a  lively 
traffic,  of  importance  to  the  king's  house,  the  city 
and  the  temple  (vers.  24-26).  But  if  they  should 
eontinue  to  desecrate  the  Sabbath,  an  inex- 
tinguishable fire  should  consume  the  gates  and 
palaces  of  the  city  (ver.  27).  Accordingly  three 
parts  may  be  distinguished  in  this  passage. 

Vers.  19-2.3.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  nor 
receive  instruction. — Go,  etc.  (Vimp.  ii.  2; 
iii.  12;  xix.  1.— Gate  of  the  children  of  the 
people.  This  gate  is  mentioned  here  only.  It 
is,  therefore,  difficult  to  determine  its  position 
with  certainty,  as  according  to  Von  Raumer 
(Pala.il.,  4th  Ed.,  5.  291),  not  two  interpreters 
agree  as  to  its  position.  The  first  question  is 
whether  it  was  a  pate  of  the  city  or  of  the  tem- 
ple. Graf  correctly  remarks  that,  witli  respect 
to  a  gate  of  the  city  IX^'  must  stand  first  and 
IJ^^'  last  (comp.  2  Chron.   xxiii.  8).     The  name 


Dj^ri'^JD  would  also  be  a  very  strange  one  for  a  city 
gate.  The  expression  occurs  with  three  mean- 
ings. 1.  It  designates  the  difference  between 
strangers  and  natives,  although  in  this  sense  DJT 
is  found  in  the  Old  Testament  not  with  the  arti- 
cle, but  only  with  suffixes  :  Gen.  xxiii.  11 ;  Judges 
xiv.  16;  Lev.  xix.  18;  Ezek.  iii.  11;  Num.  xxii.  5; 
Lev.  XX.  17. — 2.  It  designates  a  difference  in  rank 
among  the  people  themselves,  and  in  two  degrees, 
the  mass  of  the  people  in  opposition  to  the  king 
and  the  princes  (2  Chron.  xxxv.  7  coll.  8),  and 
again  the  commonalty  in  opposition  to  the  more 
respectable  classes  (Jer.  xxvi.  23;  2  Kings  xxiii. 
6). — 3.  The  expression  designates  the  difference 
between  priests  and  not  priests,  in  which  sense 
it  corresponds  to  our  term  "laity"  (2  Chron. 
xxxv.  5,  12,  13).  It  occurs  only  in  the  passages 
cited.  Since  now  nothing  is  known  of  a  gate 
of  tlie  city  through  which  strangers  might  not 
pass,  or  of  one  through  which  only  the  kings 
and  the  dregs  of  the  people,  or  only  the  kings 
and  the  rest  of  their  subjects  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  priests  might  pass,  it  follows  that  the  gate 
must  have  been  a  gate  of  the  temple  through 
which  only  the  laity  went  in  and  out,  since  spe- 
cial entrances  were  reserved  for  the  priests. 
What  gate  it  was  it  is  difficult  to  say.  The  ex- 
pression was  probably   nut  ouj  in  general   use, 


CHAP.  XVII.  19-27. 


17* 


but  employed  only  by  the  priests,  since  accord- 
ing to  the  second  explanation  it  included  a  some- 
what dishonorable  side-meaning.  The  rarity  of 
the  expression  also  justifies  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  a  temporary  expression,  i.  e.,  in  use  only 
in  those  times,  since  as  is  well-known  the  city- 
gates  of  Jerusalem  bore  successively  different 
names.  Comp.  Raumeii's  Paldst.  S.  290,  1. — 
When  in  2  Chron.  xxiii.  5,  the  high-priest  Je- 
hoiada  posted  a  third  of  his  people  at  the  "Ij^E^ 

niD"'?!'  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  this  was  the 

gate  through  which  he  expected  Athaliah  to  pass. 
It  is  then  further  probable  that  this  gate  was 
identical  with  the  one  mentioned  in  our  passage 
"whereby  the  kings  of  Judah  went  in  and  out." 
[Henderson  : — "  The  gate  of  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple .  .  was  in  all  probability  the  gate  of  David, 
corresponding  to  what  is  now  called  the  Jaffa 
Gate,  and  was  called  the  '  people's  '  gate  from  the 
circumstance  of  its  being  the  principal  thorough- 
fare for  the  tribes  in  the  South,  the  West,  and 
the  North-West."— S.  R.  A.]  That  this  gate, 
even  were  it  a  gate  of  the  temple,  was  adapted 
to  the  proclamation  of  this  divine  message,  is 
evident  if  we  reflect  (a),  that  this  gate  also  might 
by  the  purchase  and  sale  of  temple-necessaries 
(comp.  Matth.  xxi.  12)  be  the  scene  of  Sabbath- 
desecrating  traffic  ;  (b)  that  even  if  this  was  not 
the  case,  at  any  rate  the  gate  was  one  which  was 
much  frequented,  perhaps  more  than  all  the  rest. 
— Not  do  any  w^ork.  Comp.  Exod.  xii.  16; 
XX.  8sqq.  ;  Deut.  v.  12sqq. — The  Sabbath  was 
the  day  of  Jehovah  (comp.  the  passages  quoted) 
a  monimentum  temporale  for  his  service,  hence  the 
observance  of  this  day  stood  or  fell  with  the  wor- 
Bhip  of  Jehovah. — But  they  obeyed  not.  The 
first  half  of  ver.  23  is  taken  verbatim  from  vii. 
26. — Ver.  23  is  parenthetical,  suggested  by  as  I 
commanded,  etc. 

Vers.  24-26.  And  it  shall  come  .  .  .  Jeho- 
vah Sitting  upon  the  throne.  Comp.  xiii. 
13;  xxii.  4. — Shall  remain.  Comp.  rems.  on 
ver.  6. — Men  of  Judah.  Comp.  xxxii.  44; 
xxxiii.  13;  coll.  Josh.  x.  40;  Judges  i.  9;   Deut. 

i.  7 ;  Zech.  vii.  7. — The  plains,  ^h^^  is  the 
low  country  between  Joppa  and  Gaza,  Josh.  ix. 
1;  xii.  8;  xv.  33  sqq.  ;  1  Kings  x.  27;  Obad. 
19 ;  Raumer,  Paldst.  S.  51. — South,  JJJ  is  the 

southern,  as  TOiiW  the  western,  n3"lD  the  east- 
ern,  inn  the  northern,  parts  of  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah, separating  the  two  last  mentioned.  Comp. 
Josh.  XV.  55  sqq. ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  7. 

Ver.  27.  But  if  ye  w^ill  not  .  .  .  not  be 
quenched.  The  negation  before  to  bear  must 
also  be  referred  to  enter.  Comp.  ver.  21. — 
Will  I  kindle.  Comp.  xxi.  14  ;  xlix.  27  ;  Am. 
1.  14. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  30.  "  It  is  no  derogation  to  the  sa- 
gacity of  a  teacher  if  he  directs  his  public  in- 
structions, admonitions  and  warnings  with  some 
special  adaptation  to  the  rulers  of  the  country. 
Only  he  must  guard  against  offensive  or  abusive 
expressions,  and  see  to  it  that  he  carefully  dis- 
tinguish between  their  ofiBce  and  their  life,  and 
be  sure  of  his  case,  that  he  is  not  following  the 


motions  of  nature,  but  the  calling  of  the  Lord. 
Acts  xxiii.  3;   1  Ki.  xiv.   7,  8."     Starke. 

2.  Man  in  this  earthly  lite  needs,  besides  work, 
rest  also  for  body  and  soul.  It  would  be  inept 
to  have  one  rest  day  for  the  body  and  another 
for  the  soul.  It  would  be  equally  so  to  have 
more  or  fewer  holidays  than  God  has  ordained 
by  sanctification  of  the  Seventh  day,  whereby  He 
who  is  the  creator  of  time  has  at  the  same  time 
given  us  the  fundamental  principles  of  its  divi- 
sion. As  the  rest  of  the  body  is  both  negative 
and  positive  (abstinence  from  labor  and  recu- 
peration of  forces)  so  also  is  that  of  the  soul. 
The  soul  is  from  God,  and  must  on  its  day  of  rest 
be  freed  from  earthly  cares  and  brought  into  the 
element  of  its  heavenly  origin,  as  it  were  into  a 
cleansing  and  invigorating  bath.  The  observance 
by  Christians  of  the  first,  instead  of  the  Seventh 
day,  as  a  weekly  holiday  is  well  founded  in  the 
fact  that  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection  is  also 
a  day  of  creation,  and  so  much  the  more  glori- 
ous as  the  new  and  imperishable  world  is  more 
glorious  than  the  old  and  perishable  world. 

3.  "Neglect  not  church  going.  For  though 
the  unbelieving  heathen  thought  it  a  foolish 
course  to  spend  the  day  in  idleness,  yet  tempo- 
ral subsistence  will  not  therefore  fail,  but  rather 
will  the  weekly  work  of  other  days  flourish  the 
more.     Matth.  vi.  33."     Cramer. 

4.  ["  God  did  not  regard  the  external  rite 
only,  but  rather  the  end,  of  which  He  speaks  in 
Ex.  xxxi.  13,  and  in  Ezck.  xx.  12.  In  both 
places  He  reminds  us  of  the  reason  why  He  com- 
manded the  Jews  to  keep  holy  the  Seventh  day, 
and  that  was  that  it  might  be  to  them  a  symbol 
of  sanctification.  '  I  have  given  My  Sabbaths,* 
He  says,  '  to  you,  that  ye  might  know  that  I  am 
your  God  who  sanctifieth  you.'  .  .  And  it  appears 
from  other  places  that  this  command  was  typical 
— Christ  being  the  substance.  Col.  ii.  16."  Cal- 
vin.—S.  R.  A.] 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

The  weekly  holiday  as  the  day  of  Jehovah  ana 
as  the  day  of  the  Lord.  1.  What  they  have  iu 
common.  The  weekly  holiday  is  in  both  cases 
(a)  a  monument  of  the  loving  care  of  our  God 
(a)  for  our  body  (/?)  for  our  soul ;  {b)  a  right  of 
God  which  forms  on  our  part  a  holy  obligation 
towards  God,  ourselves,  and  our  neighbor.  2. 
The  differences,  (a)  The  day  of  Jehovah  is 
founded  on  the  creation  of  the  perishable  world  ; 
the  day  of  the  Lord  is  founded  on  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  as  of  a  new,  eternal  world;  (6) 
the  observance  of  the  day  of  Jehovah  was  only 
legal,  i.  e.,  (a)  imposed  by  external  compulsion, 
(/3)  by  requirements  to  be  fulfilled  by  outward 
observance ; — the  observance  of  the  day  of  the 
Lord  is  to  be  more  and  more  an  evangelical  one, 
i.  e.  (ff)  a  free,  (b)  a  spiritually  free  one,  i.  e.,  sa- 
tisfying the  right  as  well  as  the  obligation  of 
personality. 

["  What  blessings  God  has  in  store  for  thosa 
who  make  conscience  of  Sabbath   sanctification. 

1.  The  court  Shall  flourish.  The  honor  of  the  go- 
vernment is  the  joy  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  sup- 
port of  religion  would  contribute  greatly  to  both. 

2.  The  city  shall  flourish.  Whatever  supports 
religion  tends  to  establish  the  civil  interests  of  » 


176 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


land.  3.  The  country  shall  flourish.  By  this  the 
flourishing  of  a  country  may  be  judged  of.  What 
does  it  do  for  the  honor  of  God  ?  Those  who 
starve  their  religion  either  are  poor,  or  are  in  a 
fair  way  to  be  so.     4.  The  church  shall  flourish. 


It  is  a  true  observation  which  some  hare   made^ 
That  the  streams  of  all  religion  run   either  deep 
or  shallow,  according  as  the  banks   of  the  Sab- 
bath, are  kept  up  or  aeglected."     Henrt. — 8 
R.  A.] 


THE  SEVENTH  DISCOURSE. 

(Chaps.  XVIII.^XX.) 

As  these  three  chapters  appear  under  a  common  superseripHon  of  the  longer  form,  which  does  not  recur  till 
chap,  xxi.,  they  are  evidently  to  be  regarded  as  a  connected  whole.  They  have  in  fact  an  internal 
connec(io7i,  although  they  ca?inot  by  any  means  be  considered  as  a  rhetorical  whole,  or  as  a  coiuiected 
discourse.  Two  historical  facts  are  here  set  before  us,  which  are  internally  related,  but  are  different 
as  to  time,  and  probably  also  as  to  their  original  record,  to  which  are  also  attached  both  prophetic  in- 
dications and  subjective  effusions.  The  first  historical  fact  is  the  incident  with  the  potter,  related  in 
ch.  xviii.  As  in  this  chapter  the  impending  judgment  is  still  announced  in  the  same  general  manner 
as  before,  the  Chaldeans  not  yet  being  mentioned  as  the  instrument,  it  is  manifest  that  it  must  have 
been  written  before  the  decisive  turning-point  reported  in  ch.  xxv.,  viz.,  before  the  battle  of  Carche- 
mish  in  the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim.  On  the  other  hand  chh.  xix.  and  x^.  were  written  after  this 
crisis.  For  in  xx.  4  we  read  ^'I  will  give  all  Judah  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  he 
shall  carry  them  captive  into  Babylon.'^  Jeremiah  does  not  speak  thus  till  after  that  decisive  battle. 
It  is  also  noteworthy,  that  the  prophet  in  xx.  2  is  called  NO^H  irTDT,  not  simply  ^rTDT",  which 
mode  of  expression  likewise  prevails  only  after  the  great  crisis.  [Camp.  xxv.  2;  xxviii.  5,  10,  11, 
12,  16,  etc.)  It  follows  definitively  that  chh.  xix.  and  xx.  belong  to  the  time  of  Jehoiakim  from  the 
circumstance  that  in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  not  Pashur,  but  Zephaniah,  the  son  of  Maaseiah,  appears 
to  be  invested  with  the  dignity  of  temple-officer  [comp.  xxix.  26  coll.  xxi.  7 ;  xxxvii.  3 ;  lii.  24), 
and  moreover  as  the  successor  of  Jehoiada,  which  renders  the  probability  that  Pashur  no  longer  held 
this  office  under  Zedekiah  so  much  the  greater,  especially  if  ice  consider  that  ch.  xxix.  belongs  to  one  of 
the  first  years  of  Zedekiah  {see  the  Introd.  to  ch.  xxix.)  Pashur,  who  in  xx.  4  sqq.  is  threatened  with 
being  carried  away  captive  to  Babylon,  had  most  probably  met  this  fate  with  king  Jehoiakim  and  that 
numerous  company  which  is  spoken  of  in  xxix.  1  and  2  Ki.  xxiv.  12-14. — Notwithstanding  therefore 
that  ch.  xviii.  belongs  to  an  earlier  period  than  chh.  xix.  and  xx.  they  are  placed  together  because  both 
are  based  on  symbolic  actions,  of  which  the  productions  of  pottery  form  the  substratum.  In  ch.  xviii. 
the  clay  on  the  potter's  wheel  first  fails,  but  is  then  immediately  formed  anew;  in  ch.  xix.  the  vessel  is 
ready-made,  which  being  poured  out  is  then  (irreparably  xix.  11)  broken  by  the  prophet.  Both  actions 
are  of  such  a  character  as  to  set  before  the  people  that  the  Lord  has  not  only  the  power  but  the  will  to 
destroy  them.  Nevertheless  there  is  a  great  difference  betiveen  the  two  actions,  the  first  having  a  parse- 
neiic,  the  second  more  of  a  declarative  charaiter,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  exposition.  Graf  is  of  opinion 
that  xix.  1-13  was  written  down  at  the  same  time  ivith  ch.  xviii.,  because  the  event  narrated  in  xx.  1  sqq., 
is  related  to  the  prophecy  in  vii.  30  sqq.  as  ch.  xxvi.  to  vii.  12,  and  since  the  discourse  in  ch.  vii.  sqq. 
belongs  to  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  so  also  the  prophecy  in  xix.  1-13,  and  the  event  re- 
corded in  XX.  1-6  must  belong  to  this  time.  But  the  latter  was  not  recorded  till  afterwards,  like  all 
the  narratives  from  the  life  of  Jeremiah.  The  lyrical  passage  xx.  1 -\Z  has  no  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding context.  But  it  may  have  been  composed  under  the  impression  of  the  shameful  treatment  which 
Jeremiah  had  received  in  the  temple,  or  subsequently  in  remembrance  of  this  and  other  persecutions. 
The  five  verses,  xx.  14-18,  are  said  to  be  an  independent  fragment,  an  amplification  of  xv.  10,  which 
was  perhaps  composed  in  consequence  of  the  same  occurrences,  and  were  put  here  on  this  account,  or 
only  on  account  of  its  agreement  with  vers.  7,  8.  To  this  I  have  to  object;  1.  Itis  an  unnatural  sup- 
position that  xix.  1-13  was  written  before  xix.  14-xx.  (J.  For  both  passages  are  so  closely  connected 
that  we  cannot  conceive  what  could  have  occasioned  the  prophet  to  defer  the  relation  in  xix.  14,  etc., 
after  having  recorded  the  previous  facts,  together  with  the  prophecy  connected  with  them.  The  narra- 
tive xix.  14,  etc.,  was  certainly  recorded  after  the  prophet  had  already  begun  to  call  himself^''  N'^jn, 

but  only  because  the  prophecy  itself  belongs  to  this  later  period.  This  is  not  identical  with  vii.  30-34, 
and  does  not  therefore  belong  to  the  first  years  of  Jehoiakim.  The  agreement  in  particular  words  and 
phrases  corresponds  only  to  the  general  usage  of  Jeremiah,  to  repeat  himself  frequently  and  extensively, 
and  in  different  connections  by  no  means  justifies  the  assumption  of  identity.  2.  The  passage  xx.  7- 
13  is  closely  connected  ivilh  the  previous  context,  as  is  especially  seen  in  the  words  ^ODip  IIJD  [comp. 
the  Comm.  on  xx.  10);  it  is  not  however  an  objective  and  official  word  of  God,  but  a  memorial  of  sub- 
jective thoughts  and  feelings,  which  then  moved  the  prophet,  and  thus  bears  to  some  extent  the  charac- 
ter of  a  private  record.  3.  The  case  is  the  same  with  xx.  14-18.  This  passage  also  is  of  an  entirely 
subjective  and  private  nature.     To  strike  it  out  or  explain  it  as  only  patched  on  accidentally  is  to  den^ 


CHAP.  XVIII.   1-10.  171 


the  dualism  which  must  undoubtedly  have  prevailed  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet.      To  transpose  U  from 
this  place  and  set  it  before  xx.  7  {as  Ewald  does,  in  this  however  opposed  by  Geaf)  would  be  to  dis- 
turb the  7iatural  course  and  the  clear  picture  of  the  inner  feelinys  of  the  prophet.      For  it  is    only  too 
probable  that  in  those  troubled  times  a  troubled  frame  of  mind  finally  became  predominant. 
lam  therefore  of  opinion  that  ch.  xviii.  belongs  to  the  period  before,  chh.  xix.  and  xx.  to  the  period  after, 
the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  that  the  passages  however  being  of  related  contents  were  placed  in  juxta- 
position in  the  collection  of  prophecies  ;  further,  that  xix.  1 — xx.  G  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  closely  con- 
nected whole,  on  which  follows  as  an  appendix  a  subjective  effusion  of  double  and  contradictory  ^pur- 
port, by  which  hoivever  we  obtain  a  true  picture  of  the  prophet's  then  prevailing  state  of  mind. 
The  discourse  may  be  divided  as  follows : — 

THE  SYMBOLS  OF  POTTERY, 
First  Symbol  :  the  clay  and  potter,  ch.  xviii. 

1.  The  parable  of  the  potter  and  its  interpretation  in  a  negative  sense,  xviii.  1-10. 

2.  The  interpretation  of  the  parable  in  a  positive  sense,  xviii.  11-17. 

3.  The  mamier  in  which  the  people  receive  the  word  of  the  prophet,  and  his  petition  to  the  Lord  for  prO' 

tectionfrom  their  hostility,  xviii.  18-23. 

Second  Symbol: — the  broken  vessel,  chaps,  xix.  andxx. 

1.  The  symbolic  action  and  its  interpretation,  xix.  1-13. 

2.  Opposition  and  punishment  of  Pashur,  xix.  14-xx.  6. 

3.  Appendix.    The  prophet's  joy  and  sorrow,  xx.  7-18. 

a.  Through  sorrow  to  joy,  xx.  7-13. 

b.  For  the  present  sorrow  only.     The  prophet  curses  the  day  of  his  birth,  xx.  14-18. 


Chapters  XVIII.  to  XX. 

THE  SYMBOLS  OF  POTTERY. 

J?IRST  Symbol: — the  clay  and  potter. 

Chap.  XVIII. 

1.  The  parable  of  the  potter  and  its  interpretation  in  the  negative  sense. 

XVIII.  1-10. 

1,  2      The  word  which  came  to  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  saying,  Arise 
and  go  down  to  the  potter's  house  and  there  I  will  cause  thee  to  hear  my  words. 

3  Then  I  went  down  to  the  potter's  house,  and,  behold,  he  wrought  a  work  on  the 

4  wheels.     And  the  vessel  which  he  was  making^  of  [as]  clay''  was  spoiled  in  the  hand 
of  the  potter  ;  so  he  made  it  again  another  vessel,  as  seemed  good  to  the  potter  to 

5  make  it.     Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  to  me,  saying, 

6  Cannot  I  do  to  you  as  this  potter  does, 

0  house  of  Israel  ?  saith  Jehovah. 

Behold  as  the  clay  in  the  hand  of  the  potter, 
So  are  ye  in  my  hand,  O  house  of  Israel ! 

7  Suddenly  I  speak  against  a  nation  and  against  a  kingdom. 
To  extirpate  and  exterminate  and  to  destroy : 

8  If  now  this  nation,  against  which  I  have  spoken,  turn  from  its  wickedness, 

1  repent  i^  the  evil  which  I  thought  to  do  unto  it. 

9  And  suddenly  I  speak  concerning  a  nation  and  concerning  a  kingdom, 
To  build  and  to  plant : 

10  If  how  it  does  that  which  is  eviP  in  my  eyes. 
So  that  it  hears  not  my  voice, 
I  repent  of  the  good  wherewith  I  promised  to  benefit  it. 

TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  4.— nntl'JI.     Tlie  perfects  JinCJ  and  3ty  signify  th^t  these  facts  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  co-ordinate  points  in 
the  course  of  the  narrative,  but  as  further  ilevelopinents  of  the  713X73    Dtl'l*,  from  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  assume 
that  the  word  designates  more  than  a  single  act  (Hitzig,  Graf).    The  form  Hiyi  is  used  (as  ex.  gr..  Gen.  xxvi.  17)  for  the 
12 


178 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


reason  that  the  -word  does  not  contain  the  main  idea,  but  a  subordinate  one  attached  aa  it  were  by  the  preceding  perfect. 
Comp.  Oen.  xxix.  2  sqq. ;  Isa.  vi.  3 ;  Dan.  viii.  4 ;  Ewald,  §  342  b  ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  8t,  6  ;  §  95  jr,  A7im. 

a  Ver.  4. — '•')  TOPlb-  These  words  have  been  unjustly  suspected  by  different  translators,  transcribers,  and  commenta- 
tors. Tliey  are  not  a  gloss  from  ver.  6,  Imt  doubtless  chosen  with  reference  to  tliis  verse.  The  intention  is  to  set  forth 
prominently  the  punctum  saliens  by  similarity  of  expression  in  the  historical  narrative  and  the  application.    The  3  is  to  be 

regarded  as  Kaph  veritnfis^as  clay,  i.  e.,  as  he  is  accustomed  to  do  to  the  clay.    Comp.  xv.  19 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  112,  5,  c. 

JWoRDSWORTH:  ul«  ctey  Sometimes  fails  in  the  hand  of  the  potter. — Henderson.  '•"10113  with  2  instead  of  J3,  is  found  in 

the  text  of  fifty-eight  MSS.,  has  originally  been  in  several  more,  and  is  now  in  five  more  by  correction.     It  is  likewise  exhibi- 
ted in  scvi'iiti'eu  printed  eihtious.  and  alone  makes  sense." — S.  K.  .\.]. 

^  Ver.  10. — rii'in.  Tlie  Masoretes  would  read  Uiri,  according  to  the  usage  which  prevails  elsewhere  without  an  ex- 
ception (comp.  Num.  xxxii.  13;  Jud.  ii.  11 :  iii.  7,  12,  etc. ;  1  Kings  xi.  6 ;  xiv.  22 ;  Jer.  vii.  30;  xxxii.  30,  etc.).  The  reading 
of  the  Chethibh  is,  however,  evidently  occasioned  by  nJIDil  after,  and  1j"\^"|  before  it. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  receives  the  command  to  go  into 
the  potters  house,  to  receive  there  a  revelation 
from  the  Lord.  He  obeys  and  is  a  witness  how 
the  clay  is  spoiled  in  the  hands  of  the  potter,  as 
he  works  on  the  wheel,  and  how  he  immediately 
forms  a  new  vessel  out  of  the  clay  (vers.  1-4). 
Hereupon  the  prophet  receives  the  word  of  the 
Lord:  As  the  clay  is  in  the  hand  of  the  potter, 
so  is  Israel  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  (vers.  5  and 
6).  As  the  Lord  by  penitence  and  conversion 
is  dissuaded  from  the  accomplishment  of  His 
threateuings,  so  by  evil-doing  He  may  be  pre- 
vented from  performing  His  gracious  promises 
(vers.   7-10). 

Vers.  1-4.  The  word  ...  to  the  potter  to 
make  it.  The  superscription  is  like  that  in  vii. 
1 ;  xi.  1. — D'JNri,  \wheels.  The  meaning  of  the 
word,  which  occurs  besides  only  in  Exod.  i.  16 
cannot  be  doubtful  in  this  passage.  With  respect 
however  to  Exod.  i.  16,  it  was  the  object  of  a 
literary  controversy.  Comp.  Bottcher  iu  Wi- 
liBR's  Zeitschs  f.  wiss.   TheoL,  Bd.  II.,   H.  1,  S. 


49  ff. ;  Rettig,  Bottcher  u.  Redslob,  Stud.  u. 
Krit.,  1834;  Benary,  Berlin,  Jahrhb.,  1841; 
Ernst  Meier,  Stud.  u.  Krit,  1842.  [For  a  de- 
scription and  diagram  of  the  wheel,  see  Gesen. 
Lex.,  s.  v.] — As  seemed  good.  Comp.  xxvii. 
5. 

Vers.  5-10.  Then  the  word  ...  to  benefit 
it. — On  as  the  clay  in  the  hand  of  the 
potter  comp.  Isa.  xxix.  16 ;  xlv.  9 ;  Ixiv.  7 ; 
Wisd.  XV.  7;  Ecclus.  xxxvi.  13;  Rom.  ix.  21. — 
Suddenly,  vers.  7  and  9,  is  evidently  not  to  be 
referred  to  the  proximate  verb,  but  to  the  main 
thought,  i.  e.,  to  the  apodosis.  The  mode  of  ex- 
pression is  paratactic.  In  our  syntactic  mode  it 
would  be :  Suddenly,  if  I  have  spoken  against  a 
nation  .  .  .  and  this  nation  turn,  I  will  repent,  etc. 
Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  |  111,  1.  Anm.  More- 
over, the  word  refers  evidently  to  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  potter  changes  the  form  of  the 
clay.  Observation  may  be  recommended  as  the 
best  commentator  on  this  passage. — To  extir-> 
pate.  Comp.  i.  10. — Against  which  I  spoke 
is  not  to  be  referred  to  wickedness,  but  t« 
nation. 


2.   ITie  interpretation  of  the  parable  in  the  positive  tense. 

xvm.  11-17 


11  And  now  speak  indeed^  to  the  men  of  Judah, 

And  to''  the  inhabitants  [citizens]  of  Jerusalem,  saying, 

Thus  saith  Jehovah  :  Behold ! 

I  frame  evil  against  you,  and  think  thoughts  against  you: 

Turn  ye  now,  each  liom  his  evil  way, 

And  reform  your  ways  and  your  works. 

12  But  they  will  say:  No  use  !*  but  our  thoughts  we  will  follow, 

And  will  practise,  each  according  to  the  obstinacy*  of  his  wicked  heart. 

13  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  : 

Inr^uire  now  among  the  nations,  who  hath  heard  the  like? 
The  virgin  Israel  hath  done  a  very  horrible  thing.^ 

14  Ceases®  from  the  rock  of  the  field  the  snow  of  Lebanon? 
Oi  do  the  strong,'  cool,  rippling  waters  dry  up? 

15  That  my  people  forgat  me  and  burned  incense  to  vanity, 
And  made  them  stumble  in  their  ways,  the  ancient  paths,* 
To  walk  in  roads  of  an  unlevcled  way, 

16  To  make  their  land  a  desolation, 
An  object  of  everlasting  derision  ?• 


CHAP.  XVIII.  11-17. 


179 


He  who  only  passes  through  will  be  astounded  at  it, 
And  will  shake  his  head.^** 
17  Like  the  east  wind  will  I  scatter  them  before  the  enemy 
Back  not  face  will  I  show  them  in  the  day  of  their  fall. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  11. — [Henderson:  I  charge  thee.    Blatxet:  I  pray  thee.— S.  R.  A.] 

2  Ver.  11. — On  the  change  of  7X  to  7j;,  comp.  Textual  Note  2  on  x.  1. 

3  Ver.  12. — u;xij.  Niph.  part,  of  t^X',  <o(?espat>.    Comp.Comm.  on  ii.  25.    [Henderson:  It  is  hopeless.    BLATNET:Itis 
a  thin;;  n-rt  to  be  IkijiciI.] 

*  Ver.  12. — ilil'lTJJ'-    'I'he  expression  is  found  here  only  as  the  object  of  ntyi*,  elsewhere  always  with  3  or  'THX  after 

T /H  (comp.  iii.  17 ;  ix.  13 ;  xvi.  12 ;  vii .  24  ;  xi.  8  ;  xiii.  10 ;  xxiii.  17). 

6  Ver.  13. — r\*l"^yty.    This  form  is  found  here  only.    Comp.  Hos.  vi.  10;  Jer.  v.  30;  xxiii.  14. 

6  Ver.  14. — There  is  no  other  instance  of  the  construction  in  <.1  m  3  |j;\  for  3I_J7  is  used  transitively  even  in  Gen.  xxiv. 

27.     Should  we  not  perhaps  read  II^D  instead  of  "Ili'O  ■     Tli'^  is  not  merely  circumvallatio,  but  also  munimentum,  arx, 

:  ■  T 

turris.    Comp.  Hah.  ii.  1.    Gf.sen.  Thes.,  p.  1161. 

"  Ver.  14. — Instead   of  U'"\1,  which  certainly  affords  no  satisfactory  meaning,  the  LXX.  seems  to  have  read  D^^T,  the 

*  T 

proud,  splendid.    So  also  Meier  in  comparison  with  D'JIT"  D''0,  Ps.  cxxiv.  5.    Ewald  (and  after  him  Graf)  derives  D'lT 

.   .  .     _  .      y. 

from  "T^  I,  to  press.    This  word,  however,  signifies  constrinxit,  compressit,  and  the  meaning  to  press  forth  is  a  bare  assump- 

-  T 

tion.     If  the  word  is  to  be  altered,  it  is  then  better  to  agree  with  Meier.    ["  □''"^f  from  T^T,  to  compress,  straiten,  is  descrip- 

•T 

tive  of  streams,  as  contracted  within  narrow  channels,  while  descending  through  the  gorges  and  defiles  of  the  rocks.     The 

use  of  the  verb  7|J,  Arab.  nazaZ,      \    V^  >  discendit  Zoco,  confirms  this  view."    Henderson.    Hitzig  renders  "strange,"  as 

coming  from  afar,  in  the  sense  of  the  A.  V.,  and  refers  to  the  unknown  source  of  the  pool  of  Siloam,  etc. — S.  K.  A.] 

8  Ver.  15.— The  form  hl2^  here  only  in  the  Chethibh ;  V^t^  Ps.  Ixxvii.  20.    The  word  does  not  recur. 

9  Ver.  16.— npllil?.    This  form  here  only;  ^\p'''^'^  in  Jud.  v.  16.    In  Jeremiah  ripltJ?  only  occurs  elsewhere:  xix. 
8;  XXV.  9,  18;  xxix.  18;  Ii.  37. 

10  Ver.  16. — 1i!/X13  TJ'.     Comp.  Naeqelsb.  ffr.,  g  69, 1.  Anm.2.    The  expression  occurs  here  only.    Comp.  Pa.  xliv. 
15  ;  xxii.  8  ;  cix.  25. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

After  it  had  been  shown  in  vers.  5-10  that  the 
Lord  was  not  bound  by  His  promises  with  re- 
spect to  the  people,  but  has  as  much  freedom  as 
the  potter  with  respect  to  the  clay,  He  now  makes 
the  positive  application  of  this  parable.  He  de- 
clares what,  like  a  potter,  he  is  about  to  form, 
viz.,  calamity.  The  expression  ^V'.  ver.  11,  is 
the  only  point  in  which  this  strophe  supports 
itself  on  the  preceding  parable,  for  in  what  fol- 
lows there  is  no  further  reference  to  it.  To  the 
brief  application  and  exposition  of  this  word,  is 
attached  an  exhortation  to  repentance  and  refor- 
mation (ver.  11  6),  to  which  the  people  answer 
with  stubborn  rejection  (ver.  12).  On  account 
of  this  unheard  of  (ver.  13),  and  unnatural  apos- 
tasy (vers.  14,  15),  desolation,  dispersion  and 
flight  are  again  announced  to  the  people  as  the 
divine  punishment  (vers.  16,  17). 

Vers.  11  and  12.  And  now  speak  .  .  . 
■wicked  heart.  — •  And  now  introduces  the 
transition,  after  the  basis  has  been  laid  for  the 
proper  object  of  the  discourse.  It  has  been 
shown  that  the  Lord  can  form  what  He  will,  it 
is  now  positively  declared,  that  He  will  frame 
evil. — I  frame  ("^X^').  In  the  transferred  sense 
the  word  is  used  also  in  Isa.  xxii.  11  ;  xxxvii. 
26;  xlvi.  11;  Jer.  xxxiii.  2.— Think.  Comp 
xlix.  30.  The  words  from  turn  to  way,  ai-e 
found  verbatim  in  xxv.  5;  xxxv.  15.  In  tlie  last 
passage  is  found  also  the  rest  of  the  verse  with 
the  exception  of  D3"'3"n,  your  works.  Comp. 
vii.  3 ;  xxvi.  13. 


Vers.  13-17.  Therefore  thus  .  .  .  day  of 
their  fall.  From  the  peremptory  declaration 
which  Israel  made  in  ver.  12,  it  ia  concluded  that 
this  nation  has  rendered  itself  guilty  of  un- 
faithfulness, the  like  of  which  is  found  neither 
in  history  (ver.  13),  nor  in  nature  (ver.  14). — In- 
quire now.  Comp.  ii.  10,  11. — Virgin.  Comp. 
Am.  V.  2;  Jer.  xxxi.  4,21. — Ceases,  etc.  Ac- 
cording to  the  connection  the  prophet  can  only 
mean  to  adduce  a  fact  in  natural  history  which 
forms  a  parallel  to  the  historical  fact  that  a  na- 
tion has  never  forsaken  its  gods.  In  general  it 
is  plain  that  he  has  chosen,  as  the  example  from 
natural  history,  the  perennial  connection  of  the 
snow  on  Lebanon,  and  of  the  fresh  abundant 
springs,   with   the  Hti'  11^.     But  what  is  this  ? 

Disregarding  the  various  arbitrary  and  forced 
explanations,  two  views  may  be  here  considered. 
According  to  one  it  is  Mt.  Zion,  according  to  the 
other,  Mt.  Lebanon  itself.  It  is  in  favor  of  the 
former.  1.  That  Zion  in  xvii.  3  appears  under  the 
designation  mt^^,  and  in  xxi.  13  as  "liK;'3n  ^^^i. 

2.  That  in  Ps.  cxxxiii.  3  also  the  dew  of  Her- 
mon,  which  descends  on  ^It.  Zion,  is  spoken  of, 
and  in  Prov.  xxv.  23  it  is  said:  the  north  wind 
brings  [Eng.  Vers. :  driveth  away]  rain.  3. 
That  the  expression  s?iow  of  Lebanon  intimates 
that  the  rock  of  the  plain  is  not  identical  with 
Lebanon.  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  objected 
to  this  explanation  :  1.  That  a  connection  be- 
tween the  snow  of  Lebanon  and  the  springs  of 
Zion  is  very  dubious.  In  a  bold  poetical  figure 
the  extension  of  the  dew  of  Hermon  over  the 
whole  land  even  to  Zion,  may  be  spoken  of,  but 


180 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


here  a  fact  in  natural  history  is  treated  of,  which 
must  have   been  familiar  to  the  Israelites,  and 
which  must  have  set  before  them  a  clear  repre- 
sentation of  natural  and  most   intimate   union. 
Now  other  traces  show  that  the  Israelites  ac- 
knowledged the  sea  to  be  the  true  and  proper 
source  of  rain  and  moisture  for  the  land,  which 
it  also  is   in  fact    (conip.   1  Kings  xviii.  44,  45; 
Luke  xii.   64;   Winer,   R.  W.   B.,   s.   v.,   Windc ; 
Raumer,  Paldst.  S.  91).     Hence  in  Palestine  the 
rainy  winds  are  the  West  and  South-west,  which 
the  Arabs  also  call  the  "  fat  hers  of  the  rain."     In 
Prov.  XXV.  23  the  north-west  wind  is  probably  to 
be  understood  by  |i3V  fl^l,  since  the  north  wind, 
as  with  us,  is  cold,  producing  frost  (Job  xxxvii. 
9,10;Ecclus.  xliii.20).   2.  Inxvii.  3  mt:?3'-nnis 
a  designation  of  the  whole  land,  for  it  is  noi^=zmy 
mountain  set  in  the  plain  (as  antithesis  between 
mountain  and  plain )  but  my  mountain  together  with 
the  plain  (antithesis  between  the  sanctuary  and 
the  rest  of  the  country  inhabited  and  cultivated 
by  men.     Comp.  the  Comm.).     The  passage  xxi. 
13  also  does  not  enter  into  comparison  with  this. 
For  there  evidently  not  Mt.  Zion,  but  the  house 
of  David,  is  to  be  understood,  of  which  it  is  said 
that  it  is  like  a  rock  in  a  valley,  eminent  above 
the  surrounding  level,  whereby  it  is  intended  to 
designate,  not  the  topographical  position  of  Zion, 
but  the  relation  of  the  king's  house  to  his  sub- 
jects.    3.  That  it  is  not  said.  Ceases  the  snow 
from  the  rock  of  the  field,  from  Lebanon  ?  but 
ceases  the  snow  o/ Lebanon  ?  etc.,  is  certainly  re- 
markable and  in  other  circumstances  would  be  a 
strong  proof  that  the  prophet  wished  to  distin- 
guish the  rock  and  the  mountain.     For  Lebanon 
alone  presented  to  them  the  picture  of  a  snow- 
capped  mountain,   and   all  the  snow  they  had 
came  from  it.     Add   to  this,  that  Lebanon  was 
originally   an   appellative    and    signifies    albedo 
(comp.  Alpes,  which  were  so  called  ab  albis  nivi- 
bus)  whence  there  appears  to  me  to  be  a  play 
upon  words  in  Lebanon :  the  Lebanon  snow  and 
the  white  snow.    The  absence  of  the  article  favors 
this,  for  if  Lebanon  were  regarded  merely  as  a 
proper  name,  it  would  require  the  article.    Comp. 
Naegelsb.   Gr.,  §   71,  4  b.     [So  Henderson. — 
S.  R.  A.]. — In  favor  of  the  other  view,  accord- 
ing to  which  "W  "liy  is  Lebanon  itself,  is  1.  that 
the  perennial  snow  of  a  mountain,  like  Lebanon, 
which  though  in  a  hot  climate  is  never  free  from 
snow,  and  on  which  the  snow  seems  to  have  lost 
its  peculiar  qualify  of  disappearing  r.apidly,  is 
particularly  adapted  to  serve  as  an  emblem  of 
the  most  faithful  adherence.     It  seems  as  though 
Tacitds  had  this  passage  in  view,  when  he  wrote 
{Hist,    v.,    6):     '■'■  Pnecipuum    montium    Libanum 
eriyit,  mirum   dictu,   tantos    inter    ardores    opacum 
fidumque   nivibus.     Idem   amnem   Jordanem   alit 
funditque."     Comp.  J.  D.  Mich.,  Observ.  inJer., 
p.  IGl. — Add  to  this  that  2.  the  expression  used 
of  Lebanon    seems  particularly  appropriate    in 
this  connection.     For  not  only  may  Lebanon  be 
mentioned  as  an  isolated  far-looking  summit,  but 
especially  also  as  a  protecting  wall  for  the  plains, 
which  wards  off  the  northerly  storms  and  at  the 


same  time  mitigates  the  heat.  And  is  not  this 
"  protecting  wall  of  the  plains  "  an  excellent  em- 
blem of  the  D'aVlJ,'  -\^)i,  which  is  spoken  of  in 
Isa.  xxvi.  4,  and  of  the  hiiy\^\  11]f,  in  Isa.  xxx. 
29?  The  snow  never  forsakes  the  'T^  11^,  but 
Israel,  changeable  as  the  snow,  easily  forsakes 

the  D'dSij;  my !  —Dry  up.  The  meaning  of 
tearing  out,  uprooting,  which  klJM  includes,  is 
not  inappropriate  if  taken  in  the  figurative  sense. 
The  change  into  ^Pim\  [dry  up],  which  perhaps 
lies  at  the  basis  of  the  old  translations,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Vulgate,  and  wliich  is  supported 
on  Isa.  xix.  5;  xli.  17;  Jer.  li.  3U,  is  theretbre 
unnecessary. — Waters.  The  wealth  of  springs 
on  Lebanon  is  well  known.  The  traveler  Korte 
assures  us  that  nowhere  did  he  see  such  large 
and  numerous  springs  as  on  Lebanon.  Vid. 
Raumer,  Paldst.,  S.  3U.  In  Song  of  Sol.  iv.  15 
also  the  rippling  waters  of  Lebanon  are  used  as 
a  comj  arisen.  The  thought  of  the  prophet  is 
that  as  the  snow  covers  Lebanon  perpetually 
above,  so  the  flow  of  waters  at  its  foot  is  also 
perpetual.  For  the  snow  is  the  source  of  the 
springs.  The  expression  therefore  seems  to  have 
been  chosen  purposely  to  indicate  the  connection 
between  the  snow  and  the  waters  of  Lebanon. 
An  uprooting  of  the  waters  would  be  caused  by 
the  cessation  of  the  snow.  Comp.  Hitzig  on  the 
passage. — Cold    (D'^p.  comp.    Prov.    xxv.    25,- 

xvii.  27)  needs  no  change;  the  meaning  "cold"  is 

perfectly  appropriate. — Rippling,  D''hu,  comp. 
Exod.  XV.  8;  Isa.  xliv.  3;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  16;  Prov. 
V.  15;  Song  of  Sol.  iv.  15. — That  my  people, 
etc.  This  gives  the  reason  why  the  questions  in 
vers.  13  and  14  have  been  put.  Since  the  people 
have  forgotten  Him  (ii.  32),  the  Lord  looks  about 
to  see  whether  anything  similar  occurs  elsewhere. 
Comp.  Ps.  viii.  5. — Made  them  stumble. 
The  nominative  is  the  collective  idea  of  the  idols 
designated  by  ii)p,  vanity.    [Henderson:  false 

prophets  and  idolatrous  priests. — S.  R.  A.] 
Comp.  2  Chron.  xxviii.  23. — When  Hitzig  and 
Graf  maintain  that  the  old  ways  were  not  good, 
for  even  the  fathers  of  the  Israelites  had  sinned 
from  ancient  times  by  idolatry  (ii.  32 ;  vii.  25, 
26;  xi.  10),  they  forget  that  the  good  ways  are 
more  ancient  than  the  people  of  Israel.  Even  if 
Israel  since  the  exodus  from  Egypt  had  not 
served  the  Lord  (which  after  ii.  2  notwithstand- 
ing vii.  25  is  not  to  be  maintained  too  uncondi- 
tionally), yet  the  way  of  Jehovah  was  the  way 
everlasting  (vi.  16),  and  Israel's  true  and  proper 
way,  for  their  fathers  at  any  rate  served  the  God 
who  from  them  is  called  the  God  of  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  the  fathers'  way  is  de  jure 
that  of  the  children. — To  walk,  etc.,  is  the  im- 
mediate and  first  consequence  of  the  eS"ect  desig- 
nated by  made  to  stumble,  while  to  make 
.  .  .  a  desolation,  ver.  10,  denotes  the  mediate 
consequence. — Like  the  east  'wind.  Comp. 
Exod.  xiv.  21 ;  Ps.  xlviii.  8  ;  Isa.  xxvii.  8;  Hos. 
xiii.  15 ;  John  iv.  8. — Back,  etc.     Comp.  ii.  27. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  18-23. 


18] 


3    The  manner  in  which  the  people  receive  the  word  of  the  prophet,  and  his  petition  to  the  Lord  for  pre 

tection  from  their  hostility. 

XVIII.  18-23. 

18  And  they  said  :  Come,  let  us  devise  plans  against  Jeremiah, 
For  the  law  shall  not  perish  from  the  priest, 

Nor  counsel  from  the  wise, 

Nor  the  word  from  the  prophet. 

Come,  and  let  us  smite  him  with  the  tongue, 

And  give  no  heed  to  any  of  his  words. 

19  Give  thou  heed,  O  Jehovah,  to  me ! 

And  listen  to  the  voice  of  ray  adversaries.^ 

20  Shall  then  evil  be  recompensed  for  good, 
For  they  have  digged  a  pit  for  my  soul? 

Remember  how  I  stood  before  thee  to  speak  good  for  them, 
And  to  turn  away  thy  wrath  from  them. 

21  Therefore  deliver  up  their  children  to  famine. 
And  give  them  over  to  the  hands  of  the  sword ; 
And  let  their  wives  be  childless  and  widowed, 
But  let  their  men  be  sacrifices  of  death, 
Their  youths  be  slain  by  the  sword  in  battle. 

22  Let  a  cry  be  heard  from  their  houses, 

When  thou  bringest  the  murderous  troop  suddenly  upon  them ; 
Because  they  have  digged  a  pit  to  take  me, 
And  laid  snares  for  my  feet. 

23  But  thou,  O  Jehovah,  knowest  all  their  murderous  plans  against  me ; 
Cover  not  up  their  iniquity, 

Nor  blot  out'^  their  sin  before  thy  face ; 
That  they  may  be'  overthrown*  before  thee  ; 
And  in  the  time  of  thy  wrath  act  against  them. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

>  Ver.  19.— -^'T'      The  word  is  found  besides  only  in  Isa.  xlix.  25 ;  Ps.  xxxv.  1. 

aVer.  23.— 'nDH-    Comp.  'JiP,  Hi.  6.    The  form  is  anomalous  for  nOD  (Neh.  xiii.  14).    Comp.  Olsh.  g  257,  «,  .inm.; 

EWALD,  ?  224,  c.  '  ,  .. 

3  Ter.  23.— ViTI.    TheChethibh  is  VHI-    The  Masoretes  did  not  wish  the  series  of  jussive  or  imperative  forms  to  M 

interrupted.— The  word  expresses  the  result,  that  they  lie  overthrown.  Accordingly  this  sentence  concludes  the  series  of 
negative  petitions  ;  in  conclusion  follows  the  positive  request :  at  the  time  of  thy  wrath,  etc.  It  is  evident  that  the  change 
proposed  by  the  Keri  is  unnecessary. 

*  Ver.  23.— D'^K/DD  points  back  to  ver.  15.    The  form  here  only.    Comp.  Ps.  Ix.  4;  Jer.  vi.  15;  xx.  11. 

peuse  good  with  evil,  while  he  has  always  sought 
their  highest  welfare  from  God  (ver.  20).  There- 
fore the  Lord  may  permit  deaih  and  destruction 
to  come  upon  those  who  have  digged  a  pit  and 
laid  snares  for  him  (vers.  21  and  22) ;  he  is  not  to 
forgive  these  murderous  associates  their  iniquity, 
but  to  overthrow  them,  and  let  them  feel  His 
anger  (ver.  23). 

Ver.  18.  And  they  said  .  .  .any  of  his 
•words.— Let  us  devise  (0  nutynj)  as  in  xi. 
19  coll.  xviii.  11. — For  the  law,  etc.  The 
meaning  must  be :  We  do  not  need  this  Jeremiah, 
for  without  him  we  shall  always  have  priests  ta 
instruct  us  (Mai.  ii.  7),  wise  men  to  advise  us, 
prophets  to  proclaim  to  us  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
Comp    Comni.  on  viii.  8-10;  Ezek.  vii.  26.     It  ifl 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Here,  as  before,  the  prophet;  represents  his 
adversaries  as  answering  his  faithful  admoni- 
tions with  words  of  personal  enmity.  Comp. 
xi.  19;  XV.  10;  xvii.  15.  And  as  in  these  pas- 
sages he  always  prayed  that  the  Lord  would 
avenge  him,  so  here,  but  in  stronger  measure. 
(  Vide  infra  Doctr.  and  Ethical  No.  13,  and  the 
ExEGETiCAL  rems.  on  xx.  14).  After  showing 
the  hostile  disposition  of  his  opponents,  he  turns 
in  supplication  to  the  Lord  (vers.  19-23).  In 
this  prayer  he  beseeches  the  Lord  to  give  heed 
to  his  and  to  his  adversaries'  speeches  (ver.  19). 
»nd  observe  above  all  that  they  would  recom- 


182 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  course  presupposed  that  the  instruction,  etc. 
will  be  in  accordance  with  their  views. — With 
the  tongue.  That  these  smitings  with  the 
tongue  (comp.  ix.  2,  7;  Ps.  Ixiv.  4,  etc.)  had  the 
death  of  the  prophet  for  their  object  is  evident 
from  ver.  23. 

Vers.  19-23.  Give  thou  heed.  . .  act  against 
them.  Observe  the  antithesis  between  Give 
no  heed  in  ver.  18  and  give  thou  heed  in 
ver.  19. — Shall  then  evil.  On  the  subject- 
matter  comp.  xiv.  7-21;  2  Mace.  xv.  12-14.  In 
ver.  14  we  read:  "o  0«Adf)£A^of  ovt6^  ectlv  6 
■koA'Xo.  npooevx^fiEvog  nepi  rov  Aauv  koI  Tfjq  ay'iaq 
TidTiEug,  'lep£/j.iaq  6  rov  deov  nprHp/'/r^/r.''' — How  I 
Stood.  Comp.  XV.  1. — Into  the  hands.  This 
expression  is  found  also  in  Ps.  Ixiii.  11;  Ezek. 
XXXV.  5;  it  is  used  in  the  sense  of  in  potestatem, 
which  meaning  has  various  gradations.     Comp. 


2  Kings  xii.  12;  Job  xvi.  II;  Jer.  xxxiii.  13 
with  1  Chron.  vi.  16  (into  service) ;  1  Chron. 
XV.  2,  3,  6;  2  Chron.  xxiii.  18;  Ezra  iii.  10  (in 
service,  under  the  hands,  a'jcording  to  the  direc- 
tion);  2  Chron.  xxix.  27  (on  the  foundation). — 
Sacrifices  of  death.  Comp.  Comm.  on  xv.  2. 
— Because,  etc.  Kimchi  supposes  that  the  ene- 
mies had  attempted  to  administer  poison  to  the 
prophet;  R.  Salomo,  with  many  other  Rabbins, 
that  they  had  accused  him  of  adultery,  others  of 
blasphemy.  Comp.  ver.  18. — Cover  not  up. 
Comp.  Ps.  cix.  14;  Isa.  ii.  9, — In  the  time  of 
thy  ■wrath.  Not  of  grace,  i.  e.,  of  gracious 
disposition,  but  in  the  moment  of  wrath,  is  the 
Lord  to  appear  and  act  against  them — Act, 
ntyj;,  in  the  absolutts  sense,  as  in  xiv.  7  :  xxxix. 
12 ;  Dan.  xi.  7  coll  viii.  4 ;  xi.  3,  36. 


Second  Symbol: — the  broken  vessbl. 

Chapters  XIX.,  XX. 

1.   The  symbolic  action  and  its  interpretation. 

XIX.  1-13. 

1  Thussaith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  Go  and  get  [buy]  a  potter's  earthen  bottlft 
[vessel]/  and  take  [some]  of  the  ancients  [elders]'^  of  the  people,  and  of  the  an- 

2  cieuts  [elders]  of  the  priests  ;  And  go  forth  into  the  valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom 
[valley  of  Ben-Hinnom],  which  is  by  the  entry  of  the  east  [Potters']   gate/  and 

3  proclaim  there  the  words  that  I  shall  tell  thee,  And  say,  Hear  ye  the  word  of  the 
Lord  [Jehovah],  O  kings  of  Judah,  and  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  :  Thussaith  the 
Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth]  the  God  of  Israel,  Behold,  I  will  bring  evil  upon 

4  this  place,  the  which  whosoever  heareth,*  his  ears  shall  tingle.  Because  they  have 
forsaken  me,  and  have  estranged^  this  place,  and  have  burned  incense  in  it  to  other 
gods,  whom  neither  they  nor  their  fathers  have  known,  nor  the  kings  of  Judah,  and 

5  have  filled  this  place  with  the  blood  of  innocents ;  They  have  built  also  the  high 
places  of  Baal,  to  burn  their  sous  [children]  with  fire  for  burnt  offerings  unto 
Baal,  which  I  commanded  not,  nor  spake  it,  neither  came  it  into  my  mind. 

6  Therefore,  behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  that  this  place 
shall  no  more  be  called  Tophet,  nor  The  Valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom  [valley  of 

7  Ben-Hinnom]  but  The  Valley  of  Slaughter.  And  I  will  make  void  [pour  out] 
the  counsel  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  in  this  place ;  and  I  will  cause  them  to  fall  by 
the  sword  before  their  enemies,  and  by  the  hands  of  them  that  seek  their  lives: 
and  their  carcases  will  I  give  to  be  meat  for  the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  and  for  the 

8  beasts  of  the  earth  [land].  And  I  will  make  this  city  desolate,  and  an  hissing  [a 
horror  of  desolation  and  a  derision]  ;  every  one  that  passes  thereby  [through]  shall 
be  astonished  and  hiss  [deride]  because  of  all  the  plagues  thereof®     And  I  will 

9  cause  thtra  to  eat  the  flesh  of  their  sons,  and  the  flesh  of  their  daughters,  and  they 
shall  eat  every  one  the  flesh  of  his  friend  in  the  siege  and  straitness,  wherewith 
their  enemies,  and  they  that  seek  their  lives,  shall  straiten  them.' 

10  Then  shalt  thou  break  the  bottle  [pitcher]  in  the  sight  of  the  men  that  go  with  thee. 

11  And  shalt  say  unto  thera.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Ho.«its  [Jehovah  Zebaoth],  Even  so 
will  I  break  this  people  and  this  city,  as  one  breaketh  a  potter's  vessel,  that  cannot 
be  made  whole  again;  and  they  shall  bury  them  in  Tophet,  till  [because]  there  be 

12  [is]  no  place  [room]  to  bury  [elsewhere].     Thus  will  I  do  unto  this  p'lace,  saith  the 


CHAP.  XIX.   1-13. 


18a 


Lord  [Jehovah],  and  to  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  even  make  this  city  as  To- 
13  phet:  and  the  houses  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  houses  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  shall  be 
defiled  as  the  place  of  Tophet,  [because  of]*  all  the  houses  upon  whose  roofs  they 
have  burned  incense  unto  all  the  host  of  heaven,  and  have  poured  out^  drink-offer- 
ings unto  other  gods. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— p3p3  i;*  fuunU  as  an  appellative  in  1  Ki.  xiv.  3,  and  as  a  proper  name  in  Ezr.  ii.  51;  Neh.  vii.  53,  coll. 
rfpSpS,  Neh.  xi.  17  ;  xil.  9,  25.  Gesenius  {Tlies.,  I.,  p.  232  [Lex.  s.  v.])  derives  it  from  pp3,  evacuavit  (comp.  ver.  7),  ac- 
cording to  the  analogy  of  Cl^ia.  "^Plin,  e<c.  So  also  Olsh.  §  190,  e.  [HiTZia  renders  :  a  bottle,— Naegelsb.:  a  pitcher,— 
from  the  maker  of  earthenware.— S.  R.  A.']— t^in  "1}^V.  There  is  also  Sp £3  '1V%  Isa.  xliv.  9  coll.  liv.  16,  17.  tJ'in, 
synonymous  with  0"^?!)  is  that  which  has  become  dry  and  rough  by  heat.  (Comp.  0*^11!  scabies  a  scabiendo,  as  Krdtze 
from  kraizen  in  German),  Deut.  xxviii.  27,  and  D"in,  sun,  in  Jud.  viii.  13 ;  Job  ix.  7 ;  then  especially  the  burnt  earthenware : 
'n  '^3,  Lev.  vi.  21,  etc.    TI  "''73J,  Lam.  iv.  2. 

2  Ver.  1.— ''1  'JpTDI.  liXX.,  Kal  afeis  anb  tS>v  npf<7pvT€pioi>,  etc.  They  certainly  did  not  read  j"^np7l,  hut  correctly- 
supplied  it  from  ri''Jp1.  for  the  prophet  was  not  merely  to  buy  the  pitcher,  but  to  take  it  with  him.    It  is  a  species  of  very 

T  •  It:  ... 

bold  construc'io  pnef/nans,  the  verb  to  be  supplied  governing  not  the  preposition  present  in  the  sentence,  but  the  preposition 
of  a  second  sentence,  connected  by  1,  to  which  it  forms  a  predicate.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  7. 

3  Ver.  2.— n^D^nn  "IJ^jy.     The  form  r\?D'^n  is  not  the  later,  as  Hitzio  supposes,  but  n'D'^n  is  the  only  form  used 

by  the  Rabbins,  and  from  this  both  the  Keri  and'the  Xapo-ei'S  (LXX.)  or  'ApaiO  (Aqu.,  Symm.,  Theod.),  of  the  Greek  trans- 
lators is  to  be  explained.     The  Syriac  text  in  the  London  Polyglot  strangely  has  Chadsit. 

*  Ver.  3.— Comp.  1  Sam.  iii.  11 ;  2  Ki.  xxi.  12.    As  to  the  construction  1.  T\V'0^~l2  Partic.  absolutum  to  be  resolved 

T :  T 

into  a  hypothetical  sentence.  (Comp.  Exod.  xii.  15 ;  Numb.  xxi.  8 :  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  97,  2  6) ;  2.  ^^UVi  is  accusative,  at- 
tracted by  n^Otl' ;  3.  The  apodosis  on  account  of  the  brevity  of  the  sentence  is  without  the  connecting  Vau.  (Comp.  Gen. 
iv.  15 ;  Ruth  i.  16, 17).    PlJ^^f i^  for  nyb^P  (so  in  1  Sam.  iii.  11)  according  to  the  Aramaic  formation.    Comp.  Ewau),  § 

197,  a ;  Olsh.,  §  243,  b,  d.      ' 

5  Vei-  4  _(.^  njyi  LXX.  aiTriK\oTpl.u>aav  ;  Y  nig.,  alienumfecerunt.  This  rendering  accords  both  with  the  connection 
and  the  etymology  of  the  word.  The  latter  occurs  in  Piel  besides  ouly  in  Deut.  xxxii.  7;  1  Sam.  xxiii.  7  ;  Job  xxi.  29; 
xxxiv.  19.  With  the  exception  of  tlie  jiassages  in  Job,  in  which  the  Piel  evidently  has  the  meaning  of  the  Hiphil,  the  mean- 
ing is  everywhere  appropriate,  "  to  estrange  one's  self  or  another."' 

6  Ver.  8.— On  the  suffix  form  in  HHilO  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ?  44,  4  Anm.  coll.  Olsh.,  g  131,  i. 

7  Ver.  9.— OnS  Ip"}?'  It-'X  wherewith  they  procure  them  distress  (Deut.  xxviii.  53,  55,57).  'ItJ'X  is  the  Ace.  instru- 
mentalis  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  70,  i.) ;  p'Jf H  is  that  Hiphil,  which  has  the  substantive  idea  contained  in  the  verb  with 
respect  to  the  nearer  object  (comp.  Naegelsb.   Gr.,  g  69,  1  Anm.  2  ;  Judg.  xvi.  16 ;  Isai.  xxix.  2,  7). 

8  Ver.  13.— '73S.     S  is  distributive.    Comp.  Ezek.  xliv.  9.     Naegelsb.  Gr.,  1 112,  5  6. 

9  Ver.  13.— lonV  Comp.  rems.  on  vii.  IS;  xliv.  17  sqq.  coll.  xxxii.  29.  With  respect  to  the  construction,  comp.  Nae- 
gelsb. Gr.,  §  92,  2  a. 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  receives  the  command  to  buy  an- 
other pitcher  from  the  potter,  and  in  company 
with  the  elders  of  the  people  and  priests  to  be- 
take himself  to  the  valley  of  Ben-Hinnom,  near  a 
gate,  which  appears  here  under  the  name  of  the 
Potter's  gate  (vers.  1  and  2).  There  he  is  to 
proclaim  the  words  which  we  read  in  vers.  3-13. 
In  these  words  a  severe  divine  judgment  is  first 
proclaimed  in  general  (ver.  3).  Then  the  crimes 
are  narrated  in  detail,  which  the  people  and  the 
kings  of  Judah  have  committed  in  this  place. 
Then  the  divine  punishments  are  mentioned,  of 
which  the  witness  and  theatre  will  be  the  valley 
of  Ben-Hinnom  or  Tophet:  1.  This  will  be  called 
the  Valley  of  Slaughter,  (ver.  6),  in  consequence 
of  the  slaugh+er,  which  after  the  failure  of  the 
plans  determined  on  by  the  people  (here  the  pro- 
phet must  have  made  the  gesture  of  pouring  out 
of  the  pitcher),  both  the  enemy  will  make  among 
the  people,  and  the  people  among  themselves 
(vers.  8-9).  2.  The  people  and  city  shall  be 
broken  in  pieces,  which  the  prophet  indicates  by 


the  breaking  of  the  pitcher ;  Tophet  for  lack  of 
room  shall  become  a  place  of  interment,  and  the 
city,  with  all  the  houses  on  whose  roofs  offerings 
have  been  made  to  Baal,  shall  become  a  place  like 
the  desolate  and  unclean  Tophet  (vers.  10-13). 

Vers.  1  and  2.  Thus  saith  ...  I  shall  tell 
thee.  This  opening  is  like  that  in  xvii.  19 — 
bottle,  Heb.  bakbuk,  is  an  earthen  pitcher  with 
a  long  neck.  The  sound  of  the  word  seems  to 
imitate  the  noise  of  water  being  poured  out. — 
Comp.  the  Greek  (i6/Lijiv?iog,  (iouiivlt],  and  the  Ger- 
man Kutterkrug. — Elders  of  the  priests  are 
mentioned  besides  ouly  in  Isai.  xxxvii.  2  (2  Ki. 
xix.  2).  Whether  they  are  identical  with  the 
princesor  chief  of  the  priests  (2Chron.  xxvi. 
14;  Neh.  xii.  7)  or  ouly  in  general  the  most  respect- 
able of  the  priests  is  doubtful.  Comp.  Oehler, 
in  Herzoo.  R.-Enc,  XII.  S.  188.— Valley  of 
Ben-Hinnom.  Comp.  Comm.  on  vii.  31  coll. 
ii.  23. — By  the  entry  (nn£3),  comp.  Gen.  xviii. 
1:  .Jul.  ix.  3-'>,  etc.  N.\EGELSB.  Gr.,  ^  70,  c. — 
Potter's  gate.  1.  concerning  the  form,  comp. 
Textual  iSoxEs.  2.  As  to  the  meaning,  (a)  some 
of  the  older  Rabbins,  cited  by  Kimchi,  who  how- 
ever does  not  agree  with  them,  are  of  opinion  that 


184 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  word  is  to  be  derived  from  D^^n  sun,  and  that 
by  the  sun-gate  is  to  be  understood  the  eastern 
gate  of  the  temple,  since  there  was  no  gate  in  the 
city-wall  to  the  South.  So  also  Tremellius, 
PisCATOR,  J.  D.  MiCHAELis  and  HiTZiG,  but  they 
■would  have  the  southern  gate  of  the  outer  court 
(a  soiis  sestu  sic  dictum)  understood  to  be  the  near- 
est way  to  Tophet.  (6)  The  other  commenta- 
tors agree  in  deriving  ^'0"}n  from  0^^'   testa. 

But  opinions  greatly  differ  whether  the  gate  was 
so  called  because  the  potsherds  were  thrown  out 
there  [the  Chaldee  paraphrast  renders :  the 
dung-gate],  or  because  the  potters  lived  in  its 
vicinity,  or  because  the  clay-pits  were  just  out- 
side the  gate.  The  last  is  the  view  of  Hofmann 
{Weiss,  u.  Erf.  II.,  S.  124,  etc.  Vid.  Comm.  on 
vii.  31).  Apart  from  the  etymological  significa- 
tion of  the  word  Tophet,  which  Hofmann  gives, 
it  is  in  favor  of  this  interpretation  that  this  same 
place  is  called  in  Matth.  xxvii.  7  aypo^  tov  Kepa- 
fieug  (observe  the  generic  article).  This  name 
decidedly  favors  the  supposition  that  the  place 
stood  in  closer  relation  to  pottery  than  that  of  a 
mere  depository  of  potsherds.  White  clay,  a 
kind  of  pipe-clay,  is  also  still  dug  there.  Comp. 
Herzoq,  R.-Enc,  V.  S.  475;  Radmer,  Pal.  S. 
306.  Finally  the  choice  of  an  earthen  pitcher 
for  the  prophetic  symbol  must  have  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  inner  relation  which  the  pitcher 
bore  to  the  place  of  the  action.  If  it  was  merely 
intended  to  indicate  that  death  and  destruction 
would  come  upon  Jerusalem  even  so  as  to  fill  To- 
phet with  corpses,  the  breaking  and  throwing 
away  of  any  other  object  would  have  answered 
as  well.  But  Jeremiah  is  to  take  an  earthen 
pitcher  because  Tophet  was  the  place  where  such 
vessels  were  produced,  consequently  nothing  was 
more  natural  tlian  to  choose  for  this  place  of 
breaking  an  object  to  be  broken  which  originated 
there,  in  connection  with  which  it  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  other  reasons,  as  the  comparatively 
easy  frangibility,  and  the  climax  in  relation  to 
ch.  xviii.  (there  transformation,  here  destruction) 
may  have  co-operated.  And  by  all  this  also  it  is 
not  disputed  that  the  potters  may  have  lived  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  clay-pits,  and  that  the  same 
place  may  have  served  at  the  same  time  for  the 
deposit  of  potsherds  and  other  refuse.  3.  To 
what  gate  otherwise  known  does  the  pottery- 
gate  correspond?  The  name  occurs  here  only. 
The  remark  on  xvii.  19  is  here  confirrned  that 
the  names  of  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  have  been 
often  changed.  Many  commentators  proceed,  as 
we  have  remarked,  on  the  hypothesis  that  the 
city  wall  had  no  gates  to  the  South.  That  this 
is  an  error  will  now  scarcely  be  doubted  by  any- 
one. Comp.  Raumer,  Pal.f  S.  291.  On  the 
southern  side  of  the  city  were  the  well-gate 
[Zion-gate? — S.  R.  A.]  and  the  dung-gate.  Botli 
opened  on  the  Tyropaeum,  both  therefore  con- 
ducted to  Tophet,  the  former  being  nearer  to  this 
place.  But  the  latter  corresponds  better  to  the 
character  of  Tophet  as  an  unclean  spot,  receiving 
the  impurities  of  the  city.  Here  also  the  cloaca 
Betzo  disembogued.  "The  site  of  this  gate," 
Bays  Raumeu,  S.  352,  "  is  the  lowest  point  of  the 
eity,  to  which  all  the  filth  of  the  city  and  the  ra- 
vine of  Siloah  descends." — [Comp.  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  II.  497].     A  definite  con- 


clusion is  however  not  to  be  reached  with  respect 
to  things  concerning  which  so  much  uncertainty 
still  prevails. 

Vers.  3-5.  And  say  .  .  into  my  mind.  Here 
it  is  not  recorded,  as  in  xviii.  3,  that  the  prophet 
performed  the  command  received  in  vers.  1,  2, 
and  thereupon  in  the  valley  of  Hinnora  received 
the  revelation  contained  in  vers.  3  sqq.  For 
there  (ch.  xviii.)  the  revelation  to  be  received 
was  occasioned  by  the  observations  made  at  the 
potter's  (.iviii.  3,  4).  There  is  no  similar  occa- 
sion here,  so  that  ver.  3  proceeds  at  once  to  com- 
municate the  revelation. — And  say,  reads  as 
though  the  previous  discourse  were  continued, 
which  cannot  be  the  case  on  account  of  I  shall 
tell.  We  shall  not  err  if  we  attribute  the  mode 
of  expression  here  chosen  to  the  written  repre- 
sentation.— Kings  of  Judah.  Here,  as  in  ver. 
4  coll.  xiii.  13 ;  xvii.  20  the  prophet  has  in  view 
not  only  the  person  of  the  present  king,  but  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  generally.  —  This  place  is 
here,  in  accordance  with  what  follows.  Tophet. — 
They,  etc.  Comp.  ix.  15;  xvi.  13;  xliv.  3,  21. — 
Have  filled.  On  the  verbal  form  comp.  Comm. 
on  xviii.  4. — Blood  of  innocents.  According 
to  the  connection  and  Ps.  cvi.  37,  38  we  must  un- 
derstand this  of  the  blood  of  the  children  offered 
in  sacrifice. — Ver.  5  is  almost  verbatim  the  same 
as  vii.  31  ;  xxxii.  35.  Comp.  the  remarks  on  the 
first  of  these  passages. 

Vers.  6-9.  Therefore  behold  .  .  .  shall 
straiten  them.  After,  in  vers.  4  and  5,  the 
abominations  practised  in  Tophet  have  been  enu- 
merated, the  announcement  is  now  made  of  the 
corresponding  punishments.  This  announcement, 
which  appears  to  be  a  specification  of  the  sum- 
mary denunciation  in  ver.  3  b,  is  made  in  two 
stages,  of  which  the  first  (vers.  6-9)  is  accompa- 
nied by  the  gesture  of  pouring  out  (ver.  7),  and 
the  second  by  the  act  of  breaking  (ver.  10). — The 
dajrs  come,  etc.,  ver.  6.  Comp.  Comm.  on  vii. 
32. — tour  out.  Isai.  xxiv.  1;  Nah.  ii.  3.  What 
is  poured  out  falls  to  the  ground,  which  is  fre- 
quently used  as  a  figurative  expression  for  coming 
to  naught.  Comp.  1  Sam.  iii.  19  ;  2  Kings  x. 
10. — In  this  place.  Is  this  the  ter7n.  in  quo,  or 
in  quern?  I  believe  the  latter.  In  Tophet  all 
the  counsel  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  is  to  find  its 
tragical  end,  as  this  is  indeed  expressed  by  the 
name  Valley  of  Slaughter,  and  by  burying  in 
Tophet  (ver.  11)  and  by  becoming  like  Tophet 
(ver.  12). — I  w^ill  give,  etc.  Comp.  vii.  30; 
xvi.  4. — A  hissing,  ver.  8.  Comp.  xviii.  16; 
XXV.  9,  18;  li.  37. — Every  one,  etc.  Comp.  1 
Ki.  ix.  8;  Jer.  xviii.  16;  xlis.  17;  1.  13. — Ver. 
9  is  taken  entire  from  Deut.  xxviii.  53-55  (Lev. 
xxvi.  29).  Comp.  Lam.  ii.  20;  iv.  10.  As  his- 
torical analogies,  comp.  2  Ki.  vi.  28,  29.  Jo- 
seph, Bell.  Jud.,  VI.  3,  3-5. 

Vers.  10-13.  Then  shalt  thou  break  .  .  . 
unto  other  gods.  The  second  stage  of  the 
symbolic  action.  The  progress  consists  in  this, 
that  by  the  breaking  of  the  pitcher  the  total  ruin 
of  the  city  and  people  (therefore  not  merely  of 
individuals)  and  by  the  casting  into  Tophet  its 
desolation  and  defilement,  or  in  other  words  its 
becoming  itself  Tophet,  is  symbolized. — As  one 
breaketh  (ver.  11).  Comp.  Comm.  on  v.  26; 
vi.  J'.l ;  viii.  4;  x.  3  ;  xii.  11;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  § 
101,  2,  b. — Cannot  be  made  ■whole   again. 


CHAP.  XIX    14-15.— XX.  1-0. 


18j 


Though  uttered  concerning  another  object,  we 
find  the  same  words  verbatim  in  Deut.  xxviii  27, 
35. — And  they  shall  bury,  etc.  Comp.  vii. 
32.  These  words  being  wanting  in  the  LXX., 
have  been  suspected.  But  thoy  stand  in  a  good 
connection,  and  correspond  to  the  casting  out, 
by  which  the  pitcher  was  not  merely  broken  but 
buried  in  Tophet.  Consequently  by  this  act  To- 
phet  is  as  it  were  dedicated  to  the  purposes  tf  a 
cemetery.  Jeremiah  says  interments  will  be 
made  in  Tophet  for  want  of  room.  This  pro- 
phecy may  have  been  fulfilled  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city  by  Nebuchadnezzar  (comp.  xxxii, 
29)  though  we  have  no  positive  statements  to  this 
effect.  But  Tophet.  having  once  become  a  place 
of  burial,  must  have  accomplished  this  destina- 
tion afterwards  in  a  significant  manner.  It  is  the 
aypoc  '''oi)  Kspausu^  which  was  bought  with  the 
price  of  blood  for  the  burial-place  of  pilgrims 
(Matth.  xxvii.  3  sqq. ;  Acts  i.  18,  19).  And 
still  at  the  present  day  Aceldama  is  the  burial- 
place  of  pilgrims  dying  in  Jerusalem;  indeed 
the  whole  of  the  valley  surrounding  Zion  on  the 
West  and  South,  on  its  right  side,  contains  nu- 
merous rock  sepulchres,  a  true  "Necropolis," 
says  Raumer.  Comp.  his  Pal.,  S.  306. — Ver.  12. 
Thus  ■will  I  do,  etc.  The  Lord  will  do  to  the 
city  as  is  indicated  by  the  breaking  of  the  pitcher. 
Thus  will  Jerusalem  become  a  heap  of  ruins,  and 
unclean,  for  the  want  of  room  presupposes  that 
even  the  city  itself  will  be  full  of  corpses.  There- 
fore  we   find    1    before    fin?  z=  and  indeed. 

Comp.  rems.  on  xvii.  10. — Shall  be  defiled, 
(D^NODH).  [Henderson  renders:  which  are 
polluted,  shall  be  as  this  place ;  Hitzig,  Umbreit, 
Naegelsbach:  shall  be  as  the  place  of  Tophet, 


the  unclean,  or  unclean. — S  E.  A.].  Since  th« 
Hebrew  in  a  much  higher  degree  than  our  mo- 
dern languages  is  capable  of  tne  constructio  ad 
sensum,  since  especially  an  ideal  plural  is  often 
contained  in  singular  words  (comp.  1  Ki.  v.  17; 
2  Sam.  XV.  23.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  |  105,  2f.)  so 
the  connection  of  the  singular  T^ophet  with 
D'NOtOn  presents  in  itself  no  difficulty.  Only  it 
IS  not  clear  what  are  th?,  several  elements  in- 
cluded in  the  unity  of  Tophet.  Hofmann  and 
others  suppose  them  to  be  graves.  ..  referred 
above,  on  vii.  31,  to  altars.  This  word  is  cer- 
tainly elsewhere  used  as  feminine.  But  in  re- 
spect also  to  gender,  the  same  ideal  construction 
prevails  in  the  Hebrew.  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
\  60,  4).  It  appears  ta  me  therefore  that  the 
prophet  had  here  the  places  of  worship  in  view. 
These  he  calls  unclean  both  on  account  of  the 
abominations  practised  there,  and  the  defile- 
ments caused  by  Josiah,  2  Ki.  xxiii.  10.  The 
other  renderings  (defiled  as  the  predicate,  of 
as  in  apposition  to  houses  or  to  place  or  an- 
other division  of  the  words:    C^^P^  njHtlj'^)  are 

opposed  by  such  strong  grammatical  objections, 
that  the  remaining  uncertainty  of  our  explana- 
tion is  scarce  worth  consideration  in  comparison 
with  them.  The  houses  of  Jerusalem  will  how> 
ever  in  this  sense  be  like  Tophet,  that  the  place 
where  they  now  stand,  will  in  the  future  become 
as  desolate  and  unclean  as  it. — Upon  the  roofs. 
Comp.  Zeph.  i.  5;  2  Ki.  xxiii.  12.  J.  D.  Michae- 
Lis  quotes  Strabo  (XVI.  p.  1131):  "Safiaralot 
(comp.  1  Mace.  v.  25 ;  ix.  35)  t]1iov  Tifiuaiv  ekI 
Toh  dufiarog  i^pvadfiEvot  (iu/ibv,  airivdovTeg  ev  avr^ 
Kai?'  ^fiipav  nal  ?ii(iavi^ovT£g. 


2.   The  opposition  aiid punishment  of  Pashur. 
XIX.  14.— XX.  6. 

14  Then  came  Jeremiah  [back]  from  Tophet,  whither  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  had  sent 
him  to  prophesy;  and  he  stood  in  the  court  of  the  Lord's  [Jehovah's]  house;  and 

15  said  to  all  the  people,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth],  the  God 
of  Israel:  Behold,  I  will  bring  upon  this  city  and  upon  all  her  towns  all  the  evil  that 
I  have  pronounced  against  it,  because  they  have  hardened  their  necks,  that  they 
might  not  hear  my  words. 

1  XX.  Now  Pashur,  the  son  of  Immer  the  priest,  who  was  also  chief  governor^  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  heard  [that]  Jeremiah  prophesied  [prophesy]  these  things. 

2  Then  Pashur  smote  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  and  put  him  in  the  stocks  [prison]  that 
were  [was]  in  the  high  gate  of  Benjamin,  [the  Benjamin-gate,  the  upper]  which  was 

3  by  [in]  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah].  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  morrow  that 
Pashur  brought  forth  Jeremiah  out  of  the  stocks  [prison].  Then  said  Jeremiah  unto 
him.  The  Lord  [Jehovah]  hath  not  called  thy  name  Pashur,  but  Magor-missabib, 

4  ["  Terror  round  about "].  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  Behold,  I  will  make 
thee  [give  thee  up]  a  [to]  terror  to  [for]  thyself  and  to  [for]  all  thy  friends :  and 
they  shall  fall  by  the  sword  of  their  enemies  and  thine  eyes  shall  behold  it:  and  I 
will  give  all  Judah  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  carry  them 

5  captive  into  Babylon,  and  shall  slay  them  with  the  sword.  Moreover  I  will  deliver 
all  the  strength  [store]*  of  this  city,  and  all  the  labours  [gains]  thereof,  and  all  the 


186 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


precious  things  thereof,  and  all  the  treasures  of  the  kings  of  Judah  will  I  give  into 
the  hand  of  their  enemies,  which  shall  spoil  them,  and  take  them,  and  carry  them  to 
6  Babylon.  And  thou,  Pashur,  and  all  that  dwell  in  thine  house,  shall  go  into  cap- 
tivity :  and  thou  shalt  come  to  Babylon,  and  there  thou  sh.alt  die,  and  shalt  be  bu- 
ried there,  thou,  and  all  thy  friends,  to  whom  thou  hast  prophesied  lies. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— TJJ  Tp£)-Nini.  The  construction  is  like  3tyjr  H^l,  li3J  Sx,    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §g  72  and  66. 

2  Ver.  5. JOn  =  copia,  store.    Comp.  Prov.  xv.  G ;  xxvii.  24 ;  Isai.  xxxiii.  6  ;  Ezek.  xxii.  25. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  betakes  himself  back  from  Tophet 
into  the  temple,  and  probably  repeats  there  his 
predictions  of  calamity  (vers.  14,  15).  For  this 
he  is  struck  by  Pashur,  the  governor  of  the  tem- 
ple, and  committed  to  prison  for  the  night  (xx. 
1-2).  Released  from  this  confinement  in  the 
morning,  Jeremiah  announces  to  Pashur  that  the 
Lord  has  changed  his  name  to  Magor-miss.ibib, 
for  he  will  be  given  up  a  prey  to  the  torments  of 
mortal  anguish,  his  friends  shall  be  slain  befoi-e 
his  eyes,  Judah  carried  away  to  Babylon,  all  its 
treasures  plundered ;  he  himself  shall  survive 
all  this,  and  die  and  be  buried  in  Babylon,  the 
prophet  of  lies  in  the  midst  of  those  whom  he  has 
deceived  (vers.  4-G). 

Vers.  14,  15.  Then  came  Jeremiah  .  .  my 
words.  As  these  words  are  closely  connected 
with  the  previous  context  iO"'!,  ver.  14,  corves- 
ponds  to  r\Xi'\     In  antithesis  to     X^f    however 

*^  T        TT  TT 

X13  has  always  the  meaning  of  return.  Comp. 
Nurab.  xxvii.  17;  Deut.  xxviii.  6;  1  Chron.  xi. 
2  ;  Ps.  cxxi.  8;  cxxvi.  6. — Ver.  15.  Thus  saith, 
etc.  It  is  incredible  that  Jeremiah  spoke  only 
these  few  words  in  the  temple.  He  would  then 
have  said  nothing  new,  and  have  given  no  mo- 
tive to  the  evidently  increased  anger  of  the  tem- 
ple-governor. We  must  therefore  refer  all  that 
I  have  pronounced  specially  to  the  words 
spoken  in  Tophet,  and  assume  a  repetition  of 
these  words,  in  order  that  the  reference  might 
be  understood. — I  ■will  bring.  Comp.  2  Sam. 
v.  2;  Mic.  i.  15,  etc.  Olsh.,  g  38,  c;  |  208,  d. 
— All  her  towns.  Comp.  Josh.  x.  37,  39; 
xiii.  17 ;  Jer.  xxxiv.  1 ;  Zech.  vii.  7. — Hardened, 
"tc.  Comp.  xvii.  23  ;  vii.  2(). — That  they  might 
not  hear.     (Jomp.  xvi.  12;   xviii.  10;   xlii.  13. 

XX.  1  -G.  Now  Pashur  heard . . .  prophesied 
lies.  According  to  Ezr.  ii.  38;  x.  22;  Neh.  vii.  41, 
there  was  a  course  of  priests  of  the  name  Pashur. 
Not  of  tliis,  however,  but  of  the  course  named  as 
that  of  Immer  in  these  passages  (comp.  1  Chron. 
xxiv.  14)  was  the  Pashur  of  the  text.  He  is  not 
mentioned  elsewhere.  For  though  the  name  fre- 
quently occurs  (xxi.  1 ;  xxxviii.  1 ;  1  Chron.  ix. 
12;  Noh.  X.  3;  xi.  12),  none  of  the  individuals 
designated  by  it  can  be  regarded  as  identical 
with  this  Pasliur.  It  is  at  most  possible  that  the 
fatlier  of  Gedaliah  mentioned  in  xxxviii.  1  may 
be  tlic  same.  Comp.  Hitzio,  (/(/  loc. — Chief 
governor.  Tlie  expression  involves  that  there 
were  several  overseers  (comp.  Joseph.  Anli<jq., 
xK.  8,  5).  AVitliout  doubt  the  temple-watch  (comp. 
Winer,  R.-W.-B  ,  Art.,  Tempel  at  the  end)  was 
ander  the  orders  of  the  "governor."     From  a 


comparison  of  xxix.  25,  26,  with  Hi.  24,  it  seemi 
that  the  temple-governor  took  the  second  rank  to 
the  high-priest.  As  th.e  head  of  the  temple-police, 
Pashur  now  puts  Jeremiah  into  the  HJiinD.  T]ie 
expression  occurs  besides  only  in  xxix.  26;  2 
Chron.  xvi.  10.  It  is  without  doubt  a  contri- 
vance for  shutting  up  in  i  crooked  position 
[aTpe^AuTypiov.  Symm.  ■K(HV)7^f)a3ri).  Comp.  Acts 
xvi.  24. — Gate  of  Benjamin,  etc.  From 
xxxvii.  13;  xxxviii.  7,  it  is  evident  that  there 
was  a  city-gate  which  led  into  the  territory  of 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  was  therefore  called 
the  gate  of  Benjamin.  The  one  mentioned  in  the 
text  is  expressly  distinguished  from  tliis  as  a 
temple-gate.  The  same  name  intimates  identity 
of  cause.  We  must  then  look  for  this  tenip!e-g,ite 
also  in  the  direction  of  Benjamin,  i.  e.,  to  the 
north.  The  upper  gate  corresponds  to  the  upper 
court,  forming  one  of  the  entrances  to  it. 
Whether  this  upper  gate  of  Benjamin  is  the  same 
with  the  new  gate,  leading  to  the  upper  court 
(xxxvi.  10;  xxvi.  10)  which,  according  to  2  Kings 
XV.  35,  was  built  by  Jotham,  is  questionable. 
Comp.  Ezek.  viii.  3;  xiv.  5 ;  ix.  2. — Not  called 
Pashur,  ver.  3.  The  signification  of  the  name 
Pashur  is  very  obscure.  Most  commentators 
derive  the  word  from  Wiq  \viih\c 2}asaha=amplius 
fuit,  and  "linp  circiimcirca.     Hence  Fuerst:  ez- 

tension — around.  Others  from  1^13,  Lev.  xiii.  5, 
7,  and  "^in.  Josh.  xxix.  22,  as  though  "the  widely 
extended  authority  of  the  man,  making  all  pale" 
(comp.  Neumann),  were  indicated.  Ewald  ren- 
ders  Joij    {VJ^    or    W^    from  t^^a,  Mai.  iii.  20) 

around  (as  though   "^in  were  pronounced    7in). 

Meier:  Spirit  of  the  free  (1^3   as  in  Job  xxxv.  15 

=^exlension,  liigh  spirit,  pride  ;  T^n:='1in  the  noble, 
the  free).  Hitzig  and  Graf  cannot  dispute  that 
Jeremiah  had  the  etymology,  obscure  as  it  is  to 
us,  in  view,  for  how  otherwise  can  we  explain 
tlie  choice  of  the  name  which  he  gave  to  the 
priest?  It  is  certainly  natural  that  Pashur 
sliould  have  some  meaning  opposed  to  that  of  the 
name  Magor-missabib.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
explanation  afterwards  given  in  ver.  4,  sqq., 
corresponds  exactly  to  this  name,  in  so  far  as 
Pashur  seems  to  be  always  surrounded  by  terrors, 
but  never  himself  brought  to  extremity,  for  he  is 
to  die  and  be  buried  in  Babylon  (ver.  6).  In 
this  sense  the  words  thine  eyes  shall  see,  are 
especially  important.  For  by  these  the  position 
of  a  man  is  designated,  who  is  not  liimself  reached 
by  the  most  terrible  calamity,  but  is  compelled 
continually  to  behold  how  this  comes  upon  others, 
and    therefore    does    not  escape  the    torture  of 

anxiety.     I   would  therefore   neither  render  ^7 


CHAP.  XX.  7-13.  187 


thee,  after  ^]nj  as  distributive  (xix.  13),  nor 
would  I  allow  it  to  depend  on  the  latter,  but  on 
1U0,  terror:   I  give  thee  up  to  fear  for  thyself  and 

thy  friends.  This  is  to  be  the  specific  punishment 
of  Pashur,  that  he  is  not  visited  by  death  itself, 
but  by  the  constant  fear  of  death. — To  vrhom 


thou  hast  prophesied  lies.  From  these  con- 
cluding words  we  learn  that  Pashur  was  active, 
not  merely  as  a  priest,  but  also  as  prophet.  But 
his  prophetic  office  was  assumed  and  false;  and 
his  behaviour  toward  Jeremiah  may,  in  part  at 
least,  be  thus  accounted  for. 


3.  APPENDIX. 
Chap.  XX.  7-18. 

THE  prophet's  JOY  AND  SORROW. 

This  passage  contains  an  outbreak  of  the  deepest  sorrow,  called  forth  by  the  persecutions,  whose  object  Jere- 
miah was,  both  in  general  and  specially  in  the  bad  treatment  just  received  (xx.  2,  3  ;  comp.  xi.  18 ; 
XV.  15;  xviii.  18  sqq.).  The  close  connection  of  the  passage  with  the  preceding  context  is  evident,  as 
it  seems  to  me  from  the  words  Magor-missabib  in  ver.  10.  For  the  application  of  this  expression  to 
the  prophet  is  certainly  most  easily  explained  by  the  application  which  he  himself  had  made  of  it  in  so 
pregnant  a  manner  and  to  so  prominent  a  personage  as  J'ashur.  If  we  further  consider  that  to  pass  a 
night  in  the  stocks  must  have  been  a  fearful  torture,  and  that  it  was  the  first  time  that  the  prophet  had 
had  to  suffer  bodily  ill-treatment,  ive  must  admit  that  the  historical  epoch  toas  perfectly  adapted  for 
the  production  of  such  a  lamentation.  It  should,  moreover,  be  observed  that  there  is  no  superscription 
or  designation  of  this  effusion  as  "  Word  of  the  Lord."  From  this  it  follows  that  the  prophet  himsflf 
ascribes  to  this  passage  only  a  subjective  and  private  character.  The  passage  may  be  divided  into  two 
parts:  1.  Vers.  7-13.  Hete  the  prophet  rises  from  his  lament  on  account  of  the  persecution  which 
had  come  upon  him  against  his  will  to  the  expression  of  the  most  joyful  hope.  2.  Vers.  14-18.  Here 
the  feeling  of  sorrow,  nay  of  despair,  gets  the  upper  hand,  and  the  prophet  sinks  into  a  state  of  the 
most  utter  grief  and  despondency, 

a.  Through  sorrow  to  joy. 
XX.  7-13. 

7  Thou  didst  persuade  me,^  Jehovah,  and  I  was  persuaded: 
Thou  didst  lay  hold  of  me''  and  didst  prevail  over  me. 

I  am  become  a  derision  daily;  every  one  mocketh  me. 

8  For  as  often  as  I  speak  or  cry,^ 

I  must  cry  concerning  violence  and  ill-treatment ; 

For  the  word  of  Jehovah  is  made  to  me  a  scorn  and  derision  the  whole  day. 

9  And  if  I  say,^  I  will  no  more  make  mention  of  him, 
Nor  speak  henceforth  in  his  name, 

It  becomes  in  my  heart  like  a  burning  fire,  shut  up*  in  my  bones, 
And  I  weary  myself  with  refraining,  and  cannot. 

10  For  I  hear  the  talking  of  many : 

Terror  round  about !     "Announce!     We  will  announce  it!" 

All  who  are  obligated  to  be  at  peace  with  me  watch  for  my  halting : — 

"  Perhaps  he  will  allow  himself  to  be  taken ! 

Then  we  will  overpower  him  and  take  our  revenge  on  him." 

11  But  Jehovah  is  with  me  as  a  mighty  hero ; 
Therefore  my  persecutors  will  stumble  and  not  prevail. 

They  shall  be  p'rievously  put  to  shame,  because  they  have  effected  nothing, 
With  eternal  disgrace,  which  is  not  forgotten. 

12  But  Jehovah  Zebaoth  tries  justly ;®  he  sees  reins  and  heart. 
I  ehall  see  thy  vengeance  on  them, 

For  on  thee  have  I  devolved  my  suit. 

13  Sing  to  Jehovah,  praise  Jehovah, 

For  he  has  saved  the  soul  of  the  poor  from  the  hand  of  evil  doens. 


188 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  7.— '' jnTIS-    The  construction  is  like  HJ^INI  ' PJ^'^TI  HirT'l,  xi.  18. 
a  Ver.  7.— pin,  transitive  as  in  1  Kings  xvi.  22 ;  1  Chron.  xxviii.  20. 

3  Ver.  8.— According  to  theMasoretic  punctuation,  p>'TX  is  connected  as  asyndeton  with  "13'nX,  Hti*!  DDH  depending 

onVIDS  as  an  accusative.    This  punctuation  is  supported  on  the  fact  that  the  latter  phrase  frequently  occurs  in  this 

connection-  vi.  7  •  Am.iii.  10;  Fzok.  xlv.  9.    In  itself  it  would  certainly  be  allowable  and  more  in  accordance  with  the 
sense  to  consider  the  latter  seiitenc  lis  aifc.dosi.'i  of  the  former.  ^      ,  „^ 

4  Ver.  9.— On  the  form  of  the  conditional  sentence,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  85  a,  tic. 

5Ver.  9— "ivy  being  in  apposition  to  iT1^3  iyX>  is  to  be  rendered  as  neuter:  inclusum  aliquid.    Comp.  Naegelsb. 

'«  Ver.  12.— [Henderson  :  The  Trier  of  the  righteous.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  first  calls  to  mind  that  he  had  not 
thrust  himself  into  the  prophetic  office,  but  un- 
dertaken it  with  reluctance  (ver.  7  a).  That 
his  objections  were  well  founded  is  shown  by  the 
result,  for  he  has  reaped  nothing  in  return  for 
his  proclamation  of  the  divine  word  but  scorn 
and  derision  (vers.  7  6-8).  But  when  he  at- 
tempted to  divest  himself  of  the  prophetic  voca- 
tion, he  found  this  impossible ;  there  was  an 
impulse  from  within,  which  burned  like  a  fire 
and  threatened  to  consume  him  unless  he  were 
relieved  (ver.  9).  And  yet  his  ministry  did  not 
cease  to  be  ruinous  to  him.  He  hears  how  the 
words  of  his  prophecy,  as  "Terror  round  about" 
(xx.  3),  are  turned  against  him  in  derision,  and 
used  indenunciation  of  the  prophet.  Yea,  even 
such  as  should  be  well  disposed  towards  him 
watched  curiously  to  spy  out  some  false  step,  by 
which  they  might  obtain  the  satisfaction  of  their 
feeling  of' revenge  (ver.  10).  He  then  consoles 
himself  with  the  hope  that  everlasting  shame  will 
be  the  portion  of  his  enemies  (ver.  11),  and  that 
he  will  be  avenged  by  God,  the  true  knower  of 
hearts  (ver.  12).  Finally  in  the  anticipation  of 
being  heard,  he  breaks  out  into  a  summons  to 
praise  God  as  the  Saviour  of  the  poor  (ver.  13). 

Vers.  7  and  8.  Thou  didst  persuade  him 
.  .  .  the  -whole  day.  On  the  subject-matter, 
comp.  i.  5  sqq. 

Ver.  9.  And  if  I  say  .  .  .  and  cannot.  The 
prophet  describes  his  experience,  when,  having 
undertaken  the  prophetic  calling,  he  attempts  to 
escape  from  it.  He  had  the  feeling  as  if  a  fire 
were  burning  within  him,  which  having  no  out- 
let would  consume  him,  to  which,  therefore,  he 
was  obliged  to  give  an  outlet  by  expressing  what 
was  inwardly  communicated  to  him.  Comp.  vi. 
11 ;  Am.  iii.  8. — I  weary  myself.  Comp.  ix.  4; 
XV.  6. 

Vers.  10-13.  For  I  hear  .  .  .  evil-doers.    "'3 

For  in  ver.  10,  cannot  possibly  refer  immediately 
to  ver. 9.  It  rather  presupposes  a  similar  thought 
to  that  to  which  the  parallel  'D  in  ver.  8  refers, 
and  which  is  contained  in  ver.  7  b.  We  must, 
therefore,  supply  after  ver.  9  a  thought  of  this 
kind  :  since  the  cause  remains,  the  efifoct  also 
remains  (namely,  that  indicated  in  7  6).  How 
far  this  is  tin;  case,  is  shown  in  the  following 
sentence. — Talk,  713*1  is  fama,  rumor,  public  talk, 
report  (comp.  Gen.  xxxvii.  2;  Num.  xiii.  32;  xiv. 
■;tj,  37;  I'rov.  x.  18;  xxv.  10).  That  it'  is  a 
secretly  cii-culatcd,  softly  wiiispered  rumor, 
neither    follows    IVdih    tae    ctyiiioli)gy    (which  is 


pretty  uncertain ;  comp.  Fuerst's  Concordance 
with  his  Lexicon),  nor  from  the  connection  of 
the  passage  where  it  occurs.  —  Terror,  etc. 
Magor-missabib.  The  expression  occurs  in  vi. 
25;  afterwards  also  in  xlvi.  5;  xlix.  29  coll. 
Lam.  ii.22,  besides  Ps.  xxxi.  14.  Since  the  dis- 
course to  which  vi.  25  belongs,  is  older  than  ch. 
xix.  and  xx.,  the  prophet  did  not  use  the  expres- 
sion in  XX.  3  for  the  first  time,  but  only  as  a  re- 
petition of  one  previously  used.  In  this  passage 
the  expression  may  be  understood  as  only  an 
ironical  quotation.  For  1.  The  form  of  the  ex- 
pression is  not  such  that  it  can  be  designated  as 
a  popular  form  of  threatening.  "lUD,  magor,  is 
not  only  a  comparatively  rare  word,  but  one 
which  belongs  exclusively  to  poetic  and  prophetic 
phraseology;  it  occurs  only  eight  times  in  the 
Old  Testament,  and  except  once  in  Isa.  (xxxi.  9 
in  another  connection),  only  in  the  formula  here 
used,  six  times  in  Jeremiah  and  in  Ps.  xxxi.  14. 
2.  The  expression  is  evidently  one  peculiar  to 
Jeremiah,  as  is  clear  from  what  has  been  stated; 
in  addition  to  which  may  be  remarked,  that  Ps. 
xxxi.  contains  so  many  elements  peculiar  to  the 
style  of  Jeremiah  or  related  to  it,  that  the  ques- 
tion whether  Jeremiah  was  not  its  author  is 
fully  justified.  As  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
that  those  scoflFers  applied  his  own  phrase  to 
the  prophet,  it  is  further  in  the  highest  degree 
probable  that  they  did  this  from  an  occasion  on 
which  it  had  been  used  by  the  prophet  not  by  the 
way,  but  in  a  pregnant  manner.  This  latter  was, 
however,  the  case  when  Jeremiah  changed  the 
name  of  so  important  a  personage  as  Pashur  into 
Magor-missabib.  The  question  is  of  subordinate 
interest  in  what  sense  they  applied  the  expres- 
sion to  the  prophet;  whether  it  was  as  a  menace 
ae;ainst  him,  or  as  a  reproach  for  his  hostile  dis- 
position towards  the  community.  Probably  they 
wished  to  unite  both. — All  who  are  obligated, 
etc.     Comp.   xxii.  22;    Ob.  8;   Psalm  xli.  10. — 

Watch  for  my  halting.  J^vV  in  the  meaning 
of  "side,"  according  to  which  "who  cover  my 
side  "  would  be  in  apposition. — Friends  [liter- 
ally:  men  of  ray  peace],  from  the  want  of  a  pre- 
dicate,   gives    no    sense     [though    adopted    by 

SCHMID,   SCHNUREEU,  ElCHHORN,  and  GeSENIUS]. 

Doubtless  it  is,  as  in  Ps.  xxxv.  15,  claudicatio, 
tottering,  making  a  false  step.  For  IDty  in  the 
sense  of  "to  watch  for,  to  lie  in  wait,"  see  Ps 
Ivi.  7;  Ixxi.  10;  Job  x.  14;  xiii.  27. — Over- 
power him.  Comp.  i.  19;  xv.  20. — My  perse- 
cutors. Comp.  XV.  15;  xvii.  18. — Not  prevail. 
Comp.  v.  22;  iii.  5 — Effect  nothing.  Comp. 
Comm.    on   x.   21. — Eternal  disgrace.  Comp. 


CHAP.  XX.  14-18. 


189 


xxiii.  40. — But  Jehovah    (ver.  12).  Comp.  xi. 
20. — Justly,    p''^.^  might  be  accusative.      But 

from  the  parallel  with  xi.  20,  we  perceive  that  it 
is  intended  to  define  more  particularly  the  action 


predicated.  The  sense  is  also  more  satisfactory, 
if  it  is  not  merely  said,  ivhat  the  Lord  sees,  but 
also  hotv  lie  sees  it. — Sing,  etc.  A  hymn  of  the 
hopeful  man,  who  by  faith  possesses  that  whicu 
is  still  future  CHeb.  xi.  1). 


b.  For  the  present  nothing  but  sorrow:  The  prophet  curses  the  day  of  his  birth. 

XX.  14-18. 

14  Cursed  be  the  day  wherein  I  was  begotten ! 

Let  not  the  day,  wherein  my  mother  bare  me,  be  blessed ! 

15  Cursed  be  the  man  who  brought  tidings  to  my  father,  saying, 
A  son  is  born  to  thee,  a  man-child ! — making  him  very  glad. 

16  And  let  that  man  be  as  the  cities  which  the  Lord  overthrew  without  mercy. 
And  let  him  hear  the  cry  in  the  morning  and  alarm  of  war  at  noontide, 

17  Because  he  slew  me  not  in  the  womb ; 

So  that  my  mother  might  have  been  my  grave, 
And  her  womb  have  remained  always  gravid. 

18  Wherefore  came  I  forth  from  the  womb, 

To  see  labour  and  sorrow  and  my  days  consumed  in  shame? 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  curses  the  day  of  his  begetting 
and  the  day  of  his  birth  (ver.  14).  He  further 
curses  the  man,  who  brought  to  his  father  the 
first  news  of  his  birth  (ver.  15).  He  wishes  that 
this  man  may  be  like  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  (ver. 
16),  because  he  did  not  kill  him  in  the  womb  and 
thus  prevent  his  birth  (ver.  17).  Finally  he 
breaks  out  again  into  a  lamentation: — 0  why 
must  I  be  born  to  a  life  of  misery  and  shame  (ver. 
18)?  Two  questions  here  arise.  1.  Is  such  a 
cursing  in  the  mouth  of  a  prophet  to  be  justified  ? 
2.  Is  it  in  place  in  this  connection  immediately 
after  the  hopeful  words  in  vers.  11-13?  As  to 
the  first  question,  as  a  preliminary  all  those  ar- 
bitrary interpretations  are  to  be  rejected,  which 
understand  by  the  day  which  .Jeremiah  curses, 
not  the  day  of  his  birth,  but  some  other  day,  es- 
pecially some  future  day,  as  that  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  (as  according  to  Jerome  the 
older  Rabbins), — or  which  suppose  that  Jeremiah 
speaks  not  in  his  own  name,  but  in  the  name  of 
others  [perditorum  hominum), — or  which  suppose 
that  Jeremiah  complains  here  not  of  external  but 
internal  trials,  or  of  the  perversity  of  the  people 
(Calvin),  or  that  he  gives  an  account  of  a  trial 
which  he  had  endured  previously  (in  explanaiion 

of  JVnx,  ver.  13,  on  account  of  which  'n"!?X  T^X 
or  ION  is  to  be  supplied  before  ver.  14.  Seb. 
Schmidt).  It  should  be  observed  that  this  en- 
tire passage  from  ver.  7  onwards,  is  not  pro- 
claimed by  the  prophet  as  a  word  of  Jehovah 
(Comp.  1  Cor.  vii.  25).  He  gives  us  merely ji_ 
true  reflex  "f  his  human  feTing.  Who  can  dis- 
pute the  possibility  of  a  man  like  Jeremiah  having 
Buch  temptations  of  indignation  and  despair  ?  Is 
it  not  human?     Do  the  men  of  God  cease  to  be 


men  ?  Think  of  that  man  of  God,  Job,  whose 
words  evidently  (iii.  3  sqq.)  hovered  before  the 
mind  of  the  prophet.  It  is  further  to  be  observed, 
that  the  cursing  is  merely  a  rhetorical  form.  It 
has  no  object.  The  long  past  day  of  his  birth  is 
as  little  an  object,  to  which  the  curse  might 
really  attach  itself  as  the  man  who  announced  to 
the  father  the  birth  of  his  son, — who  in  reality, 
probably,  never  existed.  For  were  men  wit- 
nesses of  confinements  ?  Is  it  not  of  purpose  that 
the  prophet  speaks  of  a  man,  and  not  of  a  wo- 
man? Therefore  Chrtsostom  says  concerning 
Job:  '■^  inanimatis  facit  injuriam^'  (Ghisl.  II.,  S. 
523).  Finally,  however,  it  must  be  admitted,  as 
Seb.  Schmidt  sets  forth,  that  it  manifests  an  in- 
firmity on  the  part  of  the  prophet.  Forster  eve^i 
says  :  "  Grande  hoc  et  mexcusabile  prophetx  pccca- 
tum  est."  And  indeed  the  sinfulness  of  it  consists 
partly  in  the  high  degree  of  impatience  and  ill- 
humor,  which  is  here  manifested,  and  partly  in 
the  form  in  which  it  displays  itself.  If  this  may 
be  regarded  as  rhetorical  hyperbole,  yet  this 
mode  of  expression  is  not  New  Testament,  Chris- 
tian, evangelical.  We  find  here,  too,  somewhat 
of  the  spirit  of  the  Ben-Hargem,  to  whom  Christ 
said:  Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are 
of  (Luke  ix.  55).  Comp.  the  Doctrinal  and 
Ethical  remarks  on  xviii.  20.  The  second  ques- 
tion, whether  this  outbreak  of  indignation  suits 
the  connection,  or  is  supposable  as  following  vers. 
11-13,  is  answered  by  many  in  the  negative. 
Ewald  even  places  vers.  14-18  before  ver,  7. 
Graf  regards  it  as  an  independent  fragment,  a 
further  development  of  xv.  10,  which  is  placed 
h.ere  only  on  account  of  its  agreement  in  purport 
with  vers.  7-10.  Now  it  must  certainly  be  admit- 
ted that  an  outbreak  of  ill-humor  such  as  this,  after 
ver.  13,  is  in  a  high  degree  remarkable.  But  ob- 
serve the  following  points:  1.  It  isnotneces-ary 
to  suppose  that  vers.  14-18  contain  the  exprea 


190 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


sion  of  a  state  of  mind,  which  followed  immedi- 
ately on  that  joyous  state  described  in  the  pre- 
vious context.  There  may  have  been  a  pause,  a 
transition.  None  the  less  does  the  prophet  por- 
tray the  occurrences  in  his  own  mind  with  per- 
fect correctness.  He  gives  us  to  understand  that 
his  state  of  comfort  did  not  long  continue,  but 
soon  made  way  for  its  opposite.  2.  This  arrange- 
ment of  the  psychological  tableaux  corresponds 
also  to  the  course  of  history :  the  prophet  never 
attained  in  this  life  to  the  enjoyment  of  outward 
peace.  If  he  had  now  and  then  a  moment  of  rest 
ami  of  hope,  it  was  soon  past.  Ver.  18  corres- 
pond.s  only  too  exactly  to  the  actual  tenor  of  his 
life. 

Ver.  14.  Cursed  be  the  day  ...  be 
blessed.     Even  R.  Salojio  and  Abarbanel,  in 

order  to  avoid  tautology  took  ^Pi'\r  in  the  sense 
of  beget.  They  add  that  Jeremiah  was  begoiten 
on  the  day  that  Manasseh  killed  the  prophets  of 
the  Lord  (2  Kings  xxi.  16).  Moreover  comp.  xv. 
10  ;   Job  iii.  3  sqq. 

Vers.  15-18.  Cursed  be  the  man .  .  .  con- 
sumed in  shame.     The  Rabbins  say  this  man 

was  Pashur. — Brought  tidings  1KJ3  with  ac- 
cusatives of  the  person,  1  Sam.  xxxi.  9 ;  2  Sam. 
xviii.  19. — As  the  cities,  etc.  Allusion  to  Gen. 
xix.  25. — In  the  morning  ...  at  noontide^: 

unceasingly,  without  any  breathing  pause.  Comp. 
Ps.  Iv.  18. —  In  [A.  v.:  from]  the  womb. 
DHID-  Comp.  Job  iii.  11.  The  preposition  tO. 
on  account  of  the  following  sentence,  cannot  be 
=from — away,  but  is  used  here  in  accordance 
with  that  idiom,  by  wliich  the  terminus  a  quo  is 
used  for  the  terminus  in  quo,  or  in  quem.  Comp. 
DTpp,    eastwards.    Gen.    xi.    2.     [Eng.    Vers. 

"from  the  east"— S.  R.  A].     pn^lSD  03  he  flees 

into  the  distance.  Isa.  xvii.  13 ;  Prov.  vii.  19 ; 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  |  112,  5  d.  The  man  may  be  re- 
garded equally  well  with  Jehovah  [Henderson], 
as  the  subject  of  slew,  especially  if  we  remem- 
ber that  the  whole  description  is  not  of  a  his- 
torical but  rhetorical  character.  Comp.  Ps. 
xxxi.  10.  ["While  destitute  of  the  sublime 
imagery  employed  by  J  ob,  this  passage  is  not  sur- 
passed in  patlios  ;  there  is  a  unity  and  condensa- 
tion throughout,  which  heighten  its  poetical 
beauty.'  Henderson. — S.  R.  A.]. 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xviii.  2.  "What  is  the  prophet  of  God 
to  learn  in  the  house  of  the  potter?  How  shall 
tliis  be  his  Bible  or  his  school  ?  But  God  chooses 
the  foolish  things  to  confound  human  wisdom  (1 
Cor.  i.  27)."  Cramer.  ["An  orator  would  never 
choose  such  an  instance  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing an  impression  on  his  audience;  still  less  for 
the  purpose  of  exhibiting  his  own  skill  and  live- 
liness. It  must  be  for  business,  not  for  amuse- 
ment, that  such  a  process  is  observed." — "What 
we  want  in  every  occupation  is  some  means  of 
preserving  the  continuity  of  our  thoughts,  some 
resistance  to  the  influences  which  are  continually 
distracting  and  dissipating  them.  But  it  is  es- 
pecially the  student  of  tiie  events  of  his  own  time, 
of  the  laws  which  regulate  them,  of  the  issues 
which  are  to  proceed  from  them,  who  has  need 


to  be  reminded  that  he  is  not  studying  a  number 
of  loose  disconnected  phenomena,  but  is  tracing 
a  principle  under  different  aspects  and  through 
different  manifestations.  A  sensible  illustration, 
if  we  would  condescend  to  avail  ourselves  of  it, 
would  often  save  us  from  much  vagueness  and 
unreality,  as  well  as  from  hasty  and  unsatisfac- 
tory conclusions."  Maurice. — S.  R.  A.] 

2.  On  xviii.  b  sqq.  Omne simile  claudicat.  Man 
is  not  clay,  though  he  is  made  of  clay  (Gen.  ii. 
7).  Consequently  in  vers.  8  and  10  the  moral 
conditions  are  mentioned,  which  by  virtue  of  his 
personality  and  freedom  must  be  fulfilled  on  the 
part  of  man,  in  order  that  the  divine  transforma- 
tion to  good  or  bad  may  take  place.  If  the  clay  is 
spoiled  on  the  wheel,  it  cannot  help  it.  It  is 
probably  only  the  potter's  fault.  Nothing  then 
is  here  symbolized  but  the  omnipotence  of  God, 
by  virtue  of  which  He  can  iii  any  given  case  sup- 
press whole  kingdoms  and  nations,  and  transform 
them  with  the  same  ease  and  rapidity  as  the 
potter  rolls  up  the  spoiled  vessel  into  a  ball  of 
clay,  and  immediately  gives  it  a  new  form.  It 
would  be  well  for  all  to  convince  themselves,  by 
witnessing  the  process,  of  the  wonderful  ease  with 
which  the  potter  forms  the  clay  on  the  wheel. 

3.  On  xviii.  6-10.  '^  Coffitet  unusquisque  peccata 
sua,  et  modo  ilia  emendet,  cum  tempus  est.  Sit 
fructuosus  dolor,  non  sit  sterilis  pcenitudo.  Tan- 
quam  hoc  dicit  Deus,  ecce  indicavi  sententiam,  sed 
nondum  protuli.  Prcedixi  non  fixi.  Quid  times, 
quia  dizif  Si  mutaveris,  mutattir.  Nam  scriptum 
est,  quod  poenileat  Deum.  Nnmquid  quomodo  homi- 
neni  sic  poenitet  Deum?  Nam  dictum  est :  si  pceni- 
tuerit  vos  de  peccatis  vestris,  paenitebit  me  de  omnibus 
malis,  qust  facturus  eram  vobis.  Numquid  quasi 
errantem  poenitet  Deum  ?  Sed  poeniteniia  dicitur  iii 
Deo  mutatio  sententix.  Non  est  iniqua,  sed  justa. 
Quarejusta?  Mutatus  est  reus,  mutavit  judex  sen- 
tentiam. Noli  terreri.  Sententia  mutata  est,  non 
justitia.  Justitia  Integra  manet,  quia  mutato  debet 
parcere,  quia  Justus  est.  Quomodo  pertinaci  non 
parcit,  sic  mutato  parcit."  Augustin,  Sermo  109. 
De  Tern,  ad  medium. 

4.  On  xviii.  6-10.  "  Comminationes  Dei  non  in- 
teUigrndx  sunt  absolute,  sed  cum  exceptione  poeniten- 
tise  et  condilione  impcenitentise.  Promissiones  itidem 
non  S2int  absolutx  sed  circumscripta  cum  conditione 
obedientise,  turn  exceptione  crucis.  God  stipulates 
everywhere  for  the  cross."  Comp.  Deut.  xxviii. 

FORSTER. 

5.  On  xviii.  0-10.  ^'Prsescientia  et  prsedictio  Dei 
non  injicit  absolutam  eventus  necessitatem  rebus 
prsescilis  ac  prsedictis."  Forster. 

6.  On  xviii.  8.  "  O  felix  pcenitentium  humilitas! 
Quam potens  es  apud  omnipotentem."  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux. 

[On  xviii.  8-10.  "I  apprehend  that  we  shall 
le;irn  some  day  that  the  call  to  individual  re- 
pentance, and  the  promise  of  individual  re- 
formation, has  been  feeble  at  one  time,  pro- 
ductive of  turbulent,  violent,  transitory  effects  at 
another,  becau.se  it  has  not  been  part  of  a  call  to 
national  repentance,  because  it  has  not  been  con- 
nected with  a  promise  of  national  reformation. 
We  may  appeal  to  men  by  the  terrors  of  a  future 
state;  we  may  use  all  tlie  michinery  of  revi- 
valists to  awaken  them  to  a  concern  for  their 
souls;  we  niay  produce  in  that  way  a  class  of 
religious  men  who  pursue  an  object  which  other 


CHAP.  XX.  14-18. 


191 


men  do  not  pursue  (scarcely  a  lesi  selfish,  often 
not  a  less  outward  object) : — who  leave  the  world 
to  take  its  own  course  ; — who,  when  they  mingle 
in  it,  as  in  time  they  must  do  for  the  sake  of 
business  and  gain,  adopt  again  its  own  maxims, 
and  become  less  righteous  than  other  men  in 
common  aifairs,  because  tliey  consider  religion 
too  fine  a  thing  to  be  brought  from  the  clouds 
to  the  earth,  while  yet  they  do  not  recognise  a 
lower  principle  as  binding  on  them.  But  we 
musi  speak  again  the  ancient  language,  that  God 
has  made  a  covenant  with  the  nation,  and  that 
all  citizens  are  subjects  of  an  unseen  and  right- 
eous King,  if  we  would  have  a  hearty,  inward 
repentance,  which  will  really  bring  us  back  to 
God ;  which  will  turn  the  hearts  of  the  fathers 
to  the  children,  and  of  the  children  to  the  fathers  ; 
which  will  go  down  to  the  roots  of  our  life,  chang- 
ing it  from  a  self-seeking  life  into  a  life  of  hu- 
mility and  love  and  cheerful  obedience;  which 
will  bear  fruit  upwards,  giving  nobleness  to  our 
policy  and  literature  and  art,  to  the  daily  routine 
of  what  we  shall  no  more  dare  to  call  our  secular 
existence."  Maurice. — S.  R.  A.] 

7.  On  xviii.  10.  "God  writes  as  it  were  a  re- 
flection in  our  heart  of  that  which  we  have  to 
furnish  to  Him.  For  God  is  disposed  towards 
us  as  we  are  disposed  towards  Him.  If  we  do 
well.  He  does  well  to  us ;  if  we  love  Him,  He 
loves  us  in  return;  if  we  forsake  Him,  He  for- 
sakes us.  Ps.  xviii.  26."  Cramer.  ['*  Sin  is  the 
great  mischief  maker  between  God  and  a  people; 
it  forfeits  the  benefits  of  His  promises,  and  spoils 
the  success  of  their  prayers.  It  defeats  His  kind 
intentions  concerning  them  (Hos.  vii.  1),  and 
batfles  their  pleasing  expectations  from  Him.  It 
ruins  their  comforts,  prolongs  their  grievances, 
brings  them  into  straits,  and  retards  their  de- 
liverances.   Is.  xlix.  1,  2."  Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

8.  On  xviii.  12.  "  Freedom  of  the  Spirit ! 
AVho  will  allow  himself  to  be  brought  into  bond- 
age by  the  gloomy  words  of  that  singular  man, 
Jeremiah  ?  Every  one  must  be  able  to  live  ac- 
cording to  his  own  way  of  thinking."  Diedrich, 
The  jjrophet  Jeremiah  and Ezekiel  briefly  expounded. 
1863,  S.  59. — This  is  the  watchword  of  impiety 
in  all  times.  If  in  truth  every  one  bears  the 
divinity  within  him,  then  it  is  justified.  But 
since  evory  man  bears  within  him  only  a  ■deluv 
TL,  a  divine  germ  or  spark,  a  p'~^int  of  connection 
for  the  objectively  divine,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
point  of  connection  for  the  diabolical,  it  is  a  hell- 
ish deception  when  one  supposes  he  must  follow 
his  ingenium..  For  the  question  is,  whether  the 
voice  from  within  is  the  voice  of  God  or  the  voice 
of  the  devil.  Here  it  is  necessary  to  try  our- 
selves and  to  open  an  entrance  to  the  divine  sun 
of  life,  so  that  the  divine  life-germ  in  us  may  be 
strengthened,  and  enabled  to  maintain  its  true 
authoriy. 

9.  On  xviii.  14.  On  the  summits  of  the  high 
mountains,  even  in  tropical  countries,  the  snow 
does  not  entirely  melt,  and  therefore  the  mighty 
cool  springs  at  their  feet  never  dry  up.  With 
those  men  only  does  the  pure  white  snow  of  di- 
vine knowledge  and  godly  fear  never  melt,  whose 
heads  are  elevated  above  the  steam  and  vapor  of 
earthly  cares  and  passions,  into  the  pure  clear 
air  of  heaven.  And  they  it  is,  from  whose  bodies 
flow  streams  of  living  water  (John  vii.  38). 


10.  On  xviii.  18.  Consult  the  treatise  of  Luther; 
How  a  minister  should  behave  when  his  office  ia 
despised? 

11.  On  xviii.  18.  (Come  and  let  us  smite  him 
with  the  tongue,  etc.).  "It  is  indeed  uncertain 
whether  this  is  said  by  the  preachers  or  by  the 
whole  people;  but  this  is  certain,  that  such  ac- 
tions are  pi;rformad  diiily  by  those  teachers,  who 
know  no  other  way  of  stopping  the  moutli  of  a 
servant  of  Jesus.  '  And  not  give  heed  to  any  of 
his  words.'  This  is  au  pis  alien.  If  we  can  do 
him  no  harm,  we  will  stop  our  ears,  and  he  shall 
not  convince  us."  Zinzenuorf. 

12.  On  xviii.  19.  (Give  heed  to  me,  0  Lord). 
"This  takes  place  in  two  ways.  A  teacher  is 
looked  at  by  the  eye  which  is  as  flames  of  fire. 
He  is  also  guided  by  the  same  eyo,  which  looks 
on  all  lands,  to  strengthen  those  whose  hearts  are 
towards  the  Lord.  No  child  can  rest  more  se- 
curely in  the  cradle,  while  the  nurse  is  looking 
for  any  fly  that  might  disturb  it,  than  a  servant 
of  the  Lord  can,  to  whom  God  gives  heed."  Zin- 

ZENDORF. 

13.  On  xviii.  20.  "  It  is  a  pleasing  remembrance, 
when  a  teacher  considers  that  he  has  been  able 
to  avert  divine  judgments  from  his  people.  It  is 
also  an  undeniable  duty.  The  spirit  of  Job, 
Moses,  Jeremiah,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Paul  in  this 
respect  is  the  true  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  is 
a  miserable  shepherd  who  can  give  up  his  sheep 
and  look  on  with  dry  eyes,  while  the  fold  is  be- 
ing devastated.  Not  to  mention  that  teachers 
are  now-a-days,  by  the  salaries  which  they  re- 
ceive from  their  congregations,  brought  into  the 
relation  of  servitude,  and  besides  the  regular 
obligation  of  the  head  are  laid  under  indebted- 
ness, as  hospitals  and  other  institutions,  to  pray 
for  their  founders.  They  give  themselves  the 
name  of  intercessors  and  thus  bind  themselves 
anew  to  this  otherwise  universal  duty  of  all 
teachers."  Zinzendorf.  But  when  the  servant 
of  God  receives  *^  odium  pro  labore,  persecutio  pro 
intercessione,'"  this  is  "  the  world's  gratitude  and 
gratuity."  Forster. 

14.  On  xviii.  21-23.  With  regard  to  this  prayer 
against  his  enemies  Calvin  i-emarks,  "  this 
vehemence,  as  it  was  dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  not  to  be  condemned,  nor  ought  it  to  be  made 
an  example  of,  for  it  was  peculiar  to  the  Prophet 
to  know  that  they  were  reprobates."  For  the 
prophet,  he  says,  was  (1)  "endued  with  the 
t^pirit  of  wisdom  and  judgment,  and  (2)  zeal  also 
tor  God's  glory  so  ruled  in  his  heart,  that  the 
feelings  of  the  flesh  were  wholly  subdued,  or  at 
least  brought  under  subjection;  and  farther,  he 
pleaded  not  a  private  cause. — As  all  these  things 
fall  not  to  our  lot,  we  ought  not  indiscriminately 
to  imitate  Jeremiah  in  this  prayer:  for  that 
would  then  apply  to  us  which  Christ  said  to  His 
disciples,  '  Ye  know  not  what  spirit  governs 
you  (Luke  ix.  55).' "  In  general  the  older  Comm. 
agree  in  this.  Oecolampadius  says  tersely: 
"  Subscribit  sententise  divi?ise."  Forster  also  says 
that  originally  such  a  prayer  is  not  allowed,  but 
that  to  the  prophet,  who  by  the  divine  inspiration 
was  certain  of  the  "  obstinata  et  plane  insanabilis 
malitia"  of  his  hearers,  it  was  permitted  as 
"  singulare  et  extraor dinar ium  aliquid. "  The 
Hirschberger  Bibel  also  explains  the  words  as  a 
consignment  to   the  divine  judgment,  since  (\o\ 


192 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Himself  has  several  times  refused  to  hear  prayer 
in  their  behalf  (xiv.  13,  14),  and  they  themselves 
could  not  endui-e  it  (ver.  18).  Vide  Neumann 
II.  S.  15. — Seb.  Schmidt  says  plainly,  "  Licet 
homiiiibus  impiis  et  persecutoribus  imprecari  malum, 
modo  ejusmodi  imprecaiiones  7ion  fiant  ex  privata 
vindicta,  et  conditionatse  sint  ad  constantem  eorurn 
impietatem.  Nisi  enim  ejusmodi  imprecationes  etiam 
piis  esscnt  licilm,  propheta  non  imprecatus  asset 
persecutoribus  gravissimam  poeuam  ham."  I 
believe  that  it  is  above  all  to  be  observed  that 
Jeremiah  does  not  announce  these  words  (vers. 
18-23)  as  the  word  of  Jehovah.  It  is  a  prayer 
to  the  Lord,  like  xx.  7-18.  That  which  was  re- 
marked on  XX.  14-18,  on  the  Old  Testament  cha- 
racter of  the  prayer,  applies  here  also  and  in  a 
higher  degree.  For  here  as  there  we  may  set  a 
good  share  of  the  harshness  to  the  account  of  the 
rhetoric.  The  standard  of  judgment  may  be 
found  in  Matt.  v.  43.  Many  ancient  Comra.  ex. 
gr.  Jeeome,  who  regard  the  suffering  prophet  as 
a  type  of  the  suflering  Saviour,  point  out  the 
contrast  between  this  prayer  of  Jeremiah's 
against  his  enemies  and  the  prayer  of  Christ/o/- 
His  enemies  (Luke  xxiii.  34).  The  only  parallel 
adduced  from  the  New  Testament  is  2  Tim.  iv.  4. 
But  there  it  is  airoduaei  (according  to  the  correct 
reading  of  Tischendorf)  not  ano66ri  [Text.  Rec, 
Knapp). 

15.  On  xix.  1.  "  If  man  were  only  a  Platonic 
avTciDdpuTTog,  and  did  not  dwell  in  the  flesh,  but 
were  pure  spirit  and  soul,  as  the  Schwenkfelder 
dreamed  a  man  might  be,  he  would  not  need  such 
visible  signs. — But  because  man  consists  of  body 
and  soul,  God  uses,  together  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  word  and  Sacrament  and  other 
signs."   Cramee. 

16.  On  xix.  6-9.  Meycikuv  aSiKripaTuv  pf.ya7{,aL  e'lal 
Ti/iupiaL  Tvapa  tuv  ■Qeov.  Herodotus.  Vide  Foes- 
tee,  S.  106. 

17.  On  xix.  10,  11.  What  is  more  easily  broken 
in  pieces  than  an  earthen  vessel?  Equally  easy 
is  it  for  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  to  break  in 
pieces  the  kingdoms  of  men.  And  if  He  spared 
not  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  whose  king  was  a  son 
of  David  and  the  people  the  chosen  nation,  shall 
He  spare  the  kingdoms  of  the  heathen,  none  of 
which  can  point  to  any  prophecy  in  its  behalf, 
like  that  which  we  read  in  2  Sam.  vii.  16  ?  Comp. 
Dan.  ii.  21 ;  iv.  14,  22,  29;  v.  21;  Ecclus.  x.  4, 
8,  10,  14. 

18.  On  xix.  11-13.  This  prophecy  was  not 
comi>letely  fulfilled  by  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  Nebuchadnezzar.  For  Jerusalem  was 
restored  after  this  destruction.  The  second  de- 
struction, by  the  llomans,  must  then  be  regarded 
as  the  defiuiiive  fulfillment.  Comp.  Jerome  adloc. 
— Tophet  was  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem for  idolatrous  purposes.  In  consequence, 
the  fires  of  Tophet  set  Jerusalem  on  lire,  and 
again  the  corpses  which  filled  Jerusalem  ex- 
tended even  to  Tophet,  and  by  reciprocal  cala- 
mity Tophet  became  like  Jerusalem  and  Jeru- 
salem like  Tophet. 

19.  On  XX.  1,2.  ^^'llpuuvTeKvaTCT/finrn.  Ilonores 
mutant  mores."  Forster.  ♦'  Quod  hie  fitit  tor- 
tnentum,  illic  erit  ornanientum."  Augustin. 

20.  On  XX.  3-G.  "Mark,  who  is  the  stronger 
bere:  Pashur  or  Jeremiah?  For  1.  Jeremiah 
Dvercomcs  his  sufferings  by  patience ,   2.  He  is 


firm  in  opposition  to  his  enemy  and  does  not 
allow  himself  to  be  terrified  by  his  tyranny,  but 
rebukes  him  to  his  face  for  his  sins  and  lies." 
Cramee. 

21.  On  XX.  3-6.  Pashur's  punishment  consists 
in  this,  that  he  will  participate  in  the  terrible 
affliction  and  be  a  witness  of  it,  without  being 
able  to  die. — He  is  a  type  of  the  wandering  Jew. 

22.  On  XX.  7-12.  The  prophet  could  say  with 
a  good  conscience  that  he  had  not  pressed  into 
this  office.  It  was  his  greatest  comfort  that  the 
Lord  had  persuaded  and  overpowered  him,  when 
resisting,  and  that  afterwards  the  fire  within 
kindled  by  the  Lord  compelled  him  to  speak. 
Thus  he  at  last  becomes  so  joyful,  that  in  the 
midst  of  his  sufferings  he  sings  a  hymn  on  his 
deliverance. 

Lord  Jesus,  for  Thy  work  divine, 
The  glory  is  not  ours,  but  Thine ; 
Therefore  we  pray  Thee  stand   by  those, 
Who  calmly  on  Thy  word  repose. 

23.  On  XX.  14-18.  "  When  the  saints  stumble 
this  serves  to  us;  1.  for  doctrine:  we  see  that 
no  man  is  justified  by  his  own  merits;  2.  for 
e'Aeyxog,  i.  e.  for  the  refutation  of  those,  who 
suppose  that  there  are  dvapapn/roi ;  3.  for  kivavdp- 
■&uai.q,  if  we  follow  Ambeose,  who  called  to  the 
emperor  Theodosius :  '  Si  Davidem  imitatus  es 
peccantem,  imitare  etiam  poenitentem ; '  4.  for 
naideia,  that  he  who  stands  take  heed  that  he  do 
not  fall ;  5.  for  napTjyopia,  that  he  who  has  fallen 
may  after  their  pattern  rise  again."  Foestee. 

24.  On  XX.  17,  18.  "The  question  is.  Does  a 
man  do  right  in  wishing  himself  dead  ?  Answer: 
He  who  from  impatience  wishes  himself  dead 
like  Job,  Elijah,  Jonah,  Tobias,  and  here  Jere- 
miah, does  wrong,  and  this  is  a  piece  of  carnal 
impatience.  But  when  we  think  of  the  wicked 
world  and  the  dangerous  times  in  which  we  live 
and  on  the  other  hand  of  the  future  joy  and 
glory,  and  therefore  desire  with  Simeon  and  Paul 
to  be  released,  we  are  not  to  be  blamed." 
Geameb. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  The  18th  homily  of  Origen  has  for  its  text 
xviii.  1-16  and  xx.  1-7.     The  19th  has  xx.  7-12. 

2.  On  xviii.  1-11.  Comfort  and  warning,  im- 
plied in  the  fact  that  the  threatenings  and  pro- 
mises of  the  Lord  are  given  only  conditionally: 
1.  The  comfort  consists  in  this,  that  the  threat- 
ened calamities  may  be  averted  by  timely  repen- 
tance. 2.  The  warning  in  this,  that  the  promises 
may  be  annulled  by  apostasy. 

3.  On  xviii.  7-10.  Comp.  the  Homiletical  on 
xvii.  5-8. 

4.  On  xviii.  7-11.  "  How  we  should  be  moved 
by  God's  judgments  and  goodness:  that  each, 
1.  Should  turn  from  his  wickedness;  2.  should 
reform  his  heart  and  life."  Kapff,  Passion, 
Easter  and  Revival  Sermons.    1866. 

5.  [On  xviii.  12.  "  The  sin,  danger  and  un- 
reasonableness of  despair.  The  devil's  chief 
artifices  are  to  produce  either  false  security  and 
presumption  or  despair.  Despair  is  1.  sinful, 
(a)  in  itself,  [b)  because  it  is  the  parent  of  other 
sins,  as  is  seen  in  the  cases  of  Cain,  Saul,  and 
Judas.  2.  It  is  dangerous.  3.  It  is  groundless, 
because  (a)  we  still  enjoy  life  and  the  means  oi 


CHAP.  XXI.  1-7. 


193 


grace,  (6)  of  the  long-suflFering  character  of  God, 
(c)  of  the  universality  of  the  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion, [d]  of  the  person,  character  and  invitations 
of  Christ,  (e)  of  many  instances  of  final  salva- 
tion." Payson.— S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  xviii.  18-20.  Text  for  a  Sermon  on  the 
Anniversary  of  the  Reformation.  Opposition  of 
the  office  which  has  apparent  authority  to  that 
which  has  true  authority ;  1.  The  basis  of  the  op- 
position: the  assertion  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
former  office.  2.  The  mode  of  the  opposition; 
(a)  in  not  being  willing  to  hear,   (6)  in  the  at- 


tempt to  destroy  the  latter  by  violence.  3.  The 
result  of  the  opposition  is  nugatory,  for  (a)  the 
Lord  hears  the  voice  of  the  opposers  to  judge 
them,  (6)  He  gives  heed  to  His  servants  to  pro- 
tect them. 

7.  On  XX.  7-13.  The  trial  and  coihfort  of  a 
true  minister  of  the  Word;  1.  The  trial:  (a)  scorn 
and  derision ;  (6)  actual  persecution.  2.  The 
comfort:  (a)  the  Lord  put  him  in  office  and  main- 
tains him  in  it;  [b)  that  the  Lord  will  interpose 
for  His  servants  and  thus,  (1)  help  His.  cause  to 
victory,  and  (2)  save  their  persons. 


8.  THE  EIGHTH  DISCOURSE  (Against  the  Wicked  Shepherds). 

(Chaps.  XXI.— XXIV.) 

In  designating  this  portion  of  the  book  a  discourse  we  do  so  only  a  potiori.  For  neither  is  it  purely  of  tht 
nature  of  a  discourse,  nor  does  it  form  one  discourse,  i.  e.,  a  connected  rhetorical  whole.  The  different 
portions  of  it,  partly  of  historical,  partly  of  rhetorical  character,  and  pertaining  to  very  different 
epochs,  are  however  comprised  under  a  common  title,  such  as  in  Jeremiah  is  usually  prefixed  to  the 
greater  sections.  These  portions  contain  in  general  the  same  fundamental  thought,  viz.,  that  which  is 
stated  in  the  title,  "Agai?ist  wicked  Shepherds."  By  these  wicked  shepherds  are  to  be  understood  all 
the  leaders  of  the  people,  kings  and  prophets  (and  priests,  xxiii.  11).  The  main  trunk  is  formed  by 
the  powerful  speech  against  Jehoiakim  (xxii.  1-9,  13-23;  xxiii.  1-8),  which  Jeremiah  addressed  to  that 
violent  despot  before  the  gale  of  his  palace,  in  presence  of  his  court  and  the  people.  Around  this  dis- 
course, enclosing  it  and  interwoven  with  it,  are  grouped  other  portions  of  similar  character.  Originally 
a  brief  passage  (xxi.  11-14)  was  prefixed  to  this  discourse,  on  zccount  of  its  purport,  in  which  it  is 
intimately  related  to  xxii.  3-7  [comp.  the  Comm.  on  xxi.  11-14).  This  passage  could  not  be  sub- 
joined after  xxii.  9,  because  here  the  personal  addresses  connected  with  the  words  spoken  to  Jehoiakim, 
xxii.  13-19,  had  to  be  inserted,  and  after  xxii.  30,  the  distance  would  be  too  great  from  the  discourse 
to  which  it  is  related,  xxii.  3-7.  The  passage  xxi.  1-10  had  to  be  placed  before  xxi.  11,  although  as 
to  time  the  latest  in  the  ivhole  compass  o/chh.  xxi. — xxiv.  because  in  it  a  Pashur  is  spoken  of.  By 
this  it  seemed  to  be  connected  with  ch.  xx.,  in  which  also  a  Pashur  plays  the  chief  part.  XXII.  13-23 
followed  originally  immediately  after  xxii.  9  [comp.  the  preliminary  remarks  to  xxii.  13-19). 
But  since  there  was  a  brief  passage,  referring  to  Shallum-Jehoahaz  (xxii.  10-12)  the  immediate  prede- 
cessor of  J  ehoiakim,  this  had  to  be  placed  before  xxii.  13.  After  xxii.  23  the  passage  referring  to 
Jehoiakim  (xxii.  24-30)  naturally  found  its  position.  The  passage  xxiii.  1-8  followed  finally  as  the 
original  conclusion  of  the  speech  addressed  to  Jehoiakim,  and  as  a  consolatory  glance  into  the  future 
after  the  dark  portraits  of  the  kings  of  the  present.  From  xxiii.  9-40 /o^^o*s  then  the  connected  dis- 
course against  the  false  prophets.  This  IV as  by  no  means  delivered  on  the  same  day  and  in  the  same 
place  as  the  discourse  against  Jehoiakim,  xxii.  1 — xxiii.  8.  It  may  however  in  general  belong  to  the 
same  period,  viz.,  the  first  four  years  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  since  there  is  no  mention  of  the  Chal- 
deans, and  the  reign  of  Josiah  gave  much  less  occasion  for  such  a  discourse.  Chap.  xxiv.  finally  cor- 
responds to  ^Hhe  punitive  judgments  on  the  three  predecessors  of  Zedekiah,  and  completes  the  judgment 
on  the  corrupt  pastors  and  leaders  of  the  people"  (Graf).  The  reason  why  this  chapter  teas  not  in- 
serted immediately  after  xxii.  30  is  that  it  treats  its  subject  in  a  form  quite  peculiar  a7id  different  from 
the  style  of  ch.  xxii.     It  would  accordingly  appear  too  much  like  a  foreign  element  after  xxii.  30. 

If  accordingly  we  cannot  speak  of  this  discourse  as  one  properly  and  logically  concatenated,  yet  we  may  re- 
cognize a  certain  orderly  arrangement  of  its  individual  parts.  This  Mill  be  manifest  in  the  following 
synopsis : — 


against  the  wicked  shepherds. 

Chaps.  XXL~XXIV. 

I.  Preface,  ch.  xxi. 

a.  Passage  relating  to  Pashur,  as  an  addition  to  ch.  xx.,  xxi.  1-10. 

b.  Transition.    Exhortation  to  the  house  of  David  to  righteousness,  xxi.  11-14. 
II.  Main  Discourse,  chs.  xxii.  and  xxiii. 

Against  the  ivicked  kings  and  prophets. 
1.   Against  the  ivicked  kings,  xxii.  1 — xxiii.  8. 

a.  The  alternative  offered  the  royal  house,  xxii.  1-9. 

b.  Prophecy  relating  to  the  person  of  Shallum,  xxii.  10-12. 

13 


194 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


/. 


Prophecy  relating  to  the  person  of  Jehoiakim,  xxii.  13-19. 
The  consequences  to  the  people,  xxii.  20-23. 
Prophecy  relating  to  the  person  of  Jehoiakim,  xxii.  24-30. 

a.   Before  the  captivity,  xxii.  24-27. 

/?.   After  the  captivity,  xxii.  28-30. 
Conclusion  and  consolation  in  a  glance  at  the  just  and  the  j'ustifier,  zxiii.  1-8- 


III. 


2.   Against  the  false  prophets,  xxiii.  9-40. 

a.  The  blind  leaders:  of  the  blind,  xxiii.  9-15. 

b.  Warning  against  deceptionby  the  prophets,  xxiii.  16-22. 

c.  The  criminal  mingling  of  man's  word  and  God's  word,  xxiii.  23-32. 

d.  The  criminal  use  of  the  word  "  burden,"  xxiii.  38-40. 
Postscript. 

Supplement  to  xxii.  13-30:   The  fourth  king,  xxiv.  1-10. 


I.  PREFACE. 


Chap.  XXI. 

a.  Passage  relating  to  Pashur,  as  an  addition  to  ch.  xx.  (xxi.  1-10). 

1.   77ie  king's  question  and  the  prophet's  consolatory  answer 

XXI.  1-7. 

1  The  w5rd  which  came  unto  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  when  king  Ze- 
dekiah  sent  unto  him  Pashur  the  son  of  Melchiah,  and  Zephaniah  the  son  of  Maa- 

2  feeiah  [,]  the  priest,  saying,  Inquire,  I  pray  thee,  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  for  us,  for 
Nebuchadrezzar,'  king  of  Babylon,  maketh  war  against  us ;  if  so  be  that  [perhaps] 
the  Lord  [Jehovah]  will  deal  with  us  according  to  all  his  wondrous  works,  that  he 

3  may  go  up  [withdraw]  from  us.     Then  said  Jeremiah  unto  them.  Thus  shall  ye  say 

4  to  Zedekiah :  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  God  of  Israel :  Behold,  I  will  turn 
back  the  weapons  of  war  that  are  in  your  hands,  wherewith  ye£ght  against  the  king 
of  Babylon,  and  against  the  Chaldeans,  which  besiege  you  without  the  walls  \_or  your 
walls  from  without]  and  I  will  assemble  [withdraw]  them  into  the  midst  of  this  city. 

5  And  I  myself  will  fight  against  you,  with  an  outstretched  hand  and  a  strong  arm, 

6  even  in  anger  and  in  great  fury,  and  in  great  wrath.     And  I  will  smite  the  inhabi- 

7  tants  of  this  city,  both  man  and  beast :  they  shall  die  of  a  great  pestilence.  And 
afterward,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  I  will  deliver  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and 
his  servants,  and  the  people,  and  such  as  are  left*  in  this  city  from  the  pestilence, 
from  the  sword,  and  from  the  famine,  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Ba- 
bylon, and  into  the  hand  of  their  enemies,  and  into  the  hand  of  those  that  seek  their 
life  :  and  he  shall  smite  them  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  he  shall  not  spare  them, 
neither  have  pity,  nor  have  mercy. 

TEXTUAL   and   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2. — On  the  form  of  the  name  ^^X"nD13J  comp.  rems^.  ou  xxv.  1. 

T     '."    :  ~       : 

2  Ver.  7. — The  flXI  here  is  logically  incorrect,  since  after  the  general  term  the  people,  other  surrivors  are  not  sup- 
posable.  The  LXX.  omits  it  (icai  toi'  Aaoi-  KaTa\eL<j)9ei'To).  Comp.  viii.  3  ;  xxiv.  8  ;  xxxviii.  4  ;  xxxix.  9  ;  xl.  (i ;  xli.  10; 
lii.  15. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

To  the  petition  of  King  Zedekiah  that  the  pro- 
phet would  seek  for  them  the  interposition  of  Je- 
hovah against  Nebuchadnezzar  (vers.  1,  2),  the 
prophet  answers  that  the  Lord  will  cause  the  de- 
fenders of  the  city  to  retreat  before  the  Chal- 
deans (vers.  3,  4),  yea,  will  Himself  contend 
against  them  with  a  great  pestilence  (vers.  5,  6), 
and  will  then  surrender  the  survivors  of  the 
Bword,  liimiue  and  pestilence  (among  whom  will 
be  the  king  himself  and  his  servants)  to  king  Ne- 


buchadnezzar, who  will  slay  them  without  mercy 
by  the  sword  (ver.  7). 

Vers.  1,  2.  The  word  which  came  .  .  . 
withdraw  from  us.  The  beginning  is  like  vii. 
1.  Coiiip.  ad  hoc  loc. — Pashur,  the  son  of  Mal- 
kiah,  is  also  mentioned  in  xxxviii.  1. — Zepha- 
niah, the  son  of  Maaseiah,  xxix.  2-5  ;  xxxvii.  3  ; 
lii.  24.  Both  were  priests  (Malkiah  and  Maa- 
seiah are  also   names  of  courses    of  priests,    1 

Chron.  xxiv.  9-18) ;  the  latter  HJE'D  JHD  the 
next  iifter  the  high-priest  (lii.  12 1).  Tlie  embassy 
was  therefore  a  respectable  one. — Zedekiah  sent 


CHAP.  XXI.  8-10. 


193 


once  again  with  the  same  object  to  the  prophet : 
xxxvii.  3.  Comp.  also  Isai.  xxxvii.  2  sqq. — On 
the  relation  of  time  Vtde  Comm.  on  xxxvii.  '2S.— 
Inquire,  etc.  The  prophet  was  not  merely  to  a.sk 
what,  will  be  done,  but  also  to  pray  tliat  what- 
ever would  serve  for  deliverance  may  be  done,  as 
is  evident  from  perhaps  Jehovah,  etc.  In 
xxxvii.  3  it  is  '■  Prm/  for  us."  Comp.  xlii.  2. — 
That  he  may  go  up  from  us  Comp.  1  Sam. 
VI.  20;  1  Ki.  XV.  19;  Jer.  xxxvii.  5,  11.  The 
figure  of  a  person  thrown  down,  from  whom  his 
vanquisher  raises  himself,  lies  at  the  basis  of 
this  expression.  [Henderso.\:  "The  phrase 
means  to  recede  from  the  incumbent  attitude  as- 
sumed by  a  besieging  army." — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  8-7.  Then  said  Jeremiah  .  .  .  have 
mercy.  From  the  words  in  the  midst  of  the 
city  it  is  evident  that  the  prophet  places  the 


line  of  defence  within  the  walls.  Thus  the  enemy 
presses  the  Jews  no  longer  without  but  within 
the  walls,  and  certainly  the  city  is  then  as  good 
as  taken.  Tliis  liowever  is  just  what  the  prophet 
wisited  them  to  understand.  I  believe  therefore 
that  ^without  the  walls  is  to  be  referred  not  to 
turn  back  nor  to  fight,  but  to  besiege.  — As- 
semble. Comp.  xvi.  5;  Joel  )i.  lU;  iv.  15. — 
Outstretched  hand.  Comp.  Di-ut.  iv.  34;  v. 
1-J;  xxvi.  8.  It  should  be  remarked  that  every- 
where else,  with  the  exception  of  the  formula 
"and  his  hand  is  stretched  out  still"  (Isai.  v.  25; 
ix.  11,  1(5,  20;  X.  4  coll.  1  Chron.  xxi.  IGj,  n'lOJ 
outstretched  is  the  adjective  used  with    j^i"l? 

arm,  and  Hpin  mighty,  wiih  T  hand. — With 
anger,  '  ('omp.  xxxii.  37;  Deut.  xxix.  27. — 
With  the  edge  of  the  sw^ord.  In  Jeremiah 
here  only. — Not  spare  them.     Comp.  xiii.  14. 


2.  The  only  way  of  escape. 
XXI.  8-10. 

8  And  unto  this  people  thou  shalt  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  Behold,  I  set  before 

9  you  the  way  of  life,  and  the  way  of  death.  He  that  abideth  [remains]  in  this  city 
shall  die  by  the  sword,  and  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pestilence:  but  he  that  goeth 
out  anl  falle.h'  to  the  Chaldeans  that  besiege  you,  he  shall  live,^  and  his  life  shall 

10  be  unto  him  for  a  prey.  For  I  have  set  my  face  against  this  city  for  evil,  and  not 
for  good,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  it  shall  be  given  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of 
Babylon,  and  he  shall  burn  it  with  fire. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  9.— SajV    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  ?  99,  3.— On  Sj^-  Comp.  Textual  on  x.  1. 

2  Ver.  9.— The  iieri  TXXW  is  liere,  as  in  xxxviii.  2,  unnecessary.    TVVi'',  corresponding  to  r\1D'    in  hemistich  a,  is 


more  correct. 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

It  is  announced  to  the  people  that  the  life  and 
death  of  individuals  depends  on  whether  they 
give  themselves  up  to  the  Chaldeans  or  not  (vers. 
8,  9),  for  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar is  irrevocably  determined  upon,  (ver. 
10).  These  words  are  closely  connected  both  in 
form  and  in  matter  with  the  previous  context. 
It  is  entirely  appropriate  that  the  prophet  after 
having  informed  the  ruler  what  the  result  of  his 
military  operations  would  be,  announces  also  to 
the  peopbi  or  to  individuals,  what  is  alone  left 
them  to  do  for  their  escape.  Gr.vf  is  correct  in 
saying  (p.  2-J9),  that  the  summons  contained  in 
vers.  8-10  could  not  have  been  addressed  to  the 
king's  embassy.  Nevertheless  their  form  and  pur- 
port testify  to  their  having  been  addressed  to  the 
people  contemporaneously  with  that  answer  to 
the  king.  It  is  not  opposed  to  this  that  Jere- 
miah gave  the  same  advice  repeatedly  on  other 
eccasious.      (Comp.  xxvii.  11.  17). 

Vers.  8-10.  And  unto  this  people  .  .  burn 


it -with  fire. — Unto  this  people,  etc.,  corres- 
ponds to  and  thus  shall  ye  say  to  Zedekiah 
in  ver.  3,  but  not  as  being  a  part  of  the  answer 
given  to  the  king.  But  after  the  application, 
ver.  2,  had  been  received  by  the  prophet,  a  triple 
divine  word  was  communicated  to  him.  It  is 
not  expressly  declared  that  this  was  the  case,  but 
this  is  the  natural  and  necessary  presupposition 
to  the  prophetic  declarations,  communicated  in 
vers.  3-7,  8-10,  11-14. — I  set  before  you,  etc. 
The  prophet  evidently  has  in  mind  Deut.  xi.  26, 
27;  XXX.  15,19. — He  that  remains,  etc.  Comp. 
xxxviii.  2  and  the  Introd.  to  the  8th  discourse. 
It  is  evident  that  to  the  prophet  the  will  of  God 
was  of  more  importance  than  that  which  accord- 
ing to  the  limited  view  of  man  is  required  by  the 
honor  and  interest  of  his  country,  so  that  by  obe- 
dience to  the  former  this  honor  and  interest  are 
best  secui-ed. — Falleth  to  the  Chaldeans. 
Comp.  xxxvii.  13,  14;  xxxix.  9. — I  have  set 
my  face  (ver.  10).  Comp.  xxiv.  6;  xliv.  11. — ■ 
Shall  be  given.  Comp.  xxxii.  29:  xxxiv.  2, 
22;  xxxvii.  8,  10;  xxxviii.  18,  23;  xxxix.  8. 


196 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


b.  Transition  :  Exhortation  to  the  house  of  David  to  Righteousness. 

XXL  n-14. 

11  And  touching  [to]  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah,  say,  Hear  ye  the  word  of  the 

12  Lord  [Jehovah];  O  house  of  David,  thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah].  Execute 
judgment  [judge  righteously]^  in  the  [every]^  morning,  and  deliver  niai  that  is 
spoiled  out  of  the  hand  of  the  oppressor,  lest  my  fury  go  out  like  fire,  and  burn  that 

13  none  can  quench  it,  because  of  the  evil  of  your  doings.^  Behold,  I  am  against  thee, 
O  inhabitant  of  the  valley,  and  rock  of  the  plain,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  which 
say.  Who  shall  come  down*  against  us?  or  who  shall  enter  into  our  [refuges]  ha- 

14  bitations?  But  I  will  jDunish  you  according  to  the  fruit  of  your  doings,  saith  the 
Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  and  I  will  kindle  a  fire  in  the  forest  thereof,  and  it  shall  devour 
all  things  round  about  it. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  12. — The  expression  £33JJ?0  V"]  is  found  here  only:  Elsewhere  JT  ri  (Jer.  v.  28;  xxii.  16;  xxx.  13,  etc.) 
t03tyD  is  at  the  same  time  accusative  of  object  and  of  mode,  and  as  the  latter  involves  the  meaning  of  Q'Tiy^rDS  (Ps-  ix. 
9;  xcvi.  10;or  p'li'S  (Ps.  Ixxii.  2). 

*  Ver.  12. — Tpi7.  7  is  distributive.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  5  6.  As  here,  in  Ps.  lix.  17 ;  Am.  iv.  4.  Comp.  also 
1  Chron.  ix.  27  ;  Ps.  Ixxiii.  14;  ci.  8  ;  Isai.  xxxiii.  2  ;  Lam.  iii.  23. 

■3  Ver.  12. — Instead  of  DriV^^'O  the  Keri  has  the  second  person  as  in  iv.  4.    The  change  of  person  however  occurs  so 

frequently,  that  the  alteration  appears  unnecessary.    Comp.  v.  14 ;  xii.  13 ;  xvii.  13 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  101,  Anm. 
i  Ver.  13.— nn\     On  the  form  comp.  Olsh.,  S.  503. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  royal  family  is  appealed  to  in  warning  to 
exercise  righteousness,  that  the  anger  of  the 
Lord  may  not  burn  inextinguishably  (vers.  11 
and  12).  Afterward,  the  non-fulfilment  of  this 
condition  being  presupposed,  the  judgment  of  de- 
struction is  proclaimed  to  the  "rock  of  the  plain," 
which  is  defiant  in  its  inapproachability  (vers. 
13,  14).  This  passage  cannot  be  contemporary 
with  the  two  preceding;  it  must  be  of  older  date. 
For,  1.  At  the  date  to  which  xxi.  1-7  belongs,  such 
an  admonitiou  and  conditional  threatening  is  no 
longer  ia  place.  In  vers.  4-7  his  own  destruc- 
tion and  that  cf  the  nation  is  unconditionally  an- 
nounced to  Zedekiah.  2.  The  stubbornness  also, 
which  is  expressed  in  ver.  13,  contradicts  the  de- 
spondency, with  which  Zedekiah  humbles  him- 
self in  ver.  2.  3.  It  is  strange  that  after  the 
king,  ver.  3,  the  house  of  the  king  should  again 
be  speciiilly  addressed,  since  the  king  is  included 
in  tlie  hitter,  and  the  exhortation  to  "judge 
righteously"  applies  above  all  to  the  king. 
Should  it  be  said  that  in  vers.  11-14  actual  con- 
version is  presented  before  the  king  as  the  only 
way  of  escape,  it  is  contradicted  by  the  whole 
situation  and  the  character  of  vers.  1-10.  Such 
proposals  belong  to  an  eiirlier  si  age,  which  in 
Judea,  at  the  time  of  his  embassy,  was  long  past. 
We  are  referred  by  the  connection  of  this  pas- 
sage with  xxiii.  3-9  (on  which  comp.  tlie  Comm. 
ad  loc.)  entirely  to  the  times  of  Jehoiakim.  The 
text,  forms  the  transition  to  this  discourse  of 
reproof,   addressed  to  the  king.     Certainly,  ac- 


cording to  the  view  of  the  compiler,  this  section 
must  have  been  regarded  as  closely  connected 
with  the  preceding,  for  and  to  the  house,  etc., 
in  ver.  11,  is  grounded  on  thou  shalt  say  in 
ver.  8. 

Vers.  11,  12.  And  to  the  house  .  .  .  evil 
of  your  doings.  The  division  of  vers.  11  and 
12  is  awkward.  The  house  of  the  king  is  in  the 
narrower  sense  himself  with  his  family,  in  a 
wider  sense  the  entire  court  (comp.  1  Ki.  iv.  6 ; 
xvi.  9,  etc.).  Here  the  house  of  the  king  is  in- 
tended in  the  narrower  sense  1,  because  after- 
wards the  phrase  "house  of  David  "  is  used  in- 
stead; 2,  because  judging  was  one  of  the  chief 
functions  of  a  king,  which  he  could  transfer  to  a 
substitute  only  in  cases  of  necessity.  (2  Ki.  xv. 
5  coll.  1  Sam.  viii.  5,  G,  liO;  2  Sam.  xv.  2  sqq. ;  1 
Ki.  iii.  16  sqq. ;  vi.  26;  vii.  7;  viii.  3-5). 

Vers.  13. 14.  Behold  I  am  against  thee  .  .  . 
round  about  it.  If  these  verses  are  not  sup- 
posed to  be  attaclied  to  tlie  preceding  witliout  any 
inner  connection,  by  rock  of  the  plain  ("l-liT 
liy'ipH)  can    be    understood  only    the   house  of 

David.  The  house  of  David  was  addressed  in  ver. 
12.  Ver.  13  presupposes  a  negative  answer  of 
the  person  addressed,  on  which  the  address  con- 
tinues: "  Behold  I  am,"  c^c.  XXII.  6-9  is  indeed 
referred  to,  and  it  is  maintained  that  here  as  there 
the  destruction  of  the  city  appears  to  be  the  pun- 
ishment for  the  sill  of  the  royal  family.  But  the 
sentence  ■which  say,  etc.,  would  represent  the 
destruction  of  the  city  as  the  punishment  of  the 
obstinate  security  of  the  citizens.  It  remains 
either  to  regard  vers.   13  and  14  as  a  discon- 


CHAP.  XXII.  1-9. 


197 


nected  addition,  or  to  understand  by  IJ^'Sn  "ll^f 
the  royal  family.  According  to  this  rendering 
pOj;,  valley,  and  "liy'D,  plain,  are  to  be  taken 
not  in  the  local  but  figurative  meaning.  (Corap. 
rems.  on  xviii.  14).  The  royal  family  is  com- 
pared to  a  rock  rising  ia  the  midst  of  a  plain. 
pOj7  is  low  land,  regio  depressa  et  longe  lateque pa- 
tens ((jES.,  Thes.)  comp.  Job  xxxix.  10,  21;  Ps. 
Ixv.  14.  Comp.  also  T\^'^,'^  Gen.  xi.  2. — Rock 
of  the  plain  defines  more  particularly  in  what 
sense  the  royal  family  can  be  designated  as  in- 
habiting the  lowland ;  it  is  there  enthroned  as 
an  elevation  dominating  all  the  rest.  The  inha- 
bitants of  this  rock  regard  themselves  as  very  se- 
cure. They  compare  themselves  with  beasts, 
which  in  their  lairs  or  hiding-places  are  well- 
concealed.  [Henderson:  "By  <Ae  ycr/^e^  is  meant 
the  Tyropaeon,  running  down  between  Mount 
Zion  and  Mount  Moriah,  and  by  the  rock  of  the 
plain  Mount  Zion,  so  called  from  its  rapid  as- 


cent on  the  South-west,  which  renders  its  brow 
in  this  direction  apparently  more  lofty  than  any 
other  point  connected  witli  the  city  (Robinson  I., 
389).— S.  R.  A].— Come  down.     The  prophet 
has  in  mind  the  image   of  a   bird  darting  down 
upon  its  prey.     Since  the  following,  and  who 
shall  come  dow^n    evidently  indicate  attacks 
by  land,  by  these  two  figures  the  thought  is  ex- 
pressed of  a  position  secure  on  p.U  sides. — I  am 
against  thee,  comp.  xxiii.  30-32;  1.  31;  li.  25 
— But  I  will  punish   you.     A  formula  espe- 
cially frequent  in  .Jeremiah,  ix.  24;   xxiii.   34: 
xxx.  20,  etc. — According  to  the  fruit.    Comp. 
xvii.  10. — Andl  w^ill  kindle  g: fire.  Comp.  Am. 
i.  14;  Jer.  xvii.  27;  xliii.  12;   xlix.  27;  1.  32.^ 
In  the   forest  thereof.     Thereof  refers    to 
inhabitant,   ver.  13.     It  is  apparent  that  the 
prophet  retains  the  conception  of  wild  beasts  of 
the  forest.     Comp.  xxii.  7. — Our  vifw  of  the  pas- 
sage is  confirmed  by  the  parallel  given  in  xxii. 
1-9.     Comp.  especially  ver.  6,  and  the  Comm. 
ad  loc. 


II.  MAIN  DISCOURSE. 
Chaps.  XXII.  and  XXIII. 

AGAINST  THE  WICKED  KINGS  AND  PROPHETS. 

1.  Against  the  wicked  kings,  (xxii.  1-xxiii.  8). 

a.  The  alternative  ofi'ered  the  royal  house. 

XXII.   1-9. 

1  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  :  Go  down  to  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah, 

2  and  speak  there  this  word.     And  say,  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  O 
king  of  Judah,  that  sittest  upon  the  throne  of  David,  thou,  and  thy  servants,  and 

3  thy  people  that  enter  in  by  these  gates.     Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  : 
Execute  judgment  and  righteousness, 

And  rescue  him  that  is  plundered  out  of  the  hand  of  the  oppressor,^ 
Strangers,  orphans  and  widows  oppress  not,  nor  be  violent  towards  them, 
And  innocent  blood  shed  not  in  this  place. 

4  For  if  ye  indeed  do  thus, 

Then  through  the  gates  of  this  house, 
Kings,  sitting  for  David  on  his  throne, 
Shall  enter  in  chariots  and  on  horses. 
He,  his  ministers'^  and  his  people. 

5  But  if  ye  hearken  not  to  these  words, 

I  have  sworn  by  myself,  saith  Jehovah, 
That  this  house  shall  become  a  desolation. 

6  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  concerninsr  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah : 
Gilead  art  thou  to  me,  summit  of  Lebanon! 

Surely  a  wild-^rness  will  I  make  thee, 
Cities  uninhabited. 

7  And  I  consecrate  against  thee  destroyers. 
The  man  and  his  weapons. 

Who  shall  fell  thy  choice  cedars. 
And  cast  them  into  the  fire. 


i98 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


8  And  many  nations  shall  go  by  this  city  and  say  one  to  another, 
Why  has  Jehovah  dune  thus  to  this  great  city  ? 

9  And  they  shall  say : 

Because  they  forsook  the  covenant  of  Jehovah  their  God, 
And  worshipped  other  gods  and  served  them. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  S. — pit!?  V,  if  not  written  by  mistake  for  pjZ/lj^,  occurs  here  only.    It  is  formed  like  tHJ,  meaning  oppressor. 
^  Ver.  4.— ["  A  great  number  of  MSS.  and  two  of  the  earliest  editions,  read  TT^^  his  servants,  or  ministers,  accordinj; 
to  the  Keri."  Hendebson.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  receives  the  command  to  go  down 
to  the  king's  house  and  to  deliver  to  the  king  and 
his  servants,  and  to  the  people,  the  following  di- 
vine message  (vers.  1,  2):  if  they  would  practice 
justice  and  righteousness  (ver.  3),  kings  of  Da- 
vid's line  should  possess  the  throne  in  royal 
power  and  glory  (ver.  4) ;  if  not,  the  king's  house 
should  be  made  desolate  (ver.  5).  For  though 
hitherto  like  Gilead  and  Lebanon,  it  is  to  be  de- 
vastated (ver.  6).  Destroyers  shall  come  and 
shall  fell  the  cedars  and  cast  them  into  the  fire 
(ver.  7),  so  that  afterwards  it  shall  be  asked  in 
astonishment,  why  such  a  great  calamity  has 
come  upon  the  city  (ver.  8).  To  which  no  other 
answer  can  be  given  than  that  they  forsook  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  and  served  idols  (ver. 
9). — As  tc  the  relation  of  these  verses  to  the 
preceding  (xxi.  11-14),  the  former  appear  al- 
most only  like  an  extension  of  the  latter.  Not 
only  is  the  fundamental  thought  the  same,  but 
even  in  details  there  is  great,  in  part  verbal, 
agreement.  The  admonition  which  forms  the 
basis,  is  found  in  xxi.  12  and  xxii.  3,  partly 
with. the  same  words,  only  in  the  latter  passage 
somewhat  extended  (comp.  the  second  half  of 
ver.  3)  As  to  the  promises  and  threatenings 
based  on  the  admonition,  the  form  of  the  alter- 
nativ'j  is  not  found  in  xxi.  11-14,  for  here  the 
idea  of  non-fulfilment  reigns  exclusively.  But 
in  the  form  in  which  the  punishment  is  announced 
there  are  great  similarities ;  both  times  the  royal 
house  is  compared  with  a  wooded  height,  the 
wood  of  which  will  be  consumed  by  fire.  Since 
now  repetitions  occur  so  frequently  in  Jeremiah, 
there  is  nothing  against  the  supposition  that  we 
have  here  before  us  two  utterances,  related  in 
form  and  purport  because  they  proceed  from  the 
same  liistuiical  situation.  That  this  situation 
was  in  tlie  reign  of  Jehoiakim  and  before  tlie  crisis 
of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  appears  to  me  to 
admit  of  no  doubt.  For  1.  there  is  no  mention 
of  the  Chaldeans;  2.  the  king  addressed  is 
warned  ag.iiiist  despotic  acts  of  violence.  This 
warning  corresponds  neither  to  the  character  of 
Josiah  nor  to  that  of  Jehoahaz,  who  was  most  pro- 
bably elected  by  tlie  people,  because  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  free  from  despotic  inclinations,  and 
besides  he  j-ciLjncd  only  three  months.  The 
warning,  however,  corresponds  entirely  to  the 
cliaracter  of  Jehoiakim,  who  is  also  afterwards 
reproved  for  such  acts  of  violence  (vers.  13-17). 
3.  Jehoiakim  is  in  vers.  13-15  especially  re- 
proached with  his  lust  for  building,  which  he 
gratified  by  despotic  means.     His  cedar  palace 


was  a  monument  of  this.  Jeremiah  is  to  go 
down  to  this  proud  house  (ver.  1  coll.  ver.  23), 
and  announce  to  him  the  judgment  of  fire  (ver. 
7).  It  follows  that  1.  the  section  1-9  refers  to 
Jehoiakim ;  2.  it  is  closely  connected  with  vers. 
13-23. 

Vers.  1-5.  Thus  saith  .  .  .  become  a  de- 
solation.— Go  dow^n.  Out  from  the  temple. 
Comp.  xxvi.  10  ;  xxxvi.  12  coll.  xviii.  2. — Thou, 
etc.  Not  the  king  alone,  but  his  servants,  and 
the  people  also  are  to  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
All  are  to  co-operate  in  complying  with  the  ad- 
monition, as  they  ^^'iIl  all  be  affected  by  the  con- 
sequences.— Execute  judgment  and  right- 
eousness. Comp.  vii.  6;  xxi.  12;  Ezek.  xxii. 
6,  7 ;  xlv.  9. — The  stranger.  Comp.  Exod. 
xxii.  20,  21. — For  if  ye  ■will,  etc.  Comp.  vii. 
5. — There  shall  enter.  Comp.  xvii.  25  coll. 
xiii.  13. — But  if  ye  ■will  not  hear.  Comp. 
xvii.  27. — I  sw^ear  by  myself.  Comp.  Gen. 
xxii.  16;   Isa.  xlv.  23;  Jer.  xlix.  13. 

Vers.  6-9.  For  thus  .  .  .  and  served  them. 
Gilead,  which  taken  in  its  wider  meaning,  com- 
prises Bashan  (comp.  V.  Raiimer,  Palastina,  S. 
229,  sqq.),  is  a  type  of  luxuriant  fertility,  espe- 
cially with  respect  to  pasturage.  Comp.  Num. 
x xxii.  1;  Mic.  vii.  14;  .Jer.  1. 19. — Lebanon,  the  far- 
reaching,  adorned  with  cedars,  is  also  frequently 
elsewhere  an  emblem  of  the  lofty  and  splendid: 
Isa.  ii.  13 ;  x.  33,  34 ;  xxxv.  2  ;  Ix.  13  ;  Hos. 
xiv.  6-8;  Zech.  xi.  1,  2. — The  figures  of  blessing 
and  exultation  are  applied  to  the  house  of  David, 
not  on  account  of  its  present  prosperity,  for  this 
does  not  exist,  nor  only  on  account  of  its  former 
prosperity, — under  David  and  Solomon — for  this 
is  a  secondary  consideration  with  the  Lord. 
From  the  words  to  me  we  perceive  that  the 
Lord  has  here  in  view  rather  the  significance  of 
the  Davidic  house,  which  He  has  most  at  heart, 
its  universal  and  transcendent  mission  (2  Sam. 
vii.).  For  this  reason  we  must  not  translate: 
Thou  wast  tome,  but  T/wii  art  to  me.  The  com- 
parison with  Lebanon  is  one  of  the  points  of  co- 
incidence with  xxi.  31.  Although  the  royai 
house  of  Judah  thus  stands  before  the  Lord  in 
such  ideal  glory,  He  will  make  it  in  outward 
form  a  desolation  and  ruin  (comp.  Isa.  liii.  1-5). 
— On  uninhabited  comp.  Comm.  on  ii.  15. 
But  why  cities  in  the  plural?  Evidently  be- 
cause the  prophet  wished  to  intimate  that  the 
judgmenton  tlie  king's  house  will  be  declared 
in  the  desolation  of  the  land  and  the  destruction 
of  the  cities,  especially  the  capital  (ver.  8).  It 
follows  that  ver.  (J  stands  to  ver.  5  in  the  relation 
of  more  particular  explanation,  that  for,  ver.  6, 
is  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  an  explicative. 
For  not  only  the  reason  but  the  manner  of  the 


CHAP.  XXII.  10-12. 


199 


desolation  is  more  particularly  defined  in  vers. 
6-9. — Consecrated.  It  is  commanded  by  God 
and  therefore  a  holy  war.  Comp.  rems.  on  vi. 
4.  Therefore  both  the  warriors  and  their  wea- 
pons are  designated  as  holy. — They  shall  fall, 
etc.  The  house  of  David  is  still  regarded  as  a 
wooded  mountain  (comp.  xi.  14).     At  the  same 


XXIX.  23  sqq. 
8,  9. 


in  mind.     Comp 


Kings 


b.  Prophecy  relating  to  the  person  of  Shallum. 
XXII.  10-12. 

10  Weep  ye  not  for  the  dead,  neither  bemoan  him  : 
Weep,  weep  rather  for  him  that  goeth  away ; 

For  never  shall  he  return,  nor  see  his  native  land. 

11  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  concerning  Shallum, 

The  son  of  Josiah,  the  king  of  Judah,  who  reigned  instead  of  his  father, 
And  who  is  gone  away  from  this  place  : 
He  will  not  return  thither. 

12  For  in  the  place  whither  they  have  carried  him  captive  he  will  die. 
And  will  see  this  land  no  more. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

That  these  words  were  really  spoken  at  the 
historical  epoch  to  which  they  correspond  (there- 
fore neither  earlier  nor  later)  is  felt  if  we  weigh 
the  terrible  violence  of  the  suffering,  which,  not- 
withstanding its  brevity,  is  expressed  in  it.  Jere- 
miah could  speak  thus  only  when  it  was  neces- 
sary to  give  expression,  and — a  corrective,  to  the 
universal  mourning  at  the  loss  of  the  noble  king 
Josiah,  which  was  as  it  were  repeated  in  their 
horror  at  the  captivity  of  his  successor.  Three 
months  after  his  father's  death  (2  Ki.  xxiii.  31- 
34),  Jehoah.iz  was  taken  by  Pharaoh  Necho  as  a 
prisoner  to  Egypt.  The  sorrow  was  still  lively 
at  the  death  of  his  father.  Now  came  this  new 
misfortune.  Many  might  hope  for  Jehoahaz:  he 
is  still  young,  he  will  survive  and  return.  Jere- 
miah cuts  off  these  hopes.  There  is  more  cause, 
he  says,  to  mourn  for  Jehoahaz  than  for  Josiah. 
The  dead  is  more  fortunate  than  the  living.  He 
intimates  that  he  will  perish  miserably  in  capti- 
vity. This  utterance  is  one  of  the-  oldest  in  the 
book. 

Vers.  10-12.  Weep  ye  not  .  .  this  land  no 
more.  The  absence  of  the  article  with  HO;  may 
possibly  be  ascribed  to  the  freedom  which  Jere- 
miah allows  himself  in  the  use  of  the  article. 
Comp.  rems.  on  iii.  2;  vi.  10;  xiv.  18;  xvii.  19 
(Chethibh).  It  is  however  also  possible  that  r\p, 
dead,  may  not  express  so  definite  a  thought  as 
yp,  going  avray,  because  the  dead  are  mourned 
in  general,  but  those  who  go  away  only  when 
their  departure  is  such  as  il  was  in  this  conciete 
case,  whicli  is  indicated  by  the  definite  article. 
On  the  subject-matter  comp.  viii.  3. — Concern- 
ing Shallum.      vN  after  Verbis  dicendi  or  audi- 


endi^ot  concerning :  Gen.  xx.  2  ;  1  Sam.  iv.  19 ; 
2  Ki.  xix.  y,  32,  etc.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  S. 
227. — It  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  this  Shallum  is 
Jehoahaz,  the  son  of  that  Josiah  who  fell  at  Me- 
giddo  (2  Ki.  xxiii.  29),  but  it  is  uncertain  why  he 
is  here  named  Shallum.  The  passage  1  Cliron. 
iii.  15,  where  four  sons  of  Josiah  are  named 
( Johanan,  Jehoiakim,  Zedekiah  and  Shallum),  is 
not  clear  and  seems  to  have  derived  the  name  of 
Shallum  from  the  present  passage.  Disregard- 
ing this,  two  views  are  before  us.  According  to 
the  former  it  is  assumed  that  the  Shalluiu  named 
here  had  really  another  name,  as  cases  of  double 
names  were,  as  is  well-known,  not  uncommon 
among  the  Jews,  especially  in  this  period.  (Comp. 
Uzziah-Azariah,  Eliakim-Jehoiakim,  Mattaniah- 
Zedekiah.  Comp.  Simonis,  Onomast.,  p.  20: 
Movers,  Chronik,  S.  156  sqq.:  Thenius,  on  2 
Kings  xiv.  21).  But  only  the  possibility  of  Je- 
hoahaz and  Shallum  being  the  same,  not  the 
actual  case,  is  admitted.  According  to  the  other 
view  the  name  Shallum  is  a  nomen  reale  (Heng- 
stenberg)  i.  e.  a  symbolical  name.  The  ancients 
(Jerome  and  many  of  the  older  Rabbins)  have 
taken  the  word  in  the  sense  of  consummatio,  com- 
pletio,  referring  it  to  the  destruction  of  th(?  king- 
dom, and  understanding  by  Shallum  either  Zede- 
kiah or  Jehoiakim.  This  explanation  is  however 
contrary  to  the  clear  purport  of  ver.  10. — Dl'7^ 
may  mean  recompenite  (so  Gesenius),  recompenser 
(FtiERST,  comp.  D^n^i  pjn),  "and  to  whom  it  is 
recompensed "  (Heng&tenberg).  But  in  none 
of  these  meanings  will  the  word  exactly  suit  as 
a  prophetic  name.  "  Recompenser  "  is  certainly 
not  appropriate.  But  •' recompense  "  and*-tc 
whom  it  ;s  recompensed"  are  such  general  ideas, 
that  the  name  might  be  ascribed  as  well  to  any 
other  wicked  king,  who  was  visited  by  the  divine 
.judgment.     The   turn  also,  that  the  name  may 


200 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


have  been  given  per  analogiam,  in  remembrance 
of  the  Israelitish  Shallum,  who  reigued  only  a 
month  (2  Ki.  x».  13)  is  not  satisfactory.  For 
then  it  must  first  have  been  evident  that  every 
king  in  general,  whose  reign  was  numbered  by 
months,  was  called  Shallum.  Why  otherwise 
should  Jehoahaz  only  be  so  named,  since  Jehoia- 
chin  also  reigned  only  three  months  ?  It  is  thus 
seen  that  both  these  modes  of  explanation  have 
difficulties.  I  should  decide  in  preference  for 
Uie  former,  in  the  sense  that  Jeremiah,  of 
the  two  names  borne  by  the  immediate  suc- 
cessor of  Josiah,  retained  the  earlier,  as  the 
simple  personal  name,  without  regard  to  its 
meaning,  since  the  other,  the  royal  name  (^nxiri'', 
Jehovah  holds,  sustains)  contradicted  the  histo- 
rical, as  also  Jeremiah  never  calls  the  successor 
of  Jehoiakim  Jehoiachin,  but  onlj'  by  his  origi- 
nal personal  name  of  Jeconiah  or  Coniah.  Comp. 
ver.  24. — King  of  Judah  is  in  apposition  to 
Shallum,   since   it   was   only   this   name   which 


needed  further  definition. — 'Who  reigned,  etc. 
Jehoahaz,  although  the  younger  son  (comp.  2 
Ki.  xxiii.  31  with  36),  was  raised  to  the  throne 
by  the  people  (ver.  30),  his  elder  brother  Elia- 
kim  being  passed  over,  and  the  rights  of  the 
primogeniture  disregarded,  most  probably  on  ac- 
count of  Eliakim's  character,  which  Jeremiah 
afterwards  portrays  in  such  dark  colors.  Elia- 
kim  does  not  seem  to  have  submitted  with  a  good 
will.  He  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the 
Egyptians.  By  the  favor  of  Pharaoh  Necho  he 
became  king  in  his  brother's  place,  which  posi- 
tion however  he  had  to  purchase  by  a  tribute, 
which  was  very  oppressive  to  the  people  (2  Ki. 
xxiii.  33-35).  In  Riblah  Jehoahaz  was  taken 
prisoner,  whether  enticed  thither,  or  in  some 
other  way,  must  remain  undecided.  He  was 
then  taken  to  Egypt  and  from  that  time  nothing 
more  is  known  of  him.  Comp.  2  Chron.  xxxvi. 
1  sqq. ;  Ezek.  xix.  3,  4. — On  Pharaoh  Necho 
comp.  the  Encyclopaedias. 


c.  Prophecy,  respecting  the  person  of  Jehoiakim. 
XXII.  13-19. 

13  Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  injustice, 
And  his  upper  chambers  by  unrighteousness ; 

Who  uses  his  neighbor's  service  for  nothing, 
And  payeth  him  not  his  wages  !^ 

14  Who  saith :  I  will  build  me  a  wide  house,'^ 
And  roomy  upper  chambers !' 

And  breaks  out  himself  windows,* 

Ceils  it  with  cedar  and  paints  it  with  vermillion.^ 

15  Wilt  thou  be  a  king,  because  thou  makest  a  show  with  cedars  ? 
Thy  father,  did  he  not  eat  and  drink, 

And  execute  justice  and  righteousness? 
Then  it  was  well  with  him. 

16  He  procured  justice  for  the  poor  and  the  humble. 
Then  it  was  well  with  him. 

Was  not  this*^  the  fruit  of  knowing  me  ?  saith  Jehovah. 

17  For  thine  eyes  and  thy  heart  are  directed  only  to  thy  advantag6» 
And  to  the  blood  of  the  innocent,  to  shed  it. 

And  to  oppression  and  violence,'  to  practise  them. 

18  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  concerning  Jehoiakim, 
The  son  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah. 

They  shall  not  mourn  for  him  (saying), 
Alas !  my  brother !     Alas !  sister ! 
They  shall  not  mourn  for  him  (saying), 
Alas !  Lord  !     Alas  !  his  majesty ! 

19  With  the  burial  of  an  ass  shall  he  be  buried ; 
Dragged  and  cast  out  far  from  the  gates  of  Jerusalem. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  13.— S|'i)=nSj'£J,  wages  (Lev.  xix.  i:! ;  Ps.  ci.x.  20 ;  Isa.  xl.  10 ;  xlix.  4).    Comp.  Job  vH.  2. 

a  Ver.  14.— nno  no'  Comi).  HHO   'tyjN  (Numb.  xiii.  2),  or  HID  (Isa.  xlv.  i4)  [literally  :  a  house  of  extensions'!. 

..  .  _  ^  . 

*  Ver.  14.— D'nnO.     'fiis  vorlial  fiinii  liero  only.    The  Kal  of  this  verb,  denomin.,  1  Sam.  xvi.  23;  Job  xxxii.  20,  U 
the  sensi-  of  "  tu  l^i-  airy,  light."     Airy  iliaiuber3=lofty,  roomy. 


CHAP.  XXII.  13-19. 


201 


*  Ver.  14. — The  form  '  Jwn  (Kamets  on  account  of  the  pause)  is  not  sufficiently  accounted  for  either  as  plural  (Qesen.), 

or  as  dual  termination  (Ew.,  §  177,  a  ;  Ges.,  ed.  Roediger,  g  88, 1,  Anm.l,  coll.  g  87,  1,  c),  or  as  an  adjective  form  (comp. 

•>^^2,  Isa.  xxxii.  5,  7,  Botticher).    As  a  suffix  form  it  does  not  give  a  satisfactory  meaning.     Olshausen,  J  111,  c.  Anm.,  is 

of  opinion  that  D' Jl /P  is  to  be  restored.    But  it  is  more  natural,  with  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Hitzig,  Gaab,  Meier,  to  connect 

the  following  )  with  the  word  and  to  read  VJ1 7n. — Instead  of  ?."l£JO  we  must  then  read  |13D.  corresponding  to  the  following 

T       -  It  It 

niU/O-    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  93,  e.    The  manner  of  writing  U2D  might  arise  the  more  easily,  as  in  the  six  passages  where 
-       T  It 

the  word  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament  five  have  the  passive  part,  in  Kal.  (Deut.  xxxiii.  21 ;  1  Ki.  vii.  3,  7 ;  Hagg.  1.  4,  and  the 
text),  and  of  these  again  there  are  two  which  contain  the  words  11X3    \2D^  (1  Ki-  vii.  3, 1 ).     As  Jeremiah  evidently  alludes 

V  •.*  T    '  '■.  T  : 
to  the  erections  of  Solomon,  it  was  natural  to  seek  also  this  literal  agreement.    The  radical  signification  of  1^0  [comp. 

f  3V  and  ?3jy,  Deut.  xxxiii.  19 ;  ny3D>  Jon.  i.  5,  a  ship  with  a  deck  in  distinction  from  an  open  boat ;  ?£)D,  cp.iUng,  1  Ki. 

vi.  15,  in  distinction  from  ^p"lp,  fioor ;  □'J^SD   D'i^S,  ceiled  houses,  as  opposed  to  y\jy  n'3,  Hagg.  i.  4]  is  certainly  to 

CMer ;  yet  whether  merely  the  roofing  is  meant,  or  also  the  clothing  of  the  walls  with  cedar-wood  (which  is  also  a  cover- 
ing) appears  to  mo  doubtt'dl. 

5  Ver.  14. — liytJ'  is  found  also  in  Ezek.  xxiii.  14.    According  to  the  Vulgate,  sinopis,  i.  e.  rubrica  Sinopenais ;  LXX., 

**    T 

/LttATOs=red,  vermillion  ;  KiMCHi,  cinnabaris,  minium. 

"  Ver.  16. — On  the  neuter  rendering  of  XTI)  which  besides  appears  here  to  be  attracted  by  HJ^H,  comp.  Naegelsd.  Gr., 
I  60,  6,  6. 

^  Ver.  17. — HV-T^O,  from  Vn=n2f  Ti  crushing  [comp.  Olsh.,  S.  386],  occurs  in  this  sense  here  only.     It  is  not  to  be 

confounded  with  nVIIO,  cursus,  viii.  6;  xxiii.  10 ;  2  Sam.  xviii.  27. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  cries,  Woe  to  Jehoiakim,  the  king 
of  Judah,  who  unlike  his  father  Josiah,  ruled 
despotically  and  oppressed  the  people,  especially 
in  behalf  of  his  fine  architecture  (vers.  13, 14).  Is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  founded  on  cedar-beams? 
asks  Jeremiah.  Josiah  knew  a  better  founda- 
tion. He  ate  and  drank  indeed,  but  he  practised 
justice  and  righteousness.  Then  it  was  well, 
and  it  was  evident  that  to  know  the  Lord  was 
true  prosperity  (vers.  15,  16).  Jehoiakim,  a 
genuine  despot,  had  only  his  own  advantage  in 
view,  and  to  this  end  practised  violence  and  the 
shedding  of  innocent  blood  (ver.  17).  Therefore 
he  will  perish  miserably,  unwept,  dragged  and 
cast  out  like  an  ass,  his  corpse  will  lie  far  from 
Jerusalem  (vers.  18,  19). — This  declaration  must 
have  been  addressed  to  Jehoiakim  as  the  reign- 
ing king,  for  he  is  not  only  called  king  (ver.  IH), 
but  Josiah's  reign  is  referred  to  as  past  and  the 
end  of  Jehoiakim's  as  future.  Thus  this  pro- 
phecy pertains  to  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  and 
since  there  is  no  mention  of  the  Chaldeans,  and 
Jehoiakim  appears  to  be  in  full  and  undisturbed 
exercise  of  his  desi^otism,  to  the  beginning  of  it, 
i.e.,   before  the  crisis  of  the  fourth  year  (chap. 

XXV.). 

Vers.  13  and  14.  Woe  unto  him  .  . .  vyith 
vermillion.  Comp.  llab.  ii.  12;  Miu.  iii.  10. — ■ 
Who  usetli,  p/c.  Comp.  XXV.  14;  xxvii.  7  ;  xxx. 
8,  etc. — And  breaks  out,  etc.  ^Tp  is  to  tear  to 

pieces,  t(3  cut  up  of  garments  (Gen.  xxxvii.  29,  34) 
of  bodies  (by  wild  beasts,  Hos.  xiii.  8)  of  a  book 
(Jer.  xxxvi.  23).  In  Jer.  iv.  30  it  is  used  of  the 
paint  which  makes  the  eyes  look  as  if  they  wore 
torn  open,  i.  e.,  larger.  Ii  the  sense  of  tearing 
open,  it  seems  to  be  used  here,  only  that  the  tear- 
ing seems  to  be  effected  not  by  painting,  but  by 
breaking  through. 

Vers.  15,  16.  Wilt  thou  be  a  king  .  .  . 
saith  Jehovah.  The  pi-ophet  tells  the  king 
that  not  splendid  buildings  are  the  foundation  of 
a  kingdom,  but  righteousness,  and  jDroves  this  to 
him  by  the  example  of  his  father  Josiah.  Comp. 
Prov.  xiv.  34;  xvi.  12;  xx.  28;  xxv.  5;  xxix. 
14.— Makest  a  show,  etc.   (nX3  mnn::.    On 


the  verbal  form.  Comp.  Olsh.,  \  255,  a).  The 
words  have  been  strangely  declared  by  many  to 
be  meaningless.  But  the  meaning  which  the 
word  has  in  xii.  5  (where  alone  it  occurs),  is 
equally  appropriate  here.  There  it  is  undoubtedly 
xmulari,  to  vie,  (to  heat  one's  self,  to  be  zealous, 
from  nin   to  gloio.  Comp.    Neh.   iii.  20),  and   is 

connected  with  nx^  with,  for  the  designation  of 
the  relation  to  a  rival.  Here  it  is  not  said,  with 
whom  Jehoiakim  vies.  That  is  a  matter  of 
course :  He  vies  with  all  those  who  have  also 
built  cedar  palaces,  whether  they  were  prior, 
contemporaneous,  or  subsequent  to  him.  It  is 
however  said,  whereby  he  seeks  to  surpass  them, 
in  nN3,  nX,  cedar,  being  taken  generally,  as  in 

ver.  14. — Did  he  not  eat,  etc.  Josiah  enjoyed 
life  also,  he  was  no  ascetic.  But  he  did  not  sacri- 
fice his  duty  and  conscience  to  the  pleasures  of 
life,  but  practised  the  highest  duty  of  a  ruler, 
righteousness,  in  a  manner  pleasing  to  God. 
Thus  he  laid  a  secure  foundation,  and  his  rule 
was  a  prosperous  one. — Was  not  this  the  fruit 
refers  not  to  procured  justice,  but  to  it  v^as 
■well  with  him.  For  that  the  knowledge  of 
Jehovah  (the  True)  includes  the  practice  of  right- 
eousness, Jehoiakim  did  not  probably  deny.  But 
he  did  deny,  if  not  in  thesi,  yet  inpraxi,  that  the  true 
living  knowledge  of  Jehovah  ensures  the  desired 
satisfaction  to  a  prince.  Accordingly  XTI,  this, 
is  predicate,  ^1  ni^^n,  knowing,  subject. 

Vers.  17-19.  For  thine  eyes  .  .  .  gates  of 
Jerusalem. — For  refers  to  a  thought  to  be  .sup- 
plied: Not  so  thou,  for,  e^c— Blood  of  the  in- 
nocent. Comp.  Deut.  xix.  13;  2  Kings  xxiv.  4. 
— Alas  !  my  brother,  etc.  The  prophet  quotes 
tlie  verba  ipsissima  of  the  usual  wail  for  the  dead. 
II  Mice  the  apparently  unsuitable  Alas!  Sis- 
ter !  He  distinguishes  the  wail  of  the  relatives 
(comp.  1  Kings  xiii.  30),  and  that  of  the  sub- 
jects (comp.  xxxiv.  5)  Tin  of  the  highest  royal 
majesty,  comp.  Ps.  cxlviii.  18;    1  Chrou.  xxix.  2-5. 

Vsr.  10.  Dragged.  Comp.  xv.  3. — Far  from. 

etc.    riNino  as  a  collective  idea,  is  the  accusative 
T  :  T--      , 

governed  by  '^^v'H.  The  place  of  casting  away 
i«,  according  to  a  well-known  idiom,  designated 
as  <ine  presenting  itself  from  far  beyond  the  gates 


202 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  Jerusalem.  Comp.  Exeg.  renis.  on  xx.  17; 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  5  d. — As  to  the  fulfilment 
of  the  prophecy,  it  should  first  be  remarked,  that 
the  latter  is  repeated  in  other  words  in  xxxvi. 
30.  The  historical  accounts  touching  the  end  of 
Jehoiakim  are  very  scanty.  In  2  Kings  xxiv.  6 
we  read  only,  "So  Jehoiakim  slept  with  his 
fathers."  This  expression  indicates  nothing 
concerning  the  burial,  which  is  the  more  sur- 
prising, as  the  book  of  Kings  elsewhere  always 
designates  the  place  particularly.  We  are  not 
justified  in  casting  doubt  on  the  statement  in  2 
Chron.  xxxvi.  6,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  bound  Je- 
hoiakim with  two  chains  to  take  him  to  Babylon. 
on  the  ground  that  the  Chronicler  transferred 
what  from  ver.  6  onwards  relates  to  Jehoiachin. 
to  his  predecessor  (Graf).  For  this  statement 
does  not  contradict  that  of  the  book  of  Kings. 
According  to  this  also  (xxiv.  1),  Nebuchadnezzar 
went  up  against  Jehoiakim.  The  book  of  Kings 
does  not  expressly  say  that  at  this  time  he  carried 


away  the  vessels  from  the  temple,  but  the  case, 
as  related  in  Chronicles,  is  in  itself  probable.  It 
is  here  said  that  Nebuchadnezzar  carried  ofif  sim- 
ply "  the  vessels  of  the  house,"  etc.,  while  in  con- 
nection with  Jehoiachin,  he  carried  off  "the 
goodly  vessels,"  etc.  If  then  the  account  in 
Chronicles  is  not  inauthentic,  it  affords  sufiicient 
data  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  in  the 
text.  Since  Chronicles  does  not  state  that  Je- 
hoiakim was  brought  to  Babylon,  but  only  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  bound  him  to  take  him  mitlier, 
it  is  quite  possible  that  he  died  on  the  way,  and 
endured  the  sad  fate  prophesied  in  the  text.  We 
need  not  then  assume  either  that  Jehoiakim  was 
taken  from  his  grave,  after  the  capture  of  the 
city  under  Jehoiachin,  dragged  through  the  gate 
and  cast  out,  or  that  having  died  on  the  way,  his 
body  was  delivered  up  by  the  Chaldeans  for 
sepulture  (VAiHiNQERin  Herzoq,  R.-Enc.  VI.,  S. 
790). 


d.  The  consequences  to  the  people. 
XXII.  20-23. 

20  Go  up  to  Lebanon  and  cry/ 

And  in  Bashan  lift  up  thy  voice  and  cry  from  Abarim, 
That  all  thy  lovers  are  broken  in  pieces. 

21  I  spoke  to  thee  in  thy  prosperity, — 
Thou  saidst,  I  will  not  hear. 

This  was  thy  manner  from  thy  youth, 
That  thou  heardest  not  my  voice. 

22  The  wind  shall  depasture  all  thy  pastors, 
And  thy  lovers  shall  go  into  captivity ; 
Then  shalt  thou  be  put  to  shame,* 
And  confounded  for  all  thy  wickedness. 

23  Thou  that  sittest  on  Lebanon, 
That  nestlest  in  cedars,^ 

How  dost  thou  groan*  when  pains  come  upon  thee, 
Pangs^  as  of  a  parturient ! 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  20.— On  tliu  form  'p^'i*^,  comp.  Olsh.,  §  65  h,  and  §  234,  e. 

2  A'er.  22.— ■'ty^jT  IX  ''3.  '3  isploonastic.  Comp.  ii.  35 ;  Naegelsb.  (?r.,  §  109,  la. 

3  Ver.  23.— On  the  forms  T^^'C)^  iind  'PJipO.  comp.  rems.  on  x.  17.  Yet  it  should  be  observed  that  in  the  latter  pai- 
Bage  the  Keri  reads  r\3i:/r,  wliilc  in  this  pi. ice  wo  niuiit  read  pJJp:D,  FI^D''-  The  latter  forms  are  not  impossible  (comp. 
mS\  Gen.  xvi.  11 ;  Ju J.  xiii.  5,  7,  certainly  in  a  standing  formula;,  imt  are  callod  forth  here  only  by  the  proximately  stand- 
ing iljnj,  which,  however,  should  not  be  confounded,  as  2  P.  Sing.  Fern.  Perf.,  with  those  participial  forms. 

<  Ver.  23.— 'jljnj.    On  the  termination,  comp.  rems.  on  ii.  20;  iii.  5.    The  form,  as  it  stands,  is  Niph.  of  Mn  (comp. 

Olsh.  S.  593).    But  since  a  Niphal  of  Jjn  to  he  kind,  gracious,  nowhere  else  occurs,  must  modern  euiunieiitaturs  suppose  that 

it  is  written  for  r\n  J3.  and  this  for  j">n  J  >?J  C'roui  n  JX  to  sic/h,  to  groan).     Yet  Fuerst  is  of  opinion  that  a  root  MP  niay  ba 

assumed,  parallel  to  the  Arabic /mTwia,  to  f//-oan,  to  siV//i,  from  which  fli^n,  Job  xix.  17  and  our  pjnj  are  derived.    The 

latter  plan  would  eertainly  be  more  simple  than  the  assumption  of  a  double  change  of  consonants.    The  decision  is  still  to 
be  cxi)ect"d.  . 

6  Ver.  :i3.— 0  7'n.     Comp.  vi.  24^- 


CHAP.  XXII.  20-2S. 


2U-5 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

The  people  are  next  addressed, — after  the  king. 
They  have  harmonized  too  well  with  their  pas- 
tors in  worldly  lust  and  pride,  they  must  then 
share  their  fate.  It  is  evidently  this  thought  of 
the  agreement  of  the  people  with  such  princes  as 
Jehoiakim,  which  is  prominent.  Dwelling  on 
Lebanon  and  making  nests  among  cedars  (ver. 
23)  pleased  them,  however  displeasing  the  ser- 
vice inight  be  to  those  who  were  compelled  to 
render  it  (vers.  13-15).  The  passage  is  thus 
connected  i  ith  the  preceding,  (comp.  vers.  20 
and  23,  uuu  vers.  6,  7  and  vcbs.  13-15).  The 
train  of  thought  is  as  follows: — The  people  of 
Israel  are  required  to  announce  from  the  highest 
summits  of  the  mountains,  bordering  on  their 
country,  the  fall  of  their  lovers  (ver.  20).  For 
he  who  will  not  hear  must  feel.  Thus  it  must  be 
with  Israel,  who  from  his  youth  has  never  listened 
to  the  voice  of  the  Lord  (ver.  21).  When  then 
the  pastors  of  Israel  are  blown  away  by  the  storm 
and  their  lovers  are  gone  into  captivity,  Israel 
will  expiate  his  wickedness  in  deep  shame  (ver. 
22),  and  groan  for  his  pride  in  profound  an- 
guish, like  a  woman  in  travail  (ver.  23). 

Vers.  20,  21.  Go  up  .  .  .  my  voice.  Leba- 
non, Bashan  and  Abarim,  are  named  as  the 
highest  summits  of  the  mountains  bordering  on 
Palestine. — Go  up  on  Lebanon  forms  an  ironi- 
cal antithesis  to  that  sittest  on  Lebanon. 
The  people  now  proudly  dwelling  in  cedars  on 
Lebanon  shall  in  the  future  mount  on  Lebanon 
(in  the  proper  sense)  to  lament — an  ascent  which 
is  really  a  descent.  Bashan  stands  for  the  moun- 
tain of  Bashan  (Ps.  Ixviii.  15),  i.  e.,  Hermon. 
On  Abarim  with  Mt.  Nebo,  comp.  Numb.  xxi.  11 ; 
xxvii.  12;  Deut.  xxxii.  49;  Raumek,  Faldst.,  S. 
72.  Israel  is  to  raise  his  cry  of  lamentation  from 
the  bordering  mountains  that  his  shame  and 
the  conqueror's  glory  might  be  widely  manifest 
as  a  terror  to  others. — All  thy  lovers  must, 
according  to  the  connection,  mean  the  kings. 
For  1,  it  is  inconceivable  that  thy  pastors  in 
ver.  22,  are  not  the  same  as  thy  lovers,  ibid. 
The  former,  however,  are  unquestionably  the 
kings  (xxiii.  1-8).  2.  The  very  punishment  in- 
flicted on  the  kings,  affected  the  people  them- 
selves immediately.  Hence  the  humiliating  la- 
ment to  which  they  are  summoned  in  vers.  20-23. 
3.  The  punishment  of  the  pastors  and  lovers  is 
the  same  which  was  announced  to  Jehoiakim  in 


vers.  18,  19.  To  the  objection  that  a  similar  use 
of  the  word  "lovers,"  cannot  be  produced,  it  may 
be  replied  that  it  is  an  unjustifiable  demand,  to 
require  a  proof  of  every  special  application  of  a 
meaning  admitted  in  itself.  3nX0  means  (he 
lover ;  this  is  sufficient.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
this  in  and  of  itself,  might  be  said  of  kings,  in 
reference  to  their  people.  The  only  question  is, 
whether  this  mode  of  expression  can  be  shown  to 
be  appropriate  in  particular  cases.  This  is,  how- 
ever, the  case  here.  For  here  the  prophet  (comp. 
ver.  2)  announces  the  judgment  lo  the  people, 
because  they  sympathize  with  the  sin  of  the  king, 
both  suffering  and  promoting  it.  When  there  is 
such  concert  in  wickedness  between  prince  and 
people,  the  prince  may  be  named  the  paramour, 
unchaste  lover  (and  this  is  the  specific  meaning 
of  3nND.  Comp.  Ezek.  xvi.  33,  3G,  37;  xxiii.  5, 
9,  22;  Hos.  ii.  7,  9,  12,  14,  15),  of  his  people. 
Comp.   besides  Lam.  i.  19. — Prosperity.     The 

plural  nilhjE'  is  found  here  only.  Since  the 
singular=r/'c/i«7as,  rerum  status  securus  atque  secun- 
dus  (comp.  Ps.  cxxii.  7  ;  Prov.  i.  32;  xvii.  1,  etc.), 
the  plural  is=res  secundse,  prosperous,  quiet,  se- 
cure relations.  So  long  as  these  lasted,  Israel 
would  know  nothing  of  obedience  to  the  voice  of 
his  God.  Comp.  ii.  25-28.— This  was  thy  man- 
ner, etc.  Comp.  ii.  2,  23,  33,  36 ;  Ezek.  xxiii.  3. 
Vers.  22,  23.  The  wind  ...  of  a  parturi- 
ent.    The  pastors  are  the  leaders  of  the  people, 

especially  the  princes.  In  this  sense  is  D';^*■♦> 
also  found  in  x.  21 ;  xxiii.  1-8 ;  1.  6.  As  the 
pastor  is  behind  his  flock  to  drive  it,  so  the  storm 
is  behind  the  pastors  to  sweep  them  away.  Comp. 
iv.  11,  12;  xiii.  24;  Hos.  iv.  19.— Thy  wick- 
edness. Comp.  ii.  19,  iii.  2;  iv.  18:  xi.  15. — 
According  to  the  sense,  ver.  23  is  a  further  de- 
velopment of  thou  Shalt  be  put  to  shame, 
ver.  22.  For  the  shame  of  the  people  will  ap- 
pear the  more  distinctly,  the  more  proudly  and 
hecurely  they  now  live  as  on  Lebanon.  This  is, 
evidently  intended  in  a  double  sense  ;  (a)  as  an 
emblem  of  proud,  unapproachable  exaltation 
(comp.  remarks  on  ver.  6)  ;  (6)  as  an  allusion  to 
the  cedar-houses,  into  which  they  had  brought 
the  "glory  of  Lebanon"  (Isa.  Ix.  13),  so  that 
Jerusalem,  in  a  certain  respect,  is  like  Lebanon. 
For  as  on  this  mountain  the  birds  make  theii 
nests  in  the  cedars,  so  the  princes  of  Judah  built 
their  nests  of  the  cedars  -oi  Lebanon. 


204 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


e.  Prophecy  relating  to  the  person  of  Jehoiachin. 

a.  Before  the  Deportation. 

XXII.  24-27. 

24  As  I  live,  saith  Jehovah,  though  Coniah,* 
The  son  of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah, 
Were  the  signet  ring  upon  my  right  hand, 
Yet  would  I  pluck  thee  thence.* 

25  And  I  give  thee  into  the  hand  of  them  that  seek  thy  life, 
And  into  the  hand  of  those  before  whom  thou  fearest. 
Even  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
And  into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans. 

26  And  I  cast  thee  forth,  and  thy  mother  that  bare  thee, 
Into  another  country,'  where  ye  were  not  born  ; 
And  there  ye  shall  die. 

27  But  to  the  land  whither  their  soul  desires  to  return,* 
Thither  shall  they  not  return. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2^.— The  abbreviation  ^iT  J3  is  found  in  Jeremiah  here  and  in  xxxvii.  1  only.  Henostenberg  Is  of  opinion  that 
by  striking  out  the  ■"  the  word  takes  a  future  meaning.  But  this  is  contained  not  merely  in  the  ''  but  in  the  vowel  also : 
Perf.  }3,  Imperf.  \iy  (Job  xxxi.  15)  from  which,  in  a  double  closed  syllable  and  with  the  accent  moved  on,  is  formed  ~p]- 
The  meaning  of  the  perfect  (Jehovah  stands  fast)  also  would  be  no  less  comforting  than  that  of  the  future :  Jehovah  will 

2  Ver.' 24.— On  the  form  "IJpnX,  comp.  Olsh.,  §  68  d.  coll.  97,  a ;  Ew.  §  250,  b.  [Gesen.  Gr.,  §  105,  6.— S.  R.  A.] 

8  Ver.  26.— If  the  twice  repeated  V"lNn~bj^  (vers.  27  and  28)  has  not  occasioned  the  article  before  VIXi  the  case  ia 

{Uialogous  to  the  n^^JJ  !3Jn,  which  see.    Comp.  also  xvi.  13. 
T    •  :  T  I  •.-.•  - 

*  Ver.  27.— '■I  D'NE'JD.    Comp.  xliv.  14;  Deut.  xxiv.  15. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Jehovah  swears  by  His  life,  that  though  Jehoia- 
chin, the  king  of  Judah,  were  the  signet-ring  on 
His  right  hand,  yet  He  would  tear  it  off  (ver.  24), 
give  him  into  the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (ver. 
25),  and  hurl  him  forth,  together  with  his  mother, 
into  a  foreign  land.  There  they  shall  die  (ver. 
26)  and  never  return  to  the  home  for  which  they 
have  so  longing  a  desire  (ver.  27).  It  is  evident 
that  this  utterance  is  addressed  to  Jehoiachin 
during  his  reign.  He  is  addressed  as  king; 
IS'oijuchadnezzar  stands  menacingly  in  the  vici- 
nity ;  the  captivity  is  still  future. 

Ver.  24.  As  I  live  .  .  .  thence.  King  Je- 
hoiachin, Jehoiakim's  son  and  successor,  who 
however  reigned  only  three  months  (2  Kings  xxiv. 
8;  three  months  and  ten  days,  2Chron.  xxxvi.1)), 
appears  under  the  name  of  Jeconiah  also  in 
xxiv.  1;  xxvii.  20;  xxviii.  4;  xxix.  2;  1  Chron. 
iii.  16,  17:  comp.  Esth.  iii.  6.  I  believe  that  the 
abbreviation  here  denotes  a  disparaging  Ireatmunt 
of  the  royal  name.  Somewhat  of  the  feeling 
expressed  in  ver.  28  maybe  traced  in  it:  "Is 
not  this  man  Coniah  a  despised  broken  vessel?" 
— Since  moreover  Jeremiah  never  calls  this  king 

Jehoiachin  (JO'IH',  he  is  so  called  only  in  Iii.  31), 


it  is  possible  that  Jeconiah  was  his  proper,  origi- 
nal name,  and  Jehoiachin  only  supplementary,  as- 
sumed during  his  brief  reign.  Although  Jere- 
miah acknowledges  him  as  king,  he  guards 
against  using  a  name  expressing  a  false  arbi- 
trary hope,  as  he  also  retains  the  original  per- 
sonal name  Shallum,  instead  of  the  inappropri- 
ately chosen  royal  name  of  Jehoahaz  (xxii.  11). 
— Though  Coniah  .  .  .  vreie,  etc.  If  it  were 
not  for  rrri'  (imperfect)  I  should  be  disposed  to 

render  in  the  sense  of  although  he  is.  But  DX 
with  the  imperfect  cannot  possibly  be  taken 
otherwise  than  in  the  sense  of  a  conditional  sen- 
tence. I  do  not  think  that  we  can  regard  the 
signet-ring  here  as  a  symbol  of  power,  i.  e.  as  a 
sign  of  investiture  with  royal  authority.  (Comp. 
Gen.  xli.  42;  Esth.  iii.  10;  viii.  2).  for  in  this 
sense  Jeconiah  was  really  a  signet-ring.  But 
the  signet  is  here  only  a  jewel,  a  costly  valuable 
ornament  (Song  of  Sol.  viii.  6).  The  Lord  would 
therefore  say :  i^s  I  would  pluck  away  the  dearest 
jewel  from  which  1  had  never  parted  hitherto, 
were  it  become  bad,  useless,  therefore  unworthy 
of  me,  so  must  I  reject  Jeconiah,  as  one  who  is 
despicable,  useless,  unworthy,  even  though  he 
were  the  signet-ring  on  my  right  hand,  which  he 
is  not.     DN  is  here  as  in  Ps.  cxxxix.  8,  d;  Am, 

ix.  2-4;  Isa.  x.  22;  Ob.  4. 


CHAP.  XXII.  28-30. 


20:. 


Vers.  25-27.  And  I  give  thee  unto  the 
hand  .  .  .  they  not  return.  Comp.  xix.  7  ; 
xxi.  7 ;  xxxiv.  20,  21. — And  thy  mother.    She 


was  Nehushta,  the  daughter  of  Elnathan,  2  Ki. 
xxiv.  8.     Comp.  xiii.  18. 


28 


29 

30 


/?.  After  the  Deportation. 

XXII.  28-30. 

Is  then  this  man  Coniah  a  despised  broken  vessel  ? 
Or  a  vessel  wherein  is  no  pleasure? 
Why  are  they  then  hurled  forth,  he  and  his  seed? 
And  cast  into  the  land  which  they  know  not? 
O  land,  land,  land,  hear  Jehovah's  word ! 
Thus  saith  Jehovah :  "Write  ye  this  man  childless, 
As  one  who  has  no  prosperity  in  the  days  of  his  life; 
For  not  one  of  his  seed  shall  succeed 
To  sit  upon  the  throne  of  David  and  rule  again  over  Judah. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

These  words  were  spoken  after  Jeconiah  had 
been  carried  away  captive.  Compare  "  I  cast 
thee  forth,"  ver.  26,  with  "hurled  forth"  and 
"cast"  in  ver.  28.  Hence  Jeconiah  himself  is 
not  addressed,  but  the  prophet  speaks  of  him  to 
others.  He  first  sets  forth  how  in  the  fate  of 
Jeconiah  the  divine  judgment  of  his  unworthi- 
ness  is  manifested.  The  antithesis  is  here  plainly 
felt  to  the  "  signet-ring  on  my  right  hand,"  ver. 
24,  and  that  in  this  comparison  there  was  a  cut- 
ting irony  (ver.  28).  Thereupon  the  prophet 
addresses  the  land  directly,  solemnly  repeating 
yiX  thrice  (ver.  29),  to  announce  concerning  it 

the  fatal  declaration  of  Jehovah,  that  no  descen- 
dant of  Jehoiachin  will  any  more  sit  on  the 
throne  of  David. 

Vers.  28-30.  Is  then  .  .  .  over  Judah. 
To  the  question  of  ver.  28  an  affirmative  an- 
swer is  expected.  Comp.  rems.  on  vii.  9;  xii.  9, 
coll.  ii.  14.  On  the  abbreviated  name  Coniah,  the 
object  of  which  comes  out  here  with  especial  dis- 
tinctness, comp.  rems.  on  ver.  24. — Childless. 
Jeconiah  was  eighteen  years  old  when  he  be- 
came king  (2  Kings  xxiv.  8),  and  it  is  expressly 
stated  that  he  had  wives.  That  he  had  some  ofl"- 
spring  is  therefore  not  impossible,  and  is  not 
even  excluded  by  ver.  30.  But  even  if  he  had 
no  children,  there  was  other  "  roj^al  seed" 
(Dan.  i.  3). — Into  the  land.  Comp.  ver.  26;  xvi. 
13.  The  article  is  explained  by  the  circumstance 
that  this  unknown  land  at  the  same  time  hovered 
before  the  prophet  as  one  often  mentioned  and 
definitely  designated. — The  repetition  of  land  is 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  prophet  has 


somewhat  unusually  important  to  say  with  re- 
spect to  the  country.  This  is  the  announcement 
that  none  of  the  offspring  of  Jeconiah  should 
possess  the  throne  of  David,  by  which  it  is  at  the 
same  time  indicated  that  an  important  change 
would  take  place  in  the  throne  itself,  i.  e.  tbat  it 
would  cease  and  give  place  to  the  throne  of  a 
universal  empire. — Write.  The  prophet  has  evi- 
dently in  view  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the 
keeping  of  the  family  record  (comp.  Saalschuetz, 
3I0S.  Rechl.  S.  61 ;  Ezek.  xiii.  9 ;  coll.  Jer.  xvii. 
13;  Ps.  Ixix.  29;  Isai.  iv.  3).  When  it  is  said 
that  they  are  to  write  him  as  childless,  it  is  said 
only  that  he  is  to  pass  for  such,  not  that  he  was 
really  so.  In  1  Chron.  iii.  17,  18,  his  sons  are 
at  least  mentioned.  Whether  they  were  natural 
offspring  (observe   the   phrase  I'DNrT'p'',    the 

imprisoned  Jeconiah  [A.  V. :  Jeconiah,  Assir, 
etc. — S.  11.  A.])  or  only  legal  (by  a  Levirate 
marriage),  is  doubtful,  comp.  Ebkard,  Kritik 
der  eo.  Gesch.  S.  201,  sqq. — As  one,  etc.  This 
sentence  is  subordinate  to  the  preceding,  as  ex- 
planation and  more  exact  definition:  Jeconiah  is 
called  childless,  because  his  whole  life  through 
he  will  be  an  unprosperous  man.  This  will  be 
manifest,  in  that  he  will  have  seed,  but  no  suc- 
cessor. None  of  his  descendants  will  succeed 
to  his  throne.  Zedekiah  was  Jeconiah's  uncle 
and  the  last  king  of  Judah  of  the  family  of  David. 
The  text  accordingly  rather  favors  than  opposes 
the  hypothesis  that  Jeconiah  had  natural  off- 
spring.— Shall  succeed  to  sit  (2^^  Tn'S'')-^ 
he  will  not  have  success  or  prosperity,  as  sitting, 
etc.  We  should  say:  he  will  not  have  the  good 
fortune  to  sit,  etc. 


20u  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


/.  GoQclusion  and  Consolation,  in  a  glance  at  the  just  and  the  justifier 

xxm.  1-8. 

1  Wo,  pastors,^  who  destroy  and  scatter  the  sheep  of  my  pasture,"  saith  Jehovah! 

2  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  concerning  the  pastors,^  that  pas- 

ture my  people  : 
Yg  have  scattered  my  flock,  and  dispersed  and  not  visited  them. 
Behold  I  visit*  upon  you  the  evil  of  your  doings,  saith  Jehovah. 

3  And  I  will  gather  the  remnant  of  my  flock 

Out  of  all  the  countries  whither  I  have  dispersed  them. 

And  bring  them  back  to  their  field  ;*  and  they  shall  be  fruitful  and  increase. 

4  And  I  awaken  over  them  pastors  who  shall  pasture  them. 
And  they  shall  fear  no  more  nor  be  dismayed;® 
Neither  shall  they  be  missing,^  saith  Jehovah. 

5  Behold  the  days  are  coming,  saith  Jehovah, 
That  I  awake  unto  David  a  righteous  scion. 

Who  shall  reign  as  king  and  shall  prosper,^  > 

And  exercise  judgment  and  righteousness  in  the  land. 

6  In  his  days  will  judah  be  saved, 
And  Israel  dwell  securely ; 

And  this  will  be  the  name  by  which  they  will  call'  him  [Israel], 
Jehovah  our  righteousness. 

7  Therefore,  behold,  the  days  are  coming  that  they  shall  no  more  say, 

As  Jehovah  liveth,  who  brought  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 

8  But,  as  Jehovah  liveth,  who  brought  and  led  the  seed  of  the  house  of  Israel  out 

of  the  north  country, 
And  out  of  all  lands,  whither  I  had  dispersed  them ; 
And  they  shall  dwell  in  their  own  land. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1. — There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  absence  of  tlie  article  with  D'J^'^.  for  this  is  generally  the  case  with  'IH- 

It  occurs  with  the  article  in  seven  places  only  :  Isa.  v.  20  ;  x.  1 ;  xxix.  15  ;  xxxi.  1 ;  Am.  v.  18  ;  vi.  1 ;  Hab.  ii.  6.     Of  these 
places,  the  first  six  have  the  plural,  one  the  singular,  but  in  a  collective  signification. 

2  Ver.  1.— JT'J^IO   may  designate  both  the  act  (Hos.  xiii.  6j  the  place  (Isa.  xlix.  9),  and  the  object  (Jer.  x.  21 ;  xxv.  36) 

of  the  pasturing.     Hence  ''n'y'lD~iXV  (comp.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  31 ;  Ps.  Ixxiv.  1  ;  Ixxix.  13  ;  c.  3)  may  mean  both  :    the  flock 
which  I  pasture  (as  chief  shepherd),  and  :  the  flock  which  feeds  on  my  pasturage.    The  sense  is  essentially  the  same. 

3  Ver.  2. — Here  D'j^T  has  the  article,  because  the  shepherds  already  mentioned  (ver.  1)  are  meant. 

*  Ver.  2. — "1p3  is  here  used  for  the  sake  of  a  paronomasia  tw  bonam  (comp.  Ps.  viii.  5  ;  Exod.  iii.  16)  and  in  malam  par- 

tern,  (comp.  v.  9;  xxv.  12;  xxvii.  8;  Hos.  i.  4)  comp.  Zech.  x.  3. 

•>  Ver.  3. — f  ri'lj.     Sing.  Comp.  Olsh.,  g  165,/.     Since  it  is  sheep  which  are  spoken  of,  H' J  here  as  in  2  Sam.  vii.  8 ;  Isa. 

Ixv.  10;  Jer.  xxxiii.  12;  Ezek.  xxv.  5  ^ po«ct«M»,  place  of  pasturage,  field.    The  fem.  suflix  is  remarkable.    Comp.  Gen. 
XXX.  39  ;  Naeoelsb.  Or.,  g  60,  4. 

«  Ver.  4.-^71; .     Comp.  xvii.  18. 

'  Ver.  4. — np3''.  This  word  is  frequently  nsed  of  missing,  scattered  or  robbed  sheep,  1  Sam.  xxv.  7,  15,  21 ;  comp.  1 
Sam.  XX.  18.    ,1 

8  Ver.  5. — boJiTT  is  best  taken  here  in  a  double  sense  :  rem  bene,  i.  e.,  prudenter  et/eliciter  geret.  Comp.  rems.  on  x. 
21;  I.ia.  Iii.  13. 

»  Ver.  6. — The  reading  IXTD'  which  is  found  in  some  Codd.  is  occasioned  by  the  endeavor  to  obtain  a  designation  of 

the  subject,  perhaps  also  liy  the  rarer  form  of  suffix.    With  respect  to  the  former  point  the  well-known  idiom  may  be  re- 
ferred to,  according  to  which  the  subject  is  usually  wanting  with  Kip  in  the  meaning  "  they  call."    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 

tI  t 
\  101,  2,  b.    With  respect  to  the  latter  comp.  IIos.  viii.  3 ;  Ps.  xxxv.  8  ;  Eccles.  iv.  12  ;  Olsh.,  ?  231,  c. 

EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 


This  passage  is  in  general  suitably  connected 
with  the  entirety  of  the  previous  context,  since 


in  relation  to  the  previous  specifications  (xxii. 
10-30),  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  comprehensive 
conclusion.  But  originally  it  formed  a  connected 
whole  only  with  xxii.  1-9;  13-23,  since  xxii.  10- 
12  must  have  been  inserted  afterwards.     Qoing 


CHAP.  XXIII.   1-8. 


207 


down  into  the  house  of  the  king,  who  can  have 
been  no  other  than  Jehoiakim,  Jeremiah  iirst,  in 
xxii.  1-9,  addressed  an  alternative  to  him,  the 
purport  of  which  was  such  that  servants  and 
people  were  also  obliged  pro  rata  to  apply  it  to 
themselves.  For  in  vers.  13-19  he  turned  to  the 
king  alone  with  an  incisive  speech  of  rebuke  and 
menace,  to  which  was  appended  a  singular  one 
addressed  to  I'he  people  (vers.  20-23).  Finally, 
in  a  grand  survey,  he  contrasts  with  the  deep 
decline,  effectuated  by  the  wicked  pastors  (xxiii. 
1,  2),  the  other  extreme,  the  salvation  to  be  im- 
parted to  the  re-assembled  people,  in  the  distant 
future,  by  the  Messiah.  The  remnant  restored 
to  their  home  shall  again  become  a  numerous 
people  (ver.  8).  This  people  shall  be  fed  in 
blessing  by  shepherds  appointed  by  the  Lord 
(ver.  4).  In  particular  a  "  righteous  scion," 
sprung  from  the  stock  of  David,  shall  rule  as 
king  with  wisdom  and  righteousness,  to  the 
prosperity  of  Judah  and  Israel, — a  king,  whose 
deepest  significance  for  his  people  is  expressed 
in  the  wonderful  name  given  to  the  people  — 
Jehovah  our  Righteousness  (vers.  5-6). 
Oaths  will  then  no  longer  be  taken  by  the  name 
of  Jehovah,  who  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt, 
but  by  the  name  of  Jehovah,  who  brought  back 
Israel  from  the  north  country  to  his  native  land 
(vers.  7,  8).  The  same  antithesis,  between  deep- 
est impending  ruin  and  highest  glory  to  be  expect- 
ed in  the  distant  future,  was  found  also  in  ch.  iii. 

Vers.  1, 2.  "Wo,  Pastors  . .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
As  the  sections  xxii.  1-9;  13-23;  xxiii.  1-8  con- 
tain the  discourse  delivered  in  the  house  of  the 
king,  this  section  is  immediately  attached  to  xxii. 
13-23.  Both  sections  begin  with  'in.  After  the 
alternative  in  xxii.  3-9  also  the  prophet  pro- 
nounces a  double  woe:  first  on  the  shepherds,  i.  e. 
on  the  person  of  the  king  then  reigning,  then  on 
all  which  may  be  called  bad  shepherding.  That 
the  kings  are  to  be  understood  by  the  shepherds  fol- 
lows :  1.  from  the  previously  stated  connection 
of  the  discourse  of  which  this  passage  forms  a 
part;  2.  from  the  description  of  the  conduct  of 
the  bad  shepherds  (who  destroy  and  scatter  the 
flock,  etc.,  vers.  1,  2)  which  appears  to  produce 
so  much  effect,  both  extensively  and  intensively, 
that  we  can  recognize  it  ohly  as  the  action  of 
tliose  who  occupy  the  highest,  most  influential 
positions;  3.  from  the  antithesis  of  the  good 
shepherd,  ver.  4,  and  of  the  righteous  scion  -of 
David,  ver.  5,  in  particular.  For  that  beneficial 
influence  (ver.  4)  can  only  be  that  of  (he  chief, 
and  in  ver.  5  the  "righteous  scion"  is  directly 
designated  as  king.  They  first  corrupt  the  peo- 
ple morally,  and  thus  effect  the  external  destruc- 
tion which  culminates  in  their  dispersion,  comp.  2 
Kings  xvii.  21-23;  xxi.  10-12;  xxiii.  26,  27; 
Jer.  XV.  4. 

Vers.  3,  4.  And  I  •will  gather saith 

Jehovah.  Comp.  xxix.  14;  xxxi.  8-10;  Mic.  ii. 
12;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  12. — The  remnant,  etc.  On 
this  Hengstenberg  remarks:  "The  gathering 
being  promised  only  to  the  remnant  (comp.  Is.  x. 
20;  Rom.  ix.  27)  indicate'!  that  justice  accoai- 
panies  mercy." — And  they  shall  be  fruitful, 
etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  iii.  Iti.  In  the  following  verse 
it  should  first  of  all  be  observed  that  the  prophet 
lias  in  view  two  older  prophecies:  First  the 
'foundation-prophecy  of  the  future  glory  of  the 


Davidic  house  in  2  Sam.  vii.  12,  where  we  read 
the  words,  "  I  will  set  thy  seed  after  thee." 
The  prophet's  choice  of  this  particular  utter- 
ance here  and  in  ver.  5,  could  not  have  been 
without  the  object  of  a  double  allusion  to  the 
passage  above  quoted,  and  to  the  name  of  Jehoi- 
akim. Since,  this  name  (as  well  as  the  name 
j''D''V^   is  chosen  undoubtedly  with  reference  to 

the  passage  mentioned,  it  was  natural  that  the 
prophet,  thinking  in  joyful  hope  of  that  pro- 
phecy, should  at  the  same  time  remember  the 
contradiction,  which  prevailed  between  the  pre- 
sent and  the  promised  Jehoiakim.  The  second 
passage,  to  which  Jeremiah  more  plainly  alludes, 
is  his  own  utterance  in  iii.  15.  He  nuist  have 
been  reminded  of  this  the  more  readily  that  it  re- 
lates to  the  same  future  period. 

Ver.  5.  Behold  the  days  ...  in  the  land. 
The  connection  of  this  verse  with  the  previous  one 
is  formed  by  behold  the  days.  This  expres- 
sion does  not  refer  to  the  difference  in  time.  It 
does  not  declare  thatwhat  isspokenof  in  ver.  5  will 
take  place  after  the  events  of  ver.  4,  but  is  anti- 
thetic only  to  the  present. — Pastors,  etc.,  in  ver. 
4  is  a  figurative  expression,  which  is  explained 
in  ver.  5  in  proper  language.  On  the  question 
as  to  the  relation  of  the  singulars  HDi',  scion, 

^70,   ki'ng,  etc.,  to  the  plural    Cl^'l,  pastors, 

there  are  three  views.     According  to  one  WJJ'^ 

is  to  be  taken  as  a  generic  plural,  which  does 
not  exclude  the  possibility  of  one  shepherd  being 
intended.  Thus  Hengstenberg.  On  the  other 
hand  it  is  rightly  objected  that  elsewhere  Jere- 
miah presents  the  prospect  of  a  multiplicity  of 
rulers  of  the  seed  of  David  for  the  time  of  the 
great  restoration:  xxxiii.  17,  18 — 

"  There  shall  not  be  want&ig  to  David  a  man, 

Sitting  on  the  throne  of  the  house  of  Judah  .  . 

And  to  the  priests  and  levites  shall  not  be 
wanting  a  man. 

Offering  burnt-offerings,"  etc. 

Ibid.  ver.  22.  "  As  the  host  of  heaven  cannot 
be  numbered 

Nor  the  sand  of  the  sea  measured ; 

So  will  I  multiply  the  seed  of  David  my  servant, 

And  the  Levites  that  minister  to  me." 

Ibid.  ver.  26.  "  If  I  have  not  appointed  the 
laws  of  heaven  and  earth; 

Then  also  may  I  reject  the  seed  of  Jacob 

And  David  my  servant, 

That  I  should  not  take  of  his  seed  to  be 
rulers  (D'VkJ'D) 

To  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob." 

According  to  the  second  view  the  passages  just; 
quoted  are  regarded  as  forming  the  measure  of 
this,  and  accordingly  the  singular  MOV,  scion, 
is  taken  in  a  collective  sense.  Graf,  who 
adopts  this  view,  appeals  (</)  to  the  idiom,  ac- 
cording to  which  it  always  has  a  collective  mean- 
ing (Gen.  xix.  25;  Ps.  Ixv.  1]  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  7; 
Isii.  Ixi.  11):  (b)  to  the  idiom  according  to 
which  TH,  David,  and  ~\]1  "13^  as  much  de- 
signate  the    descendants    of    David,    as   3pJ^''_; 

Jacob,  and  ^p]^\  '"y^J^-  tlie  descendants  of  Ja- 
cob: Jer.  XXX.  9;  Hos.  iii.  5;  Ezek.  xxiv.  23, 
24;   xxxvii.  24,  25;  xlv.  8;  xlvi.    16,  ooll.   Jer. 


208 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


XXX.  10;  xlvi.  27,  28;  Isai.  xliv.  1;  xlv.  4;  xlviii. 
20,  etc.— To  this  view  it  maybe  objected  that  this 
entirely  ignores  the  fact  that  the  Jews  expected 
ONE  great  deliverer  and  restorer  of  their  State, 
the  Messiah.  Comp.  the  article  "  Messias,"  by 
Oehler  in  Herzog,  R.-Enc.  We  can  only  treat 
here  of  two  points:  1.  How  is  this  passage  related 
to  the  expectation  of  a  single  great  son  of  David? 
2.  If  it  is  based  on  this  idea,  how  is  it  to  be  recon- 
ciled with  the  other  that  a  number  of  princes  of 
David's  line  will  rule  over  Israel?  As  to  the 
first  question,  I  am  of  opinion  that  this  passage 
declares  the  unity  of  the  Messiah,  notwithstand- 
ing that  pastors  preceding  (ver.  4)  intimates  a 
multiplicity.     I  therefore  propose  a  third  view, 

taking  D'^T  in  a  plural  sense,  but  noif,  etc.^ 
notwithstanding  in  the  sense  of  unity.  The 
reasons  for  this  are  as  follows:  1.  If  Jeremiah 
wished  to  set  forth  a  multiplicity,  why  did  he 
not  continue  in  the  plural?  Why  does  he  not 
say   "Who  shall  reign  as  kings?"     HOV  has,  in 

the  comparatively  few  passages  where  it  occurs, 
a  collective  sense.  But  not  necessarily.  It  is 
germen,  prolos  in  general,  and  may  accordingly 
designate  as  well  a  single  individual  as  a  num- 
ber. If  the  prophet  wished  it  to  be  taken  in  the 
latter  sense,  and  therefore  as  absolutely  identi- 
cal with  D'J^^,  he  must  have  indicated  this  by 

the  plural.  2.  Ezekiel  and  Zechariah,  who,  as  is 
acknowledged,  refer  to  this  passage,  evidently 
understood  it  in  the  sense  of  unity.  Ezekiel  says 
expressly  in  xxxiv.  23,  "  And  I  will  set  up  one 
shepherd  over  them."  •  And  Zechariah  in  iii.  8, 
and  vi.  12,   used  HD^f  as  a  proper  name,  saying 

(iii.  8):  "For  I  bring  my  servant  Zemach" 
[The  Branch] — and  (vi.  12):  "  Behold  a  man, 
Zemach  his  name,  under  whom  it  shall  sprout." 
As  to  the  second  question,  previously  raised, 
the  subjective  conception  of  the  prophet  is  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  objective  reality  of  the 
fulfilment.  To  the  prophets  the  pictures  of  the 
future,  which  came  within  the  circle  of  their 
vision,  contained  by  no  means  always  sharply  cir- 
cumscribed and  distinctly  impressed  forms  (comp. 
1  Pet.  i.  11).  These  forms  were  as  little  born  en- 
tirely of  the  future,  severed  from  the  present. 
Rather  were  they  eternal  ideas,  which  had  de- 
rived their  body  from  the  present.  Of  this  kind 
are  most  of  the  Messianic  prophecies.  In  reality 
Christ  is  adifferent  king,  priest  and  prophet,  from 
what  the  authors  of  Ps.  ii. ;  ex. ;  Deut.  xviii.  con- 
ceived, and  yet  His  advent  is  the  true  fulfilment 
of  tliose  prophecies.  Thus  Jeremiah  also  sees 
together  with  the  one  grand  form  of  the  arch- 
sheplierd,  many  others,  whom  he  recognizes  as 
His  seed.  If  the  prophet  conceived  among  his 
ofl'spring  of  a  successor,  in  the  sense  in  which 
successors  of  a  no  longer  reigning  prince  are 
spoken  of,  this  must  have  been  a  point  which  re- 
mained obscure  to  the  subjective  perception  of 
the  prophet, — in  a  similar  manner,  as  it  may 
have  been  dark  to  the  prophet,  how  he  could  live 
80  long,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  He  gave  His 
soul  an  offering  for  sin  (Isai.  liii.  10).  Objec- 
tively considered,  even  Jerome  and  Theodoret 
understood  the  apostles  by  the  many  □"'^'^ — 
an  interpretation  which  is  certainly  exposed  to 
the  objection  of  too  great  limitation.     It  would  be 


more  appropriate,  to  consider,  with  others,  that 
we,  so  far  as  we  are  kv  Xptaru,  are  not  only  Abra- 
ham's seed  (Gal.  iii.  29)  but  also  David's.  We 
are  indeed  a  royal  priesthood  (1  Pet.  ii.  9);  and 
He  has  made  us  not  only  priests  but  kings 
ETTolr/aag  av^mg  jiaaikeiav  koI  ispelg,  /cat  (iaaiAEv- 
ovaiv  k:vl  Tijg  yf/g,  Rev.  v.  10,  coll.  i.  6).  [Hen- 
derson: "By  the  better  shepherds  whom  Je- 
hovah promises  to  place  over  His  restored  people, 
I  understand  Zerubbabel,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  the 
Maccabees,  etc.,  under  whose  superintendenc« 
and  rule  they  were  re-instated  in  their  posses- 
sions, and  enjoyed  protection  against  both  in- 
ternal and  foreign  enemies." — S.  R.  A.]  If  now 
the  inquiry  is  made,  how  the  prophet  came  to 
choose  the  expression  npV,  it  vs-as  long  ago 
pointed  out  by  the  Comm.  that  he  had  in  mind 
Isai.  xi.  2;  liii.  2.  As  there  the  sprouting  forth 
of  a  scion,  from  the  apparently  withered  root  of 
the  house  of  David,  is  announced,  so  here  the 
growth  of  a  scion  in  the  midst  of  a  people, 
gathered  again  after  a  long  dispersion,  and  thus 
about  to  enter  upon  a  new  national  existence. 
This  conception  appears  also  to  form  the  basis 
of  the  translation  of  the  LXX.,  which  translates 
no^  here  as  in  Zech.  iii.  8 ;  vi.  12,  avaraki].  Comp. 
especially  koX  vTroKaru^ev  avrov  avaTe?.€i,  in  the 
passage  last  mentioned. — Justice  or  righteous- 
ness is  the  chief  quality  of  a  good  king  accord- 
ing to  the  Old  Testament  doctrine.  Comp.  Ps.  xlv. 
5,  7,  8;  Ixxii.  1-4,  12-14;  Ixxxii.  2-4;  ci.  1-8.— 
Hence  righteous  scion,  of  which  the  confirma- 
tion in  fact  is  declared  in  shall  exercise 
judgment.  Comp.  Ps.  cxlvi.  7;  ciii.  6,  and  the 
remarks  on  vii.  5,  6;  ix.  2.3. 

Ver.  6.  In  his  days  ....  our  righteous- 
ness. Comp.  Deut.  xxxiii.  28,  29, — Repetition  of 
our  passage,  xxxiii.  Ki  — Judah  is  ieni.  as  in 
iii.  7;  xiv.  2  ;  xxxiii.  IG;  Lam.  i.  3;  Nali.  ii.  1; 
Mai.  ii.  11.  It  is  then  equivalent  to  daughter 
of  Judah,  Lam.  ii.  2, 5.  Comp.  Naegelsb.,  O/.  Ix. 
4. — They  will  call  him.  According  to  the  ex- 
pbination  prevalent  even  from  antiquity,  this  re- 
fers to  righteous  scion.  But  as  Jeremiah  is 
his  own  best  iuter23reter,  the  name  must  be  re- 
ferred to  Israel.  For  in  the  parallel  passage, 
xxxiii.  16,  where  instead  of  "and  Israel  dwell 
securely,"  we  read  "  Jerusalem  shall  dwell  se- 
curely," the  word  he,  in  the  latter  clause  of  the 
verse  ("and  this  is  the  name  by  which  he  shall 
be  called")  can  refer  to  no  other  than  Jerusalem. 
Jehovah  our  Righteousness  is  not  then  the 
name  of  the  scion  of  David,  but  of  the  nation. 
It  is  a  symbolical  surname,  which  is  distinguished 
from  other  names,  in  that  it  serves  not  for  real 
use,  but  only  for  objective  characterization,  an 
ideal  inscription,  as  it  were.  Hence  this  name 
is  also  ascribed  to  an  object,  which  already  has  a 
name.  For  the  nation  is  already  called  Israel, 
but  nevertheless  it  is  to  be  called  "  Jehovah,  etc." 
The  prophet  does  not  mean  that  the  old  name  is 
to  be  changed  into  a  new  one;  for  the  name  does 
not  recur  (except  in  the  repetition  of  this  pas- 
sage, xx.xiii.  16)  and  the  nation  appears  as  before 
under  its  old  name,  which  is  also  a  sacred,  God- 
given  name.  (Gen.  xxxii.  28.)  Jerusalem  else- 
where receives  other  names  which  are  likewise 
not  intended  for  daily  use:  in  Ezek.  xlviii.  35,  the 

name  n?3ty  miT  (The   Lord  is  there)   is  attri 

T  |T  '^  ' 


CHAP.  XXIII.  9-15. 


209 


lluted  to  the  city.  In  Isai.  Ix.  14  we  read  "  they 
Bhall  call  thee  The  city  of  Jehovah,  the  Zion  of 
the  Holy  Oae  of  Israel."  In  a  similar  manner 
Nathan  gives  his  pupil  Solomon  the  name  Jedi- 
diah,  which  he  never  bore  in  reality.  With  re- 
spect to  the  name  Emmanuel  (Isai.  vii.  14;  viii. 
8-10)  the  case  appears  to  be  the  same. — Similar 
in  form  are  the  names  Jehovah-nissi  (Exod.  xvii. 
15),  .Jehovah-shalom  (Jud.  vi,  24),  Jehovah- 
jireh  (Gen.  xxii.  14).  The  LXX.  makes  a  proper 
name  of  it,  'IwcteJe/c.  I  suppose  with  Hkrmann 
( Gott.  Weihn.  Progr.  1752,  comp.  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
Observ.  S.  189)  that  it  referred  the  passage  to 
the  post-exilic  restoration,  and  understood  by 
'l(j)cse6kK  its  representative,  the  high-priest  Joshua, 
the  son  of  Jozedek,  which  it  always  pronounces 
'luaedm  {\Ugg.  i.  1,  12;  Ezr.  iii.  2,  8;  v.  2;  Neh. 
xii.  26).  In  favor  also  of  this  view  is  the 
Jewish  interpretation  of  the  passage  con- 
cerning Zorubbabel,  combated  by  Theodorbt 
and  El'.-^kbius  [Dem.  Ev.,  vii.  9),  which  seems 
to  be  supported  by  the  LXX.  The  strange 
expression  kv  rolg  npo<p(jTaig  (  Theodoret  : 
avToq  kv  T.  np.,  perhaps  a  trace  of  the  final 
syllable  M,  which  is  wanting  in  'Iwcrede/c:  Euseb. 
'luaeSeKi/i)  is  also  in  its  favor.  It  is  indeed  trans- 
ferred from  ver.  9,  where  it  stands  as  a  title,  but 
it  is  not  impossible  that  the  Alexandrian  trans- 
lators perceived  in  it  a  reference  to  the  post- 
exilic  prophets,  under  whose  co-operation  Joshua 
and  Zerubbabel  labored.     The  Syriac  and  Sym- 

M.-VCHUS,  moreover,  read  IJP.1^,  for  they  translate 

diKaiuaov  rjuag. — If  it  is  not  tlie  name  of  the  Mes- 
siah, but  of  the  people,  then  of  course  all  the 
deductions  are  futile,  which  have  been  drawn 
from  it  in  support  of  the  deity  of  the  Messiah. 
Only  one  thought  remains,  that  Israel  will  be  a 
nation,  that  will  have  no  other  righteousness 
than  Jehovah's.  Some  would  take  plV  exclu- 
sively in  the  sense  of  "salvation"  (Graf). 
Without  denying  that  it  may  have  this  meaning 
(comp.  Rems.  on  vii.  5 ;    ix.  23  ;    Isa.  xlvi.    12, 

etc.),  I  do  not  think  that  here  l'\!J\  r\};wr\,  n313 

or  any  similar  word  would  have  done  as  well. 
The  prophet  certainly  chose  pl2f  not  without 
reason,  i.  e.  not  without  regard  to  its  specific 
meaning.  We  are  therefore  justified  in  taking 
it  in  the  entire  fulness  of  its  verbal  significance 
as  expressing  the  thought  that  Jehovah  is  His 
people's  righteousness  and  therefore  their  salva- 


tion. The  expression  is  thus  one  of  those  which 
contain  more  than  the  prophet  himself  imagines, 
and  we  may  therefore  find  in  it  also  an  antithesis 
to  personal  righteousness,  which  Israel  thought 
to  obtain  by  the  works  of  the  law  (Rom.  ix.  31, 
32  ;  xi.  7),  but  did  not  succeed.  It  has  been  fur- 
ther correctly  remarked  (  Vide  Hengstenberg, 
Christologi/  ad  h.  I.)  that  Zedekiah  changed  his 
former  name  into  this  with  reference  to  this  pas- 
•s.ige.  Compelled  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  assume 
, mother  name  (2  Ki.  xxiv.  17,  comp.  Keil  on 
xxiii.  34)  he  chose  this,  which  may  very  well 
■iigiiify  "Jehovah  my  Righteousness,"  and  by 
u'hich  he  expressed  the  presumptuous  hope,  that 
Jeremiah's  glorious  promise  would  find  in  him 
the  beginning  of  its  fulfilment — in  which  he  ex- 
dressed  rather  an  irony  than  a  glorification  of 
himself. 

Vers.  7,  8.  Therefore  ...  in  their  ow^n 
land.  These  two  verses  are  repeated  with  un- 
essential alterations  from  xvi.  14,  15.  They 
stand  in  both  places  in  a  suitable  connection, 
and  Jeremiah  himself  may  here,  as  frequently, 
have  reproduced  his  own  words  spoken  before. 
The  omission  of  these  verses  here  by  the  LXX., 
and  their  supplementation  at  the  end  of  the 
chapter,  whereas  ver.  6  closes  with  the  words : 
'lufTfrftK:  Iv  Tolc  irpocprjTaLQ,  I  cannot,  with  HiTZiG 
and  Graf,  regard  as  a  proof  that  the  two  verses 
were  wanting  in  the  Hebrew  original  of  the 
Translator.  The  admitted  capricious  arbitrari- 
ness of  this  translator  deprives  his  testimony  of 
all  demonstrative  force.  The  occasion  of  the 
transposition  may  have  been  the  circumstance 
that  the  verses  have  in  xvi.  14,  15  a  mina- 
tory, here  a  friendly,  meaning,  which  led  him  to 
think  that  they  must  be  introduced  in  the  same 
conuectiou  as  in  ch.  xvi.  This  end  he  attained 
by  placing  them  at  the  close  of  the  minatory 
prophecy  against  the  prophets.  It  should  fur- 
ther be  remarked  that  both  verses,  in  the  posi- 
tive part  of  their  relative  clauses,  agree  in  part 
verbatim  with  ver.  3,  and  in  so  far  might  be  re- 
garded as  superfluous  in  this  place.  But  th« 
main  emphasis  is  to  be  laid  on  the  main  propo- 
sition, "they  shall  no  more  say,  As  Jehovah 
liveth,  etc.,  but:  As  Jehovah  liveth,"  etc.,  and  in 
this  sense  they  have  the  significance  of  a  conclud- 
ing doxology.  The  reduction  of  Israel  from  the 
later  exile  will  furnish  a  more  glorious  substra- 
tum  to  the  oath  by  the  name  of  Jehovah. 


2.  Against  the  False  Prophets  (xxiii.  9-40. ). 
a.  The  Blind  Leaders  of  the  Blind. 


XXIII.  9-15. 

9       Against  the  Prophets : — 

Broken  is  my  heart  in  my  breast,  all  my  bones  quake,^ 
I  am  become  like  a  drunken  man,  and  a  man  whom  wine  has  overcome. 
Because  of  Jehovah  and  because  of  his  holy  words. 
10  For  the  land  is  full  of  adulterers. 

(For  on  account  of  the  curse'*  the  laud  mourns, 
14 


210 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


The  pastures  of  the  desert  are  dried  up :) 

Aud  their  course  is  become  evil  and  their  might  not  right. 

11  For  both  prophet  and  priest  are  profane, 

Even  in  my  house  have  I  found  their  wickedness,  saith  Jehovah, 

12  Therefore  their  way  shall  be  to  them  as  slippery  places  in  the  dark; 
They  shall  be  driven^  i  .a:,  they  fall  therein; 

For  1  shall  bring  calamity  upon  them  in  the  year  of  their  visitation, 
Saith  Jehovah. 
X3  Also  in  the  prophets  of  Samaria  have  I  seen  perversity.* 
They  prophesied"  by  Baal  and  led  my  people  Israel  astray. 

14  But  in  the  prophets  of  Jerusalem  I  saw  what  is  horrible; 
Adultery  and  dealing  in  falsehood, — 

They  strengthened  the  hands  of  the  evil-doers, 
That  they  did  not  turn*^  every  one  from  his  wickedness. 
They  are  all  become  to  me  like  Sodom, 
And  their  inhabitants  like  Gomorrah. 

15  Therefore  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth  thus  concerning  the  prophets  : 
Behold,  I  feed  them  with  absinthe  [wormwood], 

And  give  them  poison-water  to  drink. 

For  from  the  prophets  of  Jerusalem  profanation  has  gone  out  over  the  whole  land. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  9. — IBTT^.     Kal  here  only.    Elsewhere  Piel  only  occurs ;  Gen.  i.  2  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  11.     The  radical  meaning  seemi 
to  be  fiaccidus,  dehilis,  mollis  fait.    Comp.  the  Arabic  rachapha^mollis,  tenuis  fuit,  and  Dm. 

-  Ver.  10. — The  LXX.,  Syriac,  and  Arab,  read  H  ?X  instead  of  PI /N-     So  also  Hitzig  and  Meier.     H /X,  however, 

V  TT  TT 

merely  designates  the  effect  as  indirect,  occasioned  by  the  curse,  with  reference  to  Deut.  xxviii.  15-68 ;  xxix.  19-28. 
3  Ver.  VJ.. — !|n'T'  from  Hm.  comp.  Olshausen,  g  265  e. 

*  Ver.  13. — n73n,  insulsum,  insipidum  [unsavoriness].    Besides  only  in  Job  i.  22  ;  xxir.  12. 

r  :    ■ 
5  Ver.  13.— IX^Ijn.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  23,  Anm.  9 ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  10. 

»  Ver.  14. — 13t^  ''n /D/.     This  construction  is  found  besides  only  in  xxvii.  18  ;  Ezek.  xiii.  3.    In  Ezek.  xiii.  22,  where 

these  words  are  quoted,  we  read  ^•liy~'r\737,  but  we  are  not  therefore  to  assume  an  error  here.    The  finite  verb  is  admissi 

ble,  because  a  condition,  which  actually  existed,  is  to  be  designated. 


EXEQETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  begins  by  describing  his  feelings 
at  the  reception  of  this  revelation.  His  sensa- 
tions vifere  those  of  a  man  of  broken  heart,  or 
of  a  drunken  man  (ver.  9).  By  this  introduction 
we  obtain  a  standard,  by  which  to  measure  the 
importance  of  the  following  passage.  First  the 
moral  condition  of  the  people  is  described  a3 
very  bad,  especially  from  the  prevalence  of  adul- 
tery. (Punishment  of  this  the  prevalent  drought) 
(ver.  10).  How  could  it  be  otherwise  when  the 
spiritual  leaders  of  the  people,  prophets  and 
priests  were  themselves  profane  men.  who  even 
desecrated  I  lie  sanctuary  with  their  crimes?  (ver. 
11).  Tlierefore  in  the  corresponding  period  pun- 
ishment must  come  upon  them  also  (ver.  12).  Even 
the  prophets  in  Samaria  had  led  the  people  of 
Israel  astray  by  their  scandalous  behaviour  (ver. 
13).  The  prophets  of  .Jerusalem,  however,  had 
in  the  point  of  popular  seduction,  accomplished 
something  truly  horrible.  Not  only  had  they 
goiKi  before  with  their  example  of  wickedness, 
but  had  actually  strengthened  the  evil-doers  in 
their  wickedness  and  restrained  them  from 
conversion,  so  that  the  nation  had  become  to  the 
Lord  like  Sodom  and  Gomorraii  (ver.  14).  There- 
fore, as  the  profaners  of  the  land,  they  must  be 
given  poison  to  drink  and  be  fed  with  bitterness 
'ver.  15). 


Ver.  9.  Against  the  prophets  .  .  .  holy 
words.  To  connect,  as  indicated  by  the  ac- 
cents, broken  with  against  the  prophets,  is 

not  grammatically  impossible  (comp.  ex.  gr.  xxxi. 
20),  but  not  altogether  appropriate  in  meaning. 
For  a  broken  heart  does  not  signify  anger  or  in- 
dignation (which  is  the  only  state  of  mind  Jere- 
miah could  be  supposed  to  be  in  towards  the  false 
prophets),  but  humiliation,  anxiety,  care.  Comp. 
Ps.  xxxiv.  19;  li.  19;  Ix.  21;  Isa.  Ixi.  1.  But 
it  becomes  perfectly  clear  that  we  have  here  a 
superscription  before  us,  when  we  observe  that 
evidently  the  whole  section,  xxiii.  9-40,  as  re- 
lating to  the  prophets,  is  opposed  to  the  prece- 
ding as  relating  to  the  kings,  that  the  title  conse- 
quently states  the  main  purport,  not  only  of  the 
next  verses,  but  of  the  whole  following  discourse. 
Such  superscriptions  are  moreover  common  in 
the  book  of  this  prophet  :  xlvi.  2;  xlviii.  1;  xlix. 
1,  7,  23,  28. — By  holy  Twords  are  meant  the 
revelation  contained  in  what  follows.  What 
shocked  the  prophet  to  such  an  unusual  degree 
was  doubtless  a  glance  granted  him  into  the 
depths  of  human  depravity  and  on  the  other  hnnd 
of  the  ('iviiic  wrsi'li.  (Nirp.  iv.  19;  viii.  18sqq. 
Vers.  10-12.  For  the  land  is  full  .  .  .  visi- 
tation, saith  Jehovah. — For  is  causal.  But 
since  tlu'  reason  ot  the  prophet's  great  shock  is 
not  expressed  in  the  next  sentence  only,  but  in 
tlie  whole  of  what  follows  also.  For  is  to  be  re- 
ferred to  the  entire  following  discourse. — Adul- 


CHAP.  XXIII.  16-22. 


211 


terers.  That,  this  crime  prevailed  most  exten- 
sively is  evident  from  v.  7,  8 ;  ix.  1 ;  xxix.  23. 
Where,  however,  HJIOX  in  this  respect  is  not 
discovered,  it  is  difi&cult  to  find  it  in  other  re- 
spects, and  especially  in  relation  to  God.  Comp. 
rems.  on  v.  1. — For  on  account,  etc.  This 
sentence  to  dried  up  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
parenthesis.  From  the  general  calamity  of 
drought  may  be  argued  the  presence  of  a  gene- 
ral guiltiness.  Moreover,  both  the  indication 
of  the  drought,  which  looks  like  a  demonstratio 
ad  oculos  and  the  leading  back  to  the  false  pro- 
phets (ver.  11),  reminds  us  very  strongly  of  xiv. 
2,  13-18. — And  their  course  is  connected  with 
"full  of  adulterers."  Their  thought  and  en- 
deavor generally  (their  walking  and  running, 
comp.  viii.  6;  Prov.  i.  16;  Isa.  lix.  7;  Rom.  ix. 
16)  is  directed  to  evil,  therefore  itself  evil ;  they 
are  strong  only  for  that  wliich  is  not  right. 
Comp.  rems.  on  viii.  6. — For  both  prophet, 
etc.  This  sentence  states  the  reason  why  the 
moral  corruption  is  so  general :  it  cannot  be 
otherwise,  since  the  teachers  and  leaders  of  the 
people  are  not  only  themselves  profane  and  god- 
less, but  practise  their  ungodliness  even  in  the 
tanctuary,  the  most  influential  centre  of  theo- 
cratic life.  Therefore  the  prophet  says  directly 
in  ver.  15,  From  the  prophets  of  Jerusalem  is 
gone  forth  profanation  over  the  whole  land. 
Evidently  profanation  is  there  used  with  re- 
ference to  profane  here.  On  the  subject  comp. 
xxxii.  34;  Ezek.  viii.  3  sqq.  The  priests  are 
moreover  mentioned  only  incidentally  ;  in  the 
whole  subsequent  part  of  the  discourse  Jeremiah 
speaks  only  of  the  prophets.  Perhaps  the  jux- 
taposition of  the  two  is  only  a  reminiscence  from 
XIV.  18,  where  alone  the  expression  occurs. — In 
the  dark.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  6  [Thomson,  The 
L'ind  and  the  Book,  I.,  p.  106]. — Year  of  visi- 
tation. Comp.  xi.  23.  It  is  apparent  from 
this  expression  that  the  visitation  is  still  in  the 
indefinite  future. 


Vers.  13-15.  Also  in  the  prophets  of  Sa- 
maria .  .  .  over  the  whole  land.  In  these 
verses  it  is  more  particularly  shown  how  the 
corruption  extended  from  the  prophets  over  the 
whole  country.  At  the  same  time  its  merited 
punishment  is  announced  to  them. — The  )  here 
(Also)  and  at  the  beginning  of  ver.  14  (But)  cor- 
respond, but  the  whole  sentences  are  not  parallel, 
for  it  could  not  be  said  :  Both  in  the  prophets 
of  Samaria  I  see  perversity,  and  in  the  pro- 
phets of  Jerusalem  what  is  horrible,  the  latter 
clause  containing  a  climax.  The  expression  is 
founded  on  a  mingling  of  two  ways  of  speaking, 
"both  in  the  prophets  of  Samaria  I  see  what  ia 
bad,  and  in  the  prophets  of  Jerusalem,"  and  "in 

the  prophets  of  Samaria  I  see  nbfln,  but  in  the 

prophets  of  Jerusalem  even  mi"'i?ty."     Both  are 

confounded  in  the  sentence  :  both  in  the  prophets 
of  Samaria  I  see  what  is  bad,  and  in  the  prophets 
of  Jerusalem  what  is  horrible. — We  cannot  well 
render  these  modes  of  expression  word  for  word. 
Comp.  the  parallel,  equally  unfavorable  for  Ju- 
dah,  in  iii.  6-10.  —  By  Baal.  Comp.  rems.  on 
ii.  8. — Led  astray.  lu  this  leading  astray  by 
means  of  prophecy  in  the  name  of  idols  is  the 
point  of  coiuiection  between  vers.  10  and  11. — 
Horrible.  Comp.  v.  30. — Strengthened,  etc. 
They  thus  not  only  seduced  the  people  into 
wickedness  by  their  example,  but  sustained  them 
therein  by  the  authority  of  their  example  and 
detained  thcMn  from  repentance. — The  subject  of 
are  become  is  the  prophets,  while  their  must 
refer  to  Jerusalem — Tlie  comparison  with  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  is  here  as  in  Zeph.  ii.  9,  yet  with 
this  difference,  that  they  are  here  the  emblem  of 
moral  corruption,  there  of  outward  desolation. — . 
Poison-water.  Comp.  viii.  14;  ix.  14. — Pro- 
fanation. Comp.  iii.  9.  In  this  last  causal 
sentence  (for  from  the  prophets  of  Jerusalem  has 
profanation  gone  out),  the  fundamental  thought 
of  the  strophe  again  comes  out  clearly. 


€/.  Warning  against  deception  by  the  Prophets. 
XXIII.  16-22. 

16  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 

Listen  not  to  the  words  of  the  prophets  who  prophesy  to  you ; 

They  deceive  you.^ 

They  speak  their  own  heart's  vision,  not  from  the  mouth  of  Jehovah. 

17  They  say  continually  to  my  despisers : 

Jehovah  hath  spoken,^  "  There  shall  be  peace  to  you  ;" 
And  wherever  one  walketh'  in  the  hardness  of  his  heart, 
There  they  sny  :  no  evil  shall  come  upon  you. 

18  For  he  who  hath  stood  in  the  counsel  of  Jehovah, 
Let  him  perceive^  and  hear  his  word, 

Let  him  who  hath  marked  ray  word^  proclaim  it.* 

19  Behold,  a  storm-wind  of  Jehovah! 
Fury  is  gone  forth'  and  whirling  storm — 
Upon  the  head  of  the  ungodly  it  will  be  rolled. 


212 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


20  The  anger  of  Jehovah  will  not  turn  back, 

Till  he  execute  and  carry  out  the  plans  of  his  heart. 
At  the  end  of  days  ye  will  become  aware  of  this. 

21  I  sent  not  the  prophets,  yet  they  ran, 

I  spake  not  to  them,  yet  they  prophesied. 

22  But  had  they  stood  in  my  counsel. 

Then  they  would  have  proclaimed  my  words  to  my  people, 
And  have  brought  them  back  from  their  wicked  way, 
And  from  the  wickedness  of  their  deeds. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  16. — D^  7^110,  Hiph.  here  only.  The  Kal  in  ii.  5 ;  2  Ki.  xvii.  15  ;  Ps.  Ixii.  11 ;  Job  xxvii.  12.  He  who  renden 
another  frivolous,  so  that  his  mind  is  directed  to  what  is  frivolous,  has  led  him  astray,  deceived  him.  Comp.  xiv.  14  ;  Ezek. 
Xiii.  2,  3. 

2  Ver.  17.— U1    11DN    D''1DX.     On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  \  97, 1,  a,  ^nm..— Instead  of  "l^T  the  LXX. 

and  Syriac,  according  to  the  view  of  some,  read'^^T-    But  they  might  have  taken  ^31  itself  as  a  subst.=T3'l)  as  in  IIos. 

—  .  ...  y  .p 

i.  2 ;  Jer.  v.  13.  The  LXX.  also  connect  the  word  with  the  preceding :  rois  dTrcoflou/iteVois  Adyoi'  icupi'ou,  while  the  Syriao 
translates:  dicuntiis,  quinieexaspwant ;  ex  oraculo  Domini  pax  erit  vohis.  '''"'  ^3'^  certainly  never  stands  as  an  intro- 
ductory formula  (=TOX  Ili)) :  it  most  prevalently  stands  after  "IC'X  or  "lE^XD-     But  as  Jeremiah  was  quoting  the  words 

~  T 

of  the  Pseudo-prophets  he  may  have  purposely  avoided  the  current  formula  of  the  true  prophets.  As  the  more  difficult 
reading  then  "^ST  deserves  the  preference. 

3  Ver.  17. — "1 7(1    /D1.    The  construction  is  not  to  be  explained  by  the  effect  of  the  7  before  ^If  XJDi  ^^^  the  participle 

is  used  absolutely  as  it  is  frequently,  especially  after  73-    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  97,  2  b. 

*  Ver.  18. — XT'V    Jussive  apodosis.     On  the  Vau  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  111,  1  b. 

6  Ver.  18. — ■'"l^i.  The  Masoretes  unnecessarily  alter  into  H^T-  ^''tZ'pn  with  the  accus.  In  Job  xiii.  6;  Ps.  xvii.  1; 
Ixi.  2.  I 

6  Ver.  18. — If  we  take  ^Q,  as  we  have  done,  as  a  relative  pronoun,  and  read   yot^'l,  the  apodosis  is  wanting  to  the 

|t:  •- 
second  clause.    From  this  reading  it  appears  that  the  Masoretes  took  ''J3  for  an  interrogative.    By  comparison  with  ix.  11, 

and  with  ver.  22  below,  it  is  thus  seen  that  we  are  to  punctuate   VT^W)  (comp.  Jud.  xviii.  25),  he  may  cause  to  hear,  may 

'  |t:-- 
proclaim.  , 

1  Ver.  19. — non  is  in  explicativa  apposition.    HX^''  is  to  be  taken  as  a  perfect:  the  hurricane  has  already  burst  forth. 

T  ••  TIT 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

The  main  thought  is :  warning  against  false 
prophets  who  deceive  the  people  and  proclaim 
what  comes  not  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  but 
from  their  own  heart  (rer.  16).  Thus  they  pro- 
claim peace  to  the  despisers  of  the  Lord,  and 
impunity  to  those  who  go  about  in  the  hardness 
of  their  heart  (ver.  17).  Thus  too  they  betray 
themselves.  For  he  to  whom  is  granted  fhe 
honor  of  receiving  information  concerning  the 
counsel  of  the  Lord,  cannot  do  otherwise  than 
proclaim  the  Lord's  word  as  he  received  it  (ver. 
18).  But  the  word  of  the  Lord  never  proclaims 
impunity  to  the  despisers.  Rather  concerning 
these  is  to  be  expected  a  tempest  of  anger  from 
the  Lord,  who  will  not  rest  till  He  has  carried  out 
all  His  plans.  In  the  end  of  days  this  will  in- 
deed be  marked  (vers.  19,  20).  Thus  they  arenot 
sent  or  commissioned  by  the  Lord  (ver.  21). 
But  even  had  they,  without  receiving  any  express 
commission,  only  assisted  as  witnesses  to  the 
counsel  of  the  Lord  they  would  have  proclaimed 
the  word  of  the  Lord  to  the  people,  and  have 
turned  them  from  their  wicked  way  (ver.  22). 
The  warning  against  the  false  prophets  is  thus 
occasioned  by  tlie  admission  of  the  double  fact, 
that  the  Lord  has  not  sent  them,  and  that  they 
have  not  been  present  at  the  counsel  of  the  Lord 
or  received  information  thereof.  That  the  Lord 
has  not  sent  them  will  be  proved  by  His  doing 
just  the  contrary  of  what  tliey  predicted.  But 
that  they  have  not  at  all  entered  into  tlie  counsel 
»f  the  Lord  is  seen   from  this,  that  what  thej 


proclaimed  to  the  people  does  not  agree  with  the 
genuine  word  of  the  Lord,  and  that  they  have 
not  labored  to  turn  the  people  from  their  wicked 
way. 

Ver.  18.  For  he  who  hath  stood  .  .  .  pro- 
claim it.  There  are  two  modes  of  explanation: 
1.  He  who  has  stood  in  the  counsel  of  God,  he 
sees  and  hears  my  word,  he  who  has  marked  my 
word  let  him  proclaim  it  (Graf).  2.  For  who 
has  stood  in  the  counsel  of  the  Lord?  etc.  The 
latter  explanation  would  however  either  have 
the  meaning,  that  no  one  had  stood  in  the  counsel 
of  the  Lord,  which  a  prophet  could  not  say,  or 
we  must  take  HID^  IDJ^  in  the  sense  of  privately, 
without  calling,  assisting  in  the  counsel  of  the 
Lord — which  would  be  arbitrary  and  require  be- 
fore ver.  18  the  supplementation  of  the  double 
thought:  "such  things  have  I  not  said  to  them, 
and  they  cannot  have  heard  them  in  my  counsel 
(quasi  me  invito)."  Hence  'D  can  be  taken  in  the 
sense  o{  guisguis  only  according  to  the  first  mode 
of  interpretation.  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  79, 
0).  The  connection  is  then  as  follows:  Listeii 
not  to  the  prophets,  they  deceive  you,  for  tliey 
proclaim  tlieir  own  thoughts,  not  my  commissions, 
promising  impunity  to  my  despisers.  For  he 
who  has  stood  in  the  counsel  of  the  Lord,  must 
prochxim  the  Lord's  word,  which  cannot  possibly 
be  favorable  to  His  despisers.  The  point  of  the 
thought  is  therefoi-c  contained  in  ver.  17:  Tlie 
despisers  of  the  service  of  Jehovah  were  well- 
known  people.  If  prophets,  who  pretended  to 
speak  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  promised  such 
impunity,  they  thus  proved  themselves  indisputa- 
bly to  be  deceivers. — To  stand  in  the  counsel  is 


CHAP.  XXm.  23-32. 


213 


not  to  sit  in  the  counsel  (Ps.  i.  1).  The  latter 
designates  assistance  with  an  advisory  voice. — 
Such  an  one  is  called  D^j;  K?'X  Isa.  xl.  13.  Comp. 
Rom.  xi.  34.  Standing  in  the  counsel  of 
the  Lord,  i.  e.  as  hearers,  is  declared  in  the 
proper  sense  of  prophets :  Isa.  vi.  1-8 ;  1  Ki. 
xxii.  19-23. — Yet  we  shall  not  err,  if  we  assume 
that  Jeremiah  wishes  the  expression  here  to  be 
taken  in  a  wider  sense,  in  which  sense  Am.  iii.  7 

■mo  nSj  is  used.     Comp.  Ps.  xxv.  14.     For  we 

TT 

cannot  suppose  that  all  the  prophets  received 
all  their  revelations  in  the  form  in  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  passages  cited,  Micah  and  Isaiah 
received  those  mentioned. — Let  him  perceive 
[see].  How  can  the  word  of  the  Lord  be  seen? 
A  reference  to  ii.  31 ;  Eccles.  i.  16  does  not  seem 
to  me  satisfactory.  Certainly  the  divine  revela- 
tion might  partly  be  seen  in  vision   (comp.  pin 

037  ver.   16;  i.  11,  13;  xxiv.  1),  partly  heard 

(1  Sam.  iii.  9,  10);  it  could  be  received  by  the 
organ  of  the  eye  or  the  ear. — The  eifect  of  the 
seeing  and  hearing  is  indicated  by  "mark:"  he 
who  gives  heed  to  my  word,  hears  it  not  only  with 
the  outer  but  the  inner  ear,  he  may,  etc. 

Vers.  19,  20.  Behold,  a  storm-\vind  .  .  . 
aware  of  this.  In  antithesis  to  ver.  17  it  is 
here  set  forth,  what  the  true  intention  of  Jeho- 
Tah  is  with  respect  to  the  people.     Both  verses 


are  repeated  xxx.  23,  24. — A  storm-wind  of  Je- 
hovah, not  physical  but  spiritual;  an  outburst 
of  divine  wrath  is  proclaimed  by  the  prophet. — 
Upon  the  head.  Comp.  2  Sam.  iii.  29. — "Will 
not  turn  back.  The  storm  will  produce  not 
merely  a  slight  passing  effect  but  a  thoroughly 
destructive  one.  It  will  not  cease  till  the  will 
of  the  holy  and  lust  God  is  completely  accom- 
plished. Comp.  Isa.  xlv.  23;  Ps.  cxxxii.  11. — 
At  the  end  of  days,  etc.  Comp.  Gen.  xlix.  1 ; 
Numb.  xxiv.  14;  Deut.  iv.  30;  xxxi.  29;  Isa.  ii. 
2;  Jer.  xlviii.  47;  xlix.  39.  A  contrast  to  the 
present  is  here  involved  :  you  do  not  now  regard 
it  as  possible  ;  at  the  end  of  days,  however,  t.  e. 
at  the  conclusion  of  this  section  of  history  in 
which  we  live,  you  will  indeed  perceive  it,  viz., 
that  it  can  and  must  be  thus.  End  of  days, 
therefore,  expresses  a  relative  idea.  Comp.  ver. 
12. 

Vers.  21,  22.  I  sent  not  .  .  .  their  deeds. 
A  new  and  perfectly  clear  reason  for  the  desola- 
tion in  ver.  16.  How  could  those  be  true  pro- 
phets whom  the  Lord  sent  not,  to  whom  He  spoke 
not?  If,  however,  they  should  allege,  that  if  not 
rile  oflBcially  and  dejure  yet  actually  they  had  re- 
ceived information  of  the  divine  counsel,  they 
must  at  least  proclaim  the  word  of  Jehovah  in 
its  severity  as  hostile  to  the  wicked  and  urging 
them  to  repentance.  But  since  this  is  not  the 
case  they  are  irrefutably  demonstrated  to  be  false 
prophets  and  deceivers. 


c.  The  Criminal  Mingling  of  Man's  word  and  God's  Word. 
XXIII.  23-32. 

23      Am  I  a  God  at  hand  ?  saitli  Jehovah, 

And  not  a  God  at  a  distance  ?^ 
2-i  If  a  man  conceal  himself  in  a  hiding  place, 

Shall  I  not  see  him  ?  saith  Jehovah. 

Am  I  n^'t  he,  who  filleth  heaven  and  earth  ?  saith  Jehovah. 

25  I  have  heard  wht^t  the  prophets  say. 
Who  prophesy  falsely  in  my  name ; 
"  I  have  dreamed,  I  have  dreamed." 

26  How  long  still  is  the  fire  in  the  heart  of  the  prophets, 
Who  prophesy  falsehood, — 

The  prophets  of  the  deceit  of  their  own  heart  ? 

27  Who  make  the  endea^ior'^  to  cause  my  people 
To  forget'  my  name  by  their  dreams. 
Which  they  relate  one  to  another, 

As  their  fathers  forgot  my  name  through  Baal. 

28  Let  the  prophet,  to  whom  a  dream  came,  relate  the  dream, 
Let  him  to  whom  my  word  came,  relate  my  word  truly,* 
What  has  the  straw  to  do  with  the  grain  ?  saith  Jehovah. 

29  Is  not  my  word  just  like  the  fire  ?  saith  Jehovah, 
And  like  the  hammer,  which  breaketh  rocks  in  pieces  ? 

SO  Therefore  behold,  I  am  against  the  prophets,  saith  Jehovah, 

Who  steal  my  words  one  from  another  ! 
31  Behold,  I  am  against  the  prophets,  saith  Jehovah, 


214 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


^Vho  take  their  tongue  and  pronounce  oracles.* 
32  Behold,  I  am  against  them,  who  prophesy  false  dreams,  saith  Jehovah, 
And  relate  them  and  lead  my  people  astray, 
By  their  falsehood  and  by  their  boasting.® 
I  had  not  sent  them  nor  commissioned  them. 
They  can  also  be  of  no  profit  to  this  people,  saith  Jehovah. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

»  Ver.  23:— On  thp  construction,  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  63,  4  e 
2  Ver.  ii".— DOiynn  ill  apjiosition  to  D^XDJ  in  ver.  26. 

s  Ver.  ST.— nOt^'nS.  Hipliil,  here  only. 

*  Ver.  2S.— j-\3}<,  Accas.  adverb.    Comp.  x.  10 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  70,  k. 

6  Ver.  31. — ^^sxi'l.    Of  the  whole  verb,  besides  this  single  form,  we  find  only  DK3- 

•  Ver.  32. — nil Fl D  is  iiraf  Aey.    The  meaning  (comp.  Jud.  ix.  4 ;  Zepli.  iii.  4 ;  Gen.  klix. 4)=f»isoZen(ia,  impudent  boasting. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

As  though  the  exalted  (ver.  23)  and  omniscient 
God,  who  fills  heaven  and  earth  would  kuow 
nothing  of  it  (ver.  24),  the  false  prophets  dared 
to  give  forth  their  dreams  as  the  word  of  God 
(ver.  25).  How  long  will  this  unreason,  which 
is  at  the  same  time  deception  and  self-deception, 
last?  (ver.  26).  How  long  will  they  seek  by  their 
dreams  to  bring  Jehovah  into  oblivion  among  the 
people,  as  their  fathers  forgot  Him  for  Baal? 
(ver.  27).  With  this  is  associated  a  second  mis- 
chief, that  they  give  out  the  dream  not  as  iheir 
dream,  but  as  Jehovah's  word  is  to  be  proclaimed 
as  such,  connect  this  with  their  productions, 
though  they  have  no  more  relation  than  the  straw 
has  to  the  grain  (ver.  28),  or  to  the  fire,  or  the 
rock-crushing  hammer  (ver.  29).  Hence  the 
prophet  finally  formulates  a  triple  charge  against 
the  prophets:  1.  They  steal  God's  words  (ver. 
31)  ;  2.  They  ape  the  form  of  genuine  prophecy  ; 
3.  They  lead  the  people  astray  by  their  lying 
dreams. 

Vers.  23,  24.  Am  I  a  God  .  .  .  saith  Jeho- 
vah. The  audacity  of  the  false  prophets,  who 
did  not  fear  to  cover  themselves  with  the  name 
of  Jehovah,  is  founded  on  the  delusion  that  lie 
was  not  in  a  condition  to  perceive  their  presump- 
tion. They  regard  the  Lord  as  a  God,  who  is 
only  able  to  behold  that  which  is  near,  i.  e.  can 
ovai'look  only  a  limited  domain.     In  opposition 

to  this  the  Lord  calls  Himself  pn")D  TlvN,  i.  e.  a 

God  who  takes  note  of  that  which  occurs  even 
in  the  remotest  distance,  who  from  His  throne 
in  heaven  overlooks  also  the  earth,  because  as 
filling  heaven  and  earth  He  is  present  in  both. 
Comp.  Am.  ix.  2-4;  Job  xi.  8,  9;  Ps.  cxxxix. 
7-12. 

Ver.  25.  I  have  heard  .  .  .  dreamed.  This 
is  the  main  cliarge,  the  sin  which  stands  first  in 
view  of  the  omnipresent  and  omniscient  God. 
Dreams  were  in  themselves  an  acknowledged  and 
legitimate  medium  of  divine  revelation.  Comp. 
Numb.  xii.  6;  1  Sam.  xxviii.  6,  15;  Joel  iii.  1  ; 
Dan.  vii.  1.  l>ut  they  occupy  a  low  stage  among 
the  forms  of  divine  communication.  Comp. 
Knobkl,  Proph.  d.  Ihhr.,  I.,  S.  174  sqq.  Her- 
EOG,  Real-Enc,  XVI.,  S.  297  fF.;  Delitzsch, 
Psychologic,  Knp.  IV.,  g  14. — These  false  prophets 
always  speak  only  of  their  dreams  as  the 
media  of  their  divine  illumination.     Of  course  ! 


For  the  dream  is  most  withdrawn  from  the  con- 
trol of  other  men.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to 
say,  Last  night  I  dreamed  this  or  that.  Who 
can  refute  it?  The  prophets  thus  make  an  im- 
moderate and  in  itself  suspicious  use  of  dreams. 
They  are  dreamers,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  in 
Deut.   xiii.  1,  3,  5   N'^J,  by  which   there  a  false 

prophet  is  always  meant,  is  regularly  distin- 
guished also  as  D/n  D.^H,  a  dreamer  of  dreams. 

["Although  itpleasedGodtoreveal  Himself  some- 
times in  dreams  to  His  faithful  people  of  old,  yet 
when  false  prophets  arose,  who  opposed  the  true, 
such  revelations  were  rare.  We  have  no  instance 
of  them  in  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  or  Ezekiel,  or  other 
prophets  who  were  opposed  by  false  prophets." 

WORDSWOETH. S.    R.   A.] 

Vers.  26,  27.  How  long .  .  .  through  Baal. 
By  how  long  the  Lord  makes  known  that  the 
conduct  of  these  prophets,  which  is  more  par- 
ticularly described  in  these  two  verses,  is  in- 
tolerable to  Him.     Great  difficulty  is  caused  by 

C'"!!.     The  ancient  translations  coolly  omit  the  H 

and  make  it  otherwise  convenient  to  themselves. 
Vulg.  and  Chald. :  usque  quo  istud  est  in  corde, 
etc.  LXX. :  kuQ  nore  iarac  ev  Kapdia,  etc.  Syr. : 
qiiousque  ermxt  in  ore  falsorum  prophetarum  pro- 
plietix  fahx? — The  interpretations  which  ad- 
liire  to  the  text  are  three:  1.  The  question  is 
asked  by  a   double   interrogative    "'jHD    and    H, 

which,  however,  amounts  to  this  that  the  latter 
is  quite  superfluous.  Hitzig  appeals  indeed 
to  xlviii.  27  and  Mic.  vi.  10.  But  in  neither 
of  these  places  is  there  a  double  interroga- 
tive. Besides  the  subject  is  wanting,  and  the 
thought:  How  long  have  they  still  the  mate- 
rial  for  dreams  ?  is   certainly  strange.     2.  'N3J 

and  'X'^i  are  renllered  according  to  the  con- 
strucfion    nmSH    V'H.    PJ    hlV\    Gen.    ix.    20. 

T  T  -:  T  •  -  VT- 

Comp.  Ew.\Li),  ^  298  b,  N.vegelsb.  Or.,  g  9?^,  g, 
Amu.  Thus  Ewalu  and  Meier.  But  apart  liom 
this  that  both  ignore  the  interrogative  He,  the 
construction  with    VJ''   is    without    a   precedent, 

forced  and  feeble  in  sense,  for  it  seems  as  though 
the  Lord  expected  an  alteration  in  these  prophets, 
though  He  had  previously  represented  them  as 
incurably  corrupt  (comp.  vers.  11,  14),  and  ac- 
cording to  ver.  27,  expects  nothing  from  them 
but  the  endeavor  to  bring  Him  into  forgetfulnesn 
among  the  people.     Is  the  thought  suitable  in 


CHAP.  XXIII.  23-32. 


211 


this  conuection  :  "  How  long  do  the  prophets 
purpose  to  be  falsie  prophets?"  (Meier).  3. 
The  interpretation  is  most  satisfactory  which 
was  first  offered  by  Ludwig  ue  Dieu  and  adopted 
by  Seb.  Scumidt,  Chr.  B.  Michaelis,  Rosen- 
MUELLER,  Umbreit,  Graf  and  others,  according 
to  which  TIO  IJ?  is  to  be  rendered  as  an  inde- 
pendent sentence  (^how  long  still  will  this  last?) 

373  U/'H  to  be  taken  as  =  have  in  mind  ?  and 
D'3C/nn,  ver.  27,  to  be  regarded  as  a  resumption 
of  the  question  interrupted  by  the  words  follow- 
ing 3/3  :  have  in  mind  the  prophets,  who  .... 
think  they,  to  make  my  people  forget  ?  Although 
this  interpretation  gives  a  sense  which  is  tolera- 
bly satisfactory,  it  is  Opposed  by  the  grammati- 
cal difficulty,  that  DH  should  stand  after  D'3K/nn 

as  a  recapitulation  of  the  subject,  which  could 
not  be  absent  after  the  interruption  and  the  re- 
moval thereby  effected  of  the  proper  subject. 
If  then  this  interpretation  also  is  not  perfectly 
satisfactory,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the 
text  is  faulty.  Should  we  not  read  l^Xn  instead 
of  K'.^n?     Jeremiah  had  above,  xx.  9,  compared 

the  irresistible  impulse  to  proclaim  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  to  a  fire  burning  in  his  heart.  Could 
not  he  who  loves  to  quote  himself,  and  who 
knows  how  to  wield  the  weapon  of  irony  against 
his  opponents,  in  order  to  set  forth  incisively  the 
difference  between  the  true  and  false  prophets, 
ironically  presuppose  in  the  latter  what,  as  he 
well  knew,  was  possessed  only  by  the  true  pro- 
phets ?  He,  staggering  under  the  burden  of  per- 
secution, had  said  (xx.  9) :  "I  will  not  speak  any 
more  in  His  name,"  but  he  was  obliged  to  do  so. 
Those  who  ought  not  compelled  themselves  to 
prophesy  in  the  name  of  Jehovah.  Did  then 
such  a  fire  burn  also  in  their  hearts?  And  if 
so,  how  long  will  it  continue  ?  Every  one  is 
summoned  by  these  questions  to  make  the  com- 
parison, but  every  one  will  also  be  obliged  to 
confess  that  the  miserable  little  flame  of  human 
egotism  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  high  and 
noble  flame  of  divine  inspiration,  which  burned 
in  the  prophet's  breast. — The  prophets  of  the 
deceit,  etc.  They  deceive  others,  after  and  be- 
cause they  have  deceived  themselves.  Comp. 
xiv.  14 ;  Ezek.  xiii.  2. — Cause  to  forget.  On 
the  subject-matter  comp.  ii.  82  ;  iii.  21  ;  xiii.  25; 
xviii.  1-5;  1.  6. — One  to  another.  Not  every 
one  to  his  colleagues,  but  every  one  to  his  fellow. 
For  they  have  corrupted  the  people  by  their  lies. 
Comp.  ver  82:  xiv.  13  sqq.;  xxiii.  14  sqq. ;  1.  6. 
— Through  Baal.  Comp.  ii.  8.  It  is  apparent 
that  tliese  tal>e  prophets  did  not  prophesy  in  the 
name  of  an  idol,  but  in  the  name  of  Jehovah, 
but  they  proclaimed  in  His  name  not  His  word 
but  the  deceit  of  their  own  heart. 

Vers.  28,  29.  Let  the  prophet .  .  .  rooks  in 
pieces.  The  Lord  does  not  object  if  the  pro- 
phets relate  their  own  dreams  as  such.  But  they 
are  not  to  mix  them  with  the  true  word  of  God, 
»nd  on  the  ground  of  this  mingling  utter  them 


as  a  divine  revelation.  As  the  dreams  are  to  be 
related  as  such,  so  also  the  real  revelation  of  God 
is  to  be  handed  down  purely,  i.  e.  without  addi- 
tion or  subtraction.  It  is  clear  that  the  connec- 
tion requires  this  meaning  for  HOX.  Comp. 
ii.  21 ;  Prov.  xi.  18.  A  mixture  of  the  two  ele- 
ments is  just  as  unsuitable  as  a  mingling  of 
empty  straw  with  grain.  The  straw  cannot  be 
used  with  the  grain,  nor  the  grain  with  the  straw. 
This  comparison,  and  the  following  one  of  the 
hammer  and  "  who  steal,"  ver.  30,  shows  that 
Jeremiah  here,  i.  e.  from  ver.  25,  has  in  vievr 
not  the  presentation  of  the  products  of  human 
subjectivity  as  the  products  of  divine  objectivity, 
but  the  mingling  of  the  two  elements.  He  cen- 
sures the  former  in  vers.  25-27.  As  merchants 
often  sell  wholly  sham  goods,  or  those  which  are 
partly  sham  and  partly  genuine,  as  genuine,  so 
do  these  prophets.     Both  are  certainly  'Ipt? — 

Is  not  my  •word  like  a  fire  ?  etc.  A  point  in 
the  comparison  with  straw  is  further  developed. 
The  straw  is  not  only  false  ware,  when  found 
(as  chopped  straw)  among  the  bread-corn,  but 
simply  as  straw  it  has  no  strength,  and  is  useless 
for  defence  or  offence.  So  is  also  the  word  of 
the  false  prophets.  In  opposition  to  this,  God's 
word  is  like  the  all-conquering  fire  (comp.  Song 
of  Sol.  viii.  6,  7),  or  like  the  hammer  crushing 
the  hardest  rock  (Heb.  iv.  12;  Eccles.  xii.  11). 
How  despicable  does  the  word  of  the  pseudo- 
prophets  appear  in  these  comparisons  and  what 
a  disgraceful  mesalliance  do  they  cause  by  their 
mingling !  I  do  not  think  that  the  prevalent 
minatory  and  punitive  import  of  the  genuine 
prophecies  was  meant,  for  the  Gospel  is  the  most 
intensive  force  (1  Cor.  i.  18-24;  ii.  4;  Rom.  i. 
16). 

Vers.  80-32.  Therefore  behold  .  .  .  saith 
Jehovah.  These  three  similarly  opening  verses 
recapitulate  the  main  thoughts  of  the  section  in 
reverse  order,  in  such  wise  also,  that  a  point 
latent  in  the  foregoing  context  (ver.  31),  is  now 
plainly  set  forth.  Ver.  30  evidently  corresponds 
to  ver.  28.  They  steal  the  genuine  words  of  God, 
not  directly  every  one  from  his  colleague  (ver. 
27),  but  every  one  from  his  fellow  as  he  pleases, 
thus  in  part  at  first  hand  from  true  prophets,  in 
part  at  second  hand  from  false  prophets,  or  where- 
soever they  can  find  them.  Unmixed  falsehood 
betrays  itself  too  easily  and  is  insipid.  But 
falsehood  mingled  with  truth  is  powerful  error, 
and  the  beauty  of  truth  serves  as  an  ornamental 
covering  to  its  deformity.  The  second  Behold, 
etc.,  ver.  31,  corresponds  to  "who  prophesy 
falsely  in  my  name."  vers.  25,  26.  For  thereby 
it  is  implicitly  declared  that  they  proclaimed 
their  lies  in  the  same  form  as  the  true  prophets, 
as  oracles  of  Jehovah.  But  how  cheaply  they 
hold  these?  All  they  needed  was  to  set  their 
tongues  to  work.  How  dear  on  the  other  hand 
did  Jeremiah  account  the  honor  of  being  Jeho- 
vah's true  prophet!  Comp.  xx.  7-9. — The  thir(i 
Behold,  etc.,  corresponds  to  vers  25-27,  tht 
import  of  which  it  plainly  repeats. 


»6 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


i.  The  criminal  use  of  the  word  "  burden." 
XXIII.  33-40. 

83       And  when  this  people,  or  the  prophets^  or  priests, 
Ask  thee,  What  is  the  burden  of  Jehovah  ? 
Thou  shalt  tell  them  what  the  burden  of  Jehovah  is ;' 
Namely,  "  I  reject  you,"'  saith  Jehovah. 

34  And  the  prophet,  the  priest,  or  the  people 
That  say,  "  Burden  of  Jehovah  ;" 

On  such  a  man  and  his  house  will  I  visit  it. 

35  Thus  shall  ye  say,  every  one  to  his  neighbour  and  every  one  to*  his  brother: 
What  hath  Jehovah  answered?  or  What  hath  Jehovah  spoken? 

36  But  "  burden  of  Jehovah  "  ye  shall  no  more  take  into  your  mouth  ; 
For  the  burden  will  be  to  each  his  own  word ; 

Because  ye  have  perverted  the  words  of  the  living  God, 
Jehovah  Zebaoth,  our  God. 

37  Thus  shalt  thou  say  to  the  prophet: 
What  has  Jehovah  answered  thee  ? 
Or,  What  has  Jehovah  spoken  ? 

38  But  if  ye  say,  "  Burden  of  Jehovah," 
On  this  account  saith  Jehovah  thus : 

Because  ye  say  this  word,  "  Burden  of  Jehovah," 
And  I  had  sent  unto  you  a  message  of  this  purport, 
"Ye  shall  not  say,  'Burden  of  Jehovah,'" — 

39  Therefore,  behold,  I  burden  you^  and  thrust  you. 
And  this  city  which  I  gave  to  you  and  your  fathers, 
Away  from  my  presence  ; 

40  And  lay  upon  you  everlasting  reproach, 

And  everlasting  shame,  that  shall  not  be  forgotten. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  33. — The  article  is  general,  and  X'3J  expresses  the  idea  of  species.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  6r.,  g  71, 4,  a. 

'  T 

2  Ver.  33.— X!i'D~n73~r\X-  Many  modern  commentators  follow  the  LXX.  and  Vulg.  which  read  XtJ'fSn    DPX,  hut  in< 

T V   " 

correctly.  In  His  answer  the  Lord  purposely  uses  the  words  of  the  question  :  Verba  retorqmt.  The  arrow  directed  against 
him  must,  being  reversed,  strike  those  insolent  questioners.    It  should  indeed  properly  read  Xb'O    Ti!/X    flN.     But  the 

necessity  of  retaining  the  words  of  the  question  justified  this  grammatical  license,  which  moreover  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
g  79,  G)  is  not  altogether  without  precedent.     JIN  depends  on  r\TONV    Comp.  xiv.  17,  ete.    The  construction  is  therefore 

T  :  -  T  ; 
by  no  means  so  artificial  and  clumsy  as  Ewald  supposes. 

»  Ver.  33. — f)  T\\if02^  is  not  co-ordinated  with  HTDNI)  as  is  apparent  from  f  DXJ-     It  rather  expresses  the  purport 

of  that  which  Jeremiah  is  to  proclaim  as  the  "  burden,"  etc.  )  is  therefore=and  indeeci.  It  should  only  be  remarked  that 
1  here  in  this  meaning  stands  before  a  whole  sentence,  which,  howevey,  on.  account  of  its  brevity  is  not  thereby  rendered 
less  easily  intelligible.  .  . 

<  Ver.  35. — On  the  interchange  of  7_y  and  7X,  comp.  rems.  on  x.  1. 

5  Vfer.  30.— XK/J  "TI'H'JI.    The  paronomasia  requires  us  to  read  ^r\''\ifi  XtJ'J,  as  the  LXX.,  Vulg.,  Syr.,  and  some  Codd. 

and  editions  really  do.    It  is  not  necessary  to  assume  the  Piel  form  Tl^K/J,  since  forms  like  ^nX73  Ps.  cxix.  102  ;  'jn?^ 

....  •      •  T  L   '  '   ■  • 

1  Sam.  XXV.  33 ;  DDlf  Ruth  ii.  9,  justify  the  assumption  of  '  also  in  the  Kal  according  to  the  analogy  of  the  'TV)  verbs. 

"    T 

Comp.  OLsn.,  g  223,  a,  Anm. — The  reading  'H'K'J.  which  does  not  afford  any  satisfactory  sense,  but  may  be  translated  "I  for- 
get,"  or  "  I  heard  not,"  is  doubtless  occasioned  by  the  unusual  punctuation  (Tl^iyj).  A  proof  that  the  latter  is  the  origi- 
nal is  found  in  the  Inf.  Xt!^J,  the  X  of  which  is  likewise  abnormal  and  therefore  a  sure  trace  of  the  original  XK'J.  niS^3 
Is  an.  Aey.  and  perhaps  to  be  read  noSs,  after  xx.  11. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  word  of  double  meaning  HW'O,  which  sig- 
nifies  both  "saying"  and  "burden,"  was   mi? 


used  by  the  Jews,  who  were  accustomed  to  ask 
the  prophets  mockingly  what  sort  of  a  XtJ'p  they 
had.  Jeremiah  is  to  tell  those  who  thus  ask, 
wliat  sort  of  a  burden  threatens  them,  vk.,  that 
they  sliall   be   rejected   (ver.  83),  and   each  who 


CHAP.  XXIV.  1-10. 


217 


thus  asks  shall,  for  this  derision,  be  subjected  to 
a  special  visitation  (ver.  3-4).  If  any  wish  to 
ask  the  prophets,  he  is  to  make  use  of  the  ex- 
pression, What  has  the  Lord  answered  or 
spoken  ?    (ver.    35).     But   the    expression    NifD 

(burden  and  saying)  is  no  more  to  be  used,  for 
this  perversion  of  a  divine  word  will  be  avenged, 
such  insolent  words  falling  back  like  a  heavy 
burden  on  the  head  of  tiieir  authors  (ver.  30). 
The  inquiry  is  to  be  made  thus :  What  has  the 
Lord  answered  or  spoken  ?  (ver.  37).  If,  not- 
withstanding, the  forbidden  Vford  is  used  (ver. 
38),  the  Lord  will  carry  away  the  people  like  a 
burden  (ver.  39),  and  give  them  up  to  everlast- 
ing shame  (ver.  40). 

Veis.  33,  34.  And  w^hen  this  people  .  .  . 
visit  it. — What  burden  ?  It  appears  to  have 
been  the  custom,  whenever  the  projiliets  made 
their  appearance  in  public  to  ask  them  if  they 
had  received  any  new  revelation.     There  can  be 

no  doubt  that  Nt^D  means  "  saying,  utterance," 
as  well  as  "burden."  Comp.  the  thorough  de- 
monstration in  Graf,  ^S*.  315.  The  passages  from 
which  it  evidently  follows  that  NK/O  signifies 
effatum,  any  utterance,  besides  those  where  the 

verb  Xb'J  is  used  in  the  sense  vocem  proferre  wi*'-^ 

and  without    np,  voice  (Isa.  iii.   7;    xlii.   2,   11 

coll.  Exod.  XX.  7;  xxiii.  1;  Numb,  xxiii.  7;  Ps. 
cxxxix.  20,  etc.),  are  especially  the  following: 
Isa.  xiv.  28;  Lam.  ii.  14;  2  Ki.  ix.  25;  Prov. 
XXX.  1;  xxxi.  1.  Hengstenberg  and  Rueckert, 
following  the  example  of  Jonathan,  Aquila, 
the  Syriac,  Jbeome  and  Lutheb,  would  take  the 


word  exclusively  in  the  sense  of  "burden."  We 
have  translated  "  burden  "  above,  but  only  be- 
cause we  have  no  expression,  which  without 
forcing  unites  both  meanings.  Of  the  many  at- 
tempts to  unite  them  by  De  Wette,  Ewald, 
FuERST,  Meier,  none  are  really  satisfactory. 
De  Wette's  translation  is  most  so.  [  Wehsagung : 
utterance  of  woe. — S.  R.  A.].  At  all  events  the 
opposers  emphasized  the  idea  of  burden.  They 
wished  to  say  that  every  declaration  of  Jehovah 
was  only  a  new  burden,  that  only  what  was 
bui'densome,  not  what  was  pleasing,  came  from 
this  God.  In  so  far  the  question  was  one  of 
blasphemous  derision.  It  is  implied  by  the  word 
namely  that  what  follows  is  a  quotation.  The 
passage  to  which  Jeremiah  refers  is  doubtless 
xii.  7,  "rejected  mine  inheritance."  The  signi- 
ficance of  this  passage  is  clear  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  reproduced  in  .a  comprehensive  survey  in  2 
Ki.  xxi.  14. — Will  I  visit  it.  Besides  the 
judgment  announced  to  the  people  generally  on 
account  of  their  sins,  those  who  make  use  of  the 
expression  "burden"  in  a  wicked  manner,  shall 
receive  special  punishment. 

Vers.  35-37.  Thus  shall  ye  say  .  .  .  Jeho- 
vah spoken. — For  the  burden  virill  be,  etc. 
Even  the  insolent  words  will  be  to  him  who  utters 
them  a  crushing  burden,  though  the  utterance 
of  Jehovah,  with  respect  to  which  he  uses  the 
term,  is  not  in  itself  a  burden  at  all. — These 
words  are  a  parenthesis,  and  hence  because  ye 
have  perverted,  etc.,  is  connected  with  ye 
shall  no  more  take  into  your  mouth  and 
declare  the  result  of  using  the  forbidden  word. 
— Living  God.     Comp.  x.  10. 


III.  APPENDIX. 


(Chap.  XXIV.) 

Postscript  to  XXII.  13-30.     The  Fourth  King. 

XXIV.  1-10. 

The  Lord  [Jehovah]  shewed  me,  and  behold,  two  baskets^  of  figs  were  set'  be- 
fore the  temple  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  after  that  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Baby- 
lon, had  carried  away  captive  Jeconiah  the  son  of  Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah,  and 
the  princes  of  Judah,  with  the  carpenters  and  smiths,  from  Jerusalem  and  had 
brought  them  to  Babylon.  One  basket  had'  very  good  figs,  like  the  figs  first  ripe,* 
and  the  other  basket  had  very  naughty  [bad]  figs,  which  could  not  be  eaten,^  they 
were  so  bad.  Then  said  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  unto  me,  What  seest  thou,  Jeremiah  ? 
And  I  said.  Figs;  the  good  figs  very  good,  and  the  evil  [bad]  very  evil  [bad],  that 
cannot  be  eaten,  they  are  so  evil  [bad]. 

Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  unto  me,  saying : 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  the  God  of  Israel : 
Like  these  good  figs,  so  the  captives  of  Judah, 

VVhom  I  have  sent  away  from  this  place  into  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans, 
Will  1  regard^  for  good  ; 
xVu  I  will  set  mine  eye  upon  them  for  good, 
And  will  briog  them  back  into  this  land; 


218 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


And  will  build  them  and  not  pull  them  down, 
And  plant  them  and  not  pluck  them  up  ; 

7  And  will  give  them  a  heart  to  know  me,  that  I  am  Jehovah, 
And  they  shall  be  my  people; 

I  however  will  be  their  God, 

When  they  return  to  me  with  their  whole  heart. 

8  But  like  the  bad  figs,  which  cannot  be  eaten  they  are  so  bad, 
— Thus  saith  Jehovah :  I  will  make  Zedekiah, 

The  king  of  Judah  and  his  princes, 

And  the  residue  of  Jerusalem,  that  are  left  in  this  land, 

And  those  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

9  And  I  will  make  them  a  horror, 

A  calamity  for  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth, 
A  shame  and  a  proverb,  a  taunt  and  a  curse. 
In  all  places  whither  I  shall  drive  them. 
10  And  I  will  send  among  them  the  sword, 
The  famine  and  the  pestilence  ; 
Till  they  be  entirely  extirpated  from  the  land, 
Which  I  gave  to  them  and  their  fathers. 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  A'er.  1. — D'rnn.  This  plural  form  is  fo.uul  iu  this  sense  here  only  (in  another  sense  Gen.  xxx.  14).  It  is  to  be  de- 
rived from  a  sing. '"i-n.    Comp.  Oi.sii.  jJ  ■2l{^,  d.    Elsewhere  the  plural   of  n:n  is  Onn   and   D""!!!,  2  Chron.  xxxv.  13 ; 

-  '  •  •  T  ; 

2  Ki.  X.7. 

-  \'er.  1. — ^y'  is  to  determine,  appoint.     The  Uiph.  is  diem  dixit,  in  jus  vocavit  aliqu&m  (Job  ix.  19 ;  Jer.  xlix.  19  ; 

1.  44).  The  Hoph.  cannot  therefore  mean  simply  positum,  collocatmn  esse.  Seb.  Schmidt  :  duo  calathi  singularity. r  a  Den  ante 
templum  propositi,  lit  proplietiainde  sinueretur.  (Jaab:  The  baskets  were  appuiiited  ;  they  would  not  have  stood  liiiiv,  if 
God  had  nut  had  a  special  object  in  it.  I  also  believe  that  in  D'lJ^ID  if*  implied  the  idea  of  ex  nianUutu.  Vet  it  sevms  less 
probable  to  me  that  a  mandatum  speciale  is  meant,  than  that  the  prophet  had  in  view  that  mandatum,  generate,  of  which  wo 
read  in  E.Kod.  x.xiii.  19:  xxxiv.  2f>;  Deut.  xxvi.  2  sqq.     The  latter  passage  is  particularly  important. 

3  Ver.  2. — nnX-    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  £?»•.,  g  82,  4. — Observe  the  tropical  use  of  the  nominative:  continens  pro  contento. 
T  •.* 
Comp.  Fbrari),  Dor/ma  i'.  h.  A.  M.     [Doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper]  I.  S.  14. 

*  Ver.  2. — j~\Tijjn  »"■•  ^«7-    On  account  of  'JXr)  it  i*  t^*  l^e  regarded  as  the  subject :  jicus  prBecocitatum.    The  early 

figs  are  the  nicest.    Comp.  Isai.  xxviii.  4 ;  Hos.  ix.  10  ;  Mic.  vii.  1. 

5  Ter.  2. — nj'^DXri.  The  iniperf.  here  as  in  vers.  3  and  8,  might  certainly  be  taken  as  a  simple  future; — which  are 
not  eaten.  Ihe  propliet  then  expresses  the  certainty,  that  no  one  will  be  in  a  condition  to  eat  these  ligs.  But  the  sentence 
may  also  be  taken  with  TK'X  in  the  sense  of  a  general  declaration  ;  "lU^X  is  then  =  quales,  which  kind  of  figs  cannot  be 

eaten.     The  imperf.  is  then  used  to  designate  the  permanent  quality.     Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  87,  d. 

6  Ver.  5. — T'^n  =  to  recognize,  with  the  collateral  idea  of  approval,  allowal.    Comp.  Ruth  ii.  10, 19  ;  and  the  ex])res- 

Bion  D'ja  T3n  inDeut.  i.  17;  xvi.  19  ;  Prov.  xxiv.  23. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

After  the  carrying  away  of  Jeboiachin  the  pro- 
phet beholds  in  vision  two  baskets  of  figs  placed 
before  the  temple  (ver.  1).  The  figs  of  one  bas- 
ket were  very  good,  those  of  the  other  very  bad 
(ver.  2).  The  prophet,  when  asked,  affirms  that 
he  has  perceived  this  correctly  (ver.  3).  There- 
upon the  Lord  Himself  interprets  the  vision:  the 
good  figs  signify  the  portion  of  the  people  al- 
ready carried  away.  The  Lord  will  recognize 
them  as  good,  bring  them  back,  build  and  plant, 
inwardly  renew  them;  He  will  be  their  God,  they 
shall  be  His  people  (vers.  4-7).  The  bad  figs 
signify  the  people  left  in  Palestine  with  Zedekiah. 
and  those  who  liad  already  emigrated  to  Egypt 
(ver.  H).  These  shall  be  to  all  nations  an  oliject 
of  horror  and  scorn  (ver.  9),  for  the  Lord  will 
send  among  them  the  sword,  famine  and  pesti- 
lence, till  they  are  exterminated  from  the  land 
(ver.  10).  Tlie  date  of  this  passage  may  be 
learned  exactly  from  ver.  1.  It  was  the  time  im- 
mediately subsequent  to  the  carrying  away  of 
Jeconiali  (2  Ki.  xxiv.  10-12).     Hixzia  correctly 


remarks,  that  the  expression  ni/JH  ''"^n>*,  after 

.  .  .  carried  avray,  ver.  1,  without  further  dis- 
tinction, does  not  permit  us  to  think  of  auother 
epoch  than  that  immediately  subsequent  to  the 
deportation.  The  prophecy  is  also  best  explained 
by  the  situation  at  that  period.  For,  as  Gr.\f 
remarks,  those  who  remained  may  have  tri- 
umphed over  the  others,  and  extolled  their  good 
fortune.  On  this  feeling  the  prophet  places  a 
damper  by  the  declaration,  that  the  lot  of  the 
captives  would  be  preferable  to  that  of  the 
others  (comp.  xx.  10).  At  all  events  the  pro- 
phecy was  delivered  before  the  sending  of  that 
letter  to  the  captives,  which  is  treated  of  in  ch. 
xxix.  On  the  relation  of  this  passage  to  the 
previous  chapters  consult  the  introduction  to  the 
Eighth  Discourse. 

Vers.  1,  2.  The  Lord  .  .  they  -were  so  bad. 

The  opening  is  like  that  of  Amos  vii.  1,  4,  7; 
viii.  1.  Comp.  Jer.  i.  11,  13. — Shewed  me. 
This  distinguishes  the  subjective  act  of  vision 
from  the  object  seen,  and  designates  the  former 
as  caused  by  Jehovah.  This  distinction  witii  re- 
spect to  physical  vision  is  found   times  inuume- 


CHAP.  XXIV.   1-10. 


2ift 


rable,  (comp.  the  mode  of  expression  in  Gen. 
xili.  10;  xviii.  2;  xxii.  4,  13,  etc.),  but  has  only 
a,  rhetorical  significance.  In  passages  like  this 
and  the  above  from  Amos,  to  which  may  be  added 
Zech.  i.  8;  ii.  1,  etc.,  it  cannot  be  a  seeing  with 
the  outward  eye  which  is  spoken  of.  This  is  ap- 
parent, 1,  from  the  object  of  vision  ;  it  is  not 
supposable  that  baskets  of  bad  and  good  figs 
were  in  reality  placed  before  the  temple ;  2,  from 
the  question,  What  seest  thou  ?  The  question 
evidently  has  a  proper  meaning,  when  there  is  a 
possibility  of  seeing  incorrectly.  On  the  point 
whether  this  is  supposable  in  visions  in  a  sub- 
jective and  objective  respect  comp.  the  remarks 
on  i.  11 ;  3,  from  the  general  character  of  the 
state  in  which  the  prophet  must  have  been  while 
talking  with  God.  Such  a  conversation  as  is  here 
reported  can  only  have  taken  place  h  TTi'sb/jan. 
For  man  cannot  see  and  hear  God  with  the  bodily 
senses.  But  if  as  talking  with  God  he  is  tv  nvev- 
fiarc,  then  he  must  also  see  what  God  shows  him 
ev  TTvevfiarc.  For  it  is  not  supposable  that  in  such 
a  case  there  would  be  a  duplicity  of  perception. 
The  case  being  thus,  Kohler  is  riglit  in  Lis  re- 
mark (on  Zech.  i.  7)  "wherever  the  description 
of  a  prophetic  vision  is  introduced  with  the  words 
'r\'Xn  or  nX"lX1  (here  "JX^H)  followed  by  Hiin, 
the  prophet  thus  declares  that  as  HN^  or  Plih 
he  has  beheld  a  vision,  or  had  a  vision,  Isai.  xxx. 
10."  As  to  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  opens  the 
inner  sense  so  that  it  can  behold  spiritual  things, 
comp.  2  Ki.  vi.  17. — Carpenters  and  smiths. 
According  to  2  Ki.  xxiv.  14-16,  Nebuchadnezzar 
carried  away  beside  the  king,  his  mother  and  his 
wives,  the  princes,  the  officers,  the  mighty  of  the 
land,  the  strong  and  apt  for  war,  and  then  the 
craftsmen  and  smiths.  These  were  all  the  mighty 
men  of  valor,  and  only  the  poorest  sort  of  the 
people  were  left.  Nebuchadnezzar  evidently 
wished  to  remove  all  who  were  fit  for  war,  as  well 
as  those  who  were  skilled  in  the  preparation  of 
warlike  instruments.  The  smiths  had  once  be- 
fore been  carried  oflF  for  a  similar  purpose  by  the 
Philistines  (1  Sam.  xiii.  19).  So  fur  all  is  clear. 
But  who  now  especially  are  the  "^J??'  The  word 
occurs  only  in  the  accounts  of  this  occurrence: 
xxix.  2;  2  Ki.  xxiv.  14,  16.  Besides  with  the 
meaning  of  "custody,  prison,"  in  Isai.  xxiv.  22; 
xlii.  7 ;  Ps.  cxlii.  8.  The  ancient  translations 
greatly  differ  from  each  other.  The  LXX.  liave 
here  ^ea/iurac  (comp.  Bar.  i.  9)  in  2  Ki.  xxiv.  14 
and  16,  rbv  (TvjK'AEtovTa:  Syr.  milites,  satellites; 
Ch.a\^\.  janitores  (so  also  Raschi)  ;  AvSib.  mancijna 
(comp.  the  interpretation  of  Hitzig)  [who  trans- 
lates "hod-carriers,"  and  refers  the  term  to  the 
descendants  of  the  aborigines,  who  were  con- 
demned to  be  wood-splitters  and  water-carriers 
in  Israel  (Deut.  xxix.  10;  comp.  Jos.  ix.  21)  de- 
riving  it  from  DO  socager,  and  "^J  stranger. — S. 

R.  A.]  If  we  derive  the  word,  which  is  cer- 
tainly most  natural,    from  "IJu,    we   have  either 

the  primitive  meaning  c/«z/so?-,  shutter,  gate-shut- 
ter, or  the  derived :  he  who  prepares  what  is  ne- 
cessary for  shutting,  shutting  in,  i.  e.,  either 
locksmith;   or  if  we  derive   from   "^.20,   those  who 

prepare  siege-works,  engineers  (Ewald).  Ewald 
would  certainly  also  allow  the  word  to  be  taken 
in  the  sense  of  "  purveyor,"  by  which  he  under- 


stands people  "who  procure  for  the  king  the  sup- 
plies of  his  kingdom."  But  he  omits  any  further 
proof.  HiTziG,  Thenius,  who  are  followed  by 
Graf  and  (as  it  seems  also)  by  Meier,  who  trans- 
lates "  daily  laborer,"  compose  the  word  of  DO 
tribute-service  and  "1_J  sojourner,  and  understand 
by  it  common  laborers,  or  hod-carriers,  in  con- 
trast to  skilled  artizans.  For  this  interpretation 
however  we  find,    1,  no  analogy  in  the  language, 

for   neither    'T>^y\  which   alone  is   adduced   by 

FiTZTCf.  nor  ^!l>'  DO  (Josh.  xvi.  10)  suit  here; 
2.  thai  iu  2  Ki.  xxiv.  14  it  is  expressly  stated 
that  ]nxn~D>*  ri^!!)  the  common  people,  re- 
mained, and  to  these  must  have  necessarily  be- 
longed those  classes  of  the  people,  who  were  DO 
and  IJ.  Compare  the  connection  of  the  passage 
(2  Ki.  xxiv.  13-16)  and  it  will  be  found  that  Hit- 
zig's  explanation  does  not  agree  with  it.  Since 
then,  grammatically,  the    derivation    from    "IJD 

claudere  is  most  natural,  as  there  is  further  a 
IJpO  which  signifies  "custody,"  etc.,  and  conse- 
quently the  meaning  of  shutting  or  of  employ- 
ment in  that  which  serves  to  shut,  or  shut  up 
(cx.gr.,  the  bolts  of  gates,  Deut.  iii.  5 ;  1  Ki.  iv. 
13;  Neh.  iii.  3,  6,  13,  etc.),  which  is  the  best 
founded  etymologically,  I  understand,  with  most 
recent  Comm.  the  locksmith,  the  workman,  who 
makes  what  serves  for  shutting  up  iia  custody. 
What  may  be  the  relation  of  "^JpO  to  tJ^IH  (car- 
penters), is  certainly  obscure.  Graf  is  mean- 
while wrong  in  supposing  that  something  more 
geueral  is  here  to  be  designated.  It  may  just  as 
well  be  intended  to  set  forth  only  a  kind  of  arti- 
ficer. 

Vers.  3-7.  Then  said  the  Lord  .  .  .  with 
their  vrhole  heart.  The  construction  is  :  as  I 
acknowledge  these  good  figs  (am  pleased  with 
them),  so  1  acknowledge  the  captives  .  .  . — for 
good,  i.  e.,  to  render  them  good.  Comp.  xiv. 
11;  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  17;  Neh.  v.  19;  xiii.  81.— The 
tertium  comparationis  is:  as  one  is  pleased  with 
good  figs  and  retains  them,  but  throws  the  bad 
away,  so  shall  I  be  pleased  with  the  captives 
of  Judah  and  retain  them,  but  reject  those  who 
remain. — And  I  will  set,  etc.  Comp.  xxi.  10. 
— and  •will  bring  them  back.  Comp.  rems.  on 
iii.  14-17. — and  w^ill  build,  etc,  Comp.  i.  10. — 
And  they  shall  be  my,  etc.  Comp.  rems.  on 
xi.  4.— When  they,  etc.  Not  "  if"  but  "  when." 
In  accordance  with  the  opening  words  of  the 
verse  the  thought  cannot  be  expressed  hypothcti- 
cally.     Comp.  moreover  iii.  14-17;  iv.  1-4. 

Vers.  8-10.  But  like  the  bad.  .  .  .  their 
fathers. — Thus  saith  Jehovah  is  a  paren- 
thesis. The  "3  is  phonastic  at  the  beginning 
of  a  direct  sentence  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.  §  10'.^ 
1,  4),  so  that  the  veruum  dicendi  to  be  supplied 
is  to  be  borrowed  from  ver.  5,  to  which  tlie 
''2  refers.  It  is  as  though  the  prophet  would 
say,  I  have  already  said,  I  repeat  it,  that,  etc. 
As  to  the  Jews  then  already  living  in  Egypt,  re- 
ference may  not  be  made  to  xxii.  11.  For  thoso 
who  were  carried  away  with  Jehoahaz  are 
certainly  included  under  the  promised  ble'''=ing, 
ver.s.  5-7,  nut  under  the  curse.     But  it  is  to  be 


Z20 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


supposed  that  since  the  invasion  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, after  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  many 
Jews  fled  from  Egypt  to  the  king  conquered  in 
this  battle  as  to  their  natural  ally,  as  they  also 
did  afterwards  (ch.  xlii.  sqq.) — A  horror,  comp. 
remarks  on  xv.  4. — A  calamity.  This  after 
the  example  of  the  LXX.  is  struck  out  by  IIit- 
ziG,  EwA'.i),  Umbreit,  Graf.  But  why  should 
not  the  prophet  wish  to  say  that  the  Jews  should 
not  merely  be  given  up  themselves  to  destruction 
but  should  be  the  cause  of  destruction  to  others 
also?  Has  not  the  Jewish  people,  sighing  under 
the  curse,  even  to  the  most  recent  times  deve- 
loped the  bad  elements  of  its  native  peculiarity 
in  many  ways,  to  the  destruction  of  the  nations 
among  whom  it  has  been  driven? — A  proverb, 
comp.  xxix.  18,  22;  Deut.  xxviii.  37. — And  I 
•vyill  send,  comp.  xxix.  17-22,  where  Jeremiah 
repeats  the  main  thoughts  of  ch.  xxiv. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xxi.  2.  "King  Zedekiah  sends  word  to 
Jeremiah,  that  the  Lord  is  to  do  according  to  all 
His  miracles,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  may  withdraw. 
A  demand  rather  cavalierly  made  in  such  evil 
circumstances.  But  the  noble  are  so  unfortu- 
nate! It  is  indeed  as  though  it  only  depended 
on  them  to  arrange  matters  with  God;  as  if  He 
were  only  wailing  for  them,  as  if  it  were  a  point 
of  honor  not  to  be  over-hasty,  but  first  to  await 
a  little  extremity It  is  a  very  neces- 
sary observance  for  a  servant  of  the  Lord,  that 
he  try  his  superiors,  whether  there  is  any  trace 
remaining  in  them  of  having  been  once  baptized, 
well  brouglit  up  and  instructed  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.  If  he  observe  anything  of  this  kind,  he 
must  insist  upon  it  and  especially  not  allow  them 
to  deal  too  familiarly  with  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  but  plainly  demonstrate  to  them  their  in- 
sutSciency  and  nothingness,  if  they  measure 
themselves  by  Him.  Though  Zedekiah  had 
spoken  so  superficially,  Jeremiah  answered  him 
without  hesitation,  definitely  and  positively,  and 
accustomed  him  to  a  dilierent  manner  of  dealing 
with  the  Lord."  Zinzendorf.  "When  the  un- 
godly desire  God's  help,  they  commonly  appeal 
not  to  His  saving  power  to  heal  them,  but  to  His 
miraculous  power  to  save  them,  while  they  per- 
sist in  their  impenitence."  Starke. 

2.  On  xxi.  8.  "It  is  pure  grace  on  the  part  of 
God,  when  lie  leaves  to  man  the  choice  between 
the  good  and  the  evil;  not  that  it  is  permitted 
him  to  choose  the  evil,  but  that  he  may  choose 
freely  the  good,  which  he  is  under  obligation  to 
do,  Deut.  XXX.  19."  Starke.  "God  lays  before 
us  the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of  death.  The 
way  of  life  is  however  always  contrary  to  human 
reason,  and  that  on  which  it  sees  merely  death 
and  shame.  ...  If  thou  wilt  save  thyself  thou 
must  leave  the  false  Jerusalem,  fallen  under  the 
judgment,  and  seek  tliy  life  where  there  seems  to 
be  only  deatli.  He  who  would  save  his  life  must 
lose  it,  and  he  who  devotes  it  for  the  sake  of  the 
truth  will  save  it."  Diedrich. 

?..  On  xxi.  11-19.  "  To  be  such  a  king  is  to  be 
a'l  abomination  to  the  Lord,  and  severe  judgment 
\v  11  follow.  God  appoints  magistrates  for  His 
icrvice  and  for  the  use  of  men:  he  who  only 
seeks  his  own  enjoyment  in  office,  is  lost.     Jeru- 


salem, situated  on  rocks  in  the  midst  of  a  plain, 
looks  secure;  but  against  God  neither  rocks 
avail  nor  aught  else.  The  fire  will  break  out 
even  in  them,  and  consume  all  around,  together 
with  the  forest  of  cedar-houses  in  the  city.  The 
corruption  is  seated  within,  and  therefore  pro- 
ceeds from  within  outwards,  so  that  nothing  of 
the  former  stock  can  remain.  V»'hat  shall  a 
government  do  which  no  longer  bears  the  sword 
of  justice?  AVhat  shall  a  church  do  which  is  no 
longer  founded  on  God's  truth  as  its  only  power?" 
Diedrich.  Comp.  moreover  on  the  whole  of  ch. 
xxiv.  the  extended  moral  reflections  of  Cyrillus 
Alex.  Ttepl  Tfjq  kv  TTVEVfian  Kal  a'kTj-&.  npocKV- 
vr'/aeug.   Lib.  I. 

4.  On  xxii.  1.  "Jeremiah  is  to  deliver  a  ser- 
mon at  court,  in  which  he  reminds  the  king  of 
his  office  of  magistrate,  in  which  he  is  to  ad- 
minister justice  to  every  man."  Cramer. 

It  was  no  easy  task  for  Jeremiah  to  go  into  the 
lions'  den  and  deliver  such  an  uucourtly  message 
to  him.  AVe  are  reminded  of  the  prophet  Jonah. 
But  Jeremiah  did  not  flee  as  he  did. 

5.  On  xxii.  1-3.  ["But  we  ought  the  more 
carefully  to  notice  this  passage,  that  we  may 
learn  to  strengthen  ourselves  against  bad  ex- 
amples, lest  the  impiety  of  men  should  overturn 
our  faith;  when  we  see  in  God's  church  things 
in  such  disorder,  that  those  who  glory  in  the 
Lame  of  God  are  become  like  robbers,  we  must 
beware  lest  we  become  on  this  account  alienated 
from  true  religion.  We  must,  indeed,  desert 
such  monsters,  but  we  must  take  care  lest  God's 
word,  through  men's  wickedness,  should  lose  its 
value  in  our  esteem.  We  ought  then  to  remem- 
ber the  admonition  of  Christ,  to  hear  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  who  sat  in  Moses'  seat  (Matt. 
xxiii.  2)."  Calvin.— S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  xxii.  10.  ["  Dying  saints  may  be  justly 
envied,  while  living  sinners  are  justly  pitied. 
And  so  dismal  perhaps  the  prospect  of  the  times 
may  be,  that  tears  even  for  a  Josiah,  even  for  a 
Jesus,  must  be  restrained,  that  they  may  be  re- 
served for  ourselves  and  our  children  (Luk« 
xxiii.  28)."  Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

"  Nequaquam  y<  nlilis  plangendus  est  atque  Ju- 
dseus,  qui  in  ecclesia  non  fuerunt  et  simul  mortui  sunt, 
de  quibtis  Salvator  dicit:  dimitte  mortuos  sepelire 
mortuos  suos  (Matt.  viii.  22).  Sed  eos  plange,  qui 
per  scelera  atque  peccata  egrediimlur  de  ecclesia  et 
nolunt  ultra  reverti  ad  earn  damnatione  vitiorum.^' 
HiERON.  Epist.  46  ad  Rusticam.  "Nolite  flere 
mortuum,  sed  plorate  raptor  em  avaruni,  pecu7iix 
silientem  et  inexplebilem  auri  cupidinem.  Cur  mor- 
tuos inutiliter  ploramus  ?  Eos  ploremus,  qui  in 
melius  viutaTi  possunt."  Basiluts  Seleucensis. 
Comp.  Basil,  Magn.  Homil.  4  de  Gratiarum  acti- 
one  post  diniid. — Ghislerus. 

7.  On  xxii.  6-9.  "  God  does  not  spare  even  the 
authorities.  For  though  He  has  said  that  they 
are  gods,  when  they  do  not  rightly  administer 
their  office  they  must  die  like  men  (Ps.  Ixxxii. 
6)  ...  No  cedars  are  too  high  for  God,  no 
splendor  too  mighty;  He  can  destroy  all  at  once, 
and  overturn,  and  overturn,  and  overturn.  Ezek. 
xxi.  27."  Cramer. 

.\nother  passage  from  which  it  is  seen  how 
perverse  and  unjustifiable  is  the  illusion  that 
God's  election  is  a  surety  against  His  anger,  and 
a  permit  to  any  wilfulness.     The  individual  re- 


CHAP.  XXIV.  1-10. 


221 


presentatives  of  the  objects  of  divine  election 
should  never  forget  that  God  can  march  over 
their  carcases,  and  the  ruins  of  their  glory,  to 
the  fulfilment  of  His  promise,  and  that  He  can 
rebuild  on  a  higher  stage,  what  He  has  destroyed 
on  a  lower.     Comp.  remarks  on  ver.  2J:. 

8.  On  xxii.  13-19.  It  is  blasphemy  to  imagine 
that  God  will  be  frlre  et  compagnon  to  all  princes 
as  such,  and  that  He  has  a  predilection  for  them 
as  of  His  own  kind.  Does  He  not  say  to  his  ma- 
jesty the  king  of  Judah,  with  whom,  in  respect 
of  the  eminence  of  his  dynasty  and  throne  no 
other  prince  of  earth  could  compare,  that  he 
should  be  buried  like  an  ass,  dragged  and  cast 
out  before  the  gates  of  Jerusalem?  This  Jehoi- 
akim  was  however  an  aristocrat,  a  heartless,  self- 
ish tyrant,  who  for  his  own  pleasure  trampled 
divine  and  human  rights  under  foot.  If  sucli 
things  were  done  in  the  green  tree,  what  shall 
be  done  in  the  dry  ? 

"  He  who  builds  his  house  with  other  people's 
property,  collects  stones  for  his  grave."  Cramer. 

9.  On  xxii.  14.  ["  It  was  a  proof  of  luxury 
when  men  began  to  indulge  in  superfluities.  In 
old  times  the  windows  were  small;  for  use  only 
was  regarded  by  frugal  men ;  but  afterwards  a 
sort  of  madness  possessed  the  minds  of  many,  so 
tliat  they  sought  to  be  suspended  as  it  were  in 
the  air.  And  hence  they  began  to  have  wider 
windows.  The  thing  in  itself,  as  I  have  said,  is 
not  what  God  condemns;  but  we  must  ever  re- 
member, that  men  never  go  to  excesses  in  ex- 
ternal th.ngs,  except  when  their  hearts  are  in- 
fected with  pride,  so  that  they  do  not  regard 
what  is  useful,  what  is  becoming,  but  are  carried 
away  by  fondness  for  excess."  Calvin. — S.  R.  A.] 

10.  On  xxii.  15.  "  God  may  grant  the  great 
lords  a  preference  in  eating  and  drinking  and 
the  splendor  of  royal  courts,  but  it  is  not  His  will 
that  these  be  regarded  as  the  main  things,  but 
that  true  religion,  right  and  justice  must  have 
the  precedence; — this  is  the  Lord's  work.  But 
cursed  is  he  who  does  the  Lord's  work  remissly. 
Jer.  xlviii.  10."  Cramer. 

11.  On  xxii.  17.  "Description  of  haughty, 
proud,  magnificent,  merciless  and  tyrannical 
lords  and  rulers,  who  are  accomplices  of 
thieves."  Cramer. 

12.  On  xxii.  19.  ["God  would  have  burial  a 
proof  to  distingtiish  us  from  brute  animals  even 
after  death,  as  we  in  life  excel  (hem,  and  as  our 
condition  is  much  nobler  than  that  of  the  brute 
creation.  Burial  is  also  a  jaledge  as  it  were  of 
immortality;  for  when  man's  body  is  laid  hid  in 
the  earth,  it  is  as  it  were  a  mirror  of  a  future 
life.  Since  then  burial  is  an  evidence  of  God's 
grace  and  favor  towards  mankind,  it  is  on  the 
other  hand  a  sign  of  a  curse,  when  burial  is  de- 
nied." Calvin.— S.R.  A.] 

13.  On  xxii.  24.  "Great  loi'ds  often  imagine 
that  they  not  only  sit  in  the  bosom  of  God,  but 
that  they  are  a  pearl  in  His  crown;  or  as  the 
prophet  says  here,  God's  signet-ring.  Therefore, 
it  is  impossible  that  they  should  not  succeed  in 
their  designs.  But  God  looks  not  on  the  person 
of  the  princes,  and  knows  the  magnificent  no 
more  than  the  poor.  Job  xxxiv.  19."  Cramer. 

14.  On  xxii.  28.  ["  What  is  idolized  will,  first 
or  last,  be  despised  and  brnkm,  what  is  unjustly 
honored  will    be  justly  contemned,   and    rivals 


with  God  will  be  the  scorn  of  man.  Whatever 
we  idolize  we  shall  be  disappointed  in,  and  then 
shall  despise."  Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

"  The  compliment  is  a  very  poor  one  for  a 
king,  who  thinks  somewhat  of  himself,  and  to 
whom  it  in  a  certain  measure  pertains  that  he  be 

honored But  here  it  is   the  word  of  the 

Lord,  and  in  consideration  of  these  words  it  is 
declared  in  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  12,  to  be  evil  on  the 
part  of  Zedekiah,  that  he  did  not  humble  him- 
self before  Jeremiah.  Teachers  must  be  much 
on  their  guard  against  assuming  such  purely 
prophetic,  that  is,  extraoi'dina,ry  acts.  It  cost 
the  servants  of  the  Lord  many  a  death,  who  were 
obliged  thus  to  employ  themselves,  and  when  it 
is  easy  for  one  to  ape  it  without  a  divine  calling 
he  thus  betrays  his  frivolity  and  incompetence, 
if  not  his  pride  and  delusion."  Zinzendorf. 

15.  On  xxii.  28-30.  Iren^us  {Adv.  User.  III. 
30)  uses  this  passage  to  prove  that  the  Lord 
could  not  have  been  Joseph's  natural  son,  for 
otherwise  he  would  have  fallen  under  the  curse 
of  this  passage,  and  appear  as  one  not  entitled 
to  dominion  ["qui  eum  dicunt  ex  Joseph  genera- 
turn  et  in  60  habere  spem,  abdicalos  se  faciunt  a 
regno,  sub  maledictione  et  increpalione  decidentes, 
quae  erga  Jechoniam  et  in  semen  ejus  est").  Basil 
the  Great  [Epist.  ad  Amphilochium)  endeavors  to 
show  that  this  passage,  with  its  declaration  that 
none  of  Jeconiah's  descendants  should  sit  on 
David's  throne,  is  not  in  contradiction  to  the 
prophecy  of  Jacob  (Gen.  xlix.  10),  that  a  ruler 
should  not  be  lacking  from  Judah,  till  He  came 
for  whom  the  nations  were  hoping.  Basil  dis- 
tinguishes in  this  relation  between  dominion  and 
royal  dignity. — The  former  continued,  the  latter 
ceased,  and  this  period  of,  so  to  speak,  latent 
royalty,  was  the  bridge  to  the  present,  in  which 
Christ  rules  in  an  invisible  manner,  but  yet  in 
real  power  and  glory  as  royal  priest,  and  at  the 
same  time  represents  Himself  as  the  fulfilment 
of  the  hope  of  the  nations.  In  like  manner  John 
of  Damascus  concludes  that  according  to  this 
passage  there  could  be  no  prospect  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promise  in  Gen.  xlix.  10,  if  Mary 
had  not  virgineo  modo  borne  the  scion  of  David, 
who  however  was  not  to  occupy  the  visible  throne 
of  David.  {Orat.  II.  in  Nativ.  B.  Mariie p.  med.) 
— Ambrose  finally  [Comment,  in  Ev.  Luc.  L.  III. 
cap.  m/<.)  raises  the  question  how  Jeremiah  could 
say,  that  ex  seniine  Jechonise  neminem  regnaturum 
esse,  since  Christ  was  of  the  seed  of  Jeconiah 
and  reigned?  He  answers:  "Illic  (Jer.  xxii.  30) 
futures  ex  semine  Jechoniie  posteros  no7i  negatur  et 
ideo  de  seniine  ejus  est  Christus  (comp.  Matt.  i.  11), 
et  quod  regnnvit  Christus,  nan  contra  prophetiam 
est,  non  enim  seculari  honore  regnavit,  nee  in  Jechonise 
sedibus  sedit,  sed  regnavit  in  sede  David."  Ghis- 
lerus. 

16.  On  xxiii.  2.'  ^'^  Nomiulli  privsnles  gregis 
quo.sdam  pro  peccato  a  communione  ejiciunt,  ut  poeni- 
teant,  sed  quali  sorte  vivere  debeant  ad  melius  ex- 
hortando  non  visitant.  Quibus  congrue  increpans 
sermo  divinus  comminatur :  pasiores,  qui  pascunt 
populum  meum,  t^os  dispersistis  gngem  meum,  ejec- 
istis  et  nonvisitastis  eum."  Isidor.  Hisp.  de  summo 
bono  sive  LL.  sentt.  Cap.  46.  Ghislerus. 

17.  On  xxiii.  5,  6.   Eusebius    [Dem.   Ev.  VIL 
9)  remarks  that  Christ  among  all  the  descend 
ants  of  David  is  the  only  one,   who  rulss  over 


222 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  whole  earth,  and  everywhere  not  only 
preaches  justice  and  righteousness  by  His  doc- 
trine but  is  Himself  also  the  author  of  the  rising 
[of  the  .Sun]  of  righteousness  for  all,  according 
to  Ps.  Ixxii.  7:  avarsAEl  kv  toIq  iiiikpaiQ  avroi' 
i^tKaioauvtj,  Koi  7r/l^i?of  elprjVTj^  ewf  ov  avravcu- 
pe&j)  fj  o-eA//v??  (LXX.)  Cyril  of  Alex.  {Glaphyr. 
in  Gen.  I.  p.  133)  explains  'luaz^m  B,s,justitia  Dei, 
in  so  far  as  we  are  made  righteous  in  Him,  not 
for  the  sake  of  the  works  of  righteousness  that 
we  have  done,  but  according  to  His  great  mercy. 
Rom.  iii.  24;   Tit.  Hi.  5. 

18.  On  xxiii.  6.  ["If  we  regard  God  in  Him- 
self, He  is  indeed  righteous,  but  not  our  right- 
eousness. If  we  desire  to  have  God  as  our  right- 
eousness, we  must  seek  Christ;  for  this  cannot 
be  found  except  in  Him.  .  .  .  Paul  says  that  He 
has  been  given  or  made  to  us  righteousness, — 
for  what  end?  that  we  might  be  made  the  rigiit- 
eousness  of  God  in  Him.  (1  Cor.  i.  30).  Since, 
then,  Christ  is  made  our  righteousness,  and  we 
are  counted  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him,  we 
hence  learn  how  properly  and  fitly  it  has  been 
said  that  He  would  be  Jehovah,  not  only  that  the 
power  of  His  divinity  might  defend  us,  but  also 
that  we  might  become  righteous  in  Him,  for  He 
is  not  only  righteous  for  Himself,  but  He  is  our 
righteousness."  Calvin.  See  also  a  long  note  in 
WoRiiswoRTH,  to  show  that  Jehovah  our  Right- 
eousness refers  to  Christ. — S.  R.  A.] 

"The  character  of  a  true  church  is  when  the 
Lytrum,  the  ransom-money  of  Jesus  Christ,  is 
known  and  valued  by  all,  and  when  they  have 
written  this  secret,  foolish  and  absolutely  in- 
scrutable to  reason,  in  the  heart  with  the  finger 
of  the  living  God:  that  Jesus  by  His  blood  has 
taken  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  '  0  let  it  ne'er 
escape  my  thought,  at  what  a  price  my  soul  was 
bought.'  This  is  the  evening  and  morning 
prayer  of  every  church,  which  is  a  true  sister  from 
above."  Zinzenuorf. 

19  On  xxiii.  5-8.  "  The  return  under  Ezra 
was  also  a  fulfilment  of  this  promise,  but  inferior 
and  preliminary:  not  all  came,  iiud  those  who 
did  come  brought  their  sins  back  with  them. 
They  were  still  under  the  Law  and  had  to  wait 
for  Righteousness;  still  in  their  return  they  had 
a  pledge  that  the  Messiah  was  yet  to  come  and 
prepare  the  true  city  of  peace.  Now,  however, 
all  has  been  long  fulfilled  and  we  can  enjoy  it  per- 
fectly, if  we  have  the  mind  for  it.  We  have  now 
a  country  of  which  no  tyrant  can  rob  us;  our 
walk  and  citizenship  is  in  heaven.  We  have 
be:>n  delivered  from  all  our  suflering,  when  we 
r  I  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  to  hear  His  word. 
Then  there  is  a  power  of  resurrection  within  us, 
80  that  we  can  fiy  with  our  souls  beyond  the 
world  and  laugh  ;it  alt  our  foes.  For  Christ  lias 
made  us  righteous  by  His  daily  forgiveness,  so 
that  we  may  also  bring  ourselves  daily  into 
heaven.  Yea  verily,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
come  very  nigh  unto  us !  Jeremiah  then  longed 
to  see  and  hear  this  more  nearly,  and  now  we 
^canhaveit."  Diedrich. 

20.  On  xxiii.  9.  "  Great  love  renders  God's 
servant  so  ardent,  that  he  deals  powerful  blows 
on  the  seducers.  He  does  not  think  that  he  has 
struck  a  wasp's  nest  and  embittered  his  life  here 
forever,  for  he  has  a  higher  life  and  gives  the 
lower  one  willingly  for  love.     Yet  all  the  world 


will  hold  him  for  an  incorrigible  and  mad  en- 
thusiast, who  spares  no  one.  He  says  himself 
that  he  is  as  it  were  drunk  with  God  and  His 
word,  when  he  on  the  other  hand  contemplates 
the  country."  Diedrich. 

21.  Onxxiii.  11.  ''They  are  rogues.  They  know 
how  to  find  subterfuges,  and  I  would  like  to  see 
him  who  accuses  a  false  and  unfaithful  teacher, 
and  manages  his  own  case  so  that  he  does  not 
himself  come  into  the  dilemma."    Zinzendorf. 

22.  On  xxiii.  13,  14.  " /«  the  prophets  of  Sa- 
maria I  see  folly.  This  is  the  character  which 
the  Lord  gives  to  error,  false  religion,  hetero- 
doxy. But  in  the  prophets  of  Jerusalem  1  fifid 
abomination.  This  is  the  description  of  the  or- 
thodox, when  they  apply  their  doctrine,  so  that 
either  the  wicked  are  strengthened  or  no  one  is 
converted."  Zinzendorf. 

23.  On  xxiii.  15.  "  From  the  prophets  of  Jeru- 
salem hypocrisy  goes  forth  into  all  the  land.  This 
is  the  natural  consequence  of  the  superiority, 
which  the  consistories,  academies,  ministers, 
etc.,  have  and  in  due  measure  ought  to  have,  that 
when  they  become  corrupt  they  communicate 
their  corruption  to  the  whole  region,  and  it  Ib 
apparent  in  the  whole  land  what  sort  of  theo- 
logians sit  at  the  helm."  Zinzendorf. 

24.  On  xxiii.  16.  Listen  not  to  the  words  of  the 
prophets,  they  deceive  you.     Luther  says  {Altenb. 

Tom.  II.  p.  330) :  "  But  a  Christian  has  so  much 
power  that  he  may  and  ought  to  come  forward 
even  among  Christians  and  teach,  where  he  sees 
that  the  teacher  himself  is  wanting,"  etc.;  and 
"  The  hearers  altogether  have  the  right  to  judge 
and  decide  concerning  all  doctrine.  Therefore 
the  priests  and  liveried  Christians  have  snatched 
this  ofiice  to  themselves;  because,  if  this  office  re- 
mained in  the  church,  the  aforesaid  could  retain 
nothing  for  their  own."  [Altenb.  Tom.  II.  p.  508). 
— The  exercise  of  this  right  on  the  part  of  mem- 
bers of  the  church  has  its  difficulties.  May  not 
misunderstanding,  ignorance,  even  wickedness 
cause  this  to  be  a  heavy  and  unjust  pressure  on 
the  ministers  of  the  word,  and  thus  mediately 
tend  to  the  injury  of  the  church  ?  Certainly. 
Still  it  is  better  for  the  church  to  exercise  this 
right  than  not  to  do  so.  The  former  is  a  sign  of 
spiritual  life,  the  latter  of  spiritual  death.  It 
will  be  easier  to  find  a  corrective  for  some  ex- 
travagances than  to  save  a  church  become  re- 
ligiously indiiferent  from  the  fate  of  Laodicea 
(Rev.  iii.  16). 

25.  On  xxiii.  16.  ["  But  here  a  question  may 
be  raised.  How  can  the  common  people  under- 
stand that  some  speak  from  God's  mouth,  and 
that  others  propound  their  own  glosses?  I  an- 
swer. That  the  doctrine  of  the  Law  was  then  suf- 
ficient to  guide  the  minds  of  the  people,  provided 
they  closed  not  their  eyes;  and  if  the  Law  was 
sutficient  at  that  time,  God  does  now  most  surely 
give  us  a  clearer  light  by  His  prophets,  and  es- 
pecially by  His  Gospel."     Calvin. — S.  R.  A.] 

2().  On  xxiii.  17.  "The  pastors,  who  are  wel- 
come and  gladly  seen  at  a  rich  man's  table,  wish 
liini  in  fact  long  life,  good  health,  and  all  pros- 
perity. What  they  wish  they  prophesy.  This 
is  not  unnatural;  hut  he  who  is  softened  by  it  is 
ill-advised."    Zinzendorf. 

27.  On  xxiii.  21.  ["There  is  a  twofold  call-, 
one  is  internal,  the  other  belongs  to  order,  and 


CHAP.  XXIV.  1-10. 


22i 


may  therefore  be  called  external  or  ecclesiasti- 
cal. But  the  external  call  is  never  legitimate, 
except  it  be  preceded  by  the  internal ;  for  it  does 
not  belong  to  us  to  create  prophets,  or  apostles, 
or  pastors,  as  this  is  the  special  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  .  .  .  But  it  often  happens  that  the  call 
of  God  is  sufi&cient,  especially  for  a  time.  For 
when  there  is  no  church,  there  is  no  remedy  for 
the  evil,  except  God  raise  up  extraordinary  teach- 
ers.'   Calvin. — S.  R.  A.] 

28.  On  xxiii.  '22.  "If  I  knew  that  my  teacher 
was  a  most  abominable  miscreant,  personally, 
and  in  heart  the  worst  enemy  of  God  in  his  pa- 
rish ;  so  long  as,  for  any  reason,  he  preaches, 
expounds,  develops,  inculcates  the  word  of  God  ; 
even  though  he  should  betniy  here  and  there  in 
his  expressions,  that  this  word  was  not  dwelling 
in  him  ;  if  only  he  does  not  ez  professo  at  one 
time  throw  down  what  at  another  time  he  teaches 
of  good  and  true  quasi  aliml  agendo  :  I  assure  you 
before  the  Lord  that  I  should  fear  to  censure  his 
preaching."   Zinzenuorf. 

29.  On  xxiii.  23.  "  God's  essential  attribute  is 
Omnipresence.  For  He  is  higiier  than  heaven, 
what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper  than  hell,  what  canst 
thou  know  ?  Longer  than  the  earth  and  broader 
than  the  sea  (Job  iv.  8).  And  He  is  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us  (Acts  xvii.  27)."  Cramer. — 
"  We  often  think  God  is  quite  far  from  us,  when 
He  is  yet  near  to  us,  has  us  in  His  arms,  presses 
us  tc  His  heart  and  kisses  us."  Luther. — 
"  When  we  think  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  Jesus, 
is  not  risen,  and  is  still  behind  the  mountain, 
and  will  not  come  to  us.  He  is  yet  nearest  to  us. 
The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  them  that  are  of  a  broken 
heart.  (Ps.  xxxiv.  19)  " — "■Deus  et  omni  et  nullo 
loco  " — "  Cuncta  Deus  replens  molem  se  fundit  in 
omnem."  MS.  notes  to  my  copy  of  Cramer's  Bi- 
bel. — "  Si  vis  peccare,  0  homo,  quxre  tibi  locum,  ubi 
Deus  non  videat."     Augustine. 

30.  On  xxiii.  28.  ["  When  any  one  rejects  the 
wheat  because  it  is  covered  with  chaif,  and  who 
will  pity  him  who  says  that  he  has  indeed  wheat 
on  his  floor,  but  that  it  is  mixed  with  chaff,  and 
therefore  not  fit  for  food  ?  .  .  .  If  we  be  negli- 
gent, and  think  that  it  is  a  sulBcient  excuse  for 
despising  the  AVord  of  Gou,  because  Satan  brings 
in  his  fallacies,  we  shall  perish  in  our  sloth  like 
him  who  neglects  to  cleanse  his  wheat  that  he 
might  turn  it  to  bread."  Calvin. — S.  R.  A.] 

He  who  cannot  restrain  his  mouth  or  his  ink 
let  l.im  expectorate.  But  let  him  say  openly  and 
honestly  that  they  are  his  own  dreams,  which  he 
preaches.  The  false  prophets  certainly  know 
that  mere  falsehood  is  empty  straw.  They  there- 
tore  always  mingle  some  of  the  genuine  word  of 
God  amongst  it.  .In  unavailing  mixture!  It  is 
in  this  mingling  that  Satan's  highest  art  is  dis- 
played, so  that  he  at  the  same  time  furthers  his 
own  work  and  testifies  against  himself.  Comp. 
Gen.  iii. 

31.  On  xxiii.  29.  God's  word  is  the  highest  re- 
ality, life  and  power,  while  the  dreams  of  the 
false  prophets  are  pretence,  death  and  weakness. 
Cfcas  word  is  therefore  compared  to  afire  which 
burns,  warms,  and  enlightens,  so  that  it  burns 
up  the  hardest  flint,  melts  the  thickest  ice,  illu- 
minates the  deepest  obscurities.  It  is  compared 
further  to  a  hammer  which  crushes  the  hardest 
rocks  into  sand. — He  who  mingles  God's   wheat 


among  his  straw,  will  find  that  the  wheat  wil; 
become  fire  and  burn  up  the  straw  (1  Cor.  iii.  12- 
15).  He  who  handles  the  word  of  the  Lord 
purely,  let  him  not  despair  if  he  sees  before  him 
hearts  of  adamant  (Zech.  vii.  12).  He  who 
seeks  peace  is  not  ashamed  to  bow  beneath  the 
hammer  of  the  word.  For  the  destructive  power 
of  the  word  applies  to  that  in  us  which  is  opposei? 
to  God,  while  the  God-related  elements  are  loosed 
and  set  free  by  those  very  crushing  blows. — He, 
however,  to  whom  the  peace  of  God  is  an  object 
of  derision,  may  feed  on  the  straw  of  this  world. 
But  how  will  it  be  when  finally  the  day  comes 
that  God  will  come  upon  him  with  fire  and  ham- 
mer? What  then  remains  to  him  as  the  result 
of  his  straw-diet,  which  is  in  a  condition  to  with- 
stand the  blows  of  the  hammer  and  the  fire  ? 

Help,  Lord,  against  Thy  scornful  foes. 
Who  seek  our  souls  to  lead  astray  ; 

M^hose  mockeries  at  mortal  woes 
Will  end  in  terrible  dismay ! 

Grant  that  Thy  holy  word  may  root 

Deep  in  our  hearts,  and  richer  fruit 
May  ever  bear  to  endless  day. 

"God's  word  converts,  all  other  doctrine  be- 
fools." Luther. 

32.  On  xxiii.  29.  "God's  word  in  general  is  like 
a  fire :  the  more  it  is  urged  the  more  widely  and 
brightly  it  extends.  God  has  caused  His  word 
to  be  proclaimed  to  the  world  as  a  matter,  which 
they  can  dispense  with  as  little  as  fire.  Fire  of- 
ten smoulders  long  in  secret  before  it  breaks  out, 
thus  the  power  of  the  divine  word  operates  in  its 
time.  God's  word  can  make  people  as  warm  as 
if  glowing  coals  lay  upon  them;  it  shines  as 
brightly  upon  them,  as  if  a  lamp  were  held  un- 
der their  eyes ;  it  tells  every  one  the  truth  and 
purifies  from  all  vices.  He  who  deals  evilly  with 
God's  word  burns  himself  by  it,  he  who  opposes 
it  is  consumed  by  it.  But  the  word  of  God  is 
as  little  to  blame  as  a  lamp  or  a  fire  when  an  un- 
skilful person  is  burned  by  it.  Yet  it  happens 
that  often  it  will  not  be  suffered  in  the  world, 
then  there  is  fire  in  all  the  streets.  That  is  the 
unhappy  fire  of  persecution,  which  is  kindled  in- 
cidentally in  the  world  by  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel."  Jos.  CoNR.  Schaller,  Pastor  at  Cau- 
tendorf,  Ser77ions  07:  the  Gospels,  1742. 

33.  On  xxiii.  30.  "  Teachers  and  preachers 
are  not  to  steal  their  sermons  from  other  books, 
but  take  them  from  the  Bible,  and  testify  that 
which  they  speak  from  their  inward  experience 
(John  iii.  11).  False  teachers  steal  God's  word, 
inventing  a  foreign  meaning  for  it,  and  using  this 
for  the  palliation  of  their  errors."  Starke. — 
^'Hinc  illi  l,fi7ML  at  auctions,  who  can  obtain  thia 
or  that  good  book,  this  or  that  manuscript?  Here 
they  are  thus  declared  to  he  plaffiarios  ;  and  they 
are  necessarily  so  because  they  are  not  taught 
of  God.  But  I  would  rather  they  would  steal 
from  true  men  of  God  than  from  each  other." — 

ZiNZENDORF. 

34.  On  xxiii.  33-40.  "  When  the  word  of  God 
becomes  intolerable  to  men,  then  men  in  their 
turn  become  intolerable  to  our  Lord  God ;  yea, 
they  are  no  more  than  inutile pondus  terrte,  which 
the  land  can  no  more  bear,  therefore  they  must 
be  winnowed  out,  Jer.  xv.  17."  Cramer. 

35.  On  xxiv.  5-7.  "  He  who  willingly  and  rea- 
dily resigns  himself  to  the  will  of  God  even  to 


224 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  cross,  may  escape  misfortune.  But  he  who 
opposes  himself  to  the  hand  of  God  cannot  es- 
cape." Cramer. — "  The  captives  are  dearest  to 
God.  By  the  first  greater  affliction  He  prepares 
their  souls  for  repentance  and  radical  conver- 
sion, so  that  He  has  in  them  again  His  people 
and  inheritance.  0  the  gracious  God,  that  He 
allows  even  those  who  on  account  of  sin  must  be 
80  deeply  degraded  and  rendered  slaves,  even  in 
such  humiliation  to  be  His  people  !  The  captives 
are  forgiven  their  opposition  to  God  ;  they  are 
separated  from  the  number  of  nations  existing  in 
the  world,  politically  they  are  dead  and  banished 
to  the  interior.  Now,  God  will  show  them  what 
His  love  can  do  ;  they  shall  return,  and  in  true 
nearness  to  God  be  His  true  Israel."  Diedrich. 
36.  On  xxiv.  7.  ["Since  He  affirms  that  He 
would  give  them  a  heart  to  understand,  we  hence 
learn  that  men  are  by  nature  blind,  and  also  that 
when  they  are  blinded  by  the  devil  they  cannot 
return  to  the  right  way,  and  that  they  cannot  be 
otherwise  capable  of  light  than  by  having  God  to 
illuminate  them  by  His  Spirit.  .  .  .  This  passage 
also  shows,  that  we  cannot  really  turn  to  God 
until  we  acknowledge  Him  to  be  the  Judge  ;  for 
until  the  sinner  sets  himself  before  God's  tribu- 
nal he  will  never  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
true  repentance.  .  .  .  Though  God  rules  the  whole 
world.  He  yet  declares  that  He  is  the  God  of  the 
Church;  and  the  faithful  whom  He  has  adopted 
He  favors  with  this  high  distinction,  that  they 
are  His  people ;  and  He  does  this  that  they  may  be 
persuaded  that  there  is  safety  in  Him,  according 
to  what  is  said  by  Habakkuk,  'Thou  art  our  God, 
we  shall  not  die'  (Hab.  i.  12).  And  of  this  sen- 
tence Christ  Himself  is  the  best  interpreter,  when 
He  says,  that  He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but 
of  the  living  (Luke  xx.  38)."  Calvin.— S.  R.  A.] 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PEACTIOAL. 

1.  On  xxi.  8.  This  text  may  be  used  on  all  oc- 
casions when  an  important  decision  is  to  be  made 
or  on  the  entrance  on  a  new  s<  etion  of  life,  as, 
e.  g.,  at  synods,  diets.  New  Yens,  beginning  of 
the  church-year,  at  confirmations,  weddings,  in- 
stallatione,  etc.  What  the  present  day  demands  and 
promises:  I.  It  demands  from  us  an  important 
choice.  II.  It  promises  us,  according  as  we 
choose,  life  or  death. 

2.  On  xxii,  2-9.  In  hoio  far  the  divine  election  is 
conditional  and  unconditional.  I.  It  is  conditional 
with  respect  to  individual  elected  men,  places, 
things.  For  1,  these  become  partakers  of  the 
salvation  promised  by  the  election  only  by  be- 
haviour woU-pleasing  to  God  ;  2,  if  they  behave 
in  a  manner  displeasing  to  God,  the  election  does 
not  protect  them  from  destruction.  II.  The 
election  is  unconditional  with  respect  to  the  eter- 
nal ideas  lying  at  tlie  foundation  of  the  single  ap- 
pearances, and  their  absolute  realizatioue. 


3.  On  xxii.  24.  [Payson  .- — "The  punishment 
of  the  impenitent  inevitable  and  justifiable.  I.  To 
mention  some  awful  instances  in  which  God  has 
verified  this  declaration:  (a),  the  apostate  an- 
gels; (6)  our  first  parents;  (c)  destruction  of 
mankind  by  the  flood;  [d)  the  children  of  Israel; 
(e)  Moses,  David,  the  disobedient  prophet,  Christ. 
II.  Some  of  the  reasons  for  such  a  declaration. 
Not  a  disposition  to  give  pain  or  desire  for  re- 
venge. It  is  the  natui'e  and  tendency  of  sin  to 
produce  misery." — S.  R.  A.] 

4.  On  xxiii.  5,  6.  The  Son  of  David.  What  the 
prophet  declares  of  Him  is  fourfold  :  1.  He  will 
Himself  be  righteous ;  2.  He  will  rule  well  as 
king  and  execute  judgment  and  righteousness  ; 
3.  He  will  be  our  righteousness;  4.  Under  Him 
shall  Judah  be  helped  and  Israel  dwell  safely. 

5.  On  xxiii.  14.  [Lathrop:  "  The  horrible  guilt 
of  those  who  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  wicked. 
1.  All  sin  is  horrible  in  its  nature.  2.  This  is  to 
oppose  the  government  of  the  Almighty.  3.  It 
directly  tends  to  the  misery  of  mankind.  4.  It 
supports  the  cause  of  the  Evil  Spirit.  5.  It  is  to 
become  partakers  of  their  sins.  6.  It  is  horrible 
as  directly  contrary  to  the  command  of  God,  and 
marked  with  His  peculiar  abhorrence." — S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  xxiii.  28,  24.  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 
1.  What  it  means.  God  is  everywhere  pre- 
sent, (a).  He  fills  heaven  and  earth;  (6)  there 
is  no  removal  from  Him  in  space  ;  (c)  nothing  is 
hidden  from  Him.  2.  There  is  in  this  for  us  [a) 
a  glorious  consolation,  (6)  an  earnest  admoni- 
tion. [Charnock,  Jortin,  and  Wesley  have 
sermons  on  this  text,  all  of  very  similar  outline. 
The  following  are  Jortin's  practical  conclusions.* 
"  This  doctrine  1.  Should  lead  us  to  seek  to  re- 
semble God's  perfections.  2.  Should  deter  us 
from  sin.  3.  Should  teach  us  humility.  4. 
Should  encourage  us  to  reliance  and  content- 
ment, to  faith  and  hope." — S.  R.  A.] 

7.  On  xxiii.  29,  30.  God^s  Word  and  man's 
ivord  1.  The  former  is  life  and  power  (wheat, 
fire,  hammer).  The  latter  pretence  and  weak- 
ness (dream,  straw).  2.  The  two  are  not  to  be 
mixed  with  each  other.  [Cecil  :  This  shows  1. 
The  vanity  of  all  human  imaginations  in  reli- 
gion, (a).  What  do  they  afford  to  man  ?  (6). 
How  much  do  they  hinder  ?  2.  The  energy  of 
spiritual  truth.  Let  us  entreat  God  that  our  es- 
timate may  be  practical. — S.  R.  A.] 

8.  On  xxiv.  1-10.  The  good  and  bad  figs  an  em- 
blem of  humanity  iv ell-pleasing  and  displeasing  to 
God.  1.  The  prisoners  and  broken-hearted  are, 
like  the  good  figs,  well-pleasing  to  God.  For  (a) 
they  know  the  Lord  and  turn  to  Him;  [h)  He  ia 
their  God  and  they  are  His  people.  2.  Those 
who  dwell  proudly  and  securely  are  displeasing 
to  God,  like  the  bad  figs.  For  {a)  they  live  oa 
in  foolish  blindness;  (6)  they  challenge  the  judg 
ment  of  God. 


CHAP.  XXV.  1-11. 


9.  NINTH  DISCOURSE. 

(Chap.  XXV.) 

WITH   THREE    HISTORICAL    APPENDICES  (CHAPS.  XXVI. — XXIX.) 

The  superscription,  xxv.  1,  to  which  a  similar  one  follows  first  in  xxx.  1,  shows  that  the  compiler  of  the 
book  regarded  chh.  xxY. — xxix.  as  a  connected  group.  The  motive  of  this  arrangement  mag  be  re- 
cognized. First,  the  connection  o/ch.  xxvii.  with  ch.  xxv.  is  perfectly  clear,  the  figurative  discourse 
of  the  cup  of  wrath,  which  Jeremiah  is  to  offer  the  heathen  natiotis  (xxv.  15sqq.),  having  a  practical 
commentary  in  the  yokes,  which,  according  to  xxvii.  2-12,  the  prophet  is  to  send  to  those  nations. 
Ch.  xxviii.  is  however  based  directly  on  ch.  xxvii.,  since  here  the  false  prophet  Hananiah  breaks  the 
yoke,  which  Jeremiah,  according  to  ch.  xxvii.,  had  hung  upon  his  neck,  and  Jeremiah  replaces  this 
wooden  yoke  by  an  iron  one.  In  subject  then  these  three  chapters  are  closely  connected.  ■Oh.  xxix., 
moreover,  stands  in  intimate  topical  connection  ivifhchh.  xxvii.  and  xxviii.,  since  it  is  directed  against 
the  false  prophets,  who  contradicted  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiahwithrespectto  their  position  in  Babylon. 
Though  ch.  xxv.  and  chs.  xxvii. — xxix.  belong  to  very  different  periods  [on  which  point  see  the  par- 
ticular chapters),  yet  their  connection  in  fact  is  beyond  a  doubt.  Ch.  xxvi.  is  not  indeed  related  to 
ch.  xxv.  topically,  but  it  is  chronologically ,  for  it  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim. 
This  chapter  is,  however,  intimately  connected  with  the  following,  in  that  it  likewise  has  for  its  subject 
the  conflict  of  the  true  prophet  with  thefalse>prophets,  and  with  the  people  as  favoring  the  latter  (comp. 
xxvi.  7,  8,  11,  16  with  xxvii.  9,  14,  16).  As  ch.  xxvi.  is  thus  related  in  subject  to  chh.  xxvii.- 
zxix.,  and  in  date  to  ch.  xxv.,  it  stands  between  them.  Comp.  my  art. on  Jeremiah  in  Herzog,  Real- 
Unc,  VI.,  S.  486,  7. — The  position  of  thegroup,  chh.  xxv. -xxix.,  hereseems  to  be  due  primarily  to 
chronological  reasons.  Ch.  Xxv.,  the  basis  of  the  section,  belongs  to  the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim.  The 
main  trunk  of  the  preceding  section,  chh.  xxi.-xxiv.,  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  this  king, 
prior  to  his  fourth  year  [comp.  Introd.  to  the  Eighth  Discourse).  All  the  portions  following  ch.  xxix., 
belong  mainly  to  the  times  of  Zedekiah,  or  to  the  later  period  of  Jehoiakim'' s  reign  (comp.  ch.  xxxvi.). 
Accordingly,  ch.  xxv.  with  its  appendix  is  in  the  right  vlace.  It  concurs  with  this,  though  without 
design,  that  with  respect  to  its  subject  also  this  chapter  is  rightly  placed  ;  for  its  vosition  in  the  middle 
of  the  book  corresponds  exactly  to  the  central  significance,  which  pertains  to  it  in  the  collection  of  Jere- 
miah's prophecies. 

We  first  then  consider  ch.  xxv.,  the  central  propheoy,  by  itself.     It  may  he  dividedinto  three  sections  : — 

1.  Vers.  1-11. — The  Judgment  on  Judah. 

2.  Vers.  12-29. — The  Judgment  on  Judah  and  the  kingdoms  of  the  world. 

3.  Vers.  30-38. — The  Judgment  of  the  world. 

A.    THE    CENTRAL   PROPHECY   AND    PROGRAMME  (CHAP.  XXV.). 

1.  The  Judgment  on  Judah. 
XXV.  1-11. 

1  The  word  which  came  to^  Jeremiah  concerning  all  the  people  of  Judah  in  the 
first  year  of  Jehoiakim,  the  son-of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  that  [the  same]  was  the  first 

2  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon;  the  which  Jeremiah  the  prophet  spake 

3  unto  all  the  people  of  Judah  and  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  saying,  From 
the  thirteenth  year  of  Josiah,  the  son  of  Amon,  king  of  Judah,  even  unto  this  day, 
this^  is  the  three  and  twentieth  year  [these  23  years],  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Je- 
hovah] hath  come  unto  me,  and  I  have  spoken  unto  you,  rising  early^  and  speak- 

4  ing,  but  ye  have  not  hearkened.  And  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  hath  sent  unto  you  all 
his  servants  the  prophets,  rising  early  and  sending  them ;  but  ye  have  not  hearkened, 

5  nor  inclined  your  ear  to  hear.  They  said  [saying].  Turn  ye  again  now  every  one 
from  his  evil  way,  and  from  the  evil  of  your  doings,  and  [ye  shall]  dwell*  in  the 
land  that  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  hath  given  unto  you  and  to  your  fathers  for  ever 

6  and  ever:  And  go  not  after  other  gods  to  serve  them  and  to  worship  them,  and 
provoke  me  not  to  anger  with  the  works  of  your  hands;  and  I  will  do  you  no  hurt. 

7  Yet  ye  have  not  hearkened  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  that  ye  might 

8  provoke  me  to  anger^  with  the  works  of  your  hands  to  your  own  hurt.  Therefoi'e 
thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth] :  Because  ye  have  not  heard  my 


226 


THE  I'ilOPJlET  JEREMIAH. 


9  words,  Behold,  I  will  send  and  take  all  the  families  of  the  north,  saith  the  Lord 
[Jehovah]  and  [even  to]"  Nebuchadrezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon,  my  servant,  and 
will  bring  them  against  this  land,  and  against  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  against 
all  thpse'  nations  round  about,  and  will  utterly  destroy  them,^  and  make  them  an 

10  astouLshment  and  an  hissing  and  perpetual  desolations.  Moreover  I  will  take  fiom 
them  the  voice  of  mirth,  and  the  voice  of  gladness,  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom, 
and  the  voice  of  the  bride,  the  sound  of  the  millstones,  and  the  light  of  the  candle. 

11  And  this  whole  land  shall  become  a  desolation,  and  an  astonishment  ;*  and  these 
nations  shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  seventy  years. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1. — On  ^V,  which  ia-twice  used  here  as  synonymous  with  '7X.  Comp.  rems.  on  x.  1. 

•2Ver.  3.— On  the  adverbial  use  of  HT-  Comp. Naegelsb.  Gr.,^  79,  2  [Gesen.  ff;-.,  ^100,  2  e.]. 

s  Ver.  3.— D'^tyX  is  possibly  an  Aramaism  (comp.  Olsh.  §191,  5^;  255,  b),  and  is  possibly  on  account  of  the  rarer  'i  in  the 

finaltsyllable  (D'Diyn  is  found  only  in  xliv.  4,  and  Prov.  xxvii.  14),  as  an  addition  to  TJIN,  written  purposely  as  1  Pers. 

Imjjerf. ;  yet  more  probably  it  is  a  mere  oversight  and,  therefore,  according  to  the  Keri,  and  related  passages  (vii.  13;  xxv., 
xi.  7  ;  xxv.  4  ;  xxvi.  5  ;  xxix.  19 ;  xxxii.  33 ;  xxxv.  14,  1.5 ;  xliv.  4),  to  be  read  □''3tl/n- 

*  Ver.  5. — OlI'^  On  the  construction,  comp.  N,4.egelsb.  Gr.,^  90,  2. 

5  Ver.  ^■—''}^b}?DT^.  The  Chethibh  must  be  pronounced  ''J-1D_^3n.  as  in  viii.  19,  but  does  not  suit  the  connection.  The 
Keri  ''JDJ^'^ri-  is  according  to  the  analogy  of  vii.  18 ;  xxxii.  29 ;  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  25  coll.  Jer.  xi.  17  ;  xxxii.  32 ;  xliv.  3,  8 ; 

1  liiags  xiv.  9  ;  xvi.  2.  It  seems  to  me  more  probable  that  '  JO^DD  is  the  true  reading,  since  this  form  might  pass  more 
easily  into  'J1DJ!3n,  and  is  moreover  recommended  by  the  shortly  preceding  ID' yjJH  (ver.  6),  but  was  not  preferred  by  the 
Masoretes,  because  the  Inf.  D'J^jn  after  7,  or  Wul  is  alone  u»ed  in  thi»  sense  and  connection.  The  prophet  seems, 
moreover,  to  have  Deut.  xxxi.29  iu  view.  Comp.  xxxii.  30;  vii.  6. 

ij  Ver.  9. — 7X1-  It  is  certainly  easy,  with  the  Vulgate  and  Chald.  (the  Syr.  is  doubtful),  and  some  MSS.  to  read  j"1X1,  or 
at  least,  as  is  also  done  by  some  MSS.  to  omit  1  before  '7X-    But  there  is  no  necessity  for  this.    For  7XI  is  by  no  means 

without  sense,  and  may  be  justified  grammatically.    It  must  not  then  be  rendered  as  depending  on  H/ti'-     For  then   the 

intermediate  sentence,  "Tinp?!,  etc.,  is  intolerably  harsh.    But  '7X  depends  on  '^np /•     Then  1  before  7N=and  indeed, 

as  not  seldom  in  Jeremiah  (vi.  2 ;  xvii.  10 ;  xix.  12.  Comp.  besides  Gen.  iv.  4 ;  2  Sam.  xiii.  20 ;  Isa.  Ivii.  11 ;  Am.  iii.  11 ;  iv. 

10;  Ps.  Ixviii.  10).  ^H  is  used  here  as  ex.gr.,  in  Levit.  xviii.  18  in  the  sentence  npH  X7  nnnX^/X  ritJ'XI  tJiou  shaU  not 

It  •  T     -:       ••         T   .  :  I 

take  a  wife  to  her  sister.  Comp.  Ezek.  xliv.  7  ;  Lam.  iii.  41.  Even  in  the  verse  of  the  present  26th  chapter  we  find   7X  in  this 

sense:  all  the  kings  of  the  north,  the  near  and  far,  VnX~7X  U/'N,  that   is,   one    to   the   other  =  one    with  another.    The 

•  T 

prophet  therefore  says:  behold,  I  send  and  take  (or  fetch)  all  the  faTnilies  of  the  North,  .and  indeed  to  Nebuchadnezzar. 

7  Ver.  9— Tlip  ])ronoun  D/Xn  stands  5et<cTi/ca)?;  we  must  suppose  a  corrfspumliii";  sicsture  of  the  hand. 

8  Ver.  9. — D'HOinnV  Tlio  word  is  found  I'reiiuently  in  the  books  of  Deut.  ami  Joshua  (ex.  gr.,  Deut.  ii.  34;  iii.  6;  vii. 

2  ;  XX.  17,  etc.  ;  Josh.  viii.  26 ;  x.  28,  3.5,  40,  etc.),  in  Jeremiah,  elsewhere  ouly  in  1.  21,  26  ;  li.  3. 

»  Ver.  11.— MJ1  nOjy'?-   Comp.  vers.  11,  12, 18  ;  xviii.  16 ;  xix.  8 ;  xxix.  18 ;  xlix.  13,  etc. 

cance  of  this  prophecy  is  clear  from  the  follow- 
ing data:  1.  From  the  special  detail  of  the  intro- 
diictioa,  which  apart  from  the  date,  is  distin- 
guished from  all  other  introductory  formulas 
in  Jeremiah,  in  that  in  vers.  1  and  2  it  lays 
special  emphasis  on  the  object  and  address  of  the 
discourse.  2.  From  the  date  in  ver.  1.  It  is 
the  first  time  in  which  a  date  is  prefixed  to  a 
prophecy  of  this  seer.  Only  general  indications 
of  time  are  found  in  the  earlier  prophecies,  and 
these  only  rarely  (iii.  6  ;  xiv.  1).  We  find  exact 
chronological  statements  only  on  the  entrance  of 
the  great  catastrophe  and  the  principal  stages  of 
its  course;  (xxviii.  1 ;  xxxii.  1;  xxxvi.  1 ;  xxxix. 
1,  and  the  following  ckh.).  3.  Here  in  ver.  2 
Jeremiah   calls   himself  for   the   first   time   N'JJ 

■  T 

(comp.  the  Introd.  to  the  Seventh  Discourse,  chh. 
xviii. -XX.).  It  is  as  though  he  had  renounced 
this  title,  till  he  could  announce  the  beginning 
of  the  fulfilment  of  his  minatory  prophecy  (comp. 
Deut.  xviii.  21,  22).  4.  The  prophet  casts  a  com- 
prehensive glance  at  his  whole  previous  ministry 
of  23  years,  admits  the  fact  that  the   people  had 


EXEGETICAL   ANp   CRITICAL. 

In  tile  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  which  was  the 
first  of  king  Nebuchadnezzar  of  Babylon  (ver.  1), 
Jeremiah  addresses  to  the  whole  of  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  a  prophecy  of  the  following  import 
(ver.  2) :  After  Jeremiah  had  spoken  to  the  peo- 
ple for  23  years,  from  the  13ih  year  of  king 
Josiah  (ver.  3),  after  other  prophets  also  had  un- 
ceasingly held  forth  to  the  people  (ver.  4),  that 
in  case  of  their  conversion  tliey  would  remain 
quietly  in  the  land  (ver.  5),  but  in  case  of  their 
apostasy  to  idols  they  would  experience  the 
Lord's  anger  (ver.  6) ;  and  finally  the  people  not 
having  regarded  these  exhortations  and  threaten- 
ings,  it  is  solemnly  declared  (vers.  7  and  8),  tluit 
the  tribes  of  the  North  under  the  leadership  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  would  invade 
the  land  of  J\idea  and  the  neighboring  nations, 
lay  everything  desolate,  and  render  these  coun- 
tries tributary  to  the  king  of  Babylon  for  seventy 
years    (vers.    9-11). — The  pre-eminent   signifi- 


CHAP.  XXV.  1-11. 


12'i 


paid  no  attention  to  his  prophetic  exhortations 
aud  threatenings,  and  announces  the  immediate 
infliction  of  the  punitive  judgment  promised  in 
such  a  case.  Hence  it  is  evident  that  he  regards 
the  present  moment  as  forming  a  decisive  crisis. 
The  reason  for  this  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive. 
While  Jeremiah  in  all  his  previous  prophecies 
speaks  indefinitely  of  the  judgment  as  one  mena- 
cing from  the  north,  he  here  for  the  first  time 
names  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  the  Chal- 
deans, as  he  who  would  inflict  it,  at  the  head  of 
all  the  "nationalities  of  the  North"  (ver.  9). 
The  victory  of  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Carchemish 
(comp.  xlvi.  2)  and  his  ascension  of  the  throne 
were  the  historic  facts,  in  which  the  divinely  in- 
spired glance  of  the  seer  perceived  the  most,  im- 
portant crisis  in  the  history  of  the  world.  It  was 
at  once  clear  to  him  that  the  victor  of  Carchemish 
was  the  great  divinely  chosen  instrument  to  in- 
flict judgment  on  the  theocracy  and  the  other 
nations,  and  so  in  a  certain  sense  to  found  the 
first  universal  empire.  As  his  predictions  of 
calamity  at  once  attained  concrete  definiteness 
by  this  fact,  so  did  his  predictions  of  deliverance. 
He  perceived  and  predicted  with  the  same 
definiteness  that  the  empire  of  the  Chaldeans 
would  last  only  70  years,  and  that  at  the  close  of 
it  would  begin  the  redemption  of  the  holy  na- 
tion. It  was  hidden  from  him  into  how  many 
stages  and  of  what  duration  the  fulfilment  of 
th>.'se  prophecies  would  be  resolved.  5.  In  the 
same  year  Jeremiah,  in  obedience  to  the  divine 
command,  began  to  write  out  his  prophecies 
(xxxvii.  1,  2).  He  did  this,  according  to  xxxvi. 
3,  7,  in  the  hope  even  at  the  eleventh  hour  of 
moving  the  hearts  of  the  people  by  the  total  im- 
pression of  his  prophetic  discourses,  which  at  the 
same  time  intimates  that  a  moment  of  conclusive 
and  irrevocable  decision  liad  come. 

Vers.  1,  2.  The  ■word  .  .  .  saying.  Why 
the  fourth  year  of  .Jehoiakim  is  the  right  moment 
for  this  important  prophecy  is  clear  from  the  ad- 
ditional clause:  the  same  was  the  first  year  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar had  this  year  become  king  by  the  death 
of  his  father.  As  this  circumstance  is  empha- 
sized, it  is  highly  probable  that  Jeremiah  re- 
ceived the  impulse  to  this  prophetic  discourse  on 
the  news  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  accession.  There 
is  no  contradiction  in  this  to  our  previous  desig- 
nation of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  as  the  occa- 
sion. The  news  of  his  father's  death  must  have 
come  to  Nebuchadnezzar  soon  after  that  victory. 
The  prophet  mentions  here  merely  tlie  ascent  of 
the  throne,  because  he  might  presuppose  that  it 
was  enough  to  mention  the  later  fact  to  remind 
also  of  the  earlier  and  not  less  important  one. 
With  respect  to  the  chronological  date,  the  state- 
ment of  our  passage  that  .Jehoiakim's  fourth  year 
was  the  first  of  Nebuchadnezzar  agrees  with  the 
statements  in  2  Kings  xxiv.  12  ;  xxv.  8  ;  Jer.  lii. 
12;  xxxii.  1.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  this 
year  was  B.C.,  605  or  604.  Comp.  EoFWAym,  ligypt. 
u.  israelit,  Zeitrechnung,  S.  64 ;  Bunsen,  Bible- 
work,  I.  S.,  ccxi.,  cccx. ;  Niebuhr,  ylss.  ?<.  Babel, 
S.  371;  DuNCKER,  Gesch.  d.  Altesth  1,  6^.  825, 
3  te  Aufl.  ["The  precise  dates  of  the  events  of 
this  period  cannot  be  determined.  Dr.  Pusey 
(p  309)  supposes  that  Josiah  died  in  the  spring 
of  B.  C,  609.     Jehoahaz    or   Shallum,    reigned 


three  months.  Then  Jehoiakim's  roign  would 
have  besrun  in  the  summer  of  609,  and  his  fuuith 
year  would  have  begun  in  the  summer  of  B.  C, 
606."  Wordsworth. —  S.  11.  A.] — The  native 
form  of  the  name  1-^J<']73DJ  appears  on  the 
Babylonian  monuments  to  have  been  Nabu-kudu- 
ur-uzur,  or  Nabu-kudurr-usur  [or  Nabu-kudari- 
utsur]  (Oppert,  Exp.  en.  Mesop.,  T.  II.,  p.  259 
sqq).  From  this  the  various  transformations 
are  derived.  Comp.  Niebuhh,  .4*.s.  u.  Bab.,  S. 
41. — On  the  meaning  of  name  comp.  Scheuchzer 
in  the  Zdlschri/t  d.  morgenl.  Ges.'<c!srh.  Bd..  XVI., 
S.  487,  and  Rosch.  in  the  same  Journal,  Bd.  XV., 
S.  505.  [Rawlinson.  Herodotus  I.,  p.  511-16. 
Ancient  Monarchies,  III.,  pp.  489,  528.  Smith's 
Bible  Diet.,  s.  v.— S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  3,  4.  From  the  thirteenth  year  .  .  . 
to  hear.  Josiah,  according  to  2  Kings  xxii.  1, 
reigned  31  years.  According  to  i.  2  also  Jere- 
miali's  prophetic  ministry  began  in  his  loth  year. 
He  had  therefore  labored  18  years  [or  19  years, 
according  to  Pusey  and  Wokdsworth]  under 
Josiah  and  four  under  Jehoiakim,  and  was  then, 
especially  if  we  reckon  in  the  three  months  of 
Jehoahaz,  in  the  2od  year  of  his  ministry. — The 
words  from  but  ye  have  not  to  to  hear  (ver. 
4)  are,  on  account  of  the  following  saying,  which 
belongs  to  sending,  to  be  regarded  as  a, paren- 
thesis. 

Vers.  5-7.  Saying,  Turn  ye  ...  to  your 
own  hurt. — Turn  ye  no^w.  Comp.  xviii.  11; 
XXXV.  15. — In  the  land.  Comp.  Exod.  xx.  12; 
Dent.  V.  16. — For  ever  and  ever  is  to  be  regard- 
ed as  depending  on  turn,  for  the  consolation  con- 
sists, not  in  God's  having  appointed  the  land  for  an 
everlasting  habitation,  but  in  that  it  will  be  really 
such. — And  provoke  me  not,  etc.,  and  I  will 
do  you  no  hurt,  are  sentences  which  express 
a  purpose  paratactically  :  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
I  109,  2.— On  the  subject-matter  comp.  vii.  6,  7. 

Vers.  8-11.  Therefore  thus  saith  .  .  .  se- 
venty years.  These  verses  contain  the  conse- 
quence necessarily  resulting  from  the  premises. 
— All  the  families  of  the  north.  A  refe- 
rence to  the  announcement  often  repeated  since 
the  commencement  of  his  prophetic  ministry, 
and  now  again  appearing  in  the  form  which  it 
had  in  i.  15,  viz.,  that  the  enemy  coming  from 
the  north  is  designated  as  '■'■all  the  families  of 
the  north,"  an  expression  which  is  evidently  not 
to  be  taken  literally,  but  as  the  designation  of 
an  extended  empire — And  [even  to]  Nebu- 
chadnezzar. [Comp.  Texti.'al  Notes].  Pre- 
viously northern  nations  only  were  spoken  of, 
here  we  learn  that  they  are  first  to  be  brought  to 
the  king  of  the  Chaldeans  and  then  (of  course 
under  his  command)  into  the  land.  Since  this 
explanation  is  grammatically  possible,  I  give  the 
reading  in  the  text  the  preference,  as  the  more 
difficult.  Hitzig  and  Graf  indeed  maintain  that 
the  name  of  Nebuchadnezzar  was  inserted  after- 
wards. Hitzig  finds  the  mention  of  this  name 
so  altogether  "frank"  that  he  sees  in  it  "a 
glossation  of  the  gloss  in  ver.  12,"  and  an  im- 
pertinence, after  the  indefinite  phrase  "a  horde 
from  midnight "  purposely  left  that  name  to  be 
guessed.  Graf,  however,  finds  the  mention  of  the 
name  in  no  way  compatible  with  the  construction, 

for  neither    /Nl  (which  he  makes   dependent   on 


228 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


nSli')  nor  '7X  nor  HXI  gives  a  satisfactory  sense, 
the  last  because  then  Nebuchadnezzar  would  ap- 
pear only  as  "  supplementary."  The  latter  ob- 
jection disappears  of  itself  in  our  explanation. 
Hitzig's  arguments,  however,  emanate  too  evi- 
dently from  the  objection  which  he  has  to  any 
special  and  exactly  fulfilled  prophecy,  to  need 
serious  refutation.  We  say:  after  the  victory  at 
Carchemish,  Nebuchadnezzar's  mission  and  its 
result  were  so  fully  made  out  to  the  prophet  that 
there  could  be  neither  indistinctness  nor  hesita- 
tion with  respect  to  the  mention  of  his  name. — 
The  Lord  calls  Nebuchadnezzar  his  servant 
C1D>',  ver.  9)  as  in  xxvii.  6;  xliii.  10,  the  per- 
former of  His  commands.  He  is  to  come  with 
his  liosts  "over  all  these  nations  round  about." — 
The  voice  of  the  bridegroom,  etc.  Comp.  vii. 
34;  xvi.  0  —[The  millstones  and  the  light 
of  the  candle.  "The  one  the  sound  of  those 
who  prepare  daily  food  by  grinding  the  hand- 
mill,  see  Exod.  xi.  5  and  Matt.  xxiv.  41 ;  the 
other  the  evidence  of  domestic  habitation.  Both 
emblems  are  combined  in  the  Apocalypse  (xviii. 
22,  23." — Wordsworth.  Comp.  also  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  II.,  275.— S.  R.  A.].— 
Ver.  11.  This  Avhole  land.  Since  the  propliet, 
from  ver.  9  onward,  has  in  view  not  only  Judah 
but  all  the  neighboring  nations,  "this  land"  is 
to  be  referred  not  only  to  Palestine  but  to  the 
whole  of  the  territory  inhabited  by  those  nations. 
— And  these  nations  shall  serve.  Hitzig 
was  the  first  to  cast  doubt  on  the  genuineness  of 
these  words.  De  Wette  [Einl.  S.  3-30)  and  Graf 
{S.  322,  326)  concur  with  him.  On  the  other 
hand  compare  especi.ally  Haevernick,  [Einl.  II., 
2,  S.  225  sqq.). — What  appears  especially  to 
offend  Hitzig  is  the  circumstance  that  the  seventy 
years  here  would  prove  to  be  right  within  two 
years,  nay,  that  if  Darius  the  Mede  is  an  histori- 
cal personage,  they  would  prove  so  exactly. 
"Such  coincidence  of  history  with  prophecy 
would  be  a  surprising  accident ;  or  else  Jeremiah 
knew  beforehand  the  number  of  years,  which 
the  dependence  on  Babylon  would  last."  To  this 
may  be  added  the  point,  which  Graf  renders 
prominent,  that  a  prediction  of  destruction  ad- 
dressed to  Babylon  at  the  same  moment  when 
it  is  described  as  a  power  divinely  commissioned 
to  execute  judgment,  is  somewhat  unsuitable 
and  improbable.  So  the  seventy  years  here  and 
in  ver.  12  are  regarded  as  an  interpolation  and 
vaticiniuni  ex  eventu,  which  does  not  very  well 
agree  with  the  statement,  that  it  is  transposed 
hither  from  xxix.  10,  which  passage  is  acknow- 
ledged to  be  genuine.  For  even  if  the  sending 
of  the  letter  in  ch.  xxix.  occurred  a  decennium 
later,  the  promise  of  a  liberation  after  seventy 
years,  contained  in  ver.  10,  is  not  by  a  hair  less 
than  XXV.  11,  12,  either  a  genuine  prophecy  or  a 
statement  which  happened  to  prove  true.  For 
the  difference  of  ten  years,  in  view  of  the  many 
possibilities  of  longer  or  shorter  periods  is  not 
80  important  that  a  general  agreement  may  not 
be  spoken  of.  We  can  of  course  enter  into  no 
controversy  here  with  those  who  deny  altogether 
any  loreknowledge  of  future  things  on  the  basis 
of  divine  revelation,  but  if  any  is  offended  that 
the  jirophet  here  mentions  a  definite  number,  let 
him  consider  that  without  this  definiteness  the 
prediction  would  cease  to  be  a  prophecy  in  the 


true  sense.  That  the  dominion  of  the  Chaldeans 
would  not  stretch  in  injimtum  does  not  need  to  be 
prophesied.  The  chief  source  of  consolation  for 
Israel  also  is  contained  in  this  definite  number. 
(Comp.  Dan.  ix.  2).  ["Thus  a  safeguard  was 
provided  against  the  dangers  to  which  God's  cap- 
tive people,  Israel,  were  exposed  in  Babylonia, 
from  the  seductions  of  Chaldean  idolatry  ;  and 
a  hope  of  restoration  to  their  own  land  was 
cherished  in  their  heart  till  the  time  of  their 
chastisement  was  past." — Wordsworth.  —  S.  R. 
A.]  "  Prophetic  analogy"  also  is  not  wanting  for 
him,  who  in  Gen.  xv.  13-16  and  Dan.  ix.  24-20 
sees  anything  but  vaticinium  ex  eventu.  Whoever 
finally  maintains  that  this  was  not  the  right  mo- 
ment to  pronounce  a  prophecy  of  the  overthrow 
of  Babylon  mistakes  both  tlie  nature  of  that  his- 
torical event  and  the  meaning  and  object  of  pro- 
phecy. We  have  already  seen  that  the  Babylo- 
nian empire  was  determined  by  the  victory  at 
Carchemish,  and  was  not  this  a  suitable  uioiiuiit 
to  present  a  prophetic  programme  of  the  divine 
world-policy  ?  Or  should  merely  the  subjection 
of  Judah  and  other  nations  be  spoken  of  and 
not  the  judgment  upon  Babylon  ?  Let  it  be  ob- 
served that  in  ch.  xxv.  the  prophet  presents  three 
stages  of  the  divine  judgment;  the  judgment  on 
Juc'ah,  on  the  nations  forming  the  Babylonian 
empire,  and  finally  on  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  In  this  general  view  of  the  divine  judg- 
ments that  on  Babylon  could  not  of  course  be 
omitted,  if  the  prophet  was  not  to  give  a  false 
representation.  Observe,  moreover,  that  the 
prophet  speaks  of  the  overthrow  of  Babylon  only 
in  brief  hints.  He  says  of  it  only  so  much  as  is 
necessary  on  the  one  hand  for  the  completeness 
of  the  picture,  and  on  the  other  hand  in  order 
not  to  encourage  Israel  to  obstinate  resistance, 
while  not  altogether  dispiriting  them.  For  this 
reason  almost  all  the  minatory  predictions  con- 
clude with  a  consolatory  outlook.  (Comp.  iii. 
12  sqq.;  x.  23  sqq.;  xii.  14  sqq.;  xxiii.  3  sqq.; 
yea,  even  the  prophecies  against  the  heathen 
nations,  xlvi.  26;  xlviii.  47;  xlix.  6,  39).  There 
is  then  no  reason,  why  the  second  half  of  ver. 
11  should  be  declared  spurious.  On  the  contrary, 
the  words,  like  the  related  ones  in  xxvii.  7,  are 
entirely  in  place. — As  concerns  the  numbering 
of  the  seventy  years  thus  much  is  certain,  that 
Jeremiah  would  say  :  In  seventy  years  from  this 
time  Babylon  will  be  visited.  For,  as  shown 
above,  he  has  placed  the  date,  contrary  to  his 
former  custom,  at  the  head  of  the  chapter,  simply 
because  this  fourth  j'ear  of  Jehoiakim  is  nl  the 
same  time  the  year  of  the  battle  of  Carchemish 
and  the  first  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  because 
Nebuchadnezzar's  victory  and  accession  to  the 
throne  were  the  symptoms  of  a  crisis  in  univer- 
sal history,  which  geniiiiially  included  all  the 
other  successes  of  the  Chaldean  king.  F/oin 
the  moment  when  Jeremiah  received  the  news 
of  the  victory  at  Carchemish,  it  was  for  him  de- 
cided that  Nebuchadnezzar  would  exercise  uni- 
versal dominion  and  that  Judah,  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  the  nations,  would  be  subject  to  hini ;  in 
xxvii.  6  indeed  he  represents  this,  by  his  catego- 
rical ■'j^nj,  as  accomplished,  though  in  reality  it 

was  still  waiting  fulfilment.  Hence  also  in  xxix. 
10  he  does  not  alter  the  number,  though  this 
prophecy  is  of  a  later  date.     The  seventy  ye«rs 


CHAP.  XXV.   12-29. 


229 


have  become  to  him  a  fixed  measure  of  time, 
which  at  any  rate  has  its  point  of  commence- 
ment in  that  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  Its  final 
point  is  less  clear.  (Comp.  on  the  difi"erent 
modes  of  reckoning,  Rosenmueller  on  xxv.  11 
and  the  literature  there  quoted).  If  we  take  the 
year  of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  as  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Chaldean  empire,  this  corresponds 
best  to  the  conquest  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus.  As 
that  first  fact  germinally  involved  the  captivity, 
so  did  the  second  the  deliverance  therefrom. 
The  dates  are,  as  is  well  known,  not  yet  deter- 
mined with  certainty.  According  to  the  reckon- 
ing approved  by  most,  the  battle  of  Carchemish 
took  place  in  the  year  13.  C.  G05-4,  the  conquest 
of  Babylon  in  the  year  538.  Between  these  two 
dates  lies  a  period  of  sixty-seven  years.  [The 
Canon   of  Ptolemy,  confirmed   by  Rawlinson, 


makes  the  reigns  of  Babylonian  kings  from 
Nebuchadnezzar  to  the  end  of  Belshazzar  cover 
sixty-six  years.  Comp.  Cowles  ad  loc. — S.  R. 
A.].  Aside  from  the  possibility  that  a  more  exact 
agreement  might  result  on  more  accurate  know- 
ledge, this  number  may  suffice  as  a  round  sum. 
Comp.  NiEBUHK.  Assitr  u.  Babel,  S.  7.  ["These 
seventy  years  begin  with  B.  C.  606,  the  fourth 
year  of  Jehoiakim,  and  the  first  year  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, when  be  made  bis  first  attack  on 
Jerusalem,  and  end  with  the  capture  of  Babylon 
in  the  first  year  of  Cyrus,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  Jews,  B.  C.  536.  Comp.  Davison,  on 
Prophecy,  p.  225  ;  Puset,  on  Daniel,  p.  267,  who 
justly  condemns  the  theory  of  some,  who  allege 
that  seventy  years  is  here  either  a  mere  approxi- 
mative number  or  a  symbolical  one,  signifying 
a  long  time."  Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 


2.   The  judgment  on  Judah  and  the  kingdoms  of  the  world. 
XXV.  12-29. 

12  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  seventy  years  are  accomplished/  that  I  will 
punish  the  king  of  Babylon  and  that  nation,^  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  for  their 
iniquity,  and  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  will  make  it  perpetual  desolations. 

13  And  I  will  bring  upon  that  land  all  my  words,  which  I  have  pronounced  against 
it,  all  that  is  written  in  this  book,  which  Jeremiah  hath  prophesied  against  all 

14  the  nations.  For  [of  them,  even  these]  many  nations  and  great  kings  shall  serve 
themselves  of  them  also  [exact  service]  :  and  I  will  recompense  them  according  to 

15  their  deeds  and  according  to  the  works  of  their  own  hands.  For  thus  saith  [hath 
said]  the  Lord  [Jehovah  the]  God  of  Israel  unto  me.  Take  the  wme-cup  [the  cup 
of  the  wine]  of  this  fury  at  my  hand,  and  cause  [give]  all  the  nations,  to  whom  I 

16  send  thee,  to  drink  [of]  it.  And  they  shall  drink  and  be  moved  [stagger]  and  be 
mad  [stunned],  because  of  the  sword  that  I  will  send  among  them. 

Then  took  I  the  cup  at  the  Lord's  [Jehovah's]  hand,  and  made  all  the  nations 
to  drink,  unto  whom  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  had  sent  me :  Jerusalem  and  the  cities 
of  Judah  and  the  kings  thereof,  and  the  princes  thereof,  to  make  them^  a  desola- 
tion, an  astonishment,  an  hissing  and  a  curse  ;  as  it  is  this  day  ;  Phfira^h,  king  of 
Egypt,  and  his  servants  and  his  princes,  and  all  his  people ;  and  all  the  mingled 
[allied]*  people  and  all  the  kings  of  the  laud  of  Uz  and  all  the  kings  of  the  land 
of  the  Philistines  and  Ashkelon  [Askalon]  and  Azzah  [Gaza]  and  Ekron  and  the 
[whole]  remnant  of  Ashdod,  Edom,  and  Moab  and  the  children  of  Amnion, — 

22  and  all  the  kmgs  of  Tyrus  and  all  the  kings  of  Zidon,  and  the  kings  of  the  isles 

23  [coast  land]  which  are  beyond  the  sea,  Dedan  and  Tema  and  Buz  and  all  that  are 

24  in  the  utmost  corners  [cut  short  the  hair],  and  all  the  kings  of  Arabia,  and  all  the 

25  kings  of  the  mingled  people,  that  dwell  in  the  desert,  and  all  the  kings  of  Zimri 

26  and  all  the  kings  of  Elam  and  all  the  kings  of  the  Medes  [Media],  and  all  the 
kings  of  the  north,  far  and  near,  one  with  another,  and  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,*  which  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth : — and  the  king  of  Sheshach  shall 
drink  after  them. 

Therefore  [And]  thou  shalt  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Je- 
hovah Zebaoth],  the  God  of  Israel,  Drink  ye  and  be  drunken  and  spue®  and  fall 
and  rise  no  more,  because  of  the  word  which  I  will  send  among  you.  And  it  shall 
be,  if  they  refu^se  to  take  the  cup  at  thine  hand  to  drink,  then  shalt  thou  say  unto 
them  .  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth]  :   Ye  shall  certainly  [and 


17 

18 

19 
20 


21 


27 


28 


230 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


29  must]  drink.  For,  lo,  I  begin  to  bring  [do]  evil  on  the  city  which  is  called  by 
[bears]  my  name,  and  should  ye  be  utterly  unpunished  ?  Ye  shall  not  be  unpun- 
ished, for  I  will  call  for  a  sword  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth]. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  12. — HiTZiG  would  find  an  intimation  of  spuriousness  in  the  reading  HIX /O^-  These  forms  art>  certainly  pre- 
Talent  in  the  later  writings,  but  there  are  also  instances  of  them  in  the  earlier.  Comp.  Jii'i.  viiv.  1;  Vs.  xxv.  7  ;  Mio.  i.  5; 
Jer.  XV.  13,  etc.    Comp.  besides  Olsh.,  J  S.  '299,  344  ;  534. — The  LXX.  translates  ver.  12,  iKSiKrjcta  to  idfo?  eVeico  xai  St^a-o/xai, 

avTous  eis  a.if>avi(TiJ.bv  aiuiviov,  thus  omitting  '2  "1 70   7j^  and  f-DXJ  to  D'lK'D-     But  such  an  omission  in  the  LXX.  has 

no  authority.    The  position  of  '"""OXJ  (Hitzig  finds  it,  as  in  ver.  9,  too  far  back  in  the  sentence)  has  nothing  objectionable 

in  it,  if  wo  consider  that  a  double  more  remote  object  is  connected  with  lp3N  by  means  of  the  preposition  7j;.    Comp. 
v.  15  ;  xiii.  11 ;  xvi  5,  etc.  ' 

2  Ver.  12. — Xinn  'Un~7>'1.  Xin  isperfectlyregularhere(comp.  Naegelsb.  Cr.,  ^79,  S),  asapronoun  referring  to 
something  more  remote  in  opposition  to  what  is  said  SeiKTi/cios,  rt/Xn  □"'UH,  nNIPI  I'TXH,  vers.  9  and  11.  There  is  no 
rule,  as  Movers  supposes,  why  DJ1J^~nX  should  not  be  separated  from  IpiJN  by  '''  DNJ-  There  is  good  reason  for  the 
subsequent  position  of  D'TJi'D  T*TX~7j^1i  in  tbat  guilt  cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  land  as  to  the  king  and  the  people.  The 
nse  of  ir\j<  finally  is  explained  thus,  that  the  prophet  does  not  refer  it  to  VIX  only  (though  this  also  is  of  common  gender), 

but  also  to 'U,  as  in  ver.  9  also  he  refers  0J1  nOE?^  DT^Dtyi  to  the  preceding  D'lJ  and   inXH-    These  reason-s  would 

T  -  :  •  :  - :  •  '   v  t  t 

not  therefore  determine  me  to  believe  in  the  uuauthenticity  of  ver.  12.     But  there  are  other  reasons,  which  afford  important 
testiuKiuv  against  tlie  authenticity  not  only  of  this  verse,  but  of  the  two  following  verses.     Comp.  Exkgetio.\l  Notes. 

3  Ver.  18. — Dni<  is  construed  like  1j"\1  in  ver.  12,  and  the  suffixes  of  the  verbs  in  ver.  9  6. 

4  Ver.  20. — DTl*n~7D  HXI.  The  exprossinn  is  fund  nho  in  Exod.  xii.  38,  where  it  is  said  that  3"^  ^'^]^  went  with 
the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt ;  Neh.  xiii.  3  (in  bit.i  cae,->B  plitcBd  ^juuctiiat^'J  3^_J?),  where  it  is  said  that  after  hearing  the  Torah 
they  s.'parated  from  themselves  3~1^-7D  ;  Jer.  I.  37,  where  it  is  predicted  that  the  sword  will  come  also  ;}1_;;n~^D  7X 
^^22  TinO  ^t^K ;  Ezek.  XXX.  5,  where  in  a  prophecy  against  Egypt,  among  those  who  are  to  perish  by  the  sword,  together 
with  Cush,  Phut,rfc.,  3lT,'n~/D  is  mentioned.  In  all  these  pl.aces  the  meaning  is  easily  perceived.  They  are  o-v/j-ixiktoC, 
i.  e.  f^tniiiciTs  who  are  mingled  with  a  nation  as  /ixeroiicot,  allies,  vassals,  merrenaries.  This  meaning  corresi»inds  exactly 
to   the   root   U"!  L',  which  in  Chald.  and  Syr.  denotes  miscere,  in  Hebrew  however  is  found  only  m  the  subst.  2"^}?,  the  woof 

in  weaving  (Levit.  xiii.  48-59),  and  in  Ilithpael  J^J/'jin  (to  mix  one's  self  in  anything,  Prov.  xiv.  10,  to  enter  into  com- 
pany  with  any  one,  Ps.  cvi.  35 ;  Prov.  xx.  19;  xxiv.  21 ;  in  the  marriage  relation,  Ezr.  ix.  2)  only  reveals  this  meaning. 

5  Ver.  26. — V^X  r\D'7D0n~^D.     The  article  before  J^IU^OD  is  contrary  to  rule  (comp.  N.aegelsb.  Gr.,  g  71,  5),  and 

therefore  Graf  supposes,  with  reference  to  xv.  4 ;  xxiv.  9,  eic,  and  not  incorrectly,  that  |nNn,  which  is  besides  superflu- 
ous, h;is  crept  in  by  mistake. 

0  \  er.  27.— Vp,  <^n.  Acy-    It  is  the  other  form  of  Xip  (I-ev.  xviii.  28).    Comp.  X'p.     Isa.  xxviii.  8,  etc. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Leaving  aside  vers.  12-14  lor  the  present,  let 
us  first  take  into  view  the  relation  of  vers.  15-29 
to  the  foregoing  context.  The  prophet  has  been 
prophesying  the  judgment  on  Judah  and  the 
neighboring  nations,  to  be  executed  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar ("  all  these  nations  round  about," 
ver.  9).  In  ver.  11  6  he  had  intimated  that  the 
supremacy  of  Babylon  over  these  will  come  to  an 
end  after  70  years.  He  had  thus  erected  the 
bridge  by  which  to  pass  to  the  prediction  of  a 
second  and  more  comprehensive  stage  of  divine 
judgment,  viz.,  that  il  will  also  involve  Babylon 
itself.  How  is  this  conceivable?  Vers.  15-29 
explain  this.  The  Lord  purposes  to  hold  judg- 
ment over  all  the  nations  of  the  then  known 
world,  wliich  also  represent  the  aggregate  of  the 
subsequent  Babylonian  empire.  He  will  begin 
with  Judah.  On  this  and  the  nations,  only 
hinted  at  before  in  ver.  9  sqq.,  but  enumerated 
in  ver.  19  sqq.,  and  several  others,  which  cannot 
be  numbered  among  those  meant  in  ver.  9 
(comp.  vers.  25,  2(j),  Babylon  will  itself  benn  in- 
strumdnt  of  execution.  Was  it  however  to  be 
itself  spared  ?  Was  it  better  than  the  nations 
subjugated  by  it  ?  No,  it  will  only  drink  the  cup 
of  wrath  la.it.  For  if  the  chosen  people  is  not 
spared,  no  other  nation  can   expect  that  its  of- 


fence (DJIJ^,  ver.  12)  will  remain  unrecompensed. 

We  see  that  this  passage  presupposes  the  previous 
one,  being  its  necessary  supplement.  For  while  in 
the  first  part,  neighboring  nations  beside  Judah 
are  mentioned  without  being  particularly  desig- 
nated, the  second  part  gives  a  complete  and  or- 
derly catalogue  of  nations,  beginning  with  Ju- 
dah and  ending  with  Babylon,  thus  preseniinga 
considerably  extended  circle  before  our  eyes. 
While,  however,  in  the  second  part,  objects  of 
punitive  juilgment  only  (and  Babylon  indeed  as 
such)  are  mentioned,  we  learn  from  the  first  that 
Babylon  will  be  the  executor  of  the  Divine  will 
on  the  whole  series  of  nations  mentioned  before 
it  (vers.  18-2Gff). 

Vers.  12-14.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  .  . 
their  own  hands.  The  following  reasons  fa- 
vor the  unauthenticity,  not  only  of  ver.  12,  but 
of  the  two  following  verses.  1.  The  whole  pas- 
sage, XXV.  12-14,  is  directed  against  Babylon. 
Now  it  lias  been  already  intimated  in  ver.  11, 
and  will  likewise  be  below  in  ver.  2(j,  that  Ba- 
bylon herself  will  not  be  spared  from  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Lord.  But  how  briefly  and  obscurely 
are  these  intimations  given!  If  Sheshach  is 
really  to  be  explained  by  tlie  Atbiish,  and  in  this 
form  to  be  regarded  as  a  genuine  word  of  Jere- 
miahs,  tliis  mysierious  name  would  c.rtainly  bo 
suitable  for  tlie  purpose  of  speaking  obscurely 
of  the  destruction  of  Babylon  at  this  moment 


CHAP.  XXV.  12-29. 


23\ 


And  there  was  reason  for  this.  For  the  Jews 
were  so  little  disposed  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  Jehovah,  to  subject  themselves  to  the  Ba- 
bylonian king,  that  all  needed  to  be  avoided, 
which  would  confirm  them  iu  this  obstinacy.  Is 
it  then,  in  view  of  this,  credible  that  the  prophet, 
in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  after  the  battle 
of  Carchemish,  spoke  in  so  detailed  and  empha- 
tic a  manner  of  the  destruction  of  Babylon,  as  is 
done  in  vers.  12-14  ?  I  think  not.  2.  Vers.  12 
and  13  presuppose  the  existence  of  the  prophecy 
against  Babylon  (chh.  1.  li.)  For  (a)  the  expres- 
sion dVi;?  ^\^00p,  perpetual  desolations,  is 
an  evident  quotation  from  this  prophecy.  It  not 
only  occurs  exclusively  in  this  prophecy  (li.  26 

and  62,  and  besides  only  as  dVi;?  n'lDOK/,  Ezek. 
xxsv.  9),  but  in  li.  62  it  is  significantly  treated 
in  a  certain  measure  as  its  pith  and  token,  so 
that  the  employment  of  this  expression  in  the 
text  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  intentional  reference 
to  chh.  1.  li.  {/}].  The  words  "and  I  will  bring 
upon  that  land  all  My  words  which  I  have  pro- 
nounced against  it,  all  that  is  written  in  this 
book,"  in  ver.  13,  point  likewise  with  all  possi- 
ble definiteness  to  the  prophecy  against  Babylon 
as  one  in  existence.  Now  since  this,  according 
to  li.  59  was  first  composed  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Zedekiah,  it  is  thus  ah-eady  shown  that  vers.  12 
and  13,  so  far  as  they  presuppose  the  prophecy 
against  Babylon,  cannot  possibly  have  been  writ- 
ten in  the  fourth  year  of  Jclioiakim.  3.  The  se- 
cond half  of  ver.  13  presupposes  also  the  exis- 
tence of  the  other  prophecies  against  the  nations, 
and  this  too  as  one  Sepher.  Now  though  most 
of  these  prophecies  are  certainly  older  than  the 
liattle  of  Carchemish  (comp.  on  xlvi.  2  and  the 
lutrod.  to  chh.  xlvi.-li.),  it  is  yet  evident  from 
the  opposition  in  which  the  second  half  of  ver. 
13  stands  to  the  first,  that  here  that  Sepher  against 
the  nations  is  meant,  wliich  contains  the  prophecy 
against  Babylon.  This  Sepher  however  cannot, 
as  we  have  said,  have  been  in  existence  before 
the  fourth  year  of  Zedekiah.  We  might  assume 
that  Jeremiah  himself,  after  the  completion  of  the 
Sepher  against  the  nations,  subjoined  here  the 
words  of  ver.  13.  Tiie  striking  addition  "  which 
Jeremiah  hath  prophesied,"  etc.,  is  however  op- 
posed to  this.  For  is  it  credible  that  Jeremiah 
himself  put  these  words  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  ?  Every  one  will  feel  that  these  words  of- 
fend not  only  against  rhetorical  concinnity,  but 
against  religious  feeling.  4.  The  demonstrative 
nin,  this,    after  "I3pn  the    book,    evidently 

presupposes  that  he  who  wrote  it  regarded  the 
pi'esent  passage,  i.  e.,  ch.  xxv.,  as  belonging  to 
the  Sepher  against  the  nations.  For  in  any  other 
case  the  demonstrative  would  be  incorrect.  Now 
it  may  certainly  be  proved  that  the  prophecies 
against  the  nations  must  once  have  stood  in  im- 
mediate connection  with  ch.  xxv.  The  LXX. 
still  has  it  in  this  place,  so  that,  omitting  ver.  14, 
the  prophecy  against  E'am  (xlix.  54  30,  Heb.) 
folL  ■  s  directly  on  ver.  13.  Then  the  others  come 
in  the  following  order:  against  Egypt  (ch.  xlvi.), 
against  Babylon  (chh.  1.  and  li. ),  against  Philis- 
tia,  Tyrus  and  Sidon  (^xlvii.  1-7),  against  Edom 
(xlix.  7-22),  against  Ammon  (xlix.  1-5),  against 
Kedar    (xlix.    28-33),    against  Damascus    (xlix. 


23-27),  against  Moab  (ch.  xlviii.).  Then  follows 
xxv.  15-38  as  a  comprehensive  conclusion.  This 
arrangement  is  certainly,  as  regards  the  order 
of  sequence,  not  the  original  one,  but  it  still 
bears,  as  a  whole,  unmistakable  traces  of  the  ori- 
ginal connection.  In  and  of  itself  indeed  the  cir- 
cumstance that  the  LXX.  brings  the  Sepher 
against  the  nations  into  connection  with  ch.  xxv., 
inserting  it  between  vers.  13  and  15  of  this  chap- 
ter, is  not  of  any  great  weight,  for  it  might  be 
due  to  pure  arbitrariness  on  the  part  of  the  tr.ans- 
lator.  But  there  is  another  circumstance,  which 
evidently  cannot  have  sprung  from  arbitrariness, 
and  hence  lends  great  importance  to  that  con- 
nection. The  prophecy  against  Elam  has  in  the 
LXX.  a  superscription  (rd  AlM^u)  and  a  post- 
script. This  postscript  is  however  nothing  else 
but  the  first  verse  of  ch.  xxvii.,  which  is  wanting 
in  the  LXX.  For  the  details  concerning  this  see 
xxvii.  1,  xlix.  34  and  the  Introd.  to  chh.  xlvi.- 
li.  It  is  hence  plain  that  the  prophecies  against 
the  nations  must  once  have  had  their  place  di- 
rectly before  xxvii.  1,  and  that  the  prophecy 
against  Elam  must  have  formed  their  conclusion. 
Chap.  xxv.  however  was  reckoned  as  part  of  the 
immediately  following  Sepher  against  the  nations. 
Therefore  the  author  could  say  with  perfect  cor- 
rectness of  ver.  13  :  in  this  book.  Thus  then 
ver.  13  was  inserted  in  the  text  at  a  time,  when 
the  Sepher  against  the  nations  had  its  place  im- 
mediately after  this  chapter,  as  a  whole,  which  in- 
cluded it.  It  is  not  probable,  for  the  reason  ad- 
duced above,  that  the  prophet  himself  inserted  it. 
As  to  ver.  14  finally,  the  first  half  is  taken  almost 
verbally  from  xxvii.  7,  and  in  such  wise  that  the 
perfect  H^;;,  shall  serve,  which  is  incorrect  here 
though  it  corresponds  perfectly  with  the  context 
there,  is  retained.  In  xxvii.  7  n:3j;i  is  used 
quite  regularly  in  the  sense  of  the  future,  after 
the  preceding  statement  of  time  "I2f'^5<  Hj,'  N3~l^. 
Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  I  84,  o.  In  the  present 
passage,  however,  none  of  the  conditions  are  ful- 
filled on  which  the  rendering  of  the  perfect  as 
future  depends,  while  the  perfect  or  present  sig- 
nification contradicts  the  context  throughout. 
The  second  half  of  the  verse,  which  HiTzio  re- 
gards as  the  genuine  supplement  of  ver.  11, 
strongly  reminds  us  of  1.  29 ;  li.  24.  On  ac- 
cording to  the  -works  of  their  own  hands, 
comp.  vers.  6  and  7.  In  itself  then  the  passage 
contains  nothing  which  Jeremiah  might  not  have 
written.  But  it  is  clear  that  if  the  preceding 
sentences  are  to  be  critically  suspected  this  sin- 
gle little  sentence  is  all  the  less  able  to  maintain 
its  position,  as  standing  isolated  it  would  disturb 
the  connection.  In  conclusion  we  give  a  brief 
synopsis  of  the  different  critical  views  respect- 
ing tins  passage,  omitting  those  which  consider  it 
wholly  original,  or  only  subsequently  supplied 
by  Jeremiah.  1.  Ver.  11  6-14  inauthentic  (Graf). 
2.  Ver.  11  6-14  rt  inauthentic  (Hitziq).  3.  Vers. 
12-14  a  later  addition  (Naegelsbach).  4.  Vers. 
13  6-14,  inauthentic  (Berthold).  5.  Ver.  13  !■■, 
inauthentic  (Venema,  Schnurker).     6.  Ver.  ]•-, 

the    words    ^H-Sd-S;'   ^'    iO:  '\Wii.,    inauthenilc 
(Hknsler). 

Vtrs.  15  and  16.     For  thus  saith  .  .  .  -will 
send  among  them. — For  introduces  the  proof 


232 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  the  sentence  pronounced  in  ver.  12,  that  even 
Babylon,  called  according  to  vers.  9-11  to  uni- 
versal dominion,  will  be  punished  in  its  time.  It 
might  seem  strange  that  in  the  same  breath,  as 
it  were,  conquest  and  destruction  are  predicted 
of  the  Babylonians.  The  prophet  explains  how 
this  will  be  in  the  following  verses,  to  ver.  2(j. 
He  says  that  all  the  nations  will  have  to  empty 
the  cup  of  wrath,  but  Babylon  last.  In  this  it  is 
implied  that  Babylon  will  first  be  the  instrument 
01  accomplishing  the  judgment  on  the  other  na- 
tions, but  at  last  will  itself  be  subject  to  judg- 
ment. Those  who  declare  vers.  11  6-14  and  ver. 
26  b  to  be  unauthentic,  act  therefore  with  per- 
fect consistency.  But  it  is  wrong  to  reject  a 
thought  here,  which  is  one  of  the  foundation  pil- 
lars of  Jeremiah's  prophecy  (coiap.  especially  li. 
20-24),  without  which  it  must  be  regarded  as 
partial,  and  whicia  ought  least  of  all  to  be  want- 
ing here  in  the  prophet's  great  pi-ogramme. — The 
figure  of  the  "  cup  of  fury  "  and  "  cup  of  tremb- 
ling" is  frequent  in  the  Scriptures:  Isai.  li.  17, 
22;  Hab.  ii.  16;  Jer.  xlix.  12;  li.  7;  Lam.  iv. 
21;  Ezek.  xxiii.  31  sqq. ;  Ps.  Ix.  5  ;  Ixxv.  9.  The 
drinking  of  the  cup  is  emblematic  of  suifering 
punishment,  the  effect  of  the  drinking,  intoxica- 
tion and  reeling,  is  the  emblem  of  shattered  forces 
and  of  lost  hold  and  self-command. — I  send 
thee.  The  sending  is  to  be  regarded  in  general 
as  merely  imaginary.  Comp.  i.  10.  It  was  af- 
terwards, at  any  rate,  partially  real.  Comp. 
xxvii.  2  sqq.  It  is  evident  from  M  flNTn  and  es- 
pecially from  ver.  17  that  the  prophet  describes 
an  inward  experience.— Because  of  thesw^ord. 
Observe  the  transition  from  the  figurative  to  the 
ordinary  mode  of  speech. 

Vers.  17  and  18.  Then  took  I  .  .  .  this  day. 
The  prophet  begins  with  Jerusalem.  Why  he 
does  so  is  seen  from  ver.  29.  We  may  conclude 
from  this  that  the  entire  Sepher  against  the  nations 
(chh.  xlvi.-51)  followed  this  present  prophecy. — 
The  kings  thereof.  The  plural  here,  since 
Nebuchadnezzar,  as  is  well  known,  caused  three 
Jewish  kings  in  succession  to  feel  his  supremacy, 
may  be  taken  in  the  proper  sense.  It  may  also 
however  be  the  general  plural  and  in  what  fol- 
lows, when  the  number  of  the  conquered  kings 
could  neither  be  known  to  the  prophet,  nor  is  any 
check  possible  on  our  part,  the  plural  must  be 
taken  as  general.  Comp.  rems.  on  xix.  3. — To 
make  them  a  desolation.  Comp.  vers.  9,  11; 
xxiv.  9;  xlii.  18;  xliv.  8,  22;  xlix.  13.— As  it  is 
this  day.  The  explanations  "truly  and  cer- 
tainly," or  "  as  it  is  impending,"  or  "as  we  have 
begun  to  experience,"  are  grammatically  impos- 
sible. The  LXX.  omit  these  words.  They  are 
at  any  rate  a  later  addition,  whether  by  the  pro- 
phet or  some  other  can  scarcely  be  decided. 
Comp.  xi.  5;  xxxii.  20;  xliv.  G,  22,  23. 

Vers.  19-21.  Pharaoh  .  .  .  children  of  Am- 
nion. In  this  enumeration  of  the  nations  the 
prophet  evidently  proceeds  in  general  Iroiii  South 
to  North,  beginning  with  Egypt  and  concluding 
with  the  kings  of  the  North  (ver.  20).  From 
Egypt  he  goes  up  to  the  South-West  (Philistia), 
and  JSouth-East  (Uz),  then  to  the  East  (Kdoni, 
Moah,  Aiiimon),  and  West  (Phoenicia),  of  the  holy 
land.  With  I'liicnicia  are  connected  tlie  islands 
of  the  remote  West,  whereupon  the  propliet  leaps 
over  to  the  far  East  (Arabian  nations),  in  order 


to  get  by  the  North-East  (Elam,  Media),  to  th« 
North  (ver.  26),  when  his  view  losesitself  in  the 
remote  distance. — Mingled  people.  As  to 
Egypt  in  particular  we  know  exactly  what  Jere- 
miah understands  by  ^"^X.  which  he  attributes 
to  this  country.  They  are  without  doubt  foreign 
mercenaries  (ch.  xlvi.  21);  primarily  those 
lonians,  Cariaus  and  Phoenicians  whom  Psamme- 
tichus  took  into  his  service,  and  to  whom  he  af- 
terwards assigned  residences  in  Egypt  (Hkrou. 
II.,  152,  154;  DuNCKER,  Gesch.  d.  Alte/ih.  Ste 
Aufl.  I.,  S.  922); — but  then  also  strangers  from 
other  nations,  which  Jeremiah  (xlvi.  9)  and  Eze- 
kiel  (xxx.  5)  mention. — The  case  appears  to  be 
different  with  the  mingled  people  in  ver.  24, 
of  which  below.— The  land  of  Uz.  (p;;n  ]*"IX). 

The  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  where  Uz  is 
mentioned  are  Gen.  x.  23  ;  xxii.  21  ;  xxxvi.  28; 
Job  i.  1 ;  Lam.  iv.  21,  and  the  present  passage. — 
Delitzsch  (Herz.  R.-Enc,  VI.  S.  112)  remarks 
that  we  can  still  say  nothing  more  definite  with 
respect  to  the  situation  of  this  country  than  that, 
as  we  are  told  in  the  addition  at  the  close  of  the 
book  of  Job  in  the  LXX.,  it  lay  knl  toIq  opiotg  r^f 
'ISovfiaiag  aal  'Apajilag.  This  is  favored  by  the 
present  passage,  which  includes  the  country  in 
its  catalogue  directly  after  Egypt  and  before  Phi- 
listia, (the  latter  corresponding  to  the  South- 
eastern border-land),  but  especially  by  Lam.  iv. 
21  (daughter  of  Edom,  that  dwellest  in  the  land  of 
Uz),  and  the  origin  of  Eliphaz  in  Teman  (Job  ii. 
11),  which  is  an  Edomite  city  (according  to  Jer. 
xlix.  7).  Uz  is  not  thus  identified  with  Edom,  in 
which  case  alone  Graf's  remark  that  Uz  needed 
not  to  be  specially  mentioned  together  with 
Edom,  would  be  justified.  Comp.  however  the 
articles  on  Uz  and  Esau  by  Dr.  Sprenger  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Germ.  Oriental  Society  [Zeitsck  d. 
d.-Morgenl.  GeselL,  1863,  S.  373),  who  seeks  to 
prove  the  identity  of  Uz  and  Esau  from  Oriental 
sources. — In  opposition  to  Fries  (Stud.  u.  Krit^ 
18-54,  21  Delitzsch  correctly  remarks  that  he 
seeks  for  the  country  too  far  to  the  North,  (in  the 
province  of  El-Tcllul,  west  of  the  Hauran  moun- 
tains).— The  Philistines,  etc.  Of  the  five  ci- 
ties of  the  Philistines  Gath  only  is  wanting  (Josh, 
xiii.  3  ;  1  Sam.  vi.  17).  It  was  deprived  of  its 
walls  by  Uzziah  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  6)  and  lost  its 
importance  (comp.  Am.  vi.  2).  For  the  same 
reason  it  seems  to  be  passed  over  in  Am.  i.  6  sqq. ; 
Zeph.  ii.  4;  Zech.  ix.  5  sqq.  Comp.  Kouler  on 
the  last  passage. — AVhy  Jeremiah  speaks  only  of  a 
"remnant  of  Ashdod  "  is  explained  by  history. 
Psammetichus  had  after  a  siege  of  29  years  taken 
the  city  and  destroyed  it.  (Herod.  II.  157). 
[Rawlinson,  Herodotus,  II.  p.  242. — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  22-24.  .And  all  the  kings  of  Tyrus  .  . 
that  dwell  in  the  desert. — Kings  of  the 
isles  C^H).  The  singular  only  in  Isa.  xx.  6; 
xxiii.  2,  6;  Jer.  xlvii.  4.  All  sea- washed  land, 
whether  continent  or  island,  is  called  ''N.  Here 
the  collective  'N,  as  elsewhere  the  plural  D"X 
(Isa.  xl.  15;  xli.  1,  5;  xlii.  4,  10,  etc.),  denotes 
not  merely  the  continental  Phc»nician  colonies, 
but  all  the  coast-lauds,  and  thus  also  the  islands 
of  the  Mediterranean. — In  vers.  23  and  24  Ara- 
bian races  are  enumerated,  which  in  oppositioa 
to  ''X  and  in  relation  to  Edom,  Moab  and  Amnion, 
represent  the  remote  east. — Dedan  (p"t),  comp* 


CHAP.  XXV.  12-29. 


23} 


Gen.  X.  7 ;  1  Ohron.  i.  9  with  Gen.  xxv.  3  ;  1 
Chron.  i.  32  coll.  Isa.  xxi.  13 ;  Ezek.  xxv.  13 ; 
xxvii.  15  '20;  xxxviii.  13;  Jer.  xlix.  8.  Both 
the  stiitements  of  Genesis  as  to  their  derivation, 
and  the  geographical  statements  as  to  the  position 
of  their  couniry,  lead  to  a  double  Dedan ;  a 
southern  situated  on  the  Persian  gulf,  and  a 
northern  bordering  on  Edoin.  It  has  been  sought 
to  connect  the  two  by  the  supposition  of  coloniza- 
tion. Comp.  Aknold  in  Herzoq,  R.-Enc,  I.  S. 
462 — Tema,  (kSO'n),  comp.  Gen.  xxv.  15;  1 
Chron.  i.  30;  Job  vi.  19;  Isa.  xxi.  14.  This 
name  is  also  borne  by  two  different  localities. 
The  biblical  Tema  is  "the  most  northern  of  all 
Arabian  places,"  the  second  chief  place  in  Djof, 
three  days  journey  from  the  territory  of  Damas- 
cus. Comp.  Herz.  R.-Enc.,X\.,  S.  706  [Ritter, 
Urdkunde,  XII.  159;  XIII.  384,  e^c.].— Buz  ^TU), 
is  mentioned  in  Gen.  xxii.  21  as  a  son  of  Nachor 
and  brother  of  Uz.  Elihu  (Job  xxxii.  2)  is  a 
Buzite.  It  is  at  all  events  an  Arabic  tribe,  but 
no  further  particulars  are  known.  Comp.  Winer, 
E.-W.-B.,  s.  v..  Buz. — All  in  the  utmost  cor- 
ners (nXi3"''yiVp).  comp.  Comm.  on  ix.  25;  xlix. 

32. — Arabia  (^l^^).  It  is  well  known  that  this 
word,  which  occurs  first  in  Isaiah  (xiii.  20;  xxi. 
13)  designates,  not  the  whole  of  the  now  so-called 
Arabia,  but  only  a  part  bordering  on  Palestine 
(Gesenius  supposes  the  territory  of  the  Ish- 
maelites.  Comp.  Thes.,  pp.  1066  and  1441  ;  coll. 
Gen.  xxv.  18).  So  also  the  mingled  people 
that  d^well  in  the  desert  designates  Arabian 
peoples,  of  which  we  know  nothing  further.  The 
expression  all  the  kings  of  Arabia,  occurs  be- 
sides only  in  1  Kings  x.  15,  where  it  is  said  that 
Solomon  received  666  talents  of  gold  beside  what 
he  had  of  the  merchantmen  and  all  the  kings  of 
the  mixed  peoples  [Eng.  Vers.  Arabia]  and  the 
governors  of  the  country.  Comp.  Keil  on  the 
passage. — The  3^^  of  this  passage  and  the  book 

of  Kings,  were  probably  mixed  states  of  various 
tribes,  which  for  the  sake  of  protection  were 
tributary  to  some  neighboring  power.  Such 
little  unions  seem  to  have  been  formed  in  the 
Arabian  desert  near  the  borders  of  Palestine,  of 
which,  however,  the  remembrance  was  lost  in  a 
comparatively  brief  period.  The  author  of  the 
book  of  Chronicles,  at  least,  did  not  know  what 

he  was  to  understand  by  the  3"^^  '^^'^  (1  Kings 
X.  15).     He  therefore  wrote  for  it  simply  '3/0 

n'l^   (2  Chron.  ix.  14).     As  to  the  fulfilment  of 

these  prophecies  respecting  the  Arabian  tribes, 
we  are  left,  in  the  absence  of  all  positive  state- 
ments, to  conjectures.  Comp.  Niebuhr.  Ass.  u. 
Babel.,  S.  209,  10;  Duncker,  Gesch.  d.  Alterth., 
I.  S.  827,  and  what  is  subsequently  remarked  on 
ver.  26  a. 

Vers.  25  and  26.  And  all  the  kings  of 
Zimri  .  .  .  drink  after  them.  The  LXX. 
omits  the  kings  of  Zimri.  Aquila  has  Za/api 
(MoNTFAUCON,  p.  221) ;  Vulg.,  Zambre  (Zambri) ; 
Syr.  Samron;  Theodoret,  Zafijipij.  He  says 
iraph  T(;:  ''Efipaiu  koL  tu  Xiipu  Zefifipav  Evp?'jKa/XEV. 
r^f  (5f  Xerol'pag  ovtoq  v'loq.  Accordingly  most  ex- 
positors have  taken  Zimri  (the  name  does  not 
occur  elsewhere  as  a  gentilicium)  for  the  nation 
descended  from  Simran  (Gen.  xxv.  2).  But 
where  this  nation  is  to  be  sought  for  is  very  un- 


certain. To  think  of  the  Ethiopic  Zimiris  (Plin 
Hist.  Kat.,  36,  16,  25),  or  the  I,efx(3plTai  (Strabo, 
XVII.  1,  786)  is  forbidden  by  the  connection. — 
Zabra  also,  the  iirbs  regia  between  Mecca  and 
Medina,  of  which  Gesenius  reminds  us  (Thes.,  p. 
421),  will  not  suit.  Winer  [R.-W.-B.,  IL,  p. 
465,  3d  Ed.),  mentions  Zimaia  on  the  upper 
Euphrates  in  Lesser  Armenia,  and  the  city  of  the 
same  name  in  Greater  Armenia,  and  Zimura  in 
Asia.  Comp.  Ruetschi,  in  \\f.b.z.  R.-Enc.Xl\., 
S.  409. — None  of  these  views  are  satisfactory. 
The  matter  must  remain  in  suspenso. — Slam,  the 

Medes  (HD,  D/J?).  These  two  are  also  men- 
tioned together  in  Isa.  xxi.  2.  As  to  Elam,  it 
appears  in  the  primaeval  period  as  an  indepen- 
dent country  with  its  own  princes  (Gen.  xiv.  1, 
9).  It  is  maintained  by  many  that  Elam  in- 
cludes Persia,  and  therefore  in  the  older  period, 
stands  for  what  was  known  in  later  times  as  D^3 

-  T 

(comp.  Drechsler,  on  Isa.  xxi.  2),  but  this  is 
denied  by  others  (comp.  Vaihinger,  Herz.  R.- 
Enc,  III.  iS.  747).  As  to  its  position  this  much 
is  certain,  that  it  lay  to  the  east  of  the  Tigris, 
and,  moreover,  of  its  mouths.  But  the  greatest 
uncertainty  prevails  with  respect  to  its  bound- 
aries and  extent.  Comp.  Vaihinger,  with  Kie- 
pert's  Atlas  of  the  Ancient  World,  an-d  M.  Nie- 
buhr, Ass.  u.  Babel.,  S.  384. — Media,  situated  to 
the  north  of  Elam,  forms  the  transition  to  the 
kingdoms  of  the  north,  of  which  Jeremiah  men- 
tions none  by  name.  He  speaks  only  of  the  near 
and  the  distant  (comp.  xlviii.  24).  In  chh.  1.  and 
li.  "an  assembly  of  great  nations  from  the  north 
country,"  is  mentioned  as  the  executors  of  the 
destined  punishment  on  Babylon  (1.  3,  9,  41  •  li. 
48).  Some  are  then  called  by  name  to  accom- 
plish this, — Ararat,  Minni,  Asticheuaz  (li.  27), 
and  Media  [the  Medes],  (li.  28).  From  this  we 
see  that  the  Medes  are  reckoned  among  the 
northern  nations,  which  does  not  contradict  the 
present  passage  and  might  well  be  so,  for  Media 
extends  certainly  from  the  northeast  to  the  north 
of  Babylon. — One  vyith  another.  Comp.  rems. 
on  ver.  9. — As  to  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy, 
thus  much  only  is  ascertained  with  certainty, 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  subjugated  the  lands  west 
of  the  Tigris  down  to  Egypt  and  the  borders  of 
Lydia.  Whether  he  also  subjugated  the  lands 
lying  east,  or  the  Median  kingdom,  is  disputed. 
Niebuhr  (^S5.  u.  Bab.)  maintains  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar held  his  kingdom  as  a  fief  of  Media,  but 
without  paying  tribute.  But  after  the  death  of 
Cyaxares,  he  ended  victoriously  a  great  war  with 
Media  (lb.,  S.  211  sqq).  Duncker,  on  the  other 
hand  (1.,  S.  798,  844,  etc.),  combats  both  the  de- 
pendence of  Babylon  on  Media,  and  the  victory 
over  it.  This  controversy  is  of  no  importance 
for  us.  The  prophet  does  not  mean  to  say  that 
God  had  given  to  Nebuchadnezzar  all  the  five 
parts  of  the  world,  with  all  the  beasts  therein 
(xxvii.  6),  and  the  men,  for  an  actual  possession, 
nor  can  this  be  maintained  for  all  the  lands  here 
expressly  mentioned  by  name.  After  the  victory 
at  Carchemish  and  Nebuchadnezzar's  accession 
to  the  throne,  the  prophet  recognizes  this  star, 
which  has  ascended  the  political  horizon,  as  the 
sun  which  is  to  shine  over  all.  In  the  grand 
prophetic  view  of  history  j which  rests  on  the  es- 
sential   and   regards    the  collateral   as  non-ex- 


234 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


istent),  since  there  has  been  any  history  at.  all, 
one  nation  always  stands  at  the  head  of  all  the 
rest  This  nation  is  that  which  rules  the  world, 
I.  e.,  which  dominates  all  the  other  nations,  if  not 
really,  ideally  or  de  jure,  and  is  the  representa- 
tive worldly  kingdom  in  antithesis  to  the  king- 
dom of  God.  This  is  the  sense  of  this  passage, 
and  of  the  later  one,  xxvii.  5  sqq.  It  may  then 
well  be  said  that  this  passage  (xxv.  15-26)  in- 
volves two  judicial  acts  ;  one  by  which  the  Chal- 
dean empire  is  founded,  and  a  second  by  which  it  is 
judged  (ver.  2(j  6j.— The  king  of  Sheshach 
{."WW  I'^OI)  It  seems  indubitable  from  the  con- 
text here  and  from  11.  41,  where  the  two  ideas 
correspond  in  the  parallelism,  that  Sheshach 
is  Babylon,  and  this  is  acknowledged  by  all  the 
expositors.  Marsham  is  the  only  exception,  who 
takes   l^^yj  as    equivalent   to    jKf^B^    (Shushan). 

Comp.  Ges.  Tkes.,  p.  1486.  But  we  are  very 
much  in  the  dark  as  to  the  origin,  the  etymology 
and  the  meaning  of  the  word.  It  is  easily  under- 
stood that  Jeremiah  here  used  a  word  for  Baby- 
lon which  somewhat  veiled  the  idea.  He  may 
have  done  this  for  the  sake  of  his  countrymen. 
For  the  object  of  his  prophecy  requires  that  the 
impression  of  terror,  which  the  name  of  Babylon 
must  have  made  on  their  minds,  should  not  be 
weakened.  Hence  with  the  exception  of  chh.  1., 
li.,  he  says  nothing  against  Babylon,  and  these 
chapters,  as  is  clear  from  the  mode  of  publica- 
tion, were  intended  much  more  for  the  future 
than  for  the  present.  That  regard  for  ths  Chal- 
deans was  his  motive  for  such  concealment,  I  do 
not  believe.  It  might  be  said  that  he  was  afraid, 
as  indeed  many,  Jerome  at  their  head,  have  sup- 
posed. Jeremiah,  however,  surely  feared  the 
Chaldeans  no  more  than  his  own  countrymen. 
What  other  motive  he  had  for  concealing  the 
name  of  Babylon  from  the  Chaldeans,  we  cannot 
conceive.  What  had  the  Chaldeans  to  do  with 
him".'  If  they  received  information  of  the  pro- 
phecy, yet  it  was  not  written  for  them.  In  the 
only  passage  where  '^K'tJf  occurs  besides  this  (li. 

44),  the  need  of  change  has  evidently  occasioned 
the  expression.  Jeremiah  namely,  in  connection 
with  chh.  1.  andli.,  never  uses  the  word  Babylon 
in  the  two  parallel  members  of  a  verse,  except 
li.  49,  where  the  antithesis  requires  it.  Else- 
where he  uses  as  parallel  with  Babylon  either 
Chnl. leans  (1.  8,  3-5,  45;  li.  24,  85,  54),  or  land 
of  Babylon,  (li.  29),  or  a  figurative  expression 

like  hammer   ("^'£03,  1.   23),  or  heart  of  my 

insurgents  ('Op~3^,  li.  1).  He  also  twice  uses 
instt-ad  of  Babylon  figurative  expressions,  as  in 
li.  21.  In  li.  41  the  name  of  Babylon  occurs  in 
the  second  clause.  Accordingly  it  is  quite  in 
order  that  this  name  should  not  be  used  in  the 
first  clause  of  the  sentence.  Instead  of  it  we 
have  two  synonymous  expressions,  of  which  one 
"the  praise  of  the  wliole  earth"   is  evidently  of 

a  figurative  nature.     The  other  is  our  "^^p,-    We 

Bee  then  that  Jeremiah  uses  this  expression  in  the 
one  case  for  concealment,  in  tlie  otiier  for  variety. 
Whence  did  he  obtain  it?  Is  it  to  be  ex})lii,iiu'd 
by  the  Atbash?  Is  it  a  species  of  Cabbalistic 
Temura  or  anagram  which  is  either  simple  [ex.  gr. 

DkSd,  Exod.   xxiii.    23=Sn3''0),   or  elaborate? 


The  latter  consists  in  turning  the  Alphabet  round 
and  beginning  at  the  end  (T\  for  N,  K'  for  3,  etc., 
hence  Atbash),  or  in  the  middle  (7  for  N,  D  for  3' 
hence  .\lbam).  Comp.  Buxtorf,  Lex.  Chuld.,  p. 
248.  9  ;  Herzoq,  R.-Euc,  VII.  205  [Gese.mus 
denies  that  the  Atbash  was  in  use  in  Jeremiah's 
time,  and  Hitziu  accordingly  attributes  the  ana- 
gram to  a  later  period,  when  fear  of  Babylon 
furnished  a  motive  for  its  use. — S.  R.  A.]. — Has 
Jeremiah  really  made  use  here  of  such  a  play 
upon  words?  Many  maintain  this.  It  is  said, 
if  a  prophet  can  make  alphabetically  arranged 
songs,  he  can  make  use  of  the  Atbash.  It  may 
be  that  the  two  things  are  related,  and  hence  I 
will  not  dispute  the  possibility.  But  I  make  this 
admission  unwillingly  and  would  rather  say,  with 
many  of  the  elder  theologians  [ex.  gr.,  Selden, 
De  Diis  Syr.  Synt.,  II.,  Cap.  13) :  vix  risum  hie 
fortasse  teneas.  As  regards  the  signification  of 
the  word,  it  is  certainly  most  natural  to  think  of 
the  radix  ^B^K^,  coll.  nn^,  r\W.  22JS,  \2V3^,  i'pt^ 

(Isa.  xli.  64),  and  thence  derive  the  meaning 
demissio,  submersio,  sinking  down  (Hengsten- 
berg),  humbling  (Graf).  Hengstenberg  re- 
marks in  opposition  to  my  view  (in  Jer.  u.  Bab., 
S.  131),  that  the  reason  of  its  use  is  rhetorical, 
the  prophet  wishing  to  deprive  of  their  terror  the 
names  Babylon  and  Casdim,  which  had  a  most 
terrible  sound  in  the  Israelitish  ear,  pointing  by 
a  slight  alteration  at  the  ruin  hidden  behind  the 
greatness  of  Babylon;  to  which  it  may  be  replied, 
that  these  names  were  certainly  not  of  terrible 
sound  at  the  moment  when  destruction  was  being 
predicted  to  their  bearers.  This  is  however  the 
case  in  xxv.  26,  and  in  chh.  1.  and  li.  And  why 
should  Babylon  be  mentioned  so  frequently  as 
the  instrument  of  Israel's  chastisement,  without 
the  "fearful  sound"  of  the  name  being  mitigated 
by  the  pleasant  '^Kf^?  The  meaning  "demissio, 
submersio  "  does  not  appear  to  suit  at  all  in  li.  41. 
For  there  it  stands  parallel  with  "praise  of  the 
whole  earth."  Others,  therefore,  have  inter- 
preted the  name  otherwise:  Chr.  D.  Michaelis, 
urbs  bellatrix  from  the  Arabic  shaka=fortitudinem 
in  bello  ostend.it ;  J.  D.  Michaelis  ;i;a/lKd7ri;Aoi', 
from  the  Arabic  sakka=ferro  obduxit  portam ; 
BoHLEN,  atrium  regis,  from  an  analogy  in  modern 
Persian.  But  all  this  is  dubious.  I  believe  that 
the  whole  matter  must  be  left  still  in  suspenso. 
Perhaps  the  Assyrian  Babylonian  monuments 
will  throw  light  on  it.  At  least  Rodiger  (in 
Ges.  T/ies..  p.  2486),  refers  to  a  discovery  which 
Rawlinson  has  made  (comp.  Journal  of  the  Asiat. 
Soc,  XII.,  p.  478)  according  to  which  ^K^B'*  was 
the  name  of  a  Babylonian  deity.  I  have  not 
been  able  anywhere  to  find  a  contirmation  of  this 
statement  ["Sir  H.  Rawlinson  has  observed 
that  the  name  of  tlie  moon  god,  which  was  iden- 
tical, or  nearly  so,  with  that  of  the  city  of  .Vbra- 
ham,  Ur  (or  Hur),  might  have  been  read  in  one 
of  the  ancient  dialects  of  Babylon  as  Shishaki, 
and  that  consequently  a  possible  explanation  is 
thus  obtained  of  the  ISheshach  of  fc)Cii[>ture,(RAW- 
linson's  Herodotus,  I.,  p.  616).  She.sliach  may 
stand  for  Ur,  Ur  itself,  the  old  capital,  being  taken 
(as  Babel  the  new  capital  was  constantly)  tu  repre- 
sent the  country."  S.Mi'i'ii's  Iii//h  Dictionary. — S- 
R.  A.]. 
Vers.  27-29.  Therefore  thou  shalt  say    • 


CHAP.  XXV.  30-38. 


•J.oi} 


the  Lord  of  hosts.  These  verses,  containing 
the  figure  of  the  cup,  express  the  immutability 
of  the  divine  counsel. — Which  is  called  by 


my  name.  Ver.  29.  Comp.  Comm.  on  ver.  18 
and  vii.  10. — Ye  shall  not  be  unpunished. 
Comp.  xlix.  12,  after  which  passage  ours  is  formed 


3.   The  Judgment  of  the  World. 
XXV.  30-38. 

30  But  do  thou  prophesy  against  them  all  these  words, 
And  say  unto  them : 

Jehovah  roareth  from  on  high,^ 

And  utters  his  voice  from  his  holy  habitation : 

He  roareth  against  his  pasture ; 

With  a  clear  cry,  like  the  vintagers,  he  answers  the  inhabitants  of  the  laud. 

31  Tumult  reacheth  to  the  extremity  of  the  earth  ; 
For  Jehovah  hath  a  controversy  with  the  nations  f 
He  pleadeth^  with  all  flesh : 

The  godless — he  giveth  them  a  prey  to  the  sword,  saith  Jehovah. 

32  Thus  saitb  Jehovah  Zebaoth : 

Behold,  evil  goeth  forth  from  nation  to  nation. 

And  a  great  tempest  riseth  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

33  And  the  slain  of  Jehovah  shall  on  that  day  lie 

From  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other  end  of  the  earth : 
They  shall  not  be  lamented  nor  gathered  nor  buried ; 
They  shall  become  dung  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

34  Howl,  O  ye  shepherds  and  cry  aloud, 
And  wallow,  ye  strong  ones  of  the  flock : 

For  your  days  for  slaughter  are  accomplished  ;* 

And  I  scatter  you,^  that  ye  shall  fall  like  an  elegant  vessel. 

35  And  the  refuge  shall  vanish  from  the  shepherds. 
And  deliverance  from  the  strong  ones  of  the  flock. 

36  Hark  !  Crying  of  the  shepherds  and  howling^  of  the  strong  ones  of  the  flock  j 
For  Jehovah  devastates  their  pasture. 

37  The  fields  of  peace  are  desolated'  before  the  fury  of  Jehovah's  anger. 

38  He  hath  quitted,  like  a  lion,  his  covert. 

For  their  land  is  become  waste  before  the  fury  of  the  destroyer,* 
And  before  the  fury  of  his  anger. 

TEXTUAL    AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  30.— JXty"'  Dnr3"0  T\'\T^''^    These  words  to  )^)p  are  a  quotation  from  Joel  iv.  16 ;  Am.  i.  2,  only  that  instead  ci 
TVi'rD  there,  we  have  DnDO,  and  ItyTD  tl^'OD  instead  of  D'Vl/ITO. 

2  Ver.  31.-3'"),  with  3,  as  in  Gen.  xxxi.  30;  Jud.  vi.  32;  Hos.  ii.  4. 

3  Ver.  31.— £33ti?J  (to  have  a  suit  at  law,  litigare.    Comp.  ii.  25)  with  7  here  only. 

4  Ver.  34.— fljl  1X^0  O-    The  construction  (crmstr.  prxgnans.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  6r.,  ?  112,  7)  is  aa  in  Gen.  xxv.  24. 

B  A'ur.  34.— J33''f\i;»l3i-n.    The  Masoretes  would  have   this  word  pronounced  D3'iVli'1ijn^    Many  MSS.  and  Edd. 

however  read  DD'illi'lSrW    So  also  Aquila,  Theod.,  Symm.  (oi  o-KopTrta^tol  ijaii');  Jerome,  dissipationes  vesfrx  [A.  V.; 

your  dispersions].'  Now  whether  we  connect  this  idea  with  the  foregoing  context  ("  your  days  are  accomplished  and  yoTir 
scatterings,"  as  Rashi,  Ewald  in  his  Oi-it.  Gr.,  S.  ISIJ,  Maurer,  Umbreit  read),  or  with  tlie  following  ("and  as  to  your  scnt- 
terings— ,"  as  Kimchi  and  others  ;  "and  your  scatterings  will  talie  place,"  as  Chr.  B.  illCHAELls),  the  construction  is  still 
artificial  or  faulty  and  fhe  sense  feeble.    The  Masoretes  would  have  the  form  regarded  as  a  verb.    But  since  D3"mi'1£)j1  ^s 

a  monstrous  form,  IIitzig  and  Graf  would  read  DD'r\1i*''3n^  '^s  Hiph.,  with  strengthened  fl,  like  rT^nil,  xii.  5;  xxii.  15 

,  •.•••:  TV:  |v 

coll.  7 Jin  Hos.  xi.  3.  The  H  bus  given  occasion  to  regard  the  form  as  a  substantive;  since,  however,  there  are  no  sub- 
etantives  of  the  form  n^'pfl,  m^liH  bas  been  made  from  nil^'Sn.    1  also  adopt  this  view.    As  to  the  meaning  of  the 

word,  however,  I  hold  that  of  "  scattering  "  to  be  correct.  For  1.  the  Hiph.  occurs  only  in  this  sense,  never  that  of  break' 
ing  ;  2.  breaking  in  relation  to  the  jireccding  context  would  be  tautological,  while  it  is  very  suitable  to  say  that  a  part  oi" 
Ihe  flock  shall  be  slaughtered,  another  part  scattered,  but  in  such  wise  that  the  scattered  also  shall   be  overthrown   vci^ 


236 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


broken,  like  fine  delicate  vessels  (mon  'Sd  Hos.  xiii.  15;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  27  ;  xxxvi.  10  ;  Neh.  ii.  10;  Dan.  xi.  8);  3.  Th» 

mention  of  the  013D  and  of  the  HD' 7i3  ver.  35  (comp.  £3' 73,  the  escaped)  applies  bettor  to  scattered  fugitives  than  ta 
T  T    ••  T 

<i  Ver.  36.— On  the  form  dSS'I  comp.  Olsh.,  J  39  6  ;  78  e. 

7  Ver.  37. — Since  there  is  no  utterance  transporting  the  reader  to  the  future,  ^D^31  is  to  be  taken  either  as  prseterite  or 
present  (comp.  Comm.  on  xviii.  4:  xix.  4,  5V  The  latter  is  to  be  preferred,  since  101J  '«  evidently  parallel  to  "Wfj,  which 
expresses  the  present  (ver.  30).     The  participle  D'OIJ  should  be  taken  as  praterite.     (Comp.  N.^eqelsb.  Gr.,  §  96,  2). 

8  Ver.  38. — PIJV  [destroyer,  from  njV  to  be  violent]  does  not  occur  elsewhere  as  an  independent  substantive.    It  stands 

TT 

objectively  after  a'ln,  Jer.  xlvi.  16;  1. 16,  after  1'J?,  Zeph.  iii.  1.  More  frequently  it  is  not  found.  On  the  other  hand, 
inn  stands  only  before  <■'  tix.  The  word  does  not  occur  in  any  other  connection.  The  hypothesis  of  HlTZIG,  Ewald, 
GR.4P  is  therefore  well-founded,  that  with  the  LXX.  and  Chald.  we  are  to  read  nyVPI  DITI. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

While  in  the  previous  section  a  long  series  of 
nations  was  adduced  by  name  as  the  object  of 
judgments,  in  such  wise,  however,  that  the  enu- 
meration ended  indefinitely  (ver.  26),  in  what 
follows  no  nation  is  mentioned  by  name,  but  the 
limits  of  the  territory  to  be  reached  by  the 
judgment  are  strictly  defined  in  the  words  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  (ver.  80),  all 
flesh  (ver.  31),  fiom  one  end,  etc.  (ver.  33). 
From  this  it  follows  that  the  prophet  here  be- 
holds the  judicial  act  of  God  in  its  last  and 
highest  stage.  After  having,  in  vers.  1-11,  de- 
scribed the  judgment  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
the  world,  in  vers.  12-29  the  judgment  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  world  (e.  e.  that  kingdom  which 
represents  the  culminating  point  of  history),  he 
now  describes  the  world-judgment,  i.  e.  the  judg- 
ment/)f  all  nations  of  the  earth  absolutely,  with- 
out regard  to  their  greater  or  less  historical  im- 
portance. We  thus  perceive  here  the  same  ap- 
pearance, which  not  rarely  occurs  elsewhere 
(comp.  ex.  gr.  Joel  i.  15  ;  ii.  1,  2  coll.  iii.  4  sqq.; 
Isa.  xiii.  9  sqq.;  Zeph.  i.  2-18;  Matt,  xxiv),  viz., 
that  single  temporal  acts  of  divine  judgment  are 
designated  as  types  and  preludes  of  the  last  and 
highest  judgment. — The  passage  includes  four 
sections:  1.  vers.  30,  31,  prediction  of  the  judg- 
ment in  general,  declaration  as  to  who  is  the 
judge,  from  whence  the  judge  proceeds,  how  far 
the  judgment  will  extend;  2.  vers.  32,  33,  more 
special  description  of  that  which  the  judge  does  ; 
the  storm  rolls  from  nation  to  nation,  till  the 
whole  surface  of  the  earth  is  covered  with  the 
slain  ;  3.  vers.  34  and  3.5,  address  to  the  judged  ; 
they  are  to  howl  and  wallow,  for  the  day  of 
slaughter  is  come  and  there  is  no  possibility  of 
escaping  it ;  4.  vers.  36-38,  the  judgment  is  in 
course  of  execution,  the  cry  of  the  oppressed  is 
h(.';ird ; — afterwards  all  becomes  quiet,  the  lion 
has  desolated  the  land. 

Vers.  30,  31.  But  do  thou  prophesy  .  .  . 
saith  Jehovah.  The  person  of  .lehovuh  is  evi- 
dently presented  in  these  two  verses  as  the  judge. 
His  appearance  is  described  in  its  terribleness, 
as  at  the  conclusion  of  His  judicial  acts. — But 
do  thou  prophesy.  With  these  words  tlie 
Lord,  having  dismissed  those  who  protest  against 
the  cup  (vers.  28  and  29),  turns  to  the  jjrophet, 
in  order  to  put  into  his  mouth,  not  a  more  mode- 
rate, but  on  the  contrary  a  more  enipliaiic  threat- 
sning  uf  judgment.  vVe  see  that  the  prophet 
plainly  wishes  to  represent  the  judgment  as  pro- 
ceeding from  the  upper  sanctuary,  lie  was  the 
ii:r.  obliged  to  do  this  as  the  earthly  sanctuary 


was  Itself  to  be  an  object  of  the  judgment. 
Comp.  his  pasture,  directly  afterwards.  The 
roaring  is  immediately  explained  by  the  synony- 
mous utters  his  voice,  which  in  Old  Testa- 
ment usage  is  frequeuily  a  designation  of  the 
thunder  (Ps.  xviii.  1  ;  xxix.  3  sqq.;  xlvi.  7  ; 
Ixviii.  34;  Joel  ii.  11). — Against  his  pasture. 
The   holy  land,  of  course   including  Jerusalem 

and  the  temple.  Here,  as  in  ver.  18  coll.  vPID 
ver.  29,  the  prophet  names  these  sacred  places 
first.  On  nu,  pasture,  comp.  x.  25;  Ps.  Ixxix. 
7 ;  Exod.  XV.  13. — With  a  clear  cry,  etc. 
Nature  in  uproar !  Thunder,  lightning  and  tem- 
pest! The  thunder  roars,  the  tempest  howls, 
hisses,    whistles.     This   is   the   ITTI   the   hillo, 

heigh-ho,  ^f  the  vintager  (comp.  D'/lvh,  Jud. 

ix.  27),  who,  however,  here  wades  in  human 
blood  instead  of  the  blood  of  the  grape ;  for  in 
the  words  like  the  treaders,  an  allusion  has, 
doubtless  -correctly,  been  found  to  the  compari- 
son of  a  bloody  conqueror  with  a  treader  of  the 
wine-press.  HTn  is  found  also  in  xlviii.  33  ;  Ii. 
14 ;  Isa.  xvi.  9,  10,  and  everywhere  in  a  sense 
similar  to  that  of  this  passage. — He  answers. 
Comp.  Ii.  14;  Ps.  xxxii.  18;  cxix.  172. — Tu- 
mult reacheth,  etc.  Description  of  the  whole 
tumult  and  its  extent. — For  Jehovah,  etc.  The 
Lord  disputes  not  with  individuals  but  with  all. 
Therefore  the  noise  is  so  fearful. — To  the 
sword.     Comp.  xv.  9. 

Vers.  32,  33.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zeba- 
oth  .  .  .  face  of  the  earth.  The  person  of  the 
judge  retires  ;  what  He  does  is  brought  into  the 
foreground  and  is  described  as  proceeding  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  from  nation  to  nation,  a 
destructive  tempest  (ver.  32),  especially  as  a 
universal  dying,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
earth  will  be  full  of  unburied  corpses  (ver.  33). 
— Goeth  forth.  Comp.  ix.  2 ;  xxiii.  19. — 
Ariseth.  Comp.  vi.  22. — Pleadeth,  etc.  Comp. 
Isa.  Ixvi.  16. — Shall  not  be  lamented,  etc. 
A  quotation  from  viii.  2 ;  xvi.  4.  Observe, 
moreover,  the  Old  Testament  coloring  of  this 
description.  The  prophet's  gaze  remains  fixed 
on  the  earth.  Comp.,  on  the  other  hand,  Matt, 
xxiv.  30  sqq.;   xxv.  31  sqq.;    1  Thess.  iv.  16  sqq. 

Vers.  34,  35.  How^l  .  .  .  strong  ones  of  the 
flock.  The  prophet  turns  to  the  judged  them- 
selves, chiefly  to  the  shepherds  and  the  strong 
ones  of  the  flock.  Since  the  judgment  of  the 
world  appears  generally  in  Holy  Scripture  as 
the  overthrow  of  worldly  empires  by  the  king- 
dom of  God  (comp.  Ps.  ii.  8  sqq.;  ex.  1  sqq.; 
Dan.  ii.  44;  vii.  27;  1  Cor.  xv.  24  sqq.;  Heb. 
xii.  26  sqq.;  Rev.  xi.  15),  by  which  it  is  proved 
that  the  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  first,  and 


CHAP.  XXV.  30-38. 


231 


that  God  has  chosen  the  foolish  and  weak  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  strong; — we  have 
here  to  understand  by  the  shepherds  and  strong 
ones  of  the  flock  primarily  the  kings  and  princes 
(comp.  "the  kings  thereof,"  etc.,  ver.  18),  as  the 
most  eminent  bearers  and  representatives  of 
worldly  power.  Still  a  limitation  and  an  exten- 
sion are  in  place  ;  a  limitation,  in  so  far  that  by 
shepherds  are  most  usually  meant  the  kings  of 
kings,  i.  e.  the  rulers  of  the  world  in  general, 
here  primarily  Babylon, — an  extension,  in  so  far 
as  the  strong  ones  of  the  flock  doubtless  de- 
note all  that  is  great,  strong  and  glorious  in  the 
world.  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  15 ;  Ps.  xxii.  13 ; 
Jer.  1.  11;  Ezek.  xxxix.  17  sqq. — Wallow. 
Wallowing  in  dust  and  ashes  is  also  elsewhere  an 
expression  of  anxious  supplication  in  the  great- 
est distress.  Comp.  vi.  26;  Mic.  i.  10;  Ezek. 
xxvii.  30. 

Vers.  36-38.  Hark  ...  his  anger.  The  pro- 
phet describes  here  both  the  judgment  in  its 
course  (ver.  36)  and  the  appearance  of  the  earth 
after  its  accomplishment.  The  cry  of  the  mighty 
and  the  strong  is  heard,  for  the  Lord  is  devasta- 
ting their  pasturage.  Here  also  only  the  shep- 
herds and  the  strong  ones  of  the  flock,  the  fat 
rams,  the  strong  steers,  the  wild  stallions,  are 
mentioned,  for  the  Lord  has  chosen  the  weak 
ones  of  the  world. — The  fields  of  peace,  the 
pastures  hitherto  peaceful. — Before  the  fury. 
Comp.  iv.  2H. — Like  a  lion.  Comp.  Hos.  v.  14; 
Ps.  X.  9. — For  their  land,  etc.  We  might  per- 
haps expect  therefore.  But  then  the  following 
reason  before  the  fury,  etc.,  would  be  drag- 
ging tautology.     The  sentence  with    ''2   simply 

explains  the  figure  used: — because  the  land,  in 
consequence  of  the  divine  anger,  is  devastated 
by  the  sword,  it  may  be  said  that  it  lookg  like 
a  pasturage  visited  by  a  lion. 


DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  3-7.  "  God  is  a  long-sufl'ering  God, 
who  desireth  not  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  that 
he  may  turn  and  live,  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.  There- 
fore He  gives  the  first  world  1.^0  years  time  for 
repentance.  Gen.  vi.  3.  Lot  preaches  to  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  more  than  twenty-five  years.  Gen. 
xiii.  13  and  xix.  14.  Christ  preaches  repentance 
three  and  a  half  years,  the  apostles  forty  years, 
before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  But  dost 
thou  not  know  that  the  goodness  of  God  leadeth 
thee  to  repentance  ?     Rom.  ii.  4."    Cramer. 

2.  How  is  it  that  those  to  whom  the  Lord  has 
chiefly  revealed  His  goodness  and  truth  and 
whom  He  has  made  the  bearers  and  medium  of 
His  promises;  how  is  it,  we  ask,  that  it  is  just 
these  men  who  are  the  most  hardened  in  impeni- 
tence ?  The  people  of  Nineveh,  says  the  Lord, 
in  Matt.  xii.  41,  will  rise  at  the  last  judgment 
with  this  generation  and  will  condemn  it ;  for 
they  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah  and 
behold  a  greaier  than  Jonah  is  here.  And  He 
cries.  Woe  to  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida,  lor  had 
such  mighty  works  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon 
as  were  done  in  them,  they  would  have  repented 
long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  And  in  like 
manner  He  says  to  Capernaum,  which  was  ex- 
alted to  heaven,  that  it   shall  be  brought  down 


to  hell,  for  if  such  mighty  works  had  been  done 
in  Sodom  it  would  have  remained  to  this  day 
(Matt.  xi.  2i-23).  The  key  is  contained  in  th» 
words  "  temple  of  Jehovah,  temple  of  Jehovah," 
vii.  4.  Israel  does  not  hear  the  "if"  in  the 
words  of  his  calling  and  election.  They  regard 
themselves  as  chosen  unconditionally,  and  on  this 
account  as  better  than  all  others,  being  such  as 
need  no  repentance.  Thus  grace  has  become  a 
snare  to  them,  and  so  it  is  to  all  who  use  their 
privileges  as  a  lever  of  their  wickedness.  (1 
Pet.  ii.  16).  [The  election  to  gracious  privileges 
not  being  necessarily  election  to  eternal  life. — 
S.  R.  A.] 

3.  ["  Nebuchadnezzar  my  servant.  It  ia 
remarkable  that  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar by  Jeremiah  (xxv.  9 ;  xxvii.  6 ;  xliii. 
10)  the  same  title  that  Isaiah  gives  even  to  the 
Messiah  Himself:  namely,  'My  Servant.'  And 
inasmuch  as  the  Chaldean  king  was  appointed 
and  empowered  by  God  to  conquer  the  nations, 
such  as  Ammon,  Edom,  Moab  (which  were  types 
of  the  enemies  of  Christ  and  His  Church,)  we 
need  not  scruple  to  say  that  in  these  victories 
He  foreshadowed  the  conquests  of  Christ,  who 
made  Himself  a  servant  to  do  His  Father's  will." 
Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 

4.  On  ver.  12.  '■'■  Deus  uti  consuevit  impiorum 
opera  quoad  malum  poense.  Malum  vero  culpse 
minime  prodit,  sed  eos  ipsos  propter  illud  gravissiine 
punit,  prsesertim  si  modum  excesserint  {Zech.  i.  15). 
Solet  istud  illustrari  apposita  similitudine  a  virga, 
quam pater  in  castiganda  sobole  usurpat,  usurpatum 
vero  moz  in  ignem  conjicit.'"    Forster. 

5.  On  ver.  12.  "  Verbum  Domini  est  veracissi- 
mum  turn  in  comminatiojiibus,  de  quibus  hie  et  2  Ii'cg. 
X.  16,  turn  in  promissionibus,  de  quibus  Ps.  xxiii. 
14.  Unde  scite  Augustincs  {de  Civ.  D.  22,  3)  ; 
'  venient  hsec  quoque  sicut  ista  venerunt;  idem  enim 
Deus  utraque  promisit,  utraque  ventura  esse  prx- 
dixit.'' — Per  quod  quis  peccat,  per  idem  punitur  et 
ipse.''     Forster. 

6.  On  ver.  29.  "Verissimum  est  illud Clv:,mentis 
Alexandrini  :  proximus  Deo  plenissintus  flagellis 
(the  nearer  God,  the  nearer  trouble,  the  better 
Christian,  the  greater  the  cross:  it  meets  him 
first  who  is  nearest  to  God).  Contra  vero  Bern- 
HARDtrs :  Qui  hie  non  in  laboribus  hominum,  illic 
erunt  in  laboribus  dsemoniim."     Forster. 

7.  On  ver.  30  sqq.  "  The  strict  judgment  of 
God  sounds  much  stronger  and  clearer  than  we 
can  bear.  Hence  the  600,000  men  were  so  ter- 
rified when  they  heard  the  voice  of  God,  that 
they  said  :  let  not  God  speak  with  us,  lest  we  die 
(Exod.  XX.  19).  It  is  well  that  we  do  not  refuse 
to  hear,  or  stop  our  ears  against  the  sweet  sound 
of  God's  voice  in  the  sacred  office  of  the  preacher, 
because  we  can  have  it  (Ps.  xcv.  8),  or  the  time 
will  come,  when  we  shall  be  ohliwed  to  hear  its 
awful  roaring,  which  God  forbid.  For  when 
the  lion  roars,  who  shall  not  be  afraid?  (Am.  iii. 
8.)"  Cramer. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

The  entire  chapter  treats  of  the  divine  judg- 
ments and  aff"ords  occasion  to  speak  of  them  (in 
a  series  of  sermons)  in  various  relations.  AVe 
can  thus  speak,  I.  of  the  judicial  acts  of  God 
according  to  the  conditions  of  their  manitcjii- 


J38  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


tion.     They  are  (1)  required  by  the  sins  of  men 
(vers.  5  and  6) ;   (2)  deterred  by  the  love  of  God 


well    as    single    men,  but    the  judgment  of  tht 
world  as  a  whole  is  still  impending,  ver.  30  sqq.). 


(vers.  5-6) ;  (3)  driven  to  accomplishment  by  — III.  The  judicial  acts  of  God  differently  re- 
the  impenitence  of  mankind  (ver.  7  sqq.). — II.  .presented  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  (1) 
Of  the  judicial  acts  of  God  according  to  the  1  In  the  Old  Testament  they  are  (a)  represented 
stages  of  their  manifestation.  (1)  The  prelimi-  in  figures  (vers.  oO,  31  sqq.,  38).  {b)  limited  to 
nary,  {a)  in  the  life  of  individuals,  (b)  in  the  \  the  earth  (vers.  30,  38)  :  (2)  In  the  New  Testa- 
life  of  nations.  God  judges  continually  here  be-  i  ment  they  are  represented  (a)  in  their  full  super- 
low  both  single  individual.s  and  entire  nations  i  terrestrial  reality,  [b)  as  e.xtendcd  over  heaven 
(vers.  9-29).  (2)  The  final  judgment ;  (a)  in  so 
far  as  it  has  already  begun  (vers.  9-11,  29  coll. 
1  Pet.  iv.  17;  Matt.  xxiv.).  The  theocracy  in 
its  outer  relations  is  already  judged ;  in  this 
sense  tlie  universal  judgment  has  begun  at  the 
house  of  Jod  ;  (6)  in  so  far  as  it  is  still  future 
(single  empires  have  already  been  destroyed,  as 


and  earth.  (Comp.  in  contrast  to  this  passage 
Matt.  XXV.;  I  Cor.  xv.;  1  Thess.  iv.:  2  Pet.  iii.). 
— IV.  The  judicial  acts  of  God  difl'ereuily  felt, 
according  to  the  different  inward  conditions  of 
men — (1)  As  destruction  on  the  part  of  the  god- 
less (ver.  7  sqq.)  ;  (2)  As  deliverance  on  the  part 
of  the  pious  (vers.  11  and  12). 


B.  The  Three  Historical  Append.cea. 

THE  PROPHET  OF  THE  LORD  AND  THE  FALSE  PROPHET&. 

Chapters  XXVI.  to  XXIX. 

ft  has  been  already  shown  in  the  introduction  to  the  ninth  discourse  that  these  chapters  stand  here  together, 
because  their  covimon  topic  is  the  co7if/ict  of  the  true  prophet  with  the  false  prophets.      Their  position 

just  here,  however,  is  occasioned  by  the  close  historical  connection  q/'clih.  xxvii.,  xxviii.,  wjVA  oh. 
XXV.  There  is  thus  a  double  connection,  (1)  that  of  chh.  xxvii.,  xxviii.,  with  ch.  xxv.  {Cup  of  wrath 
and  yoke)  ;  (2)  that  of  chh..  xxvi.-xxix.  with  each  other  [false  prophets).  Before  ch.  xxvii.,  how- 
ever, stands  ch.  xxvi.,  and  thus  separates  the  connected  passages,  ch.  xxv.,  anc?  chh.  xxvii.,  xxviii., 
because  it  is  the  oldest  in  time.  It  comes  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  Perhaps  also  the  four 
chapters  were  found  in  this  order,  and  transposed  here  as  a  whole.     Chh.  xxvii.,  xxviii.  belong  to  the 

fourth  year  of  Zedekiah  [Comp.  Comm.  on  xxvii.  1).  Ch.  xxix.  is  somewhat  earlier  in  date  [Comp. 
the  Introd.  to  this  chapter).  The  arrangement  of  these  four  chapters  is  thus  not  consistently  chrono- 
logical. Perhaps  first,  the  struggle  of  the  prophet  ivith  the  false  prophets  in  their  home  (ch.  xxvi.- 
xxviii.),  then  his  struggleivith  those  also  who  had  emigrated  to  Babylon  is  represetited.  [^"Jeremiah  goes 
back  herefrom  the  mention  of  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  to  the  beginning  of  that  king's  reign,  in 
order  to  suggest  to  his  readers  an  evidence,  a  fortiori,  if  God's  mercy  and  forbearance  to  Jerusalem. 
God  gave  solemn  denunciations  to  Jehoiakim  and  Jerusalem  in  Jehoiakim' s  fourth  year.  But  He  did 
more  than  this  :  He  had  sent  a  prophetic  message  of  warning  to  him  even  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign. 
Such  considerations  as  these  will  suggest  the  reasons  for  which  Jere?niah's  prophecies  are  not  placed 
in  chronological  order.'"    Wokosworth. — S.  R.  A.] 

1.  The  conflict  of  Jeremiah  with  the  false  prophets  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim. 

XXVI.  1-24. 

1  In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  the  son  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah, 

2  came  this  word  from  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  : 
Stand  in  the  court  of  the  Lord's  [Jehovah's]  house  and  speak  unto  all  the  cities  of 
Judah,  which  come  to  worship  in  the  Lord's  house,  all  the  words  that  I  command 

3  thee  to  speak  unto  them  ;  diminish  [omit]  not  a  word.  If  so  be  [perhaps]  they  will 
hearken,  and  turn  every  man  from  his  evil  way,  that  I  may  repent  me  of  the  evil, 

4  which  I  purpose  to  do  unto  them  because  of  the  evil  of  their  doings.  And  thou 
shaltsay  unto  them:  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]:  If  ye  will  not  hearken  to 

5  me,  to  walk  in  my  law,  which  I  have  set  before  you,  to  hearken  to  the  words  of 
my  servants  the  prophets,  whom  I  sent  unto  you,  both'  rising  up  early,  and  sending 

6  tho:n,  but  ye  have  not  hearkened  :  then  will  I  make  this  house  like  Shiloh,  and 

7  will  niaxe  this^  city  a  curs'^.  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  So  the  priests  and  pro- 
phets and  all  the  people  heard  Jeremiah  speaking  these  words  in  the  house  of  the 

8  Lord  [Jehovah].     Now  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jeremiah  had  made  an  end  of  speak- 


CHAP.  XXVI.  1-24.  239 

ing  all  that  the  Lord  had  commanded  him  to  speak  unto  all  the  people,  that  the 
priests  and  the  prophets,  and  all  the  people  took  him,  saying,  Thou  shalt  surely  die. 
9  Why  hast  thou  prophesied  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  saying.  This 
house  shall  be  like  Shiloh,  and  this  city  shall  be  desolate  without  an  inhabitant? 
And  all  the  people  were  gathered  against  Jeremiah  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jeho- 

10  vah].  When  the  princes  of  Judah  heard  those  things,  then  they  came  up  from  the 
king's  house  into  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  aud  sat  down  in  the  entry  of  the 

11  new  gate^  of  the  Lord's  [Jehovah's]  house.  Then  spake  the  priests  and  the  pro- 
phets unto  the  princes  and  to  all  the  people,  saying,  this  man  is  worthy  to  die ;  for 

12  he  hath  prophesied  against  this  city,  as  ye  have  heard  with  your  ears.  Then  spake 
Jeremiah  unto  all  the  princes -and  to  all  the  people,  saying,  The  Lord  [Jehovah] 
sent  me  to  prophesy  against  this  house  and  against  this  city  all  the  words  that  ye 

13  have  heard.  Therefore  now  amend  your  ways  and  your  doings,  and  obey  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  your  God,  and   the  Lord  will  repent  him  of  the  evil  that 

14  he  hath  pronounced  against  jou.     As  for  me,  behold,  I  am  in  your  hand:  do  with 

15  me  as  seemeth  good  and  meet  unto  you.  But  know  ye  for  certain,  that  if  ye  put 
me  to  death,  ye  shall  surely  bring  innocent  blood  upon  yourselves,  and  upon  this 
city  and  upon  the  inhabitants  thereof:  for  of  a  truth  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  unto 
you  to  speak  all  these  words  in  your  ears. 

16  Then  said  the  princes  and  all  the  people  unto  the  priests  and  unto  the  prophets : 
This  man  is  not  worthy  to  die :  for  he  hath  spoken  to  us  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 

17  [Jehovah]  our  God      Then  rose  up  certain  of  the  elders  of  the  laud,  and  spake  to 

18  all  the  assembly  of  the  people,  saying,  Micah*  the  Morasthite  prophesied  in  the  days 
of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  spake  to  all  the  people  of  Juda.h,  saying. 

Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth : 
Zion  shall  be  plowed  as  a  field, 
Jerusalem  shall  become  a  heap  of  stones, 
And  the  mountain  of  the  house  woody  heights. 

19  Did  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  all  Judah  put  him  at  all  to  death?  did  he  not 
fear  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  and  besought  [propitiated]*  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  and  the 
Lord  [Jehovah]  repented  him  of  the  evil  which  he  had  pronounced  against  them. 
Thus  might  we  procure  great  evil  [We  however  are  about  to  commit  great  wicked- 

20  ness]  against  our  [own]  souls.  And  there  was  also  a  man  that  prophesied  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  Urijah  the  son  of  Shemaiah  of  Kirjath-jearim,  who 
prophesied  against  the  city  and  against  the  land,  according  to  all  the  words  of 

21  Jeremiah.  And  [when]  Jehoiakim,  the  king,  with  all  his  mighty  men  [warriors] 
and  all  the  princes,  heard  his  words  [and],  the  king  sought  to  put  him  to  death : 
but  [when]  Urijah  heard  of  it  [and]  he  was  afraid  and  fled,  and  went  into  Egypt. 

22  And  Jehoiakim,  the  king,  sent  men  into  Egypt,  Elnathan,  the  son  of  Achhor,  and 

23  certain  men  with  him  into  Egypt.  And  they  fetched  forth  Urijah  out  of  Egypt, 
and  brought  him  unto  Jehoiakim  the  king ;  who  slew  him  with  the  sword,  and 

24  cast  his  dead  body  into  the  graves  of  the  common  [sons  of  the]  people.  Neverthe- 
less [But]  the  hand  of  Ahikam  the  son  of  Shaphan  was  with  Jeremiah,  that  they 
should  [did]  not  give  him  into  the  hands  of  the  people  to  put  him  to  death. 

TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  5.— The  1  before  DDt!?n=an(I,  moreover,  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  ^  111,  1. 

2  Ver.  6.— nnXin.     This  foi-m  is  found  here  only  in  the  Chethibh.   It  is  not  a  scriptural  error,  the  H  being  the  so-called 
paragogic.  Comp.  Olsu.  g  lul,  c,  and  §  133,  <S.  254. 

3  Ver.  10. — [Targiini:  The  east  gate.] 

•»  Ver.  18. — The  Masoretes  alter  HO'ID   into  PI^'D,  not  because  they  regard  the  former  as  correct,  but  to   bring  out 

clearly  the  identity  of  this  Micah  with  liim  whose  book  is  included  in  the  canon  (comp.  Caspari,  Micha  der  Mm-aschtite,  S. 
12).— The  passage  quoted  is  found  vorbatim  in  Mic.  iii.  12,  excej)!  that  there  we  read  T't;  instead  of  W''V-  (Comp.OlSH.,  S. 
207,  288.)  '  •  • 

6  Ver.  19.— [Literally :  Soothed  by  prayer  the  face  of  the  Lord.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

It  has  be  'u  shown  above  that  this  chapter  is 
not  immediately  connected  with  chap,  xxv.,  but 
mediately  through  chh.  xxvii.,  xxviii.   The  asser- 


tion of  Graf  that  "the  narrative  of  this  occur- 
rence has  no  connection  either  with  the  preceding 
or  with  the  following  context"  is  incomprehensi- 
ble. For  if  we  do  not  agree  with  Ewald  that 
each  of  the  three  supplements  concludes  with  a 
glance  at  those  prophets,  who  either  prophesied 


J40 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


what  was  directly  false  or  did  not  defend  the 
truth  with  becoming  steadfastness  {Proph.  d.  A. 
£.,  II.,  5. 137),  it  is  yet  indisputable  that  all  these 
four  chapters  treat  of  the  conflict  of  the  prophet 
with  false  prophets,  that  they  follow  each  other 
in  chronological  order,  and  thatchh.  xxvi.-xxix. 
presuppose  ch.  xxv.  as  their  basis.  This  explains 
the  position  of  ch.  xxvi.  here.  I  cannot  accept 
the  statement  of  Graf  that  as  a  record  of  per- 
sonal experiences  it  ought  to  have  stood  before 
ch.  xxxvi. :  for  here  the  narrative  would  stand 
quite  isolated  topically,  and  chh.  xxxiv.-xliv., 
are  not  the  only  place  for  the  prophet's  personal 
experiences,  for  they  are  inserted  elsewhere,  ac- 
cording to  the  connection  of  facts.  Comp.  chh. 
XX.  and  xxx.  And  this  is  the  case  with  chh. 
xxvi.-xxix.  We  might  rather  expect  that,  on 
account  of  the  relation  of  the  facts,  it  would  come 
after  ch.  xxiii.  But  on  the  one  hand  it  would 
disturb  the  plan  of  that  group  (against  kings 
and  prophets)  by  partial  details,  and  on  the  other 
the  principal  matter  of  chh.  xxvii.  and  xxviii. 
has  too  close  an  historical  connection  with  ch. 
xxv.  to  be  separated  from  it,  or  even  only  to  be 
placed  before  it.  The  reason  why  this  chapter 
does  not  stand  after  chh.  vii.  sqq.,  where  it  pro- 
perly belongs  in  histoi-ical  connection,  is  that  the 
series  of  great  discourses  was  not  to  be  inter- 
rupted by  a  long  historical  section.  As  far  as 
ch.  xviii.  are  discourses  only.  From  this  point 
onwards  the  historical  element  is  successively 
brought  forward.  Although  thus  separated  in 
position,  this  ch.  xxvi.  refers  back  to  the  great 
discourse  in  chh.  vii.-x.,  and  describes  the  al- 
most fatal  consequences,  which  it  had  with  re- 
spect to  the  person  of  the  prophet  (vers.  1-19). 
At  the  same  time,  however,  the  opportunity  is 
aflForded  for  the  narrative  concerning  another 
prophet,  Urijah,  the  son  of  Shemaiah,  who  had 
no  such  courageous  patron  as  Ahikam,  and  really 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  his  fidelity  to  his  calling  at  the 
command  of  the  ungodly  king  Jehoiakim. 

Vers.  1-6.  In  the  beginning  ...  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Jehoiakim,  at  any  rate  before  the  battle 
of  Carchemish,  since  there  is  no  mention  made 
of  the  Chaldeans,  Jeremiah  receives  the  com- 
mand to  stand  in  the  fore-court  of  the  temple 
(comp.  xix.  4,  andExEG.  on  vii.  2),  and  proclaim 
a  revelation  he  has  received  to  all  the  Jews  who 
have  come  up  to  the  feast.  What  feast  this  was 
we  know  not  (comp.  Comm.  on  vii.  2).  The  in- 
troductory formula  in  vii.  1  is :  Go  into  the  gate 
and  proclaim  as  follows.  Here  it  is  said:  Stand 
in  the  fore-court  and  proclaim  all  that  I  have 
commanded  thee,  without  omitting  anything. 
There  the  command  to  go  into  the  gate  precedes 
the  revelation.  Here  the  order  is  reversed.  For 
here  the  words  w^hich  I  command  thee,  and 
omit  not  a  word,  point  back  to  the  revelation 
as  one  previously  received.  The  latter  especially 
would  have  no  sense,  if  what  is  to  be  delivered 
by  the  prophet  had  not  been  already  communi- 
cated. Still,  however,  in  ver.  4  sqq.,  the  chief 
contents  of  the  discourse  follow  in  a  brief  and 
pregnant  recapitulation.  There  is  no  contradic- 
tion in  this.  It  may  have  been  that  the  prophet 
received  the  revelation  of  the  great  discourse  in 
chh.  vii.-x.,  at  the  same  time  with  the  command 
in  deliver  it  in  the  temple,  and  that  afterwards, 


when  the  moment  of  performance  came,  the  com- 
mand was  repeated  with  a  reference  on  the  one 
hand  to  the  revelation  received  (xxvi.  2),  and  on 
the  other  with  a  brief  recapitulation  of  its  main 
import  (xxvi.  4-6). — Omit  not  a  word  reminds 
us  of  Deut.  iv.  2;  xiii.  1  coll.  Kev.  xxii.  19. — 
If  so  be  they  will  hearken,  ver.  3.  It  is  ap- 
parent that  the  assembly  to  the  feast  must  have 
appeared  a  specially  favorable  opportunity  for  a 
decisive  attempt. — Repent  me    of  the  evil. 

Comp.  xviii.  8;  /X  as  in  vers.  13  and  19;  xlii. 
10;  Jud.  xxi.  6;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  16. — rising  early. 
Comp.  vii.  13,  2-5  ;  xxv.  3,  4. — But  ye  have 
not  hearkened,  retained  as  a  reminiscence  of 
the  passage  vii.  13,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  paren- 
thesis ;  since  the  apodosis  begins  with  ver.  6. — 
Like  Shiloh.  In  these  words  the  prophet  re- 
produces most  distinctly  the  main  threatening 
of  the  great  discourse  in  chap.  vii.  (comp.  vers. 
12  and  14,  and  the  rems.  thereon). — A  curse. 
Comp.  xxiv.  9;  xxv.  18. 

Vers.  7-11.  So  the  priests  .  .  .  have  heard 
Avith  your  ears.  The  priests  and  prophets  here 
appear  as  the  real  opponents  of  Jeremiah.  Very 
probably  most  of  the  false  prophets  were  them- 
selves priests.  Comp.  Comm.  on  xx.  6.  —  The 
people  allow  themselves  to  be  carried  away,  though 
on  the  speech  of  the  princes  they  are  disposed  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  Jeremiah  against  the  priests 
and  prophets  (ver.  16),  and  in  other  circum- 
stances would  be  ready  to  execute  the  sentence 
of  death  on  him  (ver.  24).  The  princes  are  not 
yet  filled  with  that  blood-thirsty  hatred  towards 
Jeremiah,  which  they  afterwards  manifest  (ch. 
xxxvii.  sqq.). — In  the  words  like  Shiloh  they 
allude  to  vii.  12,  14,  as  in  the  following  with- 
out an  inheritance  to  ix.  10. — On  gate  of  the 
Lord's  house,  comp.  rems.  on  xx.  2. — Worthy 
to  die.  This  expression  (HIO  ODDO)  occurs  also 
in  Deut.  xix.  6  ;  xxi.  22.  As  the  first  word  in 
itself  signifies  judgment  or  condemnation,  the 
phrase  may  from  the  connection  denote  judg- 
ment or  condemnation  to  death.  The  expression 
in  ver.  11  and  Deut.  xix.  6,  may  be  taken  in  the 
first,  in  ver.  16  and  Deut.  xxi.  22  in  the  second 
sense. 

Vers.  12-19.  Then  spake  Jeremiah  .  .  . 
our  souls.  In  the  words  amend  your  ways 
the  prophet  repeats  the  chief  requisition  of  his 
discourse  in  vii.  3,  5.  It  is  thus  to  be  seen  that 
he  is  neither  terrified  nor  evilly  disposed  towards 
his  people.  On  this  condition,  but  on  this  con- 
dition only,  does  he  promise  salvation.  If  they 
do  not  like  this  they  may  do  with  him  as  they 
will.  They  are,  however,  at  the  same  time  to 
know  that  in  killing  him  they  would  bring  upon 
themselves  the  guilt  of  shedding  innocent  blood. 
This  answer  of  Jeremiah's,  short  and  simple  but 
firm  and  decided,  appears  to  have  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  judges  and  the  people.  For  Jer- 
emiah is  acquitted.  Some  of  the  elders  of  the 
people  (|*ixn  'JpT,  elders  of  the  land,  ver. 
17,  are  distinguished  from   the  D'lE',   princes, 

ver.  10,  who  are  in  the  king's  house,  at  court 
and  members  of  the  government,  while  the 
former  represent  the  local  magistrates  through- 
out tlie  country,  comp.  xxxvii.  15;  xxxviii.  5, 
25  sqq.)  support  this  sentence  by  reference  to  a 
former  occurrence.     The  prophet  Micah,  [of  Mo- 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1-22.— XXVIII.  1-17. 


241 


resheth,  near  Eleutheropolis,  in  Philistia.  Bu- 
ses., Jerome],  had  not  been  punished  by  Heze 
kiah  on  account  of  a  similar  utterance. — On  the 
point,  that  the  passage  iii.  12  forms  the  climax 
of  the  minatory  prophecies  of  Micah,  and  that 
Jeremiah  quotes  the  book  of  Micah  especially  in 
the  discourse  in  chh.  vii.-ix.  comp.  C asp ari,  pas- 
sim. From  the  last  mentioned  circumstance  it  fol- 
lows that  Jeremiah  himself  reminds  his  hearers  of 
Micah,  and  institutes  a  comparison  between  him- 
self and  this  prophet.  Caspari  however  errs  in 
attributing  the  discourse  in  chh.  vii.-ix.  to  the 
reign  of  Josiah.  [On  the  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
phecy of  Micah  and  Jeremiah,  comp.  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  II.,  475.— S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  20-24.  And  there  was  also  a  man 
...  to  put  him  to  death.  That  this  narra- 
tive about  Urijah  does  not  continue  the  words  of 
Jeremiah's  friends,  is  clear  from  the  circum- 
stance that  in  this  case  a  precedent  would  be  re- 
ferred to  unfavorable  to  Jeremiah.  It  is  evident 
that  they  are  not  the  words  of  his  opponents  from 
the  absence  of  any  introductory  formula.  Others 
affirm  that  this  story  must  have  related  to  a  later 
period  than  the  commencement  of  Jehoiakim's 
reign.  This  however  depends  on  how  far  we  ex- 
tend the  commencement.  Apart  then  from  the 
question,  whether  this  occurred  earlier  or  later, 
which  it  will  be  difficult  to  decide,  I  think,  with 
Grotfus,  Schnurrer,  Rosenmueller  and  others, 
that  Jeremiah  himself  adds  this  story  in  order  to 
show  in  how  great  danger  he  then  was  of  his 
life.  At  all  events  the  events  narrated  had  hap- 
pened when  Jeremiah  wrote  his  book,  which  he 
did  the  first  time  in  the  4th  and  5th  years  of  Je- 


hoiakim  (xxxvi.  1  sqq.  ;  9  sqq.),  and  the  second 
time  immediately  after  the  destruction  of  the 
first  book  in  the  Uth  month  of  the  5th  year  of  Je- 
hoiakim  (xxxvi.  28  sqq. )  The  events  might  have 
occurred  up  to  this  time  ;  and  even  if  they  be- 
long to  a  later  period,  the  possibility  is  not  ex- 
cluded that  they  were  inserted  here  by  Jeremiah 
himself.  Yet  it  is  easier  to  explain  the  phrases 
this  city  and  this  land,  in  ver.  20,  if  we  sup- 
pose that  the  prophet  had  these  expressions, 
which  strictly  taken  presuppose  an  oral  address, 
still  in  remembrance  from  the  preceding  conver- 
sation. Nothing  further  is  known  either  of  Uri- 
jah, or  his  father  Shemaiah. — Elnathan  the  son 
of  Achhor  is  also  mentioned  in  xxxvi.  12,  25 
among  the  princes  favorable  to  Jeremiali.  Je- 
hoiakim  appears  to  have  been  his  son-in-law,  for 
Nehushta,  the  mother  of  Jehoiachin  was,  accord- 
ing to  2  Ki.  xxiv.  8,  a  daughter  of  Elnathan. 
Achhor  is  mentioned  in  2  Ki.  xxii.  12  as  one  of 
the  princes,  who  were  in  personal  attendance  on 
Josiah. — The  graves  of  the  common  people  (ver. 
23)  appear  elsewhere  as  an  unhallowed  place  (2 
Ki.  xxiii.  6).  On  the  expression  "  sons  of  the 
people "  comp.  Comm.  on  xvii.  19. — Ver.  24. 
But  the  hand  of  Ahikam.     The  particle  "jX, 

only,  but,  presupposes  a  thought,  which  easily 
flows  from  the  previous  context,  so  would  it  have 
been  luith  Jeremiah.  From  the  mention  of  Ahikam 
alone  it  is  plain  that  it  was  he  who  caused  the 
decision  to  be  favorable  to  Jeremiah,  (ver.  16 
sqq.)  He  is  also  meuliouedin  2  Ki.  xxii.  12-14, 
together  with  Achhor,  and  according  to  xxxix. 
14;  xl.  5,  and  other  passages,  he  was  the  father 
of  the  governor  Gedaliah. 


2.  The  conflict  of  Jeremiah  with  the  false  prophets  in  the  fourth  year  of  Zedekiah. 

Chapters  XXVII.  and  XXVIU 

XXVII.  1-22. 


1  In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  [Zedekiah],  the  son  of  Josiah,  king 

2  of  Judah,  came  this  word  unto  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord   saying,  Thus  saith  the 

3  Lord  to  me.  Make  thee  bonds  and  yokes  and  put  them  upon  thy  neck,  and  senci 
them  to  the  king  of  Edom  and  to  the  king  of  Moab,  and  to  the  king  of  the  Ammo- 
nites, and  to  the  king  of  Tyrus,  and  to  the  king  of  Zidon,  by  the  hand  of  the  mes- 

4  sengers  which  came  to  Jerusalem  unto  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah.  And  command 
them  to  say  unto  their  masters.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth] 

5  the  God  of  Israel,  Thus  shall  ye  say  unto  your  masters;  I  have  made  the  earth, 
the  man  and  the  beast  that  are  upon  the  ground,  by  my  great  power  and  by  my 

6  out-stretched  arm,  and  have  given  it  to  whom  it  seemed  meet  unto  me.  And  now 
have  I  given  all  these  lands  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 

7  my  servant ;  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  have  I  given  him  also  to  serve  him.  And 
all  nations  shall  serve  him,  and  his  son,  and  his  son's  son,  until  the  very  time  of 
his  land  come:  and  then  many  nations  and  great  kings  shall  serve  themselves  of 

8  him.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  the  nation  and  kingdom  which  will  not  serve 
the  same  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  that'  will  not  put  their  neck 
under  the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  that  nation  will  I  punish,  saith  the  Lord 
[Jehovah]  with  the  sword,  and  with  the  famine,  and  with  the  pestilence,  until  I 

16 


242  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


9  have  consumed"  them  by  his  hand.  Therefore  hearken  not  ye  to  your  priests,  nor 
to  your  diviners,  nor  to  your  dreamers,  nor  to  your  enchanters,  nor  to  your  sorcer- 

10  ers,  which  speak  unto  you,  saying,  Ye  shall  not  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  For 
they  prophesy  a  lie  unto  you,  to  remove  you  far  from  your  laud  ;  and  that  I  should 

11  drive  you  out,  and  ye  should  perish.  But  the  nations  that  bring  their  neck  under 
the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  those  will  I  let  remam  still  in  their  own  land, 

12  saith  the  Lord ;  and  they  shall  till  it  and  dwell  therein.  I  spake  also  to  Zede- 
kiah,  king  of  Judah,  according  to  all  those  words,  saying.  Bring  your  necks  under 

13  the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  serve  him  and  his  people,  and  live.^  Why 
will  ye  die,  thou  and  thy  people,  by  the  sword,  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pesti- 
lence, as  the  Lord  hath  spoken  against  the  nation  that  will  not  serve  the  king  of 

14  Babylon?  Therefore  hearken  not  unto  the  words  of  the  prophets  that  speak  unto 
you,  saying,  Ye  shall  not  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  ;  for  they  prophesy  a  lie  unto 

15  you.  For  I  have  not  sent  them,  saith  the  Lord,  [Jehovah]  yet  they  prophesy  a 
lie  in  my  name;  that  I  might  drive  you  out,  and  that  ye  might  perish,  ye  and  the 

16  priests  that  prophesy  unto  you.  Also  I  spake  to  the  priests  and  to  all  this  people, 
saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  Hearken  not  to  the  words  of  your  pro- 
phets that  prophesy  unto  you,  saying,  Behold  the  vessels  of  the  Lord's  house  shall 
now  shortly  be  brought  again  from   Babylon  ;  for  they  prophesy  a  lie  unto  you. 

17  Hearken  not  unto  them  ;  serve  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  live :  wherefore  should 

18  this  city  be  laid  waste  '/  But  if  they  be  prophets,  and  if  the  word  of  the  Lord  be 
with  them,  let  them  now  make  intercession  to  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth] 
that  the  vessels  which  are  left  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  house  of  the 
king  of  Judah,  and  at  Jerusalem,  go*  not  to  Babylon. 

19  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  concerning  the  pillars,  and  concerning  the  sea, 
and  concerning  the  bases,  and  concerning  the  residue  of  the  vessels  that  remain  in 

29  the  city,  which  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  took  not,  when  he  carried  av/ay 
captive*  Jeconiah  the  son  of  Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah  from  Jerusalem  to  Babylon, 

21  and  all  the  nobles  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  ;  Yea,  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
the  God  of  Israel,  concerning  the  vessels    that  remain   in  the  house  of  the  Lord 

22  [Jehovah]  and  in  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah  and  of  Jerusalem;  tbey  shall  be 
carried  to  Babylon,  and  there  shall  they  be  until  the  day  that  I  visit  them,  saith 
the  Lord ;  then  will  I  bring  them  up,  and  restore  them  to  this  place. 

XXVIII.  1-17. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass  the  same  year,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah 
king  of  Judah,  in  the  fourth  year,®  and  in  the  fifth  month,  that  Hananiah  the  son 
of  Azur  the  prophet,  which  was  of  Gibeon,  spake  unto  me  in  the  presence  of  the 

2  priests,  and  of  all  the  people,  saying.  Thus  speaketh  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of 

3  Israel,  saying,  I  have  broken  the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon.  Within  two  full 
years'  will  I  bring  again  into  this  place  all  the  vessels  of  the  Lord's  house,  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  took  away  from  this  place,  and  carried  them  to 

4  Babylon  :  And  I  will  bring  again  to  this  place  Jeconiah  the  son  of  Jehoiakim  king 
of  Judah,  with  all  the  captives  of  Judah,  that  went  into  Babylon,  saith  the  Lord, 
for  I  will  break  the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon. 

5  Then  the  prophet  Jeremiah  said  unto  the  prophet  Hananiah  in  the  presence  of 
the  priests,  and  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people  that  stood  in    the  house  of  the 

6  Lord  [Jehovah].  Even  the  prophet  Jeremiah  said.  Amen :^  the  Lord  do  so:  the 
Lord  perform  thy  words  which  thou  hast  prophesied,  to  bring  again  the  vessels  of 
the  Lord's   house,  and  all  that  is  carried  away  captive,  from    Babylon  into  this 

7  place.     Nevertheless  hear  thou  now  the  word  that  I  speak  in  thine  ears,  and  in  the 

8  ears  of  all  the  people;  the  prophets  that  have  been  before  me  and  before  thee  of 
old  prophesied  both  against  many  countries,  and  against  great  kingdoms,  of  war, 

9  and  of  evil,  and  of  pestilence.®  The  prophet  which  prophesieth  of  peace,  when  the 
word  of  the  prophet  shall  come  to  pass,  then  shall  the  prophet  be  known,  that 
the  Lord  hath  truly  sent  him. 

iO      Then  Hananiah  the  prophet  took  the  yoke  from  off  the  prophet  Jeremiah's  neck, 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1-22.— XXVIII.  1-17. 


243 


11  aud  brake  if  And  Hananiah  spake  in  the  presence  of  nil  the  people,  saying, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord;  even  so  will  I  break  the  yoke  of  JSeuuciiadiiczzar  king  of 
Babylon  from  the  neck  of  all  nations  within  the  space  of  two  full  years.     Aud  the 

12  prophet  Jeremiah  went  his  way.  Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah, 
after  that  Hananiah  the  prophet  had  broken  the  yoke  from  off  the  neck  of  the 

13  prophet  Jeremiah,  saying,  Go  aud  tell  Hananiah,  saying.  Thus  saith  the  Lord; 
Thou  hast  broken  the  j'okes  uf  wood,  but  thou  shalt  make  for  them  yokes  of  iron. 

14  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel ;  I  have  put  a  yoKC  of  iron  upon 
the  neck  of  all  these  nations,  that  they  may  serve  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Baby- 
lon; and  they  shall  serve  him  :  and  I  have  given  him  the  beasts  of  the  field  also. 

15  Then  said  the  prophet  Jeremiah  unto  Hananiah  the  prophet,  Hear  now  Hana- 
niah ;  The  Lord    hath  not  sent  thee ;  but  thou  makest  this  people  to  trust  in  a  lie. 

16  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Behold,  I  will  cast^^  thee  from  off  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  this  year  thou  shalt  die,  because  thou  hast  taught  rebellion  against  the 

17  Lord.     So  Hananiah  the  prophet  died  the  same  year  in  the  seventh  month. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  XXVII.  8. — The  construction  here  is  not  an  anacoluthon,  but  *■!  'UH  is  accusative,  and  ItJ^X  HK  is  not  co-ordinate 
to  the  first  TK'X  hut  to  ^1  ^UH  :  as  to  the  nation  whicli  will  not  serve,  and  as  to  tliat  which  will  not  how  the  neck,  etc. 
Ileuce  the  singular  |jT  stands  properly  also  in  the  second  relative  clause.  The  sign  of  the  accusative  stands  before  the  sec- 
ond Tl^X  to  distinguish  it  as  an  accusative  from  the  first,  which  is  nominative,  (comp.  Ewald,  g  277  d,  2,  and  Geu.  xlvii 
21 ;  2  Ki.  viii.  31),  and  thus  at  the  same  time  to  indicate  that  "m/X  does  not  stand  parallel  to  '■I  ^UH. 

2  Ver.  8. — ''on — ly.     UOD  in  a  transitive  sense,  as  iu  Ps.  Ixiv.  7. 

3  Ver.  12. — VnV    Comp.  Textual  Note  on  xxv.  5. 

*  Ver.  18.— 1X3  Tu^l-  The  form  1X2  as  a  perfect  is  abnormal.  In  1.  5  it  is  to  be  taken  as  imperative.  It  is  there- 
fore not  improbable,  as  Hitzig,  Olshausen  and  Graf  suppose,  that  we  are  to  read  ^xb'  POjI- 

8  Ver.  20.— miSj^-     Comp.  Exod.  xiii.  21 ;  Isa.  xxiii.  11 ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  17  ;  Olsh.  §  78,  c. 

6  XXVIII.  1. —Instead  of  n''J^''3in   njtJ'S  as  the  Chethibh  is  tohe  read,  theSlasoretes  would  here  have  '•n   njK'S  as 

in  xxxii.  1.  The  reading  of  the  Chethibh  is  found  unimpeached  by  the  Masoretes  in  xlvi.  2;  li.  59.  Probably  the  BFasoretea 
wished,  here  as  in  xxxii.  1,  the  same  i>unctu:ition  for  the  word  occurring  twice  in  the  verse,  while  in  xlvi.  2  and  li.  .59,  no 
occasion  was  given  for  such  an  effort  at  conformity.    On  the  St.  const,  in  this  connection,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  J  05,  2,  c. 

'  Ver.  3. — D'O'  DTlJt!'.  On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  ffr.,  g  70,  gr.  Comp.  besides  Gen.  xli.  1 ;  1  Sam.  xiii 
23,  etc. 

8  Ver.  6. — JOX  occurs  besides  in  Jeremiah,  only  in  xi.  5. 

'  Ver.  8. — On  the  construction  in  this  verse,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  88,  7;  111,  1,  h,  10. 

10  Ver.  10. — The  masc.  suffix  in  im^ty'l  refers  to  the  idea  of  7J,».     Comp.  Naegelsb.  <?r.,  g  60, 4. 

"  Ver.  16.— The  word  "in /JS'D,  I  cast  thee  off,  must,  as  IIitziq  has  remarked,  contain  an  allusion  to  "inSc  in 
ver.  15.  '  ' 


EXEGETICAL    AND   CRITICAL. 

The  two  chh.  xxvii.  and  xxviii.  are  so  evidently 
parts  of  a  whole  that  we  do  not  seem  to  be  justified 
in  separating  them.  The  occurrence  here  nar- 
rated is  based  entirely  on  ch.  xxv.  The  sending  of 
the  yoke  to  the  neighboring  nations  can  indeed  be 
regarded  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  commission  re- 
ceived by  the  prophet  in  xxv.  15  only  in  so  far  as  it 
niiiy  be  understood  in  a  double  sense;  in  the  sense 
of  proclamation  and  the  sense  of  the  execution  of 
the  divine  sentence. — The  command  to  acknow- 
ledge Nebuchadnezzar  as  a  world-ruler  appointed 
by  God  is  supplemented  by  the  warning  not  to  al- 
low the  deceptive  promises  of  the  false  prophets 
to  deter  them  from  yielding  in  subjection  to  him 
(xxvii.  9-22).  Notwithstanding  this,  one  of  the 
false  prophets,  Hananiah,  the  son  of  Azur,  dares 
to  give  the  prophet  of  Jehovah  the  lie  and  by 
breaking  the  wooden  yoke,  which  the  latter  bore 
on  his  neck,  to  symbolize  his  liberation  from  the 
dominion  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Thereupon  Jere- 
miah receives  the  command  to  replace  the  wooden 
yoke  by  an  iron  one,  and  to  predict  Hananiah's 
speedy  death  in  the  course  of  the  year.  Hana- 
niah really  died  two  months  afterwards.     The 


date  of  the  whole  occurrence  is  the  fourth  year 
of  Zedekiah  (xxviii.  1),  since  the  statement  in 
xxvii.  1  (beginning  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim)  is 
at  any  rate,  and  the  other  in  xxviii.  1  (beginning 
of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah)  is  very  probably  in- 
correct. Further  particulars  on  this  point  be- 
low. 

XXVII.  1-11.  In  the  beginning  .  .  .  dwell 
therein.  There  are  weighty  critical  suspicions 
with  respect  to  the  first  verse.  In  the  first  place 
the  name  Jehoiakim  has  long  been  a  stumbling- 
block.  How  could  the  prophet  receive  a  com- 
mission in  the  beginning  of  thereign  of  Jehoiakim 
to  the  ambassadors  who  had  come  to  Zedekiah 
D'XBn,  (ver.  3)?     And  how  could    the    prophet 

execute  the  same  commission  to  Zedekiah  (ver.  12), 
and  say  in  xxviii.  1  that  in  the  same  year,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  Hananiah 
contradicted  his  prediction?  Haevebniok  in- 
deed [II.,  2,  S.  217)  .says  "the  words  0J1  D'X^n 
(ver.  S)  pertain  to  the  compilation  of  the  chap- 
ter,— to  show  how  Zedekiah  should  fulfil  that 
older  prophecy  of  the  time  of  Jehoiakim,  and 
should  behave  towards  the  nations  which  were 
his  allies."'  But  this  would  presuppose  that  Jere- 
miah received  a  message  to  ambassadors  who  did 
not  come  to  Jerusalem  till  from  eleven  to  fifteen 


2U 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


years  afterwards.  Further,  according  to  this 
the  name  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  (Uialdeans 
would  have  been  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of 
the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  while  we  have  demon- 
strated that  before  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  in 
the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  Jeremiah  did  not 
yet  know  that  the  enemies  coming  from  the  north 
would  be  the  Chaldeans  under  Nebuchadnezzar. 
Add  to  this  that  the  compiler  must  have  pro- 
ceeded very  inconsiderately,  to  substitute  the  time 
of  receiving  the  commission  for  that  of  its  execu- 
tion. We  ought  to  have  read  in  that  case :  In 
the  time  of  Jehoiakim  Jeremiah  received  the 
commission  to  declare  the  following  to  foreign 
ambassadors  who  should  come.  These  ambassa- 
aors  came  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zede- 
kiah  and  unto  them  spake  Jeremiah,  etc.  In- 
stead of  this  we  have:  In  the  beginning  of  Je- 
hoiakim's  reign  Jeremiah  received  the  command  to 
deliver  this  message  to  the  ambassadors,  who  are 
come  to  Zedekiah,  etc.  To  attribute  to  the  sup- 
posed compiler  such  a  violent  treatment  of  the 
text  is  truly  much  worse  than  to  assume  an  over- 
sight of  the  copyist.  It  is,  moreover,  a  wonder 
to  me  that,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  no 
commentator  has  hit  on  the  idea  of  taking  D'JOn 
in  the  sense  of  the  Fut.,  or  Fut.  exacti. :  who  come 
or  tcill  hai>e  come.  There  is  unquestionably  gram- 
matical autlioiity  for  this.  For  the  participle, 
which  in  itself  has  no  tense,  may  be  taken  ac- 
cording to  the  connection  as  present,  past  or 
future.  Comp.  Naegelsb.,  Gr.,  §  97;  Ewald,  ^ 
335,  b.  Compare  especially  the  same  word  in 
Isa.  xxvii.  (J=lemporibus  futm-is,  Eccles.    ii.    16, 

D'NDn  D'DTI   diebus  Venturis,  etc. — Whatever  we 

have  already  urged  is  certainly  opposed  to  this 
rendering  of  the  word,  viz.     1,  the  improbability 
of  the  communication  of  a  message  not  to  be  de- 
livered for  fifteen  years;  2,  above  all  the  entirely 
unhistorical  mention  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the 
Chaldeans  in   the  beginning  of  thfe  reign  of  Je- 
hoiakim.     The   objections   to   the   reading   Je- 
hoiakim are  of  ancient  date.      Jerome  helps 
himself  out  of  the  difficulty  by  connecting  the 
verse  with  the  previous  chapter.     It  does  not  dis- 
tui-b    him  that  thus  ch.  xxvi.  begins   and  ends 
with  a  similar  date;  yet  he  supposes  that  it  was 
this  circumstance,  which  led  the  Seventy  to  omit 
the  verse.     The  Syriac  and  the  unprinted  Arabs 
Oxonie7isis  read  "Zedekiah."     Likewise  the  Cod. 
Regiomont,    II.     Kennicott  in  his    Diss,  super 
rations   text.  Ilebr.   V.  T.,  L,  p.  503;  II.,  p.  34G, 
Ed.    Teller,  decidedly  favors  the  view  that  a 
copyist    who   had  forgotten  that   Zedekiah  was 
also    a   son  of  Josiah  was  moved  by  xxvi.  1    to 
alter  the  name  of  Zedekiah   into  Jehoiakim.     I 
also  hold  the  view  tliat  xxvi    1  affected  the  ren- 
dering of  xxvii.  1,  for  as  we  shall  see  below  at 
xlix.    34,     chapter  xxvii.   has    lost   its  original 
superscription  by  the   oversight  of  a  diaskenast 
who  added  this    verse  of  the  prophecy  against 
Elam  as  a  postscript.      Hence^  xxvii.    1  is   still 
wanting  in  tlie  LXX. ;  on  the  other  hand  the  pro- 
phecy  against  Elum  has  in   the  LXX.  a  super- 
scription and  a  postscript,  in  the  Hebrew  text  a 
Buperscription  which  does  not  correspond  to  the 
general  purport,  and  cli.  xxvii.    has   obtained  in 
the  HeVjrew  a  new  bcgiuniiig  whicli   was  fcirriied 
•fterxxvi.  1,  while  the  original  text  of  .xxvii.  l,is 


to  be  sought  nowhere  else  but  in  xlix.  34  (with 

the   omission   of  D/'J^'/N).      So   Movers    and 

HiTziG,  with  whom  on  this  point  I  feel  obliged 
to  agree.  From  xxviii.  1  it  is  evident  that  by 
the  beginning  of  Zedekiah's  reign  we  are  to  un- 
derstand his  fourth  year.  This  appears  to  be 
entirely  suitable  in  point  of  fact.  For  it  is  not 
to  be  imagined  that  Zedekiah  undertook  revolu- 
tionary projects  immediately  after  his  ascension 
of  the  throne.  As  to  the  mode  of  expression, 
"beginning"  is  a  relative  idea,  and  the  first  half 
of  a  period  may  be  designated  as  the  beginning, 
the  latter  half  as  its  close.  From  the  words 
Thus  saith  Jehovah  unto  thee,  it  is  more- 
over apparent  that  from  ver.  2  onward  the  pro- 
phet communicates  the  words  as  he  spoke  them 
to  the  people.  Comp.  "  saith  Jehovah,"  ver.  11 
and  ver.  16.  The  introductory  formula  in  ver.  1 
b,  is  then  not  to  be  referred  specially  to  the  mo- 
ment of  revelation,  but  it  has  this  sense,  that  all 
the  actions  and  speeches  related  in  what  follows 
are  the  result  of  a  revelation  to  the  prophet. 

Ver.  2.  Bonds  i.  e.  cords  (ii.  20;  v.  5;  xxx. 
8),  not  to  hold  together  the  wooden  parts  of  the 
yokes,  for  such  yokes  there  are  none,  but  to  fix 
the  yoke  to   the  body,  are  what  Jeremiah  is  to 

prepare.  So  with  HlUb-  The  word  (tOW,  totter- 
ing above,  crooked,  broken  from  the  branch,  the 
bough,  piece  of  wood)  is  in  both  these  chapters 

used  in  a  material  sense,  while  7^  always  de- 
notes the  yoke  in  a  figurative  sense  (xxvii.  8,  11, 
12;   xxviii.    2,  4,    11,   14  coll.  xxviii.    10  sqq.). 
Jferemiah  is  to  put  these  yokes  on  his  neck  and 
send  them  by  the  messengers  to  their  master.  As 
certainly  as  the  prophet  should  put  a  yoke  upon 
his  neck,  and  has  really  put  it  on  (xxviii.  10  sqq. 
coll.  Isa.    XX.    2 ;  Hos.   i.   2  sqq. ;    Ezek.    xii.    3 
sqq.),  so  certainly  should  he  really  give  the  yoke 
to  the  messengers.     This  corresponded  to  orien- 
tal customs.     If  the  messengers  would  not  take 
the  yoke  with  them,  that  was  their  affair.     The* 
four  neighboring  nations  here  mentioned  (Edom, 
Moab,  Ammon,  Sidon)  are  named  in  the   same 
order  in  xxv.  1,  2.      Niebuhr  (Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S. 
211)  connects  this  consultation  with  the  diver- 
sion, which  resulted  from  Nebuchadnezzar's  pre- 
tended expedition  against  Media  after  the  death 
of  CyaxaresinB.  C.  694  (  Vid.  sup.,  xxv.  26).     But 
this  connection  is  altogether  uncertain,  and  we 
must  be  content  to  be  ignorant  why  that  epoch 
was    considered    adapted  for    a   revolt.     At  all 
events  the  words  of  tlie  prophet  made  an  impres- 
sion on  the  king.     For  in  the  same  year  (593)  we 
find    him    on    a  journey    to    Babylon     (Ii.    59), 
which  can  have  had  no  other  object  than  renewed 
homage.     When  DtrNCKER  [S.  834,  etc.)  says  the 
Phoenicians  were  then  left  to  their  fate  and  sub- 
jugated by  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  first  part  ol  the 
statement  is  correct.     But  I  doubt  whether  they 
then  immediately  revolted  on  their  own  account, 
and  were   again  subjugated.      For  when  Sidon 
(Ezek.  xxxii.  29)  is  mentioned  among  the  nations 
which  had  fallen  before  the  sword  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, before  the    twentieth  year  of  this  king 
(Ezek.  xxxii.  17),  therefore  before  B.  C,  585,  it 
does  not  seem  at  all  necessary'  to  assume  that  the 
Plioetiicians  revolted  sooner  liian  Zedekiah   him- 
self, who  was  moved  to  open  revolt  by  Hophra 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1-22.— XXVIII.  1-17. 


24j 


the  new  king  of  Egypt,  in  B.  C.  589.  When 
also  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (586)  only 
Tyrus  among  the  Phoenician  cities  was  still  to  be 
subdued,  the  conquest  of  the  rest  may  have  well 
taken  place  immediately  before  the  attack  on 
Judah  and  Jerusalem  (588).  The  Edomites, 
Moabites  and  Ammonites,  who  are  mentioned  in 
2  Kings  xxiv.  2  as  Chaldean  allies  against  Judah, 
appear  according  to  our  passage  in  their  love 
of  freedom  to  have  momentarily  forgotten  their 
ancient  enmity  towards  Judah,  as  well  as  their 
fear  of  the  Chaldeans.  But  they  can  scarcely 
have  revolted.  According  to  Ps.  cxxxvii.  7  coll. 
Lam.  iv.  21,  22;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  5  the  Edomites 
were  zealous  co-operators  at  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem. 

Ver.  5.  I  have  made,  etc.  The  Creator  has 
the  right  to  dispose  of  His  creatures.  —  As 
seemed  meet  unto  me.  Comp.  xviii.  4. — Ver. 
6.  And  the  beasts  of  the  field.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar is  declared  universal  governor  de  jure  di- 
vino.  —  Ver.  7.  This  verse  is  wanting  in  theLXX. 
Movers  and  Hitzig  regard  it  as  interpolated. 
Comp.  on  the  other  hand  Gr.\f,  (S.  348,  Anm. 
An  interpolator  would  certainly  not  have  inter- 
polated so  incorrectly.  For  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
succeeded  only  by  his  son  Evilmerodach,  who 
was  murdered  by  Neriglissar,  his  father-in-law. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Labosoarchad,  a 
child  who  was  killed  after  a  reign  of  nine  months, 
to  make  place  for  Nabonnet,  one  of  the  conspira- 
tors. The  latter  was  Babylon's  last  king.  On 
the  contrary  the  LXX.  omitted  the  verse  because 
it  seemed  so  inaccurate.  The  prophet  does  not, 
however,  intend  to  be  exact.  The  phrase  "his 
son  and  his  son's  son"  is  to  denote  an  indefinite 
but  brief  period  (Exod.  xx.  5;  xxxiv.  7;  Dent. 
V.  9).  The  chronicler  seems  to  refer  to  this  pas- 
sage in  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  20. — Shall  serve  them- 
selves of  him.  Comp.  xxv.  14.  The  expres- 
sions many  nations,  etc.,  remind  us  of  1.  9,  41. 
When  we  remember  that  this  passage  originated 
at  the  same  time  with  chh.  1.  and  li.,  this  rela- 
tionship may  well  have  its  foundation  in  the 
mind  of  the  prophet. — Ver.  8.  The  nation 
which  .  .  .  that  will  not,  etc.  At  lirst  it 
seems  natural  to  take  the  second  sentence  as  the 
correction  of  the  first:  he  who  will  not  serve,  or 
rather,  he  who  will  not  voluntarily  submit  him- 
self. For  all,  indeed,  will  serve.  He  who  has 
to  be  compelled  may  expect  the  extremity  of  dis- 
tress, while  he  who  voluntarily  submits  will  re- 
tain at  least  his  land  and  his  life.  But  unfor- 
tunately it  is  not  grammatically  allowable  to 
take  1  in  the  meaning  of  "or  rather."  We  must 
therefore  make  this  distinction  between  "serve  " 
and  "put  their  neck  under  the  yoke,"  that  the 
former  refers  to  the  nations  already  subject  to 
the  Babylonian  dominion,  the  latter  to  the  otliers. 
In  warning  the  heathen  nations  of  their  diviners, 
sorcerers,  etc.,  the  prophet  puts  the  false  pro- 
phets of  the  Jews  afterwards  mentioned  in  the 
same  category  with  them. — Ver.  10.  To  remove. 
The  consequence  is  represented  as  the  object. 
Comp.  ver.  15. — And  that  I  should  drive. 
Observe  the  return  of  the  discourse  from  the 
secondary  to  the  main  form.  Comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gr.,  §  99,  3,— vers.  15  and  22. 

Vers.  12-15.  I  spake  also  to  Zedekiah  .  .  . 
prophesy  unto  you.     As  in  ver. ::,  tlie  prophet 


here  and  in  ver.  16  sqq.  gives  an  account,  not 
of  the  reception,  but  the  execution  of  the  divine 
commission.  Comp.  Exeq.  rems.  onxxvi.  2. — By 
the  sword,  etc    Comp.  ver.  8. 

Vers.  lt)-22.  Also  I  spake  to  the  priests 
.  .  .  restore  them  to  this  place.  Jeremiah 
speaks  to  the  king  of  political  subjection,  to  the 
priests  and  the  people  of  the  vessels  which  were 
the  ornaments  of  the  temple  and  its  worship. 
These  vessels  carried  away  by  Nebuchadnezzar 
(2  Kings  xxiv.  13)  are  according  to  the  words  of 
the  false  prophets  to  be  brought  back  in  a  very 
brief  period.  In  opposition  to  this  Jeremiah 
makes  the  requisition  on  the  false  prophets  to 
prove  their  authority  by  preventing  through  their 

intercession  (1J^J3\  Comp.vii.  16)  the  deportation 
of  the  vessels  still  in  their  possession. — The  pil- 
lars (1  Kings  vii.  15-22),  sea  (lb.  23-2G),  and  bases 
(ver.  27  sqq.),  were  the  largest  and  heaviest  ves- 
sels, which  were  not  therefore  carried  away  the 
first  time.  Comp.  Exeg.  rems.  on  lii.  17. — All 
the  nobles.  Comp.  Is.  xxxiv.  12;  Jer.  xxxix. 
6  and  xxix.  2;  2  Kings  xxiv.  11  sqq. — The  refu- 
tation of  Movers'  and  Hitzig's  assertion  that 
vers.  16-21  are  interpolated,  may  be  seen  in  Graf, 
S.  351.  He  has  also  on  pp.  344,  845  shown  that 
the  abbreviated  name-ending,  which  prevails  in 
chh.  xxvii.-xxix.  [TV  instead  of  Tf)  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  the  sign  of  a  later  date  of  composi- 
tion. 

XXVIII.  1-4.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  . 
the  yoke  of  the  king  of  Babylon.  In  the 
same  year,  doubtless  shortly  after  the  occurrences 
narrated  in  ch.  xxvii.  came  Hananiah  from  Gibeou 
(a  city  of  priests.  Josh.  xxi.  17)  and,  therefore, 
probably  himself  a  priest,  in  opposition  to  Jere- 
miah prophesying  that  in  two  years  the  Lord 
will  break  the  yoke  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and 
bring  back  the  sacred  vessels  and  kingJehoiachin, 
together  with  the  other  captives  from  Babylon. 
Uu  the  date  "in  the  beginning"  comp.  Comm. 
on  xxvii.  1.  The  month  is  mentioned  on  account 
of  the  statement  in  ver.  17. — The  deceptive  pro- 
mise of  Hananiah  is  directly  opposed  to  what 
Jeremiah  has  said  in  xxii.  26,  27;   xxvii.  16. 

Vers.  6-9.  Then  the  prophet  Jeremiah 
said  .  .  .  truly  sent  him.  Jeremiah  replies: 
would  that  thou  wert  right!  But  only  prophe- 
cies of  calamity  have  the  presumption  of  truth  in 
their  favor,  for  they  are  connected  with  danger 
to  their  author.  Prophecies  of  good  fortune  may 
be  flattery.  We  must,  therefore,  wait  for  their 
result. — On  ver.  9  comp.  Deut.  xviii.  21,  22. 

Vers.  10  and  11.  Then  Hananiah  .  . .  went 
his  way.  Hananiah  has  the  audacity  to  an- 
swer Jeremiah's  speech  by  taking  the  yoke  from 
his  neck  and  breaking  it,  at  the  same  time  re- 
peating his  previous  prediction  (vers.  3  and  4). 
Jeremiah  goes  away  for  the  time  without  uttering 

a  word  in  reply.  On  HtDiO  and  1^  comp.  Exeg. 
rems.  on  xxvii.  2. 

Vers.  12-17.  Then  the  w^ord  .  .  .  seventh 
month.  After  some  time  Jeremiah  received 
trom  the  Lord  a  double  message  to  Hananiah: 
1.  By  the  breaking  of  the  wooden  yoke  all  that 
he  has  effected  is  that  an  iron  one  takes  its  place, 
for  iron  will  be  the  yoke,  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
will  put  upon  the  nations,  according  to  the  will 
ot  God;  2.  Hananiah,  who  misuses  the  name  of 


24(i 


THE  rROPHET  JEllEMIAH. 


God  and  has  misled  the  people  into  vain  confi- 
dence, is  to  die  this  year.  This  also  came  to 
pass,  for  he  died  two  months  afterwards. — 
Yokes  of  wood.  The  plural  is  generic,  as 
was  remarked  on  xxvii.  2.  Comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gt.,  I  61,  2  d— Yoke  of  iron.     The  prophet 


appears  to  have  had  Deut.  xxviii.  48  in  mind. 
On  ver.  14  comp.  xxvii.  G. — Rebellion  (HID). 
comp.  xxix.  32.  It  is=revolt,  rebellion,  on  ac- 
count of  the  following  "~^N. — In  the  seventh 
mouth  corresponds  to  fifth  mouth,  ver.  1. 


3.  The  conflict  of  Jeremiah  with  the  false  prophets  in  Babylon. 

Chapter  XXIX. 

1.  The  Letter  to  the  Exiles. 
XXIX.  1-23. 

1  Now  these  are  the  words  of  the  letter  that  Jeremiah  the  prophet  sent  from  Je- 
rusalem unto  the  residue  of  the  elders  which  were  carried  away  captives,  and  to 
the  priests,  and  to  the  prophets,  and  to  all  the  people  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  car- 

2  ried  away  captive  from  Jerusalem  to  Babylon  (after  that  Jeconiah  the  king,  and 
the  queen,  and  the  eunuchs,  the  princes  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  carpeo- 

3  ters  and  the  smiths,  were  departed  from  Jeru.^alem) ;  By  the  hand  of  Elasah  the 
son  of  Shaphan,  and  Gemariah  the  son  of  Hilkiah  (whom  Zedekiah  the  king  of 
Judah  sent  unto  Babylon  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon),  saying, 

4  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth],  the  God  of  Israel,  unto  all  that 
are  carried  away  captives,  whom  I  have  caused  to  be  carried  away  from  Jerusalem 

5  unto  Babylon :  Build  ye  houses  and  dwell  in  them,  and  plant  gardens  and  eat  the 

6  fruit  of  them;  Take  ye  wives,  and  beget  sons  and  daughters;  and  take  wives  for 
your  sons,  and  give  your  daughters  to  husbands,  that  they  may  bear  sons  and 

7  daughters  ;  that  ye  may  be  increased  there  and  not  diminished.  And  seek  the  peace 
of  the  city  whither  I  have  caused  you  to  be  carried  away  captive,  and  pray  unto 
the  Lord    [Jehovah]  for  it :  for  in  the  peace  thereof  shall  ye  have  peace. 

8  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel :  Let  not  your  prophets  and 
your  diviners,  that  be  in  the  midst  of  you,  deceive  you,  neither  hearken  to  your 

9  dreams  which  ye  cause  to  be  dreamed  *     For  they  prophesy  falsely  unto  you  in  my 

10  name:  I  have  not  sent  them,  saith  the  Lord.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  That  after 
seventy  years  be  accomplished  at  Babylon  I  will  visit  you,  and  perform  my  good 

11  word  toward  you,  in  causing  you  to  return  to  this  place.  For  I  know  the  thoughts 
that  I  think  toward  you,  saith  the  Lord,  thoughts  of  peace  and  not  of  evil,  to  give 

12  you  an  expected  end.     Then  shall  ye  call  upon  me,  and  ye  shall  go  and  pray  unto  me, 

13  and  I  will  hearken  unto  you.     And  ye  shall  seek  me,  and  find  me,  when   ye  shall 

14  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart.  And  I  will  be  found  of  you,  saith  the  Lord : 
and  I  will  turn  away  your  captivity,^  and  I  will  gather  you  from  all  the  nations, 
and  from  all  the  places  whither  I  have  driven  you,  saith  the  Lord  ;  and  I  will 
bring  you  again  into  the  place  whence  I  caused  you   to  be  carried  away  captive. 

15, 16  Because^  ye  have  said,  The  Lord  hath  raised  us  up  prophets  in  Babylon  ;  Know 
that  thus  saith  the  Lord  of*  the  king  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne^  of  David,  and 
of  all  the  people  that  dwelleth  in  the  city,  and  of  your  brethren  that  are  not  gone 

17  forth  with  you  into  capjtivity;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts:  Behold,  I  will  send 
upon  them  the  sword,  the  famine,  and  the  pestilence,  and  will  make  them  like  vile® 

18  figs,  that  cannot  be  eaten,  they  are  so  evil.     And  I  will  persecute  them  with  the 
swurd,  with  the  famine,  and  with  the  pestilence,  and  will  deliver  them  to  be  re 
moved  to  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  to  be  a  curse,  and  an  astonishment,  and  an 

19  his.'>ing,  and  a  reproach,  among  all  the  nations  whither  I  have  driven  them :  Because 
they  have  not  hearkened  to  my  words,  saith  the  Lord,  which  I  sent'  unto  them  by 
my  servants  the  prophets,  rising  up  early  and  sending  them;  but  ye  would  not  hear, 
saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]. 


CHAP.  XXIX.   1-23. 


247 


20  Hear  ye  therefore  the  word  of  the   Lord,  all  ye  of  the  captivity,  whom  I  have 

21  sent  from  Jerusalem  to  Babylon :  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel, 
of  Ahab  the  son  of  Kolaiah,  and  of  Zedekiah  the  son  of  Maaseiah,  which  prophesy  a 
lie  unto  you  in  my  name :  Behold,  I  will  deliver  them  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchad- 

22  nezzar,  king  of  Babylon ;  and  he  shall  slay  them  before  your  eyes ;  And  of  them  shall 
be  taken  up  a  curse  by  all  the  captivity  of  Judah  which  are  in  Babylon,  saying,  The 
Lord   make  thee  like  Zedekiah  and  like  Ahab,®  whom  the  king  of  Babylon  roasted 

23  in  the  fire  ;  Because  they  have  committed  villany  in  Israel,  and  have  committed 
adultery  with  their  neighbours'  wives,  and  have  spoken  lying  words  in  my  name, 
which  I  have  not  commanded  them :  even  I  know^  and  am  a  witness,  saith  the  Lord. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  8. — D'D /HD-  Hiph.  from  D /PI  occurs  only  in  Isa.  xxxviii.  16  and  here ;  Part.  Hiph.  here  only.  The  causative 
conjugation  woulJ  not  inappropriately  intimate  the  self-made  character  of  those  dreams  (IIitzigJ.  The  form  is  not  with- 
out analogies.     Comp.  D''TTJ70,  ^  Chron.  x.\viii.  23.     D'^VHiD  (Keri)  1  Chron.  xv.  24.     But  comp.  Olsh.,  2  25S  a,  S.  580. 

*  Ver.  14.— 3^tJ?  in  this  connection  is  used  transitively.    That  JlOtJ?  cannot  be  taken  as  accusative  of  the  object  (I  turn 

myself  to  the  captivity)  is  evident  from  the  circumstance,  that,  where  the  connection  requires  the  imperfect  we  have  ^'K'X; 

•  T 
xxxii.  44;  xxxiii.  11,  26  (Keri);  xlix.  6,  39  (Keri)  ;  in  Ezek.  xxxix.  25 ;  xxxiii.  7  we  have  even  the  perfect  Iliphil. 

3  Ver.  15. — ''3.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  lOi),  1  a.  Since  the  pleonastic  ^2  requires  a  verbum  dicendi  to  be  sujjplied  be- 
fore it,  we  must  here  supply:  thus  I  say;  thus  I  declare  to  you.  ''2  before  Dn"10X=when,  or  as  to  this  that — as  almost 
all  the  commentators  admit.    The  perfect  is  used  (comp.  the  imperf.  ver.  13),  because  the  fact  supposed  is  real. 

*  Ver.  16. — T  70n    /X,  ver.  16.    ^^=in  respect  to,  of ,  aa  frequently  elsewhere:  ver.  21 ;  xxii.  11.    Comp.  Naeoelsb. 

ffr.,ail2,5,6.  ... 

*  Ver.  16. — ND3~ /X-     7X  for  ^y,  as  frequently  in  Jeremiah.    Comp.  rems.  on  x.  1. 

*  Ver.  17. — "Ij.'tJ'  (probably  from  "^yiJ^O)  here  only — meaning  horridus,  abominandus.    Comp.  T^'^^'^}^^^ 

T  Ver.  19. — Tin/ty^'m'X-    On  the  construction  with  a  double  accusative  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  69,  2  c. 
8  Ver.  22.— 3nXD1.     In  consequence  of  the  elision  of  the  X,  patahh  must,  according  to  the  well-known  rule,  pass  over 
into  Segol.  '^  •'  = 

»  Ver.  23. — On  the  reading  J^TID  comp.  Textual  Notes  on  xvii.  23. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Jeremiah  did  not  limit  himself  to  contending 
against  the  perverse  nationalism  of  the  Jews  in 
their  own  home,  for  those  who  had  already  been 
carried  away  captive  were  in  constant  communi- 
cation with  home,  and  the  accounts  of  the  views 
and  expectations  prevailing  among  the  former 
at  all  events  influenced  the  conclusions  of  the 
latter.  If  they  adapted  themselves  to  their  state 
of  exile  and  described  it  as  tolerable,  when  they 
Baw  its  inevitable  necessity,  and  admonished  their 
countrymen  to  bow  to  this  necessity,  tliis  was  at 
any  rate  a  powerful  auxiliary  to  Jeremiah's 
preaching.  Hence  Jeremiah  seeks  to  move  the 
captives  to  humble  submission  to  their  lot,  pre- 
senting before  them  on  the  one  hand  the  true 
consolation  of  a  deliverance  to  be  hoped  for  after 
seventy  years,  and  on  the  other  hand  most  em- 
phatically warning  them  against  the  false  conso- 
lation of  a  deliverance  in  a  shorter  period,  which 
the  false  prophets  set  before  ihem.  Jeremiah 
thus  avails  himself  of  the  opportunity  afforded 
by  an  embassy,  despatched  by  Zedekiah  to  Ba- 
bylon (xxix.  3),  to  send  a  letter  to  those  who 
had  been  already  deported.  We  know  nothing 
further  either  of  the  object  of  the  embassy  or 
of  the  persons  of  the  ambassadors.  As  to  the 
time  of  the  composition  and  despatch  of  the  let- 
ter IIiTZir,  has  correctly  remarked  that  all  ti.e 
data  we  have  poitit  to  the  period  between  the 
first  and  the  fourth  years  of  Zedekiah.  The  de- 
portation under  Jeconiah  had  taken  place  (xxix. 
1,  2).  The  deportation  appears  to  be  that  evmt 
on  which  the  sending  of  the  letter  leans;  there 


seems  to  be  nothing  more  important  as  the  occa- 
sion of  it.  Add  to  this  that  the  counsel  which 
Jeremiah  gives  suits  the  commencement  of  the 
exile.  How  are  the  exiles  to  arrange  matters? 
Are  they  to  compose  themselves  for  a  brief 
or  lengthened  sojourn?  Jeremiah  tells  them 
they  are  to  do  the  latter.  It  is  incredible  that 
he  delayed  this  advice  for  years,  the  more  so 
since  of  the  seventy  years -of  exile,  for  those  who 
were  carried  away  with  Jeconiah,  eight  were 
already  past.  Besides  this,  it  is  not  probable 
that  Zedekiah  in  his  fourth  year,  when  he  him- 
self went  to  Babylon  (li.  59),  would  send  an  em- 
bassy thither.  I  therefore  agree  with  Hitzig, 
who  ascribes  the  epistle  to  the  first  or  second 
year  after  the  deporiaiion.  The  vision,  of  which 
ch.  xxiv.  relates,  must  have  preceded  this  leiicr, 
not  only  because  from  its  purport  it  must  have 
followed  immediately  after  the  deportation  of 
Jeconiah,  while  our  letter  presupposes  the  ar- 
rival of  the  captives  in  Babylon,  but  also  because 
in  several  places  in  the  letter  reference  is  made 
to  it  (comp.  ver.  10  with  xxiv.  6;  ver.  17  with 
xxiv.  2,  8 ;  ver.  18  with  xxiv.  9). — It  is  true 
many  commentators  regard  vers.  16-20  as  inau- 
thentic,  but  incorrectly  as  we  shall  see. — The 
question,  whether  we  have  a  true  copy  of  the 
letter  or  only  a  later  reproduction,  or  account 
of  it,  is  variously  answered.  The  last  view  has 
in  its  favor :  1.  that  the  writing  has  not  the  form 
of  a  letter;  2.  the  apparently  unconnected  posi- 
tion of  vers.  15-20.  But  what  is  the  Hebrew 
form  of  a  letter  ?  From  the  few  examples  which 
the  Old  Testament  affords  (comp.  2  Sam.  xi.  14  ; 
1  Ki.  xxi.  8;  2  Ki.  x.  1-6;  2  Chron.  xxx.  G; 
Ezr.  iv.   8;  Neh.  vi.  5),  v.e   cannot  derive   any 


24b 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


set  form,  and  as  to  the  absence  of  connection  we 
shall  hereafter  show  (on  ver.  15  sqq.)  that  such 
an  absence  does  not  exist.  I  find  therefore  no 
reason  for  doubting  the  agreement  of  our  letter 
with  the  original.  It  contains  four  parts:  1. 
vers.  4-7,  the  positive  command  to  arrange  for  a 
longer  sojourn  in  Babylon  ;  2.  Warning  against 
being  deceived  by  the  false  prophets,  since  Jeho- 
vah promises  deliverance  and  return  only  after 
seventy  years;  3.  vers.  15-20,  Warning  against 
trusting  in  the  false  prophets,  especially  in  refe- 
rence to  that  part  of  the  people  which  had  re- 
mained in  Jerusalem,  since  it  is  devoted  to  de- 
struction ;  4.  vers.  21-23,  prediction  of  the  severe 
punishment  of  two  false  prophets. 

Vers.  1-7.  Now  these  are  the  words  .  .  . 
shall  ye  have  peace.  After  the  words  of  his- 
tiirical  introduction,  which  give  information  con- 
cerning the  receivers  and  bearers  of  the  letter, 
follows  the  first  part  of  the  letter  (vers.  4-7). 
As  tlie  command  of  God  (ver.  4),  Jeremiah  pro- 
claims to  the  exiles  that  they  should  build  houses 
and  lay  out  gardens  (ver.  5),  marry  and  give 
their  children  in  marriage  (ver.  6),  and  seek  the 
welfare  of  the  place  assigned  them  as  a  resi- 
dence as  a  condition  of  their  own  (ver.  7).  Hit- 
zio  regards  vers.  1-3  as  showing  traces  of  a  later 
hand  in  the  abbreviated  forms  of  the  names,  the 
Duntion  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  which  name  is 
omitted  by  the  LXX.,  and  in  the  remark  that 
Jeremiah  was  a  prophet.  But  comp.  on  the  other 
hand  Gkaf,  S.  342  sqq. — The  residue  of  the 
elders.  The  explanation  of  Hitzig  and  Geaf 
that  these  were  the  elders  who  were  not  at  the 
same  time  priests  or  prophets,  cannot  possibly 
be  correct.  For  then  this  phrase  must  have 
come  after,  since  those  priests  and  prophets  who 
were  not  elders,  can  be  no  others  than  those 
straightway  mentioned.  The  supposition  that  the 
deceased  elders  must  have  been  already  replaced 
by  others,  so  that  the  council  of  elders  could  not 
appear  to  the  prophet  as  merely  a  residue,  is  un- 
founded. How  could  Jeremiah  assume  an  or- 
ganized community,  when  in  his  letter  he  ex- 
horts them  to  enter  into  such  relations.  He  will 
of  course  address  those  elders  only  who  are  alive. 
— Does  the  date  in  ver.  2  refer  to  "sent"  or 
"carried  away?"  Manifestly  to  the  latter,  for 
if  referred  to  "sent"  it  would  declare  that  Je- 
remiah wrot^  immediately  after  the  surrender, 
which  is  not  to  be  imagined.  The  sentence 
"after  tliat,"  etc.,  is  therefore  to  be  referred  to 
"  carried  away"  and  the  sense  is:  "which  Ne- 
buchadnezzar carried  away  after  that,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  required  condition,  Jehoiauiiin, 
with  those  afterwards  named,  surrendered  him- 
self.    For   Ni"'    is  used   of  the  surrendering  of 

besieged  persons  (2  Ki.  xxiv.  12  sqq.;  1  Sam.  xi. 
3,  10;  1  Ki.  XX.  31;  Isa.  xxxvi.  16;  Jer.  xxi. 
9;  xxxviii.  2,  21). — The  queen.  Comp.  xiii. 
18;  2  Ki.  xxiv.  8,  12,  15.— The  eunuchs,  the 
princes.  The  two  terms  appear  to  be  in  appo- 
sition, but  the  princes  of  Judah  were  certainly 
not  eunuchs.  Either  then  is  D'TD  to  betaken  in 
the  sense  of  chamberlain,  courtier  (of  which 
use  there  is  certain  proof.  Comp.  2  Ki.  xxiv. 
14,  15.  Gksk.n.  Thcs.,  p.  073),  or  else  1,  and,  is 
wanting  before  '''^)^,  princes. — On  carpenters, 
itc,  comp.  rems.  on  xxiv.   1. — The   Lord  desig- 


nates the  captives  as  carried  away  by  him:  vers. 
4,  7,  14,  20. — Increased  there.  This  ancient 
theocratic  blessing  (Gen.  xiii.  16;  xv.  5;  xvii. 
2 ;  Jer.  iii.  16,  19)  is  thus  to  be  preserved  to  the 
people  even  in  captivity. 

Vers.  8-14.  For  thus  .  .  .  carried  away- 
captive.  The  direction  in  vers.  5-7  is  given  by 
the  prophet  for  two  reasons,  a  negative  and  a 
positive.  The  negative  reason  is,  the  expecta- 
tion of  a  speedy  liberation,  which  false  prophets 
seek  to  produce  in  the  people  and  which  is  an 
illusion  of  their  own  dreams,  a  nonentity,  by 
which  they  are  not  to  allow  themselves  to  be  de- 
ceived (vers.  8  and  9).  The  positive  reason  is 
that  not  till  after  seventy  years  will  the  Lord 
verify  His  promise  of  grace.  Then  will  the 
people  call  upon  their  God  and  seek  Him,  and 
He  will  hear  and  be  found  of  them  and  turn 
away  their  captivity  and  bring  them  home  from 
all  the  places  where  they  have  been  dispersed 
(vers.  10-14). — Ver.  10.  Seventy  years.  Comp. 
XXV.  11.  The  prophet  does  not  calculate  from 
the  present,  but  he  has  in  mind  the  absolute 
period  of  duration  appointed  to  the  Babylonian 
empire.  Observe  also,  that  he  does  not  say: 
when  the  years  of  your  exile  are  ended.  The 
seventy  years  represent  primarily  the  ye.ars  of 
the  Babylonian  empire  and  only  secondarily  those 
of  the  captivity.  The  more  justified  are  we  in 
dating  the  seventy  years  from  the  siege  of  Car- 
chemish.  It  should  further  be  observed  that  the 
prophet  opposes  the  arbitrary  unfounded  thesis 
of  the  false  prophets,  not  in  a  harsh  and  severe 
but  mild  and  consolatory  antithesis,  in  which 
even  the  severest  point,  the  seventy  years'  dura- 
tion of  the  exile,  is  expressed  in  the  most  for- 
bearing manner.  The  Lord  evidently  wishes  to 
soften  and  win  their  hearts,  which  had  been 
rendered  obstinate  by  false  consolation,  by  pre- 
senting the  true.  Hence  also  the  gracious 
thoughts  of  ver.  11.  I  still  know  my  thoughts, 
says  the  Lord,  t.  e.  I  have  not  forgotten  them  or 
let  them  pass  from  my  view.  r\''^nx  corresponds 
to  our  English  "future"  (to  "have  a  future," 
etc.).  Comp.  Prov.  xxiii.  18;  xxiv.  14,  20;  Ps. 
xxxvii.  37  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  17.  The  Lord,  however, 
sets  before  the  people  not  merely  a  future  of 
outward  prosperity,  but  above  all  a  future  of  in- 
ternal welfare,  without  which  the  former  would 
be    altogether    inconceivable. — Ye    shall    go 

(DriD/ni),  ver.  12,  is  best  taken  of  going  to  a 
place  of  worship.  So  that  ye  shall  call  and 
and  pray  are  distinguished  as  private  and  pub- 
lic worship  (comp.  1  Ki.  viii.  20,  29,  30,  35,  etc.). 
If  the  t-cntences  of  ver.  13  and  "I  will  be  found 
of  you,"  ver.  14,  are  not  tautological,  we  must 
regard  them  as  two  sentences  with  two  clauses 
each,  the  second  forming  the  basis  of  the  former; 

3  is  not  "when"  but  "for,"  or  "because:"  ye 

will  seek  me  and  find  me  ;  because  ye  shall  seek 
me  with  all  your  heart,  I  will  be  found  of  yon. — 
Turn  aw^ay  your  captivity.  The  expression 
Is  rooted  in  Deut.  (xxx.  3),  as  generally  in  our 
whole  passage  this  chapter  hovered  before  the 
mind  of  the  prophet.  The  expression  is  found 
with  special  frequency  in  Jeremiah,  and  chiefly 
in  chs.  xxx.-xxxiii.  and  xlviii.-xlix.  To  turn  the 
captivity  stands,  however,  for  restitutio  in  inte- 
r/rum generally  (Job  xiii.  10;  Jer.  xxx.  18).     The 


CHAP.  XXIX.  24-32. 


249 


return  from  exile  was  only  a  weak  beginning  of 
the  fulfilment  of  our  prophecy.  Comp.  rems. 
on  iii.  12  sqq. 

Vers.  15-19.  Because  ye  have  said  .  .  . 
saith  Jehovah.  Not  only  has  ver.  15  been  de- 
clared to  be  transposed  hither  from  its  first  place, 
but  the  whole  passage,  vers.  16-20,  has  been  pro- 
nounced spurious  (Hitzig),  which  is  thought  to 
be  the  more  justified,  because  the  passage  is  want- 
ing in  the  LXX.  It  "seems  to  me  that  two  tilings 
have  been  overlooked  here.  1.  Jerusalem  with  its 
remaining  population  and  the  theocratic  king  at 
their  head  naturally  still  continued  to  the  exiles 
to  be  the  sun  of  their  happiness  and  their  hope. 
So  long  as  Jerusalem  and  the  temple  were  stand- 
ing, the  main  foundation  of  the  theocracy  was 
unshaken  and  the  hope  existed  that  the  present 
temporary  adversity  might  be  followed  any  mo- 
ment by  a  turn  for  the  better.  Hence  also  the 
prophecies  of  the  false  prophets  dwelt  above  all 
on  the  continuance  of  Jerusalem.  Even  the  pre- 
sent misfortune,  the  partial  deportation  of  the 
people  and  the  sacred  vessels,  although  they  had 
not  predicted  it,  they  could  explain  as  a  mere 
episode,  which  did  not  refute  the  main  tenor  of 
their  promises,  so  long  as  Jerusalem  and  the  tem- 
ple were  standing,  and  there  were  people  in  Je- 
rusalem. Hence  Jeremiah  takes  away  the  ground 
from  under  the  feet  of  those  false  prophets,  by 
predicting  in  vers.  16-20  the  total  destruction  of 
the  present  population  of  Jerusalem,  together 
with  their  king.  We  are  not  then  to  say  that 
these  words,  vers.  16-20,  apply  to  the  population 
of  Jerusalem.  They  certainly  do  so,  but  only 
secondarily.  Primarily  they  are  to  overthrow 
the  basis  on  which  the  false  prophets  of  the  cap- 
tivity are  standing.  I  can  then  regard  the  words 
only  as  necessary  parts  of  the  genuine  letter, 
written  by  Jeremiah  to  the  exiles,  and  cannot 
assume  with  Graf  that  we  have  in  this  chapter 
only  a  report  of  the  letter.  2.  In  its  gramma- 
tical relations  the  O  in  the  beginning  of  ver.  16 
has  given  the  greatest  trouble  to  the  commenta- 
tors.    They  have  taken  it  mostly  in  the  causal 


signification,  which  it  certainly  usually  has  in 
this  formula,  which  however  affords  no  sense, 
whether  we  connect  ver.  16  with  ver.  15  or  ver. 
14.  It  is  hero  rather  the  pleonastic  'Jp  which  so 
frequently  introduces  a  direct  statement.  We 
have  had  it  already  in  ver.  10.  Comp.  ii.  35; 
xxii.  22 ;  and  Textual  Note. — Hath  raised, 
etc.  Jeremiah  supposes  a  reply  to  vers.  8,  9. 
You  despise  our  prophets ;  we  however  assure 
you  that  Jehovah  raises  up  prophets  not  only  in 
Jerusalem,  but  He  .has  extended  the  inspiring 
influence  of  His  Spirit  even  to  .Babylon.  Hence 
the  local  form  Tl/DD. — The  swrord.     Comp.  ix. 

T  •:  T  ^ 

15;  xxiv.  10;  xxvii.  8,  13. — Figs.  The  prophet 
has  xxiv.  2  in  view.  That  the  exiles  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  vision  in  ch.  xxiv.  is  possible 
but  not  necessary.  This  passage  is  intelligible 
to  those  who  had  no  knowledge  of  ch.  xxiv. — Ye 
V70uld  not  hear.  The  2  pers.  plur.  proceeds 
doubtless  simply  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
prophet  quotes  entire  a  frequent  saying  there: 
vii.  13;  XXV.  3,  4,  7,  8;  xxvi.  5.  On  ver.  20 
comp.  xxiv.  5. 

Vers.  20-23.  Hear  ye  therefore  .  .  .  -wit- 
ness, saith  Jehovah.  In  conclusion  the  pro- 
phet predicts  the  punishment  of  two  of  those 
false  prophets  for  their  presumption  and  blas- 
phemy generally  by  a  terrible  death.  Nothing 
further  is  known  of  this  Ahab  and  Zedekiah. — 
Slay  them.  It  is  very  natural  to  suppose  that 
Nebuchadnezzar  feared  the  exciting  preaching 
of  such  prophets  and  that  he  wished  to  terrify 
others  by  inflicting  death  in  a  terrible  manner. — 
Ver.  22  a.  Comp.  xxiv.  9 ;  xxv.  18 ;  xxvi.  6  coll.  Isa. 
Ixv.  15. — Roasted.  Comp.  Dan.  iii.6. — Villany, 

(n733)  a  deed  of  shame,  facinus  rationi  legique 
divinse  repugnans  (Fuerst).  Comp.  Gen.  xxxiv. 
7;  Deut.  xxii.  21;  Josh.  vii.  15. — The  Lord  calla 
Himself  a  knower  and  witness,  because  He  not 
only  knows  the  truth,  but  brings  it  also  to  light. 
Comp.  Mai.  iii.  5.  Levit.  v.  1  may  in  general 
have  been  hovering  before  the  mind  of  the  pro- 
phet. 


2.   The  Consequences  of  the  Letter. 
XXIX.  24-32. 


24,  25  Thus  shalt  thou  also  speak  to  Shemaiah  the  Nehelamite,  saying,  Thus  speaketh 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel,  saying,  Because  thou  hast  sent  letters  in  thy 
name  unto  all  the  people  that  are  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  Zephaniah,  the  son  of  Maa- 

26  seiah  the  priest,  and  to  all  the  priests,  saying.  The  Lord  hath  made  thee  priest  in 
the  stead  of  Jehoiada  the  priest,  that  ye  should  be  officers  in  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
for  every  man  that  is  mad^  and  maketh  himself  a  prophet,  that  thou  shouldest  put 

27  him  in  prison,  and  in  the  stocks.^     Now  therefore  why  hast  thou  not  reproved*  Je- 

28  remiah  of  Anathoth,  which  maketh  himself  a  prophet  to  you?  For  therefore*  he 
.«ent  [a  letter]  unto  us  in  Babylon,  saying,  this  captivity  is  [will  continue]  long:^ 
build  ye  houses,  and  dwell  in  them.;  and  plant  gardens,  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them. 

29  And  Zephaniah  the  priest  rrad  this  letter  in  the  pars  of  Jeremiah  the  prophet. 
30,  31  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord   unto  Jeremiah,  saying,  Send  to  all  them  of 


250 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  captivity  [a  message]  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  concerning  Sheraaiah  the 
Nehelamite ;  Because  that  Shemaiah  hath  prophesied  unto  you,  and  I  sent  him 
32  not  [without  my  having  sent  him]  and  he  caused  you  to  trust®  in  a  lie  :  Therefore 
thus  saith  the  Lord :  Behold,  I  will  punish  Shemaiah  the  Nehelamite,  and  his 
seed:  he  shall  not  have  a  man  to  dwell  among  this  people;  neither  shall  he  behold^ 
the  good  that  I  will  do  for  my  people,  saith  the  Lord  ;  because  he  hath  taught  re- 
bellion against  the  Lord. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  26. — XJtj/O-    Only  the  Part.  Pual  and  Part,  and  Inf.  Uiphil  of  this  word  are  found.    The  radical  meaning  is  to  h* 
astray.    (Comp.  XJl?,  1^3,  TM'&i-    The  Hiphil  is  used  of  raving  in  general,  1  Sam.  xxi.  15,  16 ;  ^W^  likewise  in  Deut 

T  T  -  T  T  T  T  •.     ; 

xxviii.  3-1  and  1  Sam.  xxi.  16;  elsewhere  only  of  prophets  and  .always  in  a  bad  sense;  Ho-^.ix.T;  2  Ki.  ix.  11. 

2  Ver.  26. — pj'2f.     The  word  is  an.  Key.    The  root  pjj,'  also  does  not  occur  elsewhere  iii  Uebiew.     i'rom  the  dialects 

the  most  suitable  comparison  is  afforded  by  the  Arabic  zinag,  collar,  ring(HiTZiQ).    Acccrding  to  the  older  Rabbis  in  Kim- 

CHi  r>y^  =  D'tS  IJDD  'Sd  as  n^anO  =  INl'xb  IJDO-  Symm.:  /aoxAos  lever,  pole,  bar.  Ges.  27ies.,  p.  1175.  HiT- 

ziG  rightly  supposes  that  both  instruments  formed  the  complete  instrument  of  torture,  one  serving  to  confine  the  neck,  the 
other  tlie  hands  and  feet. 

3  Ver.  27. — nij^J-     Properly  to  chide  (comp.  Gen.  xxxvii.  10)  then  to  interfere,   to  stop  any  one  (Ruth  ii.  16;  Mai. 
iii.  11).  , 

*  Ver.  28. — f3~7  V  'J.    In  itself  these  particles  might  be  taken  in  the  most  natural  sense ;  for  on  this  account  {viz.,  on 

account  of  defective  control) ;  but  elsewhere  they  always  designate  the  reason  supposed  as  the  object  or  result;  xxxviii.  4; 
Gen.  xviii.  5  ;  xix.  8  ;  xxxiii.  10 ;  xxxviii.  20.     Comp.  Redslob,  lexical.  Erijrterungen.  Stud.  u.  Krit.,  1811,  S.  983  sqq. 

5  Ver.  28. — It^N,  of  extension  in  time  (2  Sam.  iii.  1),  and  in  space  (Job  xi.  9).    On  the  neuter  signiiQcance  of  the  femi- 

'       T 

nine,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  60,  0  b. 

6  Ver.  31. — On  n£33''1  comp.  xxviii.  15. 

1  Ver.  32.— riNT  "ith  2-    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Qr.,  g  112,  5,  a;  Ps.  xxxvii.  31;  Uv.  9;  cxviii.  7. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

The  letter,  xxix.  4-23,  caused  great  exaspera- 
tion among  the  false  prophets  at  Babylon.  One 
of  them,  Shemaiah, .complains  to  the  overseer  of 
the  temple  in  Jerusalem  that  he  did  not  interfere 
against  the  conduct  of  the  mad  Jeremiah.  Je- 
remiah  gets  information  of  this  letter  and  re- 
ceives the  command  to  announce  to  Shemaiah  that 
his  family  shall  become  extinct,  and  that  he  him- 
self will  not  see  the  salvation  of  Israel.  The  ar- 
rangement of  the  sentences  in  this  passage  is  very 
irregular.  In  the  first  place  all  explanation  con- 
cerning the  proximate  occasion  of  this  utterance 
is  passed  over.  Yet  this  may  be  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  this  may  be  learned  from  the 
tenor  of  the  passage  itself.  The  beginning  will 
then  be  made  with  the  command  to  make  an  an- 
nouncement to  Shemaiah.  This  announcement 
does  begin  in  ver.  2.5,  and  takes  its  regular  course 
to  the  close  of  ver.  28,  so  that  in  vers.  26-28  the 
letter  is  communicated  verbatim,  which  gave  the 
occasion  for  the  announcement  to  Shemaiah. 
Here  the  address  to  Shemaiah  breaks  off  without 
a  conclusion.  Instead  of  this,  after  the  prophet 
has  suddenly  sprung  back  from  the  point  of  the 
cotnmutiication  iy  him  to  the  point  of  the  com- 
munication /o  him,  the  conclusion  is  given  in  the 
form  K)f  an  address  to  the  exiles,  in  wliich  She- 
maiah is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person  (vers.  80 
32).  Here  accordingly  two  announcements  seem 
to  have  been  inade  (comp.  vers.  24,  25  with  vers. 
30,  31 ),  which  on  account  of  their  identical  tenor 
the  prophft  allows  to  combine  in  the  course  of 
his  narrative. 

Vers.  24-28.  Thus  shalt  thou  .  .  .  eat  the 

fruit  of  them.     We  might  indeed   translate  Sn 
here,  as  in  vers.  16  and   21,    of  [Shemaiah]  in- 


stead of  to,  but  ver.  25  contains  a  direct  address 

to  Shemaiah.  Neither  he  nor  his  birth-place  is 
mentioned  elsewhere. — The  letter,  communicated 
in  vers.  26-28,  is  addressed  specially  to  the  priest 
Zephauiah.  When  notwithstanding,  in  ver.  25, 
letters  are  spoken  of  which  were  addressed  to  all 
the  prophets  and  all  the  priests  besides  Zepha- 
niah,  this  niay  be  explained  in  two  ways;  either 
tliere  really  were  letters  with  the  three  address- 
es mentioned,  the  principal  letter  only  being 
communicated  to  Zephaniah  ;  or  this  letler  was 
the  only  one,  but  designated  in  ver.  25  as  in- 
tended to  be  communicated  to  a  witler  circle. 
Both    explanations  are  grammatically  possible 

For  letters  (D'liJD)  may  be  a  general  plural. 

(Comp.  niC3!b,  yokes,  xxviii.  13  and  Tsa.  xxxvii. 
14;  xxxix.  Ij. — Zepiianiah,  the  son  of  Maaseiah, 

was  nJt!'D  jni),  second  priest,  Hi.  24.     Comp. 

xxi.  1  arid  xxxvii.  3.— Officers  (d'pD).     This 

also  might  in  itself  be  a  general  plural,  if  the 
mention  of  the  predecessor  did  not  require  us  to 
refer  it  to  both  officers. — That  is  mad.  Here 
the  expression  involves  an  insult  to  Jeremiah. 
Zephaniah  was  not  to  restrain  all  those  who  pro- 
phesied, but  only  those  who  were  deranged  and 
presumed  to  prophesy,  and  Jeremiah  is  reckoned 
among  these. — In  prison.  Comp.  xxx,  2. — 
This  is  long.  By  this  the  70  years  are  meant 
(ver.  10),  wliich,  in  comparison  with  the  time 
predicted  by  the  false  prophets,  would  be  a  very 
long  period. 

Vers.  29-32.  And  Zephaniah  .  .  .  against 
Jehovah.  The  words  of  ver.  2'.)  do  not  clearly 
indicate  whether  Zephaniah  read  the  letter  of 
Jeremiah  alone  or  in  the  presence  of  others.  We 
may  conclude  from  the  two  embassies  (xxi.  1  ; 
xxxvii.  3)  that  he  was  probably  not  personally 
hostile  towards  Jeremiah.     We  also  find  no  indi- 


CHAP.  XXIX.  24-32. 


251 


cation  that  Shemaiah's  letter  was  at  that  time  of 
any  injury  to  Jeremiah.  It  is  indeed  possible 
that  Zephaniah,  though  unable  to  keep  the  pur- 
port of  the  letter  altogether  secret,  yet  acted  with 
the  utmost  possible  consideration  toward  the  pro- 
phet. At  any  rate  Jeremiah  was  not  intimi- 
dated. Shemaiah  receives  a  reproving  answer 
from  the  Lord's  prophet:  his  race  shall  be  extir- 
pated (the  phrase  "  dwelling  among  his  people  " 
signifies  a  peaceful,  secure  existence,  2  Ki.  iv. 
13)  and  he  himself  will  not  have  his  eyes  glad- 
dened by  the  prosperity  of  his  people. 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xxvi.  3.  ["See  how  God  waits  to  be  gra- 
cious, waits  till  we  are  duly  qualified,  till  we  are 
fit  for  Him  to  be  gracious  to,  and  in  the  meantime 
tries  a  variety  of  methods  to  bring  us  to  be  so." 
Henry  — S.  R.  A.] 

2.  On  xxvi.  6.  "■Deusnulli  loco  prsecisealligatus 
est  ita,  ut  ecclesiam  suam  et  doctrinam  ccelestem  inde 
dimovere  nequeat  propter  hominum  ingratitudinem. 
Vehementer  igitur  errant  Romanenses,  dum  ex  aucto- 
ritate  urhis  Romse  suse  ecclesise  ac  religionis  auctori- 
tatem  evincere  satagunt.  Multo  rectius  Hieronymus 
in  hoc  memorabili  dicta,  quod  etiam  allegatur  in  Jure 
Canon.  Dist.  19:  Non  facile  est  stare  loco  Pauli  et 
tenere  gradum  Petri  cum  Christo  regnantium.  Non 
enini  Sanctorum  filii  sunt,  qui  tenent  loca  Sanctorum, 
sed  qui  exercent  opera  eorum.'"  Forster. 

3.  On  xxvi.  8  sqq.  "Scarcely  has  Jeremiah 
done  speaking  than  they  take  him  to  task,  and 
threaten  his  life.  What  does  Jeremiah  do  ?  In- 
stead of  vindicating  himself  he  says :  '  Reform 
your  life,  and  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord, 
and  it  will  be  better  for  you,'  ver.  13.  You  do 
not  wish  me  to  thunder  away  at  you ;  reform 
then  and  I  can  let  it  alone.  This  preaching  was 
seasonable,  and  produced  an  admirable  effect. 
The  priests  and  elders  contradicted  the  priests, 
the  parrhesia  [free-spokenness.  Acts  iv.  13]  of 
the  man  filled  them  with  astonishment.  '  He  is 
not  worthy  of  death,'  ver.  16.  A  brief  illustr.a- 
tion  of  the  saying  '  We  need  not  our  senses  lose, 
when  our  enemies  accuse.'  Jeremiah  has  to  thank 
his  honesty  for  this  presence  of  mind,  his  pro- 
found meditation,  his  constrained  calling,  the 
necessity,  the  ardor,  which  urged  him  to  preach, 
for  no  personal  inclination  had  any  share  in  it. 
I  know  in  more  recent  times  a  man,  who  has  un- 
affectedly practised  Jeremiah's  behavior,  a  pas- 
tor, a  teacher,  I  might  say  a  prophet  of  many 
thousand  people.  Whenever  he  had  to  vindicate 
himself  (which  happened  now  and  then)  he 
preached,  he  repeated  to  the  commissioners  the 
very  things  of  which  he  was  accused,  confessed 
and  denied  not,  but  pressed  them  on  their  hearts, 
and  showed  aliud  agendo  his  innocence,  his  mind, 
his  steadfastness,  and  all  at  the  same  time  so 
plainly  that  they  always  returned  with  full  con- 
viction and  knew  not  whether  they  had  gone  forth 
to  see  a  prophet  or  were  sent  to  examine  a  cul- 
prit? '  Never  man,'  they  said,  '  spake  like  this 
man.'  That  cannot  be  counterfeited.  One  must 
be  just  as  full  of  the  matter,  as  absorbed  in  the 
subject,  as  pressed  at  heart,  kindled  with  the 
same  ardor  in  order  to  explain  himself  with  the 
same  indifference,  repose  and  plainness,  when 
there  is  a  knife  at  his  throat."  Zinzendorf. 


4.  On  xxvi.  12  sqq.  "  Si  injuriam  deposueris  per 
nes  Deum,  ultor  est;  si  damnum,  restitutor  est;  si 
dolorem,  medicus  est;  si  mortem,  resuscitator  est." 
Tertcllian.  ["  Those  that  persecute  God's  mi- 
nisters hurt  not  them  so  much  as  themselves." 
Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

5.  On  xxvi.  7,8,  11,  16.  "Auctores  persecutionis 
plerumque  esse  solent  ii,  qui  in  ordine  ecclesiastico 
eminent.'"  Forster.  "  Especially  are  the  priests 
and  men-pleasing  prophets  mad  with  Jeremiah, 
for  if  he  is  right  they  have  lied."   Uiedrich. 

6.  On  xxvi.  18.  ["By  this  it  appears  that  a 
man  may  be  a  true  prophet  of  the  Lord  and  yet 
may  prophesy  the  destruction  of  Zion  and  Jeru- 
salem. When  we  threaten  secure  sinners  with 
the  taking  away  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  de- 
clining churches  with  the  removal  of  the  candl'e- 
stick,  we  say  no  more  than  what  has  been  said 
many  a  time,  and  what  we  have  warrant  from 
the  word  of  God  to  say."  Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

7.  On  xxvi.  20  sqq.  "  Urias,  a  true  prophet, 
preached  like  Jeremiah,  therefore  the  king  wished 
to  kill  him,  so  he  fled  to  Egypt  but  could  notes- 
cape.  Jeremiah  did  not  flee  and  was  spared  .  .  . 
Our  running  and  anxiety  are  of  no  use.  The 
wickedness  of  the  world  must  for  its  judgment  be 
displayed  on  God's  servants,  and  these  must  yield 
to  it ;  but  on  whom  it  is  to  come  first  God  has  in 
His  own  hand;  and  we  may  spare  ourselves  all 
our  care  and  flight."  Diedrich.  ["Nothing 
more  is  known  of  Urijah  than  is  here  related ; 
but  this  incident  suggests  that  God  mercifully 
strove  with  His  people  by  the  ministry  of  many 
prophets  whom  He  sent,  rising  up  early  and  send- 
ing them  (ver.  5)  whose  names  are  written  in  the 
Book  of  Life  and  are  canonized  in  God's  Mar- 
tyrology,  but  do  not  appear  in  the  pages  of  any 
earthly  history."  Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 

8.  On  xxvi.  24.  '■^  Monemur  hie,  Deum  servis  suis 
fidelibus  subinde  largiri  quosdam  patro7ios,  ut  Jere- 
miie  hie  Auhikamum  et  infra  cap.  38  Ebedmele- 
chum,  Elise  et  prophetis  (yvyxpovoi^  Obadiam  1  Reg. 
18,  Luthero  Electores  Saxnnise  Fridericum  sapien- 
tem,  Johannem  pium,  Johannem-Fridericum  conatan- 
tem."   Forster. 

9.  On  xxvii.  2-11.  Historical  times  are  pre- 
ceded by  a  long  series  of  centuries  which  pre- 
sent themselves  to  us  as  altogether  obscure  or 
only  in  the  dubious  twilight  of  tradition.  Ac- 
credited history  also  comprises  only  a  relatively 
small  portion  of  the  human  race,  for  the  nations 
which  are  added  as  ciphers  to  the  factors  of  his- 
tory form  the  majority.  A  universal  ruler  in  the 
biblical  sense  is  not  one  whose  dominion  actually 
extends  over  the  entire  globe — for  there  is  none 
such — but  he  who  represents  the  leader  in  the  con- 
cert of  history.  This  part  is  here  given  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar. Among  all  the  universal  monarchies 
that  represented  by  him  appears  richest  in  noble 
capacity.  It  is  therefore  compared  to  the  golden 
head  of  the  image  in  Dan.  ii.  Oomp.  Auberlen, 
der  Prophet  Daniel,  S.  41  sqq. 

10.  On  xxvii.  -5  sqq.  ["The  things  of  the  world 
are  not  the  best  things,  for  God  often  gives  the 
largcest  share  of  them  to  bad  men,  that  are  rivals 
with  him  and  rebels  against  him.  Dominion  is 
not  founded  in  grace.  Those  that  have  not  any 
colorable  title  to  eternal  happiness  may  yt 
have  a  justifiable  title  to  their  temporal  p;oo  1 
things."    Henry. — S.  R.  A.]     "  Great  lords  sit 


252 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


indeed  on  high  thrones,  but  not  firmly,  for  they 
are  only  God's  vassals.  And  when  they  do  not 
please  Him  and  act  accordingly,  he  can  easily 
transfer  the  fief  to  another;  Dan.  ii.  21 ;  iv.  14, 
22."  Cramer. 

11.  On  xxvii.  12.  ["The  conduct  of  Jeremiah, 
counselling  Zedekiah  and  Jerusalem  to  submit  to 
Nebuchaihiezzar,  has  been  represented  as  an  act 
of  political  prudence  to  be  imitated  by  States- 
men and  Ecclesiastics,  who  are  thereby  justified 
in  making  large  concessions  of  national  rights 
and  national  independence  in  times  of  public 
emergency  (Stanley,  Lect.  534).  * 

But  was  it  not  rather  one  of  religious  duty? 

God  had  revealed  to  the  prophet  that  He  had 
given  the  N.ition  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, '  His  servant,''  on  account  of  their  sins, 
and  tuey  must  submit  to  Him  as  the  Minister  and 
Vicegerent  of  God."  Wordsworth.  "  Many 
might  nave  prevented  destroying  providences  by 
humbling  themselves  under  humbling  provi- 
dences. It  is  better  to  take  up  a  lighter  cross 
in  our  way,  than  pull  a  heavier  on  our  own 
head."   Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

12.  On  xxvii.  14.  "It  is  one  sign  of  our  de- 
praved nature  that  we  are  more  ready  lo  believe 
lies  than  the  truth.  For  when  Jeremiah  and  his 
colleagues  preached,  no  one  believed.  But  no 
sooner  did  the  false  prophet  come  and  open  their 
mouths,  than  all  their  discourses  must  be  spoken 
directly  from  heaven,  and  what  tbey  said,  must 
pass  current  on  earth  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  9).  But  not 
what  Jeremiah  said.  Take  for  example  our 
mother  Eve;  what  God  said  was  of  no  account, 
but  what  the  serpent  said  was  something  purely 
excellent."  Cramer. 

13.  On  xxvii.  18.  "True  prayer  is  a  certain 
sign  of  Godliness  and  a  fruit  of  faith  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  cries  in  our  hearts :  Abba, 
dear  Father.  Therefore  he  who  cannot  or  will 
not  pray  is  not  a  good  Christian."  Cramer. 

14.  On  xxvii.  18.  "■  If  they  be  prophets  let  them 
supplicate  the  Lord.  This  was  the  great  demon- 
stration of  Ellas,  to  which  Jeremiah  adheres.  It 
is  infallibly  the  case  that  a  false  teacher  has  no 
heart  for  the  Saviour,  and  goes  out  of  His  way. 
A  heretic,  who  has  a  heart  to  pray  (and  that  too 
jn  secret)  is  certainly  not  far  from  the  truth." 
Zinzendorf. 

1.5.  On  xxvii.  22.  ["We  are  apt  to  set  our  clock 
before  God's  dial,  and  then  to  quarrel  because 
they  do  not  agree,  but  the  Lord  is  a  God  of  judg- 
ment, and  it  is  fit  that  we  should  wait  for  Him." 
Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

16.  On  xxviii.  1  sqq.  "Wherever  the  dear 
Lord  builds  His  church,  the  devil  has  a  chapel 
near  by."  Cramer.  This  Hananiah  (comp.  xxviii. 
2,  11)  shows  us  plainly  what  it  is  to  lie  or  de- 
ceive in  the  name  of  God. 

"  0  Lord,  and  must  Thy  glorious  name 
Thus  be  a  cover  to  their  shame?"  FoRSTEB. 

17.  On  xxviii.  6.  "Amen!  the  Lord  do  so.  Quite 
a  different  attitude  of  the  prophet  from  the  pre- 
ceding. A  false  prophet,  a  miserable  comforter 
ili-^putes  with  him,  brings  good  news  and  appeals 
t"  an  oracle,  a  voice  which  he  had  perhaps  heard 
iiiore  lately  than  Jeremiah.  .Jeremiah  without 
getting  warm  about  it,  says  I  shall  be  heartily 
glad  if  it  be  so:  but  take  care  that  you  have  un- 


derstood it  correctly.  His  opponent  is  encour- 
aged and  goes  further,  he  breaks  off  the  pro- 
phetic yoke  from  Jeremiah's  neck.  Jeremiah, 
with  the  same  indifference,  which  he  has  shown 
from  the  beginning,  goes  his  way  ...  I  dare 
not  speak  of  anything,  says  Paul,  which  Christ 
hath  not  wrought  by  me  (Rom.  xv.  18)."  Zin- 
zendorf. 

18.  On  xxviii.  10,  11.  "  Cha?ianias  hie  prsebet 
exemplum  impudenfise  Jesuwiticse,  cujus  niagistrum 
non  abs  re  appellaveris  Eumundum  Campianum 
(1580)  qui  epistola  quadum  Theologos  Any  life  provo- 
carc  non  erubuit,  ponens  inter  alia  verba  hsec  fere 
thrasonica:  Si  priestitero  caelos  esse,  divos  esse, 
Christum  esse,  fidem  esse,  causam  obtmui :  hie  non 
animosus  ero  ?  Occidi  quidem  possum,  superari  non 
possum.  Pari  impudentia  Jesuwitas  ante  Colloquium 
Ratisbonense  scriplitasse  legimus:  The  Prsedicantes 
should  come,  if  they  had  a  heart  in  their  body, 
they  would  catch  them  alive ;  if  they  would  bring 
a  syllogism,  which  is  in  Bocardo,  they  would 
throw  it  at  one's  head  and  say  it  was  in  Bocallo." 

FORSTER. 

19.  Onxxix.  7.  "  Monemur  hie,  orandmn  esse  pro 
magistratibus  et  non  tantum  lis,  qui  nostrse  religioni 
addicti  et  verse  ecclesise  membra,  sed  etiam  pro  its,  qui 
extra  ecclesiam  adeoque  gentiles  ut  Nebuchadnezzar  et 
Nero  tyrannus  (2  Tim.  ii.  2).  Nam  ex  salute  rei- 
publicse  etiam  saius  et  incolumitas  ecclesise  constat. 
Et  Lutherus  pereleganter :  Politia,  inquit,  servit  ec- 
clesise.  ecclesia  servat  politiam.''  Forster.  "Quod 
pastori  hoc  et  ovibus.'"  The  symbol  of  the  Em- 
peror Charles  the  Bald. 

20.  On  xxix.  11.  "  God  always  has  compas- 
sion, and  His  heartbreaks  for  us  (Jer.  xxxi.  20), 
for  he  exercises  guardianship  over  His  elect 
(Wisd.  iv.  15).  And  he  knows  how,  in  all  that 
he  does,  to  mitigate  His  justice  with  His  mercy, 
so  that  we  may  see  how  richly  His  mercy  is  dif- 
fused over  all  His  works;  that  even  when  He 
punishes,  He  straightway  has  mercy  again  ac- 
cording to  His  great  goodness,  and  causes  His 
mercy  to  be  the  more  richly  dispensed,  because 
He  knows  our  frame  (Ps.  ciii.  14),  viz.,  that  we 
are  flesh,  a  wind  which  passeth  away  and  re- 
turneth  not  again  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  40).  Cramer. 

21.  On  xxix.  10,  11.  "The  waiting  of  the 
righteous  has  always  something  to  depend  upon, 
namely,  the  promise,  and  it  is  a  duty  to  God  to 
believe  the  promises,  but  an  insult  and  dishonor 
to  the  name  of  the  Lord  when  no  faith  is  put  in 
them.  Is  it  not  enough  that  ye  injure  men,  will 
ye  also  insult  the  Lord  my  God?  (Isa.  vii.  13)." 
Zinzendorf. 

22.  On  xxix.  11.  "God  gives  a  happy  ending; 
He  also  tells  us  beforehand,  that  we  may  honor 
Him  by  hoping;  but  He  deals  with  us  according 
to  His  wisdom  and  His  righteousness,  so  that  He 
chastens  us  as  long  as  we  need  it.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  do  otherwise  than  place  ourselves'in 
His  hands."   Diedrich. 

23.  Onxxix.  12.  "Let  this  be  firmly  estab- 
lished among  the  brethren,  that  there  is  no  sham 
about  the  hearing  of  prayer.  I  remember  that 
once  a  great  minister  said  across  the  table:  My 
pastor  wrote  me  that  he  had  settled  it  with  the 
dear  Lord  that  my  wife  should  live;  I  should  be 
comforted.  My  wife  died.  Now  my  pastor  con- 
gratulates me  and  says,  I  could  now  indeed  see 
that  she  lived.     No   wonder.     The  Bible  has  a 


CHAP.  XXX.  :-3. 


253 


aose  ot  wax ;  aud  gentlemen  also  can  explain 
their  own  words.  .  .  .  Is  it  then  to  be  in  vain 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  has  said ;  whatever  ye  ask 
believing  that  ye  shaW  receive,  shall  be  given 
unto  you  (Mark  xi.  24;  John  xvi.  23;  Matt.  vii. 
7;  Jas.  iv.  4)?  .  .  .  Test  it  as  often  as  it  is  ne- 
cessary; ask  however  in  faith,  and  doubt  not. 
I  know  most  assuredly  that  you  will  be  heard. 
But  I  regard  it  as  a  matter  for  consideration, 
whether  one  is  to  ask."  Zinzendokp. 

24.  On  xxix.  15,  16.  "A  heavy  cross  often 
frees  us  from  a  heavier,  which  would  otherwise 
have  come  upon  us.  The  best  way,  therefore,  is 
to  be  satisfied  with  God's  ways,  who  can  bring 
good  out  of  evil  (1  Pet.  iv.  19;  Gen.  1.  20j." 
Starke. 

25.  On  xxix.  24-32.  "Those  who  seek  their 
own  consolation  without  God  must  be  eternally 
deprived  of  the  true  consolation,  which  God  grants 
to  those  who  at  this  time  humble  themselves  un- 
der Him.  Those  who  preach  false  consolation 
confirm  the  resistance  of  men  to  the  divine  gui- 
dance and  thus  preach  revolt,  though  intending 
to  act  conservatively.  But  in  their  blindness 
they  do  not  see  what  sort  of  a  time  it  is."  Died- 

BICH. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xxvi.  1-24.  A  sermon  in  rebuke  of  the 
corruptions  of  Zion.  1.  Its  purport  (vers.  4-6); 
2.  How  it  is  received  (vers.  7-11);  3.  How  the 
preacher  must  defend  himself  (vers.  12-15)  ;  4. 
What  the  fate  of  the  preacher  will  be  (a),  in  the 
most  favorable  case  (vers.  16-19,  24)  (6),  in  the 
most  unfavorable  case  (vers.  20-23). 

2.  On  xxvii.  1-22.  How  the  Lord's  servants  are 
to  treat  Politics. — 1.  They  are  to  point  out  to  the 
people  that  it  is  the  Lord  wtio  raises  and  over- 
throws the  kingdoms  of  this  world  (vers.  2-8). 
2.  They  are  to  admonish  the  people  to  do  what 
the  Lord  commands  (vers.  12,  13).  3.  They  are 
to  warn  against  those  who  speak  their  own 
thoughts  to  the  people  (vers.  9-11,   14-17).     4. 


They  are  to  admonish  to  prayer  and  intercession 
(ver.  18  sqq). 

3.  On  xxviii.  1-17.  Of  false  and  true  prophets. 
1.  False  prophets,  (a)  publish  on  their  own  re- 
sponsibility' what  the  people  like  to  hear  (vers. 
2-4) ;  [b)  boldly  contradict  the  true  word  of  God 
(vers.  10  and  11);  (c)  come  to  shame,  by  the  non- 
fulfilment  of  their  predictions  (vers.  8  and  9)  and 
by  their  personal  destruction  (vers.  15-17).  2. 
True  prophets  (a)  proclaim  faithfully  the  true 
word  of  God,  (6)  fearlessly  oppose  the  lusts  of 
men  and  the  lies  of  the  false  prophets;  (c)  They 
are  honoi'eel  (a)  by  the  fulfilment  of  their  pro- 
phecies, (/3)  by  martyrdom,  i.e.,  honor  with  God 
and  posterity. 

4.  On  xxviii.  [This  year  thou  shalt  die. 
Dwight:  —  A  Sermon  on  the  New  Year.  — S. 
R.  A.] 

5.  On  xxix.  7.  The  best  Christians  the  best 
citizens:  1.  They  know  that  the  prosperity  of 
the  whole  is  their  own  prosperity  (they  do  not, 
therefore,  seek  selfishly  their  own  personal  ad- 

j  vantage) ;  2.  They  actually  labor  with  all  dili- 
I  gence  for  the  furtherance  of  the  common  good  ; 
3.  They  employ  for  this  end  the  power  of  Chris- 
tian prayer.  [A.  Fuller  : — Christian  patriotism, 
or  the  duty  of  religious  people  towards  their  coun- 
try.   Christianity  a  religion  of  peace. — S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  xxix.  11.  The  thoughts  of  the  Lord  con- 
cerning us.  1.  They  are  thoughts  of  peace  and 
not  of  evil ;  2,  we  must  wait  for  their  realization, 
for  the  Lord  delays  this,  but  he  does  not  for c/et  it. 

7.  On  xxix.  11.  Sermon  at  the  funeral  service 
of  the  Grand  Hereditary  Prince  of  Russia,  de- 
livered by  Prof.  Christiani,  in  Dorpat.  14  April, 
1865:  1.  Of  the  thoughts  of  peace  which  the 
Lord  has  had  in  this  death  ;  2.  Of  the  fruits  and 
effects  of  these  thoughts  of  peace. 

8.  On  xxix.  11-14.  Whereupon  is  our  hope  of 
peace  based?  1.  Objectively  upon  this,  that  the 
Lord  Himself  has  thoughts  of  peace  concerning 
us.  2.  Subjectively  on  this,  that  we  (a)  call 
upon  and  seek  the  Lord  with  all  our  hearts,  (6) 
patiently  wait  for  the  time  of  hearing. 


10.  The  Book  of  Consolation. 

A.  The  Tenth  Discourse. 
Chapters  XXX.  and  XXXI. 


The  close  of  the  prophetic  discourses  referring  to  the  entire  Theocracy  is  formed  by  two  prophecies  of  exclu- 
sively consolatory  purport,  of  which,  at  least,  the  first  (chh.  xxx.  and  xxxi.)  was  intended  to  be  pre- 
served as  a  special  writing  [and  only  as  such.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxx.  1 ).  It  is  quite  natural  that  these 
consolatory  prophecies  should  form  the  close  of  the  discourses ;  for  salvation  and  peace  will  in  reality 
be  the  end  of  God's  ivays. 

The  first  of  these  consolatory  prophecies  is  also  the  earlier  in  date.  It  is  indeed  one  of  the  oldest  parts  of 
the  whole  book.  The  absence  of  any  mention  of  the  Chaldeans  [the  general  '■^  north  country''  occurs 
in  xxxi.  8)  is  a  sure  sign  of  its  composition  before  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  This  discourse 
moreover  is  so  closely  related  in  its  subject-matter  to  the  second  discourse  (chh.  iii.-vi.),  or  to  its 
consolatory  part  (iii.  11-25),  that  toe  cannot  but  attribute  it  to  the  came  period.  We  may  indeed  say 
that  it  is  only  a  further  development  of  the  consolatory  section  mentioned.      The  relationship  is  seen 


both  in  general  and  inparfiru' 


With  respect  to  the  first  it  may  be  remarked  that  Israel  and  Ju- 


254  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


dah,  here  as  there,  form  the  ground  of  the  division  of  the  discourse,  for  as  in  iii.  6-10  a  comparison  is 
instituted  between  Judah  and  Israel  in  reference  to  the  past,  and  in  iii.  11-17  to  the  future,  first  of 
Israel,  then  (with  a  gradual  transition)  of  Judah,  and  in  iii.  18-25  the  future  return  of  both  is  described, 
so  in  ch.  XXX.  the  prophet  directs  his  attention  first  to  entire  Israel,  in  xxxi.  1-22  to  Ephraim  alone, 
in  xxxi.  23-26  to  Judah,  in  xxxi.  27-40  again  to  both.  Though  Jeremiah  elsewhere  also  (Comp. 
rems.  on  xxx.  4)  in  single  intimations  views  the  nation  according  to  its  two  divisions,  get  he  does  this 
nowhere  in  so  marked  a  manner  as  in  clih.  iii.  and  xxx. -xxxi. — Further,  as  in  iii.  14-20  the  return  of 
the  two  halves  of  the  nation  into  the  holy  land  is  the  basis  of  all  further  prosperity,  so  also  in  chh.  xxx. 
and  xxxi.  Compare  xxx.  3,  10,  18;  xxxi.  2,  8,  12,  16,  21,  23. — As  further  in  iii.  21  sqq.  the  return 
is  represented  as  the  consequence  of  an  honest  inward  turning,  so  also  in  xxxi.  18  the  sincere  penitence 
of  the  people  is  the  reasoii  of  the  return  graciously  permitted  them.  It  should  here  be  especially  ob- 
served that  in  the  section  xxx.  16-22  the  prophet  gives  variations  of  the  idea  of  3^1^  m  the  same  way  as 
he  did  in  ch.  iii.  Comp.  Exeq.  rems.  on  xxxi.  22.  The  way  also  in  which  the  penitential  return  is  de- 
scribed in  xxxi.  9,  18,  19  reminds  us  at  many  points  o/iii.  21.     A  series  of  expressions  further  may  be 

specified  which  occur  only  in  chh.  xxx.,  xxxi.  and  iii.-vi.:  T\12  TW^  only  in  xxx.  11  and  iv.  27; 
V.  10,  18,  and  besides  in  xlvi.  28,  as  a  quotation  from  xxx.  11. — HJ^n  only  in  xxxi.  4  and  iv.  30. 
D'JUnm  on  only  in  xxxi.  9  and  iii.  21.    3X  used  of  Jehovah  in  reference  to  Israel  only  in  xxxi.  9 

and  iii.  19.-^D''.^'0  only  in  xxxi.  20  and  iv.  19.  2"^}?  in  the  seiise  of  to  be  siueet  only  in  xxxi.  26  and 
tI.  20. — lOVj^  of  sins  only  in  xxx.  14, 15  and  v.  6.  D'TIDH  only  in  xxxi.  15  and  vi.  26. — 1^2  to  rule 
only  in  xxxi.  32  and  iii.  14.  We  meet  besides  loith  expressions  and  utterances  which  are  taken  from  chh. 
i.  and  ii.,  which  also  belong  to  that  initial  period.  Thus  above  all  xxxi.  28  coll.  i.  10,  12  ;  xxxi. 
3  coll.  ii.  2;  xxxi.  10  D"N  coll.  ii.  10  [the  plural  is  found  only  in  these  two  clauses) — 'J/JD 
only  in  xxxi.  16  and  ii.  25. — There  are  further  many  points  of  contact  with  chh.  xxii.  and  xxiii., 
which  are,  however,  to  be  explained  by  the  use  of  this  chapter  there.  For  as  the  prophet  had  occasion 
in  xxiii.  3-8  to  deliver  a  glorious  Messianic  prophecy,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  be  thus  reminded 
of  the  earlier  one  of  similar  purport.  In  the  main  point,  indeed,  the  words  referring  to  the  person  of 
the  Messiah  (xxx.  9,  10,  21  coll.  xxiii.  5,  6),  the  similarity  is  only  topical.  With  respect  to  expres- 
sion, both  prophecies  retain  their  own  individuality.  Still  in  the  less  important  points  there  is  an 
agreement  in  expression:  xxx.  13  coll.  xxii.  16;  xxx.  14  coll.  xxii.  20,  22;  xxx.  16  coll.  xxii. 
22 ;  xxx.  5,  6  coll.  xxii.  23. —  With  respect  to  the  verses  xxx.  23,  24,  consult  the  Exposition. 

On  account  of  the  undeniable  specific  relationship,  which  exists  between  the  present  chapters  and  the  second 
discourse  (chh.  iii.-vi.),  especially  the  consolatory  portion  (ch.  iii.),  I  am  convinced  that  chh.  xxx. 
and  xxxi.  owe  their  origin  to  the  same  time,  the  reign  of  Josiah  (comp.  iii.  6). 

With  the  exception  of  xxx.  22-24,  I  cannot  discover  any  spurious  elements  in  these  chapters.  Movers 
and  HiTZiG  have  thought  they  could  repeatedly  recognize  the  hand  of  the  assumed  Isaiah  II.,  but 
have  been  so  satisfactorily  refuted  by  Graf,  that  I  now  only  refer  to  him.  Graf  hims(  If  regards 
xxxi.  35-40  as  a  latter  addition.  I  think,  however,  that  I  have  shown  in  the  Exposition  that  these  verses 
fit  into  the  connection  as  integral  parts,  and  that  therefore,  as  the  diction  betrays  no  foreign  traces,  they 
are  to  be  recognized  as  genuine  and  original. 

The  articulation  of  the  discourse  is  as  follows  : — 

The  glorious  Future  of  the  People  Israel  at  the  end  of  days. 
I.  The  Theme,  xxx.    1-3. 
II.  The  Deliverance  of  Entire  Israel,  xxx.  4-22. 

1.  The  great  day  of  judgment  of  the  world  and  deliverance  of  Israel,  xxx.  4-11. 

2.  The  turn  of  affairs:   The  Lord  for  the  chastised,  against  the  chastiser,  xxx.  12-17. 

3.  The  consummation  of  salvation,  xxx.  18-22. 

III.  The  Special  Distribution  of  Salvation  to  the  two  Halves  of  the  Nation,  xxxi.  1-26. 

a.  Ephraim's  share,  xxxi.  1-22. 

1.  The  decree  of  restoratioji,  xxxi.  1-6. 

2.  Its  execution,  xxxi.  7-14. 

3.  The  threefold  turn,  xxxi.  15-22. 

b.  Judah's  share. 

The  blessing  of  the  sanctuary,  xxxi.  23-26. 

IV.  The  Entire  Renewal,  xxxi.  27-40. 

1.  The  new  life,  xxxi.  27-30. 

2.  The  new  covenant,  xxxi.  31-40. 


The  Glorious  Future  of  the  People  Israel  at  the  End  of  Days. 

I.  The  Theme. 

XXX.  1-3. 

1,  2      The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  saying,  Thus 
speaketh  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  God  of  Israel,  saying,  Write  thee  all  the  words  that  I 


CHAP.  XXX.  1-3. 


255 


3  have  spoken  unto  thee  in  a  book.  For  [Namely]  lo,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord 
[Jehovah],  that  I  will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  my  people  Israel,  and  Judah, 
saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  and  will  cause  them  to  return  to  the  land  that  I  gave 
to  their  fathers,  and  they  shall  possess  it. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  superscription  is  one  of  the  greater  sort. 
It  pertains  to  clih.  xxx.  and  xxxi.,  a  similar  one 
not  rocurring  till  xxxii.  1.  Jeremiah  had  cer- 
tainly received  this  prophecy  before,  as  follows 
from  the  words  that  I  have  spoken  in  ver.  2. 
Nevertheless  ver.  1  is  not  merely  the  announce- 
ment of  what  is  said  in  vers.  2  and  3,  as  Hirzro 
supposes,  but  the  superscription  of  the  oracle, 
for  such  superscriptions  always  stand  as  the  in- 
troduction to  the  larger  sections.  As  it  here  in- 
troduces the  command  to  write  and  what  is  to  be 
written  directly  follows  (ver.  4  sqq.),  the  super- 
scription refers  to  both.  J.  D.  Miciiaelis  is  of 
opinion  that  we  have  here  the  expressum  manda- 
tum  to  collect  the  prophecies  into  a  book,  and 
that  this  is  the  first  book,  which  closes  with  ch. 
xxxii.  The  Paralipomena,  collected  after  the 
dea  h  of  Jeremiah,  form  the  second  book.  It  is 
plain,  however,  that  this  view  is  altogether  un- 
tenable, for  this,  apart  from  other  reasons,  that 
in  vers.  2,  3  and  4  the  command  to  write  is  re- 
ferred to  the  next  following  prophecy,  as  Schnur- 
RER  has  already  proved  against  Michaelis. 
These  chapters  also  cannot  be  parts  of  that  book 
which  Jeremiah  was  caused  to  write  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Jehoiakim  (xxxvi.  2).  For  this  book, 
according  to  xxxvi.  6  sqq.,  was  intended  to  be 
read  to  the  people,  that  they  might  hear  "  all  the 
evil  which  the  Lord  purposed  to  do  with  them, 
that  they  might  return  every  man  from  his  evil 
■way  and  the  Lord  might  forgive  them,"  so  that 
it  appears  merely  to  have  contained  an  exhorta- 
tion and  threatening.  This  also  explains  the 
great  displeasure  occasioned  by  it.  It  was  cut 
into  pieces  from  the  first  to  the  last  leaf  and  cast 
into  the  fire  (xxxvi.  23),  which  was  certainly 
not  the  case  with  these  chapters.  Even  Rosen- 
MUELLER  calls  attention  to  the  circumstance  that 
Jeremiah  here  (xxx.  2)  receives  the  command, 
"  no«,  ut  ante  concionem  habere  et  quse  ab  eo  sint 
annuni ianda  ad  populum  per  sermonem  deferre,  sed 
libro  inscribere."  This  prophecy  was  not  to  be 
delivered  orally,  but  merely  committed  to  writing, 
just  as  the  prophecy  against  Babylon  (li.  6J 
sqq.).  The  people  were  not  then  in  the  mood  to 
hear  these  great  beaming  predictions  of  salvation. 
These  were  to  be  bequeathed  as  written  docu- 
ments, that  on  the  one  hand  they  might  serve  to 
encourage  the  people  in  their  deepest  distress, 
and  on  the  other  hand  it  might  be  evident  that 
the  Lord  and  no  other  had  brought  about  this 
favorable  turn  in  their  affairs  (Isa.  xlviii.  5),  but 
also,  that  the  Lord  had  not  afterwards  altered 
His  purpose,  but  already  in  the  times  of  the 
deepest  decline,  when  the  people  were  receiving 
only  threatening  words  from  the  mouth  of  the 
prophet,  He  had  conceived  and  made  known  the 
plan  of  salvation.  Comp.  Isa.  xxx.  8;  Job  ii.  2. 
The  prophecy  was  thus  preseived  separately  and 
only  afterwards  incorporated  into  the  entire  col- 
lection.    It  does  not  seem  probable  to  me,  as 


Graf  thinks,  that  it  T7as  included  in  the  second 
enlarged  book  (xxxvi.  32).  The  words  in  xxxvi. 
27  sqq.  make  throughout  the  impression  that  the 
second  book  in  relation  to  the  first  contained  only 
a  heightened  repetition.  Nor  can  vv^  j  see  why, 
if  these  chapters  are  portions  of  a  large  book, 
they  alone  should  bear  at  their  head  the  special 
command  to  write  them  down.  This  command 
must  either  be  found  before  all  the  single  por- 
tions or  only  where  the  origin  of  the  whole  is 
mentioned.  The  special  comnmnd  to  commit  to 
writing  which  we  find  here  (xxx.  2)  shows  that 
here  .also  we  have  to  do  with  a  special  indepen- 
dent writing. 

Ver.  3.  For  lo.     The  construction  seems  to 
require  "'3  to  be  taken  in  a  causal  sense,  for  it 

would  be  somewhat  harsh  to  take  it  in  the  sense 
of  "that."  or  "naniL'ly,"  on  account  of  the  fol- 
lowing njn  and  '"'  DNJ,  which  seems  rather  to 

require  iQX?  before  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
causal  rendering  also  has  its  difficulties.  For  then 
in  ver.  3  the  main  point  is  not  expressed  in  the 
statemeat  of  the  reason,  viz. :  the  Lord  wishes  that 
wlieu  the  good  days  come  He  may  be  able  to  point 
to  the  documentary  evidence  of  His  purpose  of 
salvation,  as  a  proof  of  His  being  the  author  of 
the  present  prosperity.  This  thought  would 
have  still  to  be  supplied,  while  the  words  as  they 
stand  evidently  state  only  the  purport  of  thewords, 
ver.  2.  It  will  therefore  be  correct  here  lo  take 
"'3=" that"  or  "namely,"  in  the  sense  in  which 

*1DX7,  saying,  occurs  elsewhere.  This  latter 
word  would  not  be  suitable  after  in  a  book,  be- 
cause it  would  have  meant  that  the  purport  of 
what  was  to  be  written  in  the  book  was  to  be 
stated,  whereas  it  is  the  tenor  of  the  words  al- 
ready spoken  which  is  to  be  quoted  summarily. 
This  was  necessary  in  order  to  define  the  gene- 
ral phrase  all  the  -words,  which  was  liable  to 
be  misunderstood.  Hence  I  think  that  "'J  is  to 
be  taken  here  as  introducing  the  direct  state- 
ment, which  radically  also  is  used   only  for  the 

more  common  lOX?.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  § 
l'i9,  1  a.  The  original  net  of  speaking  itself  is 
certainly  not  related  here,  but  the  purport  of  a 
discourse  already  delivered  is  quoted,  by  which 
the  ''2  obtains  the  somewhat  modified  (explica- 
tive) meaning  of  namely.  The  words  from  T\IT\ 
to  n=lt!/"l'1  are  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  a  quo- 
tation. Hence  Hiin  and  '"'  DXJ.  They  are  not 
found  verbatim  as  a  whole  in  the  following  chap- 
ters or  anywhere  in  Jeremiah  ;  but  they  are  an 
accurate  synopsis  of  the  words  and  thoughts 
which  form  the  heads  of  the  following  promise 
of  prosperity.  For  in  ver.  18  sqq  :  xxxi  27-32, 
the  return  of  the  whole  people  of  Israel  loilieir 
home  is  represented  as  the  close  of  the  mournful 
past  and  the  basis  of  a  new  and  glorious  future. 
Comp  iii.  14-18. — On  bring  again  the  capti- 
vity comp.  Comm.  on  xxix.  14. — ["  The  four  fol- 


256 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


lowing  chapters  display  a  beautiful  contrast  to 
the  three  foregoing  ones.  The  former  denunci- 
sitions  of  judgment  and  captivity  for  sin  are  here 
succeeded  by  promises  of  mercy  and  restoration 
to  Jerusalem — promises  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
bringing  back  of  all  true  Israelites  to  God  by 


the  Divine  Deliverer  and  Redeemer,  Jesus 
Christ.  The  joyful  transition  is  marked  by  a 
sudden  change  from  grave  and  mournful  accents 
in  solemn  prose,  to  a  jubilant  outburst  of  poetic 
ecstasy."  Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 


II.  The  Deliverance  of  Entire  Israel  (xxx.  4-22). 
1.   The  great  day  of  judgment  of  the  world  and  deliverance  of  Israel. 

XXX.  4-11. 

4      And  these  are  the  words  which  Jehovah  hath  spoken  concerning^  Israel  and 

concerning  Judah : 
6       For  thus  saith  Jehovah : 

We  have  heard  a  cry  of  terror,^ 

Fear  and  no  deliverance. 

6  Ask  ye  now  and  see  if  a  male  is  parturient? 

Why  do  I  then  see  every  man  with  his  hands  on  his  hips  like  a  parturient, 
And  all  faces  turned  into  paleness?^ 

7  Alas !  for  great  is  that  day,  with  none  like  it/ 
And  it  will  be  a  time  of  trouble  to  Jacob, 
But — he  shall  be  delivered  from  it. 

8  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  on  that  day,  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 
I  will  break  his  yoke  off  from  thy  neck. 

And  I  will  tear  asunder  thy  bonds, 

And  strangers  shall  no  longer  enslave  him  •? 

9  But  they  shall  serve  Jehovah  their  God, 

And  David  their  king,  whom  I  will  raise  up®  for  them. 

10  But  fear  thou  not,  ray  servant  Jacob,  saith  Jehovah, 
And  be  not  dismayed,  O  Israel. 

For  behold,  I  will  deliver  thee  from  afar. 
And  thy  seed  from  the  land  of  their  captivity  ; 
And  Jacob  shall  return  and  rest, 
And  be  tranquil  and  undisturbed, 

11  For  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver  thee,  saith  Jehovah. 
Though  I  make  a  full  end'  of  all  the  nations, 
Whither  I  have  scattered  them, 

I  will  not  make  an  end  of  thee ; 

But  I  will  chastise  thee  according  to  justice, 

And  not  leave  thee  unpunished. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  4. — 7X=in  reference  to,  of,  concerning,  as  in  xxix.  16,  21 ;  xxii.  11. 

2  Ver.  5. — HT^n  Sip-  riT^n  is  fonnil  hero  only  in  Jeremiah.  The  terror  is  not  occasioned  by  the  sound  of  war,  but 
the  apprelieusion  of  jiidgincut.     Comp.  Luke  xxi.  25,  20. 

8  Ver.  6.— npT'S.    Abstr.  for  concrete.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  .'■)0, 1.    The  expression  is  found  here  only. 

*  Ver.  7.— j^XO-    Comp.  rcras.  on  x.  6,  7 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  'i  106,  5. 

B  Ver.  8.— The  words  from  riTII  to  1"1X1V  'ire  a  quotation  almost  verbatim  from  Isa.  x.  27  coll.  xiv.  2.5.  This  explains 
the  suffix  in  V)]},  which,  as  the  ijassage  in  Isaiah,  is  to  be  referred  to  the  inimical  tyrants.  If,  with  Graf,  we  refer  it  to 
3pJ»',  ver.  7,  Ti'XIi'  immediately  afterwards  is  iiitolcnilily  liarsh.    It  is  true  the  person  clianges  in  )2  HSj^V  yet  this  it 

•t  least  a  now  sentence,  in  whicli  case  tlie  chanRi;  lias  notliing  surprising  in  it.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  101,  2,  Anm. 

*  Ver.  9, — D'pX  i-^  used  here  in  the  same  seuso  as  in  vi.  17  ;  xxiii.  4,  etc. 


CHAP.  XXX.  4-11. 


257 


'  Ver.  11. — T\?D  nti?yj<-    This  expFession  is  found  in  Jeremiah  (besides  iu  xlvi.  23,  as  a  quotation  from  this  passage) 
I  T       V  ■.•:  |-.- 
only  in  iv.  27 ;  v.  10,  18.    The  construction  wth  the  accus.  is  the  prevailing  and  original  construction :  Nah.  i.  8,  9  ;  Zeph. 
1.  IS  ;  Ezek.  xi.  13 ;  xx.  17  ;  Neh.  ix.  31.    With  2  it  is  found  here  only.    It  appears  to  signify  in  this  connection :  to  caus» 

destruction  among,  etc, 

judicial  acts  of  God  as  elements  or  stages  of  the 
whole,  and  to  him  also  the  consummation  of  the 
judgment  is  the  turning-point  of  the  deliverance 
and  restoration  of  all  Israel  (iii.  lOsqq.;  20). 
After  Jeremiah  there  is  Malachi  only  who  speaks 
in  express  words  of  "  the  great  and  dreadful  day 
of  the  Lord"  (iv.  5). — No  deliverance.  Comp. 
vi.  14;  viii.  11;  Ezek.  vii.  25;  xiii.  10,  16.— 
Ask  novT,  etc.  Comp.  xviii.  13.  The  prophet 
portrays  with  drastic  vividness  the  effects  of  the 
terror  by  saying  that  he  saw  men  behaving  like 
women  in  the  pangs  of  childbirth — pressing  their 
hands  on  their  loins.  Comp.  Isa.  xxi.  3;  Jer. 
vi.  24 ;  xxii.  28  ;  xlix.  24 ;  1.  43.— That  day. 
From  that  (Xinri)  we  see  (1)  that  the  prophet 
means  a  day  not  immediately  impending,  but  (2) 
the  same  as  was  spoken  of  in  vers.  5  and  6. — 
And  it  ■will  be  a  time  of  trouble,  etc.  Israel 
also  is  not  unaflFected  by  the  sufferings  of  that 
time  (comp.  Matth.  xxiv.  2l,  22);  but  for  them  it 
is  only  a  crisis,  which  leads  to  salvation. 

Vers.  8  and  9.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass 
.  .  .  raise  up  for  them.  The  deliverance  an- 
nounced in  the  concluding  words  of  ver.  7  is  de- 
scribed more  particularly.  It  has  its  negative 
and  its  positive  side.  The  nation  will  no  longer 
serve  strangers  (ver.  8)  but  their  God  alone,  and 
the  King  granted  tliem  by  God,  the  Messiah  (ver. 
9).— Thy  bonds.  Comp.  ii.  20;  v.  5.— En- 
slave. Comp.  xxvii.  7;  xxv.  14. — Serve  Je- 
hovah. For  Israel  to  serve  his  God  is  at  the 
same  time  his  first  duty  and  the  fundamental  con- 
dition of  salvation.  This  salvation  is  to  be  com~ 
municated  by  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  the  ee- 
cond  David.  The  Messiah  is  called  David,  not 
merely  as  a  descendant  of  David  still  called  by 
his  name,  but  as  a  real  David  in  the  highest  de- 
gree. As  David  was  the  founder  of  the  earthly 
throne  of  David,  so  the  Messiah  as  the  fulfiller  is 
the  founder  and  occupant  of  the  eternal  throne 
of  David.  Jeremiah  supports  himself  here  chiefly 
on  Hos.  iii.  5,  coll.  Isa.  Iv.  3,  while  after  him 
Ezekiel  (xxxiv.  23,  24;  xxxvii.  24,  25)  leans  on 
his  predecessors,  especially  Jeremiah.  The  con- 
ception of  the  second  David  is  analogous  to  that 
of  the  second  Adam  (1  Cor.  xv.  4osqq.)  It  is 
therefore  altogether  different  from  the  Rabbini- 
cal doctrine  of  a  double  Messiah,  Ben  Joseph  and 
Ben  David,  (comp.  Oehleb  in  Herzog,  ReaL- 
Enc,  IX.  S.  440;  Buxtorf  Lex.,  p.  1273)  with 
which  Haevernick  seems  [Comrn.  on  Ezek.,  S. 
557)  to  confound  the  Christian  conception.  It  is 
accordingly  clear  that  we  must  protest  against 
the  lower  view,  that  Jeremiah  if  here  speaking  of 
a  Davidic  dynasty  (Sanctius),  or  of  Zerubbabtl 
(Grotius  ;  is  David  vocatur  et  hie  et  Ezech.  xxxiv. 
23;  xxxvii.  24,  nimiriwi  sicut  a  Ptolemxo  orti  Pto- 
lemsei,  a  Cxsare  Csesares),  or  indeed  of  a  personally 
resuscitated  David  (V.  Ammon,  Fortd.  d.  Chr.  I., 
15.178;  Strauss,  Glauhend.  IL,  S.  80).  This 
I  latter  conception  is  imputed  by  Hitzig  to  Ezekiel 
i  {ad  loc.  S.  245)  as  having  thus  interpreted  tlie 
I  D"'pX  of  Jeremiah.     As  to  the  rest  comp.  Comiu. 

on  ver.  21  and  xxiii.  5  ;  Hengstenberg,  Christol 
[  lEng.  Tr.  II.,  p.  413  sqq.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

What  was  summarily  comprised  in  ver.  2  is 
now  set  forth  in  detail  (ver.  4).  Cry  of  terror, 
fear  without  a  possibility  of  deliverance  (ver.  5) ; 
all  the  men  have  their  hands  on  their  thighs  like 
women  in  travail,  all  faces  have  become  pale 
(ver.  6),  for  the  great  day  of  the  Lord,  a  day 
with  none  like  it,  is  breaking,  a  day  which  will 
be  a  time  of  dread  even  for  Jacob,  but  yet  at  the 
same  time  the  day  of  redemption  (ver.  6),  for  on 
this  day  an  end  is  to  be  put  to  Israel's  servitude 
(ver.  8).  Israel  is  from  thenceforward  to  serve 
only  his  God  and  his  king  David  (ver.  9),  Judah 
and  Israel  are  then  to  be  brought  back  from  the 
lands  of  their  captivity  to  a  peaceful  habitation 
of  their  home  (ver.  10),  for  while  the  Lord  will 
execute  on  all  the  Gentiles  a  judgment  of  de- 
struction. He  will  indeed  chastise  Israel  so  as  not 
to  leave  him  unpunished,  but  will  not  destroy  him. 

Vers.  4-7.  And  these  .  .  .  delivered  from 
it.  Apart  from  some  brief  intimations  (ix.  25 ; 
xi.  10-17;  xiii.  11;  xxiii.  6;  1.  4)  the  prophet 
makes  Israel  and  Judah,  the  two  great  halves  of 
the  Israelitish  nation,  the  subject  of  his  longer 
discourses,  only  here  (ver.  3  ;  xxxi.  27),  and  in 
the  second  discourse  (chs.  iii.-vi.),  which  belongs 
to  the  time  of  Josiah. — Ver.  5.  This  for,  which 
is  logically  indeed  superfluous  but  not  incorrect 
(ver.  4  announces  the  entirety  of  the  following 
discourse  as  God's  word  and  O,  ver.  5,  introduces 
the  particulars),  has  rhetorically  the  character 
of  a  certain  solemn  breadth.  With  dramatic 
vividness  the  prophet  transports  us  into  the 
midst  of  the  future,  which  he  describes,  causing 
those  who  are  concerned  to  be  the  speakers  to- 
gether with  himself.  It  is  clear  that  the  day  of 
terror  which  he  describes  cannot  be  the  day  of 
Jerusalem  (Ps.  cxxxvii.  7).  For  (1)  the  day  of  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans  can- 
not be  represented  as  at  the  same  time  a  day  of 
salvation  for  all  Israel;  (2)  "the  great  day  of 
the  Lord  like  which  there  is  no  other  "  always 
designates  the  divine  judgment  in  its  highest 
and  most  comprehensive  sense.  For  even  when 
Joel,  who  is  the  first  to  speak  of  the  great  and 
fearful  days  (ii.  11),  understands  by  it  prima- 
rily the  day  of  the  devastation  by  locusts,  he 
yet  beholds  in  this  special  act  only  the  first 
act  of  the  great  drama  of  judgments  (iii.  4), 
with  which  he  first  connects  the  idea  of  the 
redemption  and  restoration  of  Israel  (iv.  1,  7). 
After  him  Hosea  speaks  of  the  great  day  of  Jez- 
reel  (ii.  2),  on  which  Judah  and  Israel  will  re- 
turn again  united  under  their  common  head.  Af- 
terwards the  judicial  activity  of  God  is  mirrored 
before  the  eyes  of  Isaiah  in  the  judgment  on  Ba- 
bylon (xiii.  6),  the  return  of  the  whole  people 
being  again  connected  with  it  (xiv.  1  sqq.).  Nest 
before  Jeremiah  finally,  the  idea  of  the  "day  of 
the  Lord  "  forms  the  central  point  of  Zephaniah's 
prophecy,  and  if  he  also  understands  primarily 
by  the  "  great  day  "  (i.  14)  the  day  of  the  judg- 
ment of  Jerusalem,  yet  he  also  regards  all  the 
17 


258 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Vers.  10  and  11.  But  fear  thou  not  .  .  un- 
punished. Gu.\F  has  called  attention  to  the 
circumstance  that  these  words  are  addressed  to 
the  people  living  in  exile  "  in  opposition  to  those 
delivered  in  ver.  9."  More  strictly  we  should 
say,  that  vers.  8  and  9  announce  the  salvation 
objectively  (whence  also  Israel  is  spoken  of  pre- 
dominantly in  the  3d  person),  but  in  ver.  10  the 
subjective  application  follows  in  the  exhortation 
to  be  comforted  and  not  to  fear,  but  yet  with  a 
repetition  of  the  objective  basis.  It  is  not  how- 
ever to  be  denied  that  the  adversative  rendering 
"thou  however"  is  not  appropriate.  Mei'er 
translates  "so  fear  thou  nothing,"  evidently  not 
accurately,  but  in  the  correct  feeling  that  the 
connection  requires  an  inferential  rather  than  an 
adversative  sentence.  Comp.  Isa.  xliv.  1,  2, 
which  passage  certainly  occurred  to  the  prophet, 
the  words  "  fear  not  my  servant  Jacob  "  being 
taken  from  it  verbatim,  and  we  are  thus  led  to 
think  that  instead  of  HPXI  here  we  should  read 
nDJ?1  with  which  the  passage  in  Isa.  commences. 
The  latter  certainly  would  correspond  better 
with  the  connection.  Hitzig  and  Movers  find  in 
these  two  verses  the  idiom  of  Isaiah  II.,  and  would 


therefore  regard  it  as  an  interpolation  by  him. 
Graf  however  has  satisfactorily  shown  that  with 
the  exception  of  the  expression  3p^''  ''12^  (I  say, 
with  the  exception  of  *•''  ^jrXTn-bN)  all  the  rest 
betrays  the  older,  and  specifically  Jeremiah's, 
idiom.  Why  should  not  that  evident  quotation 
from  Isa.  xliv.  2  be  just  as  good  an  instance  for 
the  priority  of  the  alleged  Isaiah  II.  in  relation 
to  the  genuine  Jeremiah  ?  The  union  of  Judah 
and  Israel,  which  is  here  spoken  of  from  ver.  3 
onwards,  may  have  reminded  the  prophet  of  that 
passage  in  Isaiah,  which  declares  this  union. 
Other  declarations  of  Isaiah,  as  li.  7,  may  also 
have  been  in  the  mind  of  our  prophet.  Perhaps 
also  passages  like  xlix.  12;  Ix.  4,  9. — Rest  and 
be  tranquil.  Comp.  xlviii.  11. — Undisturbed. 
Comp.  rems.  on  vii.  33. — For  I  am  Twith  thee. 
Comp.  XV.  20;  xlii.  11. — Chastise  thee.  The 
expression  is  found  in  x.  24  in  the  same  sense. 
Whether  in  Isa.  xxviii.  26  also  is  disputable.  On 
7  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  5,  b. — And  not 
leave  thee,  etc.  From  Exod.  xxxiv.  7 ;  the  ex- 
pression is  found  in  Numb.  xiv.  18,  in  Nah.  i.  3, 
and  here. — Comp.  further  xlvi.  27,  28,  where 
these  two  verses  are  reproduced. 


2.  The  turn  of  affair*  :  the  Lord  for  the  chastised  and  against  the  chattittr. 

XXX.  12-17. 

12  For  thus  saith  Jehovah,  thy  wound  is  incurable,* 
Mortal  thy  stroke. 

13  There  is  no  one  who  undertaketh  thy  case, 

For  thy  wound  thou  hast  no  remedies  of  bandages.' 

14  All  thy  lovers  have  forgotten  thee ; 
They  ask  not  after  thee ; 

For  I  have  smitten  them  with  the  stroke  of  an  enemy, 
With  cruel  chastisement  for  the  greatness  of  thy  guilt; 
Because  thy  sins  are  innumerable.' 

15  Why  criest  thou  over  thy  wound, 
That  thy  sorrow  is  incurable?* 
Because  of  the  greatness  of  thy  guilt. 

Because  thy  sins  are  innumerable,  I  have  done  this. 

16  Therefore  all  who  devour  thee  shall  be  devoured, 

And  all  thy  oppressors  shall  go  awa  ^  together  into  captivity. 

And  they  that  spoil  thee*  shall  be  a  spoil, 

And  all  thy  plunderers  will  I  give  up  to  plunder. 

17  For  I  will  restore  health  unto  thee. 

And  I  will  heal  thee  of  thy  wounds,  saith  Jehovah; 

For  they  call  thee  "  Outcast," 

"  Zion,  which  no  man  asketh  after." 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  12.— The  construction  of  E^IJK  with  S  is  found  here  only.    Perhaps  Nah.  iii.  19  was  in  the  prophet's  mind.  The 

thought  lyinc  at  tho  liasis  of  this  construction  is  :  insanabile  vidneri  (un,  or  more  exactly :  incurable  is  the  predicate  which 
belongs  to  your  woiinil. 

-  Vlt.  13. — As  "1110  does  not  agree  with  liy^,  I  refer  it,  with  Graf,  to  what  follows,  in  the  sense  of  minus  (that  which 

ii  wrapped  in  bandages,  as  in  Hos.  v.  13,      H  7^^1  HIXiJT  =^  medicamenia  ligaminis,  dressings.    Comp.  xlvi.  11 ;  Ezek. 


CHAP.  XXX.  18-24. 


259 


XXX.  21.     [A..  V. :  There  i-s  none  to  plead  thy  cause,  that  thou  mayest  be  hound  up.     Others  render  :  for  thy  cure  thou  hast, 
etc.    Hbnderson:  "1  take  r\1X31  to  I'*'  ^  nominative  absolute:  as  for  medicines." — S.  R.  A.] 

3  Ygj.  14.— Here  as  afterwards  in  ver.  15,  a  whole  sentence  is  twice  dependent  on   7J,V     (Comp.    Naegelsb.    Gr.,  I 

112,  9). 

4  Ver.  16. [A.  V. :  Why  criest  thou  for  thine  affliction?    Thy  sorrow  is  incurable.    Wordsworth  after  Ewald,  Umbreit, 

Graf  :  Why  criest  thou  for  thine  affliction,  that  thy  sorrow  is  incurable.— S.  R.  A.] 

5  Ver.  16.— I'DXty.     The  Chethibh  is  to  be  punctuated  TDXt^.     Since  tlie  root  QXiV  does  not  occur  in  Hebrew,  this 

form  is  to  be  explained  as  an  Aramaism  for  Ij'DDty,  Keri  "^'pjl/  (1.  H  ;  I=s:t-  xvii,  14). 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

This  whole  strophe  is  most  closely  connected 
with  ver.  11,  and  explains  the  three  thoughts  ex- 
pressed in  this  verse:  tliat  Ziou  is  chastised  ac- 
cording to  its  deserts,  but  is  not  to  be  destroyed, 
while  destruction  shall  be  the  lot  of  its  enemies. 
Thus  vers.  12-15  arc  a  commentary  on  the  words 
"  chastise  thee  according  to  justice"  in  ver.  11. 
For  it  is  here  set  forth  that  Israel  is  given  over 
to  severe  sickness  without  a  protector  and  physi- 
cian (vers.  12  and  13),  that  all  friends  have  for- 
saken the  people  so  severely  chastised  by  God, 
(ver.  14),  which  people  moreover  have  no  right 
to  complain  of  such  treatment,  for  the  Lord  has 
done  this  on  account  of  their  sins  (ver.  15).  The 
sentence  therefore,  etc.  (ver.  16),  refers  back  to 
the  declaration  in  the  llth  verse  that  the  Lord 
will  make  an  utter  end  of  the  nations,  among 
whom  He  scattered  Israel.  The  right  of  retri- 
bution is  to  be  exercised  on  them  in  the  fullest 
measure.  Ver.  17  finally  is  connected  with  the 
third  point  in  ver.  11,  viz.,  that  Israel  is  to  be 
healed  of  his  wounds  after  he  has  been  appa- 
rently outcast  and  forgotten. 

Vers.  12-15.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  ...  I 
have  done  this. — For  introduces  the  proof 
that  Israel  will  not  really  be  left  unpunished,  but 
will  be  severely  chastised,  so  that  he  will  only 
not  be  utterly  destroyed. — Mortal  thy  stroke. 
Comp.  X.  19 ;  xiv.  17.  Ver.  VS.  There  is  no  one, 
£tc.  Comp.  v.  28  ;  xxii.  16. — Thy  lovers.  Comp. 
xxii.  20,  22. — For  .  .  .  stroke  of  an  enemy. 
When  a  man  is  forsaken  by  God  his  fellow-men 
also  forsake  him.— For  the  greatness,  elc.  In 
these  and  the  following  words  to  the  end  of  ver. 
15  lies  the  confirmation  of  according  to  jus- 
tice, ver.  11 — V.  6;  xiii.  22. — Why  criest 
thou  ?  Israel  has  no  right  to  complain  of  se- 
vere treatment.  The  Lord  deals  with  him  "  ac- 
cording to  justice,"  ver.  11. 

Ver.  16.  Therefore  all  .  .  give  up  to  plun- 
der.— Therefore  has  no  sense  if  we  refer  it  to 


what  immediately  precedes.  For  it  cannot  be 
said  that  the  enemies  are  to  be  destroyed,  be- 
cause the  Lord  has  punished  His  people  accord- 
ing to  the  greatness  of  their  guilt.  For  if  only 
strict  justice  prevailed,  Israel  deserved  the  same 
punishment  as,  or  even  severer  punishment  than 
the  heathen.  Comp.  ii.  lOsqq.  I  therefore  re- 
fer Therefore  to  ver.  11,  to  which  this  whole 
passage  is  only  a  corollary,  and  particularly  to 
the  words  Though  I  make  a  full  end  of  all 
the  nations,  elc.  Israel's  guilt  is  in  the  past, 
and  cause  of  the  present  calamity,  hence  for  in 
ver.  12.  The  destruction  of  the  heathen  is  fu- 
ture, and  tlie  efl"ect  of  the  judgment  pronounced 
by  God  in  ver.  11,  hence  therefore,  ver.  16. — 
All  who  devour  thee.  Comp.  rems.  on  ii.  3; 
X.  25. — Go  away  together,  elc.  Comp.  xxii. 
22. — Shall  be  a  spoil.  Comp.  Zeph.  i.  13;  2 
Ki.  xxi.  14. — To  plunder.     Comp.  ii.  14. 

Ver.  17.  For  I  w^ill  restore  .  .  .  asketh  af- 
ter. This  sentence  also  refers  to  ver.  11.  and  to 
the  words  Will  not  make  an  end  of  thee. 
The  Lord  will  not  utterly  destroy  Israel,  for  He 
has  in  mind  to  heal  the  people  of  the  blows  to 
which  they  have  been  exposed. — I  will  restore, 
etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  viii.  22. — For  they  call. 
The  statement  of  the  reason  refers  here  to  the 
thought  that  Israel  needed  healing. — Outcast. 
Comp.  Isa.  xvi.  3,  4;  Mic.  iv.  6;  Zeph.  iii.  19. — 
Zion,  etc.,  a  sentence  of  the  object,  dependent  on  a 
verbum  dicendi  contained  in  call. — Which  no 
man  asketh  after  =  ea,  quam  nemo  curat. 

[Vers.  12-15.  "  So  desperate  were  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Jews  in  Babylon  while  enduring 
the  punishment  God  had  inflicted  upon  them  for 
their  crimes,  that  no  human  interposition  which 
they  would  naturally  expect,  could  avail  for  their 
deliverance.  Egypt,  Syria,  Tyre,  etc.,  which  had 
formerly  been  tlieir  confederates,  were  all  laid 
prostrate  by  the  same  haughty  conqueror  whose 
chains  they  themselves  wore.  They  are  accord- 
ingly represented  under  the  metaphor  of  a  body 
full  of  wounds,  left  entirely  destitute  of  medical 
aid."  Henderson. — S.  R.  A.] 


^    The  consummation  of  Salvation. 
XXX.  18-24. 

18       Thus  saith  Jehovah, 

Behold,  I  will  turn  the  captivity  of  Jacob's  tents* 

And  have  mercy  on  his  dwelling-places ; 

And  [the]  city'  shall  be  built  on  Jts  own  heap,'  [of  ruins] 

And  the  palace  .shall  be  inhabited  according  to  its  right.* 
i9  And  out  of  them  shall  proceed  thanksgiving, 


260  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


And  the  voice  of  them  that  rejoice ; 

And  I  will  increase  them,  and  they  shall  not  be  diminished, 

And  honor  them,  and  they  shall  not  be  small. 

20  Their  children  also  shall  be  as  aforetime, 

And  their  congregation  shall  be  established  before  me; 
And  I  will  punish  all  their  oppressors. 

21  And  their  ruler  shall  be  of  themselves, 

And  their  prince  shall  proceed  from  the  midst  of  them  ; 

And  I  will  bring  him  near  and  he  shall  approach  me, 

For  who  is  he,  who  would  have  pledged  his  heart  to  approach  me?  saith  Jehovah 

22  And  ye  shall  be  my  people, 
And  I  will  be  your  God. 

23  Behold,  a  tempest  of  Jehovah,  fury  is  loose. 
Whirl-winds^ — it  will  roll  on  the  head  of  the  ungodly. 

24  The  fierceness  of  Jehovah's  anger  will  not  return, 
Till  he  do  and  execute  the  plans  of  his  heart. 

In  the  end  of  days  ye  will  consider  it. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  18.— SriX,  poetical  for  house.  Comp.  iv.  20;  1  Kings  viii.  G6;  Job  xxi.  8. 

2  Ver.  18.— Ty,  without  the  article,  therefore,  not  the  city  fcar'  ffoxrji',  i.  e,.,  Jerusalem,  bnt  the  city  generally,  that  is, 
any  city.  •       , 

3  Ver.  18. — n7r>-7l'.     The  propliet  has  evidently  Deiit.  xiii.  IG  iu  view,  wliere  it  is  said  of  a  city  on  wliich  a  curse  i» 

laid,  tliat  it  shall  be  burned  and  shall  be  uh))?  hpi^  it  shaU  not  be  built  again.  Comp.  Josh.  viii.  28 ;  xi.  13 ;  Jer.  xlix.  2.  We 
see  from  this  that  Sp  is  the  heap  of  rubbish  formed  by  the  ruined  city. 

*  Ver.  18.— 311'''  M^21^D-lV-  Hitzio  :  The  palace  will  stand  in  its  proper  place.  Graf  [and  Henderson]  :  shall  be  in- 
habited iu  its  proper  place.  Botli  say  that  after  an  appropriale  manner  would  be  1031^03-  But  the  phrase  umy  also  mean 
according  tn  its  right.  Comp.  Deut.  xvli.  11. — 31^'  is  more  than  stand.    It  is  here  used  intransitively  as  in  xvii.  6,  25 ;  Isa. 

xiii.  20 :  E/ek.  xxvi.  20;  Zech.  vii.  7  (comp.  Naegelsb.  €rr.,  J  69,  1),  but  the  meaning  of  inhabit  remains.  If,  however,  we 
take  tlie  iilinise=M/)ora,  in  its  place,  tlieu  tlie  ideii  of  inhabit  is  supertluous.  as  HiTZlu  has  rightly  felt.  I  therefore  consider 
"  it  will  be  inhabited  as  becomes  it,''  as  the  correct  rendering.  A  palace  will  not  be  inhabited  as  a  beggar's  hut.  The  pro- 
phet wrote  '71;,  through  occasion  of  nSn-b^,  'J"t  t^e  second  7j;  must  not  therefore  be  regarded  as  being  as  local  in  signifi- 
cation as  the  first.  ,  .  I 

6  Ver.  2;5.— Instead  of  77inDD,  xxiii.  9,  we  read  here  "llljHO  by  which  the  paronomasia  with  7liT'  is  destroyed. 
....  ••       :    ■  T 

The  forcible  nj'3  at  the  close  is  also  wanting.    As  to  TlUnD,  this  Hithp.  occurs  only  here  and  in  Hos.  vii.  14  and  1  Kings 

xvii.  21.  In  Tlosea  themeaning«Ho  alarm  one's  self,"  is  most  recommended,  in  1  Kings  xvii.  that  of  "cnmmorari"  is  neces- 
sarily required  by  the  coiniection.  In  this  passage  the  commentators  vacillate  greatly  ;  an  abiding  storm  (  Hexostenbehg)  : 
a  roiling  storm  from  IT  J,  gargarizare  (Meier)  ;  turbo  cuncta  abripiens  from  IT  J,  rapere,  (Gesen.  T/ies.,  p.  300; ;  a  whirling 

storm,  from  T1i=SSjl  volvere.    The  last  meaning  would  come  nearest  the  original  77innD.  Comp.  Fuerst,  s.  v.,  "I^IJ,  III. 

and  -nj. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  restored  nation  will  in  every  respect  pre- 
sent the  picture  of  a  flourishing  commonwealth. 
The  ruined  dwellings  will  be  rebuilt  (ver.  18), 
praise  and  rejoicing  will  be  heard  from  them,  the 
number  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  honor  of  the 
State  will  be  great  (ver.  10);  the  latter  will  re- 
gain its  former  importance  and  preserve  it,  but 
all  its  oppressors  shall  be  chastised  (ver.  20) ; 
the  ruler  of  the  State  shall  no  more  be  a  stranger, 
but  a  native,  who  will  at  the  same  time  stand  in 
the  closest  relation  to  Jehovah  (ver.  21);  the 
people  will  be  God's  people,  and  the  Lord  his 
people's  God  (ver.  22).  All  this,  however,  ap- 
plies only  to  the  Israel  which  submits  to  the 
Lord.     The  d.ay  of  the  Lord  will  break  upon  the 


sense,  from  its  application  to  the  ruined  build- 
ings. Comp.  rems.  on  xxix.  4.  —  Gr.\f  refers 
out  of  them,  ver.  19,  to  the  allies,  Hitzig  to  the 
palaces,  but  in  the  sense  that  he  regards  the 
Israelites  as  the  subject  of  the  egression,  in  the 
sense  of  xxxi.  4,  13;  xxxiii.  10,  11. — The  latter 
could  not  well  be  excluded.  But  why  should 
not  the  sound  of  sacred  joy  be  heard  from  the 
dwellings  of  Israel  in  any  sense,  and  therefore  in 
the  sense,  that  it  proceeds  from  those  who  are 
within?  This  is  at  the  same  time  a  furiher 
adornment  of  the  houses  themselves,  to  which, 
in  a  collective  sense,  out  of  them  is  to  be  re- 
ferred. These  thus  become,  as  it  were,  instru- 
ments of  sacred  music. — Isa.  li.  3. — Of  them 
that  rejoice.  Comp.  xv.  17;  xxxi.  4. — Dimin- 
ished. Comp.  xxix.  6. — As  aforetime.  As 
formerly     "  sub   Davide   et   Salomonc  rerniii    .statu 


them  (vers.  23  and  2 1 

Vr-s.  18-20.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  op- 
pressors. It  is  evident  that  the  phrase  turn  the 
captivity  may  be  taken  here   in  a   figurative 


ungodly   (vers.  .5-7)  like  a  tempest  and   destroy    Jlorentissimo.''''  Rosenmueller.  Comp.  Ps.  Ixxiv. 


2  ;  Lam.  v.  21. — Their  congregation.  Comp.  2 
Sam.  vii.  10;  Ps.  cii.  29;  Prov.  xvi.  12;  1  Kings 
ii.  12. 

Vers.  21  and  22.  And  their  ruler  .  .  .  your 


CHAP.  XXX.  18-24. 


261 


God.  The  description  of  the  glorious  future  is 
crowned  by  the  declaration  of  the  relation  of  the 

prince  to  Jehovah.  He  is  called  '^/O,  king,  in 
ver.  9,  here  TIN,  ruler,  and  V^D,  prince.  This 
is  not  a  low  predicate,  as  J.  D.  Miohaelis  sup- 
poses, but  a  high  one.  For  not  every  king  may 
be  thus  called.  There  are  counterfeit  kings 
(Eccles.  iv.  13;  x.  16).  This  king,  however,  is  a 
*T''nN,  a  predicate  which  is  given  to  the  King  of  all 

kings  (Ps.  viii.  2,  10;  xciii.  4),  and  TdO  for  the 
mii'O  is  on  his  shoulder  (Isa.  ix.  5),  and  the  key 
of  David  (Isa.  xxii.  22),  that  he  may  open  and 
no  man  shut,  and  shut  and  no  man  open.  Comp. 
Mic.  V.  1.  This  powerful  ruler  is  of  Israel's  flesh 
and  blood,  no  foreigner,  no  representative  of  the 
empire  hostile  to  God's  people.  And  not  merely 
is  this  declared,  but  also  that  proceeding  from 
the  midst  of  the  people,  he  may  approach  unto 
Jehovah.  The  mediatorial  position  of  the  king 
is  here  announced. — Him  after  bring  refers  to 
the  king.  Hitzig  has  correctly  remarked  that 
altogether  too  little  would  be  said  of  the  king  if 
his  Israelitish  origin  merely  were  set  forth,  but 
besides  this  negative  reason,  we  have  also  in  our 
rendering  of  UOO  from  themselves,  andUTpO 
from  their  midst,  a  positive  necessity  of  re- 
ferring the  suffix  to  the  king.  '0  fiEa'tTijg  kvbq  ovk 
earn',  Gal.  iii.  20.  He  proceeds  from  the  midst 
of  the  people  and  approaches  God.  An  intima- 
tion has  been  rightly  found  in  bring  near  and 
approach  of  priestly  attributes  (Exod.  xxiv.  2  ; 
Numb.  xvi.  5).  The  sentence  with  For  states 
the  reason  why  the  Lord  leads  the  prince  to  Him- 
self. The  reason  is  a  negative  one  ;  there  is  no 
other  who  would  be  capable  of  entering  into  this 
relation  of  nearness  and  communion  to  "God.  All 
here  depends  especially  on  the  correct  under- 
standing of  the  expression  137~r\X  ^IP,  pledge 
his  heart.  The  verb  2^}?,  with  the  accusative, 
may  signify  two  things  only.  Either  "  to  stand, 
be  a  surety  for  some  one,  to  vouch,  guarantee  " 
(comp.    Gen.  xliii.    9  coll.   xliv.  32.  "^I  2'}}?  spo- 

pondit  pro  alieno,  Prov.  xi.  15;  xx.  16;  xxvii.  13 
coll.  Job  xvii.  3 ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  14),  or  "  to 
pledge  something."  For  the  latter  meaning  we 
can  appeal  only  to  Neh.  v.  3.  The  meanings 
"  applicare  (Vulg.),  convertere  (Syr.),  lubentem 
rcddere  (so  in  sense  the  LXX.,  Chald.  and  others), 
accommo  dare,  for  mare  (Calvin),"  have  no  gram- 
matical basis,  and  are  all  occasioned  by  137.     If 

we  adhere  to  the  two  meanings  which  are  proved, 
the  second,  as  we  have  shown,  rests  only  in  the 
authority  of  one  passage  in  the  book  of  Nehemiah. 
It  is  not,  however,  to  be  used  directly,  but  the 
meaning  must  first  be  derived  from  it  "  to  stake, 

risk,  venture."  37  lieart,  must  then  be  taken 
as=Ji'3J,  soul,  life.  Graf  has  adduced  analo- 
gies in  favor  of  this  (iv.  18  coll.  iv.  10;  Exoil. 
ix.  14  ;  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  3  coll.  xvi.  9;  xxxi.  10;  Ixiii. 
2),  but  of  these  only  the  first  is  of  consequence, 
and  even  these  passages  only  prove  that  the 
j'hijsical  heart  may  also  be  designated  as  the  aim 
of  the  sword  which  is  threatening  the  life.  There 
may  be  other  cases  where  the  connection  allows 
\he  heart  to  be  set  for  the  life,  but  this  is  not  the 


case  here.  Every  one  feels  that  here  to  say 
"heart"  for  "life,"  would  be  harsh.  I  there- 
fore think  that  we  must  take  2"^]^  in  the  sense  of 

"  to  be  bail,  to  stand  for  another."  We  should 
then  have  to  translate:  for  who  stands  bail  for 
his  heart,  to  approach  to  me  ?     Ought  we  to  take 

37  in  the  sense  of  "courage"  as  Hitzig  does? 
There  are  passages  where  it  gets  this  meaning 
from  the  context  (Gen.  xlii.  28;  1  Sam.  xvii.  32  ; 
2  Sam.  vii.  27  ;  xvii.  10  ;  Job  xli.  15),  but  this  is 
not  its  direct  meaning.  I  think  then  that  it 
must  be  taken  here  in  its  general  sen.sc  as  the 
seat  of  moral  volition.  The  prophet  wislies  to 
say:  Who  can  stand  for  his  heart,  that  it  ap- 
proach me  ?  and  this  can  certainly  be  taken  in 
the  sense;  that  it  has  the  will,  the  power,  the 
courage,  to  approach  me?  The  point  of  the 
thought  is  evidently  in  the  antithesis,  bring  him 
and  pledge  his  heart,  i.  e.,  between  the  divine 
causality  and  human  spontaneity.  No  man  can 
undertake  to  be  a  mediator  between  God  and  man 
in  his  own  strength.  For  if  one  should  even  have 
the  courage  to  begin  this  difficult  undertaking, 
he  cannot  vouch  for  himself  that  he  will  have  the 
power  to  carry  it  out.  The  nearer  the  man  came 
to  the  glory  of  God,  the  lower  would  his  courage 
fall.  God  alone  confers  the  power  to  approach 
him,  and  he  will  confer  it  on  him  whom  he  has 
chosen  to  be  a  mediator.  In  so  far  now  as  ap- 
proaching God  is  represented  as  something  un- 
attainable by  human  strength,  it  is  clear  that  the 
prophet  has  not  the  ordinary  priests'  approach- 
ing to  God  in  mind.  The  answer  to  the  question : 
Who  is  he  who  would  give  his  heart  as  surety,  to 
approach  me  ? — must  evidently  be :  No  one. 
Now  not  every  Israelite  indeed,  but  every  nor- 
mally created  member  of  the  priestly  or  high 
priestly  family  would  be  justified  and  authorized 
to  approach  God  as  a  priest  in  the  sense  of  the 
Mosaic  law.  Even  these,  however,  are  excluded 
by  the  no  one,  which  the  question  requires  as 
answer.  Consequently  the  promised  mediator 
can  only  be  an  extraordinary  personage.  Our 
text  gives  no  further  information,  as  to  how  the 
divine  causality  renders  it  possible  for  him  to  ap- 
proach God,  for  this  may  be  done  in  diflerent 
ways,  from  without  or  from  within,  in  a  mechani- 
cal or  an  organic  way. 

Ver.  22.  And  ye,  etc.  The  thought  certainly 
accords  well  with  ver.  21,  since  the  inward  com- 
munion between  God  and  the  people,  which  ia 
predicted  in  ver.  22,  is  not  otherwise  possible, 
even  in  view  of  the  question.  For  vrho  is  he  ? 
etc.,  than  by  a  mediator;  it  is  however  the  neces- 
sary glorious  result  of  his  ministry  (comp.  Heb. 
viii).  Since,  however,  vers.  23  and  24  are  de- 
cidedly to  be  regarded  as  a  later  addition  (  Vid. 
infra,)  the  thought  of  our  verse  appears  to  be 
repeated  immediately  afterwards  in  xxxi.  1. 
Such  a  repetition  of  these  words  in  immediate 
sequence  is  indeed  surprising,  but  not  impossi- 
ble. Since  in  both  instances  the  words  are 
highly  appropriate,  in  the  first  as  the  close  of  the 
prophecy  relating  to  the  whole,  in  the  second  as 
I  lie  beginning  of  that  relating  to  the  first  main 
division,  and  since  further  in  xxxi.  1  the  inver- 
sion of  the  clauses  of  the  sentence  is  designed  to 
avoid  monotony,  I  regard  it  as  probable  that  the 
words  are  authentic  in  both  instances.     If  they 


262 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


are  to  be  accounted  spurious  in  one  case,  I  would 
vindicate  the  genuineness  of  xxxi.  1,  since  here 
they  occur  in  a  characteristic  setting.  Observe 
the  words  to  all  the  families  of  Israel,  which 
evidently  correspond  to  concerning  Israel  and 
concerning  Judah,  xxxi.  4,  and  give  xxxi.  1 
the  appearance  of  being  a  superscription  to  the 
following  section. 

Vers.  23  and  24.  Behold,  a  tempest  .  .  . 
consider  it.  The  words  are  repeated  with 
slight  variations  from  xxiii.  19,  20.  As  chh. 
XXX.  and  xxxi.  belong  to  the  reign  of  Josiah  (iii.  6. 
Comp.  Introd. ),  and  the  prophecy,  xxiii.  9-40,  from 
which  our  verses  are  taken,  cannot  have  origi- 
nated before  the  first  four  years  of  Jehoiakim,  it 
is  clear  that  verses  23  and  24  cannot  have  stood 
originally  in  this  place.  Did  then  Jeremiah  him- 
self add  them  subsequently  ?     I  do  not  regard 


this  as  probable,  since  the  words  do  not  corres- 
pond to  the  general  character  of  these  chapters. 
These  contain  only  a  prediction  of  salvation ; 
they  represent  the  brightest  and  most  joyful,  we 
might  say,  the  only  untroubled  moment  in  Jere- 
miah's life  (comp.  on  xxxi.  26).  The  verses  28 
and  24  accordingly  have  the  eflFect  of  a  disso- 
nance.    Whence,  in  such  a  time  as   the  prophet 

describes,    are    D'^^t^l    whirl-w^inds    to    come 

(comp.  xxxi.  18,  19)?  And  what  thoughts  of  an- 
ger is  Jehovah  to  carry  out  at  a  time  when  He  has 
already  turned  the  captivity  of  His  people?  I  re- 
gard it  as  not  impossible  that  some  later  writer 
thought  himself  compelled  to  separate  the  essen- 
tially equivalent  words  in  xxx.  22  and  xxxi.  1  bj 
sentences  which  he  deemed  appropriate. 


III.  The  Special  Distribution  of  Salvation  to  the  Two  Halves  of  the  Nation 

(xxxi.  1  26). 

a.  ephraim's  share  (xxxi.  1-22). 

1.   The  Decree  of  Restoration. 

XXXI.  1-6. 

1  At  that  time,  saith  Jehovah,  I  will  be  God  to  all  the  families  of  Israel, 
And  they  shall  be  my  people. 

2  Thus  saith  Jehovah ;  the  people  left  of  the  sword  has  found  grace  in  the  desert. 
Up  !^  to  bring  him  to  rest,^  eveyi  Israel. 

3  Jehovah  appeared  unto  me  from  afar. 
And  I  love  thee  with  everlasting  love. 
Therefore  have  I  in  loving-kindness  respited  thee.* 

4  Again  will  I  build  thee  and  thou  shalt  be  built,  Virgin  Israel ; 
Again  shalt  thou  adorn  thyself  with  thy  tabrets, 

And  go  forth  in  the  dance  of  those  that  make  merry. 

5  Again  shalt  thou  plant  vineyards  on  the  mountains  of  Samaria ; 
The  planters  shall  plant  and  enjoy  the  fruit. 

6  For  there  is  a  day  when  the  watchmen  cry  on  Mount  Ephraim, 
Arise  and  let  us  go  up  towards  Zion,  to  Jehovah  our  God. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2. — ^1  vH^  The  infinitive  absolute  is  to  be  taken  as  an  imperative,  in  the  sense  of  a  summons  to  one's  self.  Comp. 
Naeoeisb.  Gr.,  \  9-2,  2,  h. 

2  Ver.  2. — 111  ll^'J^ri/  the  prophet  evidently  alludes  to  Deut.  xxviii.  6.5.  This  Iliphil  denotes  quietemagerr,  to  nuvki:  a 
rest  (couip.  Namelsb.  Gr.,  g  18,  3).  There  is  indeed  no  further  instance  to  adduce  in  favor  of  the  meaning  quidumfacerc, 
yet,  apart  from  its  grammatical  admissibility,  it  rests  on  a  good  foundation,  partly  in  the  etymology  (comp.  J^IJIO,  Jer. 
vi.  16;  nj^J'^'D.  Isa.  xxviii.  12)  partly  in  the  connection. — On  the  anticipation  of  the  object  by  the  suffix.  Comp.  NAi:OElSB. 
Gr.,  ?  77,  'J.  and  renis.  on  ix.  14. 

s  Ver.  3. — non  'H17D   in  the  sense  of  prolongare  gratiam  is  found  in  Ps.  xxxvi.  11 ;  cix.  12  coll.  Ixxxv.  6.    The  sense 

wcjiild  also  1)0  perfectly  appropriate.  Then  the  suffix  would  have  to  be  taken  in  the  Sfnse  of  the  dative.  This  use  of  the 
suffix  in  liow»(Vcr  j>n)Vcd  onlv  in  the  Ist  person  CJ).  and  tin-  similar  case  of  the  tliird  jicrs.  inasc.  (V).  For  such  a  use  in  the 
2d  pera.  we  have  only  the  uncertain  instance  of  Isa.  Ixv.  5.  Comp.  Naeoelsu.  Gr.,  g  78. — I  therefore  take  IjiyO  with  HlTZIQ 
and  FCERST  in  the  sense  of  "  respite  "  (Eccles.  ii.  3).    HDH  is  the  Accus.  Instr.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  J  70,  t. 


CHAP.  XXXI.   1-6. 


263 


EXEQETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

According  to  xxx.  4  the  prophet  has  in  the  pre- 
vious passage  been  addressing  Israel  and  Judah. 
Now  he  turns  to  Israel  alone,  as  far  as  xxxi.  22, 
thenin'o^ers.  23-21)  to  Judah  alone,  finally  in  vers. 
27-40  to  the  entire  Israclitish  nation.  After  the 
comprehensive  promise  (ver.  1),  which  now  al- 
lots the  consolation,  assured  in  xxx.  22  to  the 
entire  nation,  especially  to  the  ten  tribes;  he  an- 
nounces that  the  residue  of  Israel  has  found 
grace,  and  that  the  Lord  arises  to  bring  it  to 
rest  (ver.  2).  The  people  see  the  Lord  approach- 
ing from  a  distance,  and  telling  them  that  he  loves 
them  with  an  everlasting  love,  of  which  the  pre- 
vious respite  was  a  proof  (ver.  3).  Then  follows 
the  consolatory  promise  that  the  Virgin  Israel 
shall  be  rebuilt,  tiiat  she  shall  again  go  forth  in 
cheerful  dances  (ver.  4),  that  vineyards  shall 
again  be  planted  in  Samaria,  and  those  who  have 
planted  shall  enjoy  the  fruit  (ver.  5).  And  not 
only  this.  Israel  will  also  again  have  recourse 
to  the  national  Sanctuary,  and  go  up  for  worship 
to  J  rusalcm. 

Ver.  1.  At  that  time  .  .  .  my  people.  The 
section  begins  as  the  previous  one  had  closed. 
That  glorious  consolation  is  again  proclaimed 
specially  to  the  ten  tribes,  the  most  ruined  and 
almost  lost  portions  of  the  people.  The  altera- 
tions and  extensions  occasiojicd  by  its  position 
in  the  beginning  and  the  inversion  mark  at  the 
same  time  the  distinction  in  I'clVrence  to  xxx.  22. 

Vers.  2-6.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  our 
God.  It  is  impossible  that  there  can  be  a  refe- 
rence here  to  those  who  were  delivered  from  the 
captivity  in  Egypt.  Apart  from  particular  ob- 
jections, the  ten  tribes  did  not  then  obtain  a  spe- 
cial deliverance,  and  the  whole  description  re- 
lates to  the  future,  as  is  clear  from  up  !  to 
bring,  etc.,  and  still  more  plainly  from  vers.  4- 
6.  The  declarations  of  these  latter  verses  only 
particularize  what  was  said  in  vers.  2  and  3.  The 
perfects  in  vers.  2  and  3  are  also  prophetical. — 
Has  found  grace.  Israel  had  fallen  into  dis- 
favor, now  he  has  again  lound  favor.  In  the  de- 
sert the  Lord  finds  the  remnant  spared  by  the 
sword  of  the  enemy.  It  is  certain  that  the  pro- 
phet means  the  north-eastern  desert  situated  be- 
tween Palestine  and  the  Euphrates.  For  the 
escaped  of  the  sword,  mentioned  in  li.  60  are 
not  those  which  Jer.  here  has  in  mind.  There 
he  is  speaking  of  Jews,  here  of  those  pertaining  to 
the  ten  tribes.  The  prophet  is  thinking  of  them 
as  they  were  during  the  period  of  their  disfavor, 
oppressed  and  persecuted  by  enemies  and  driven 
out  into  the  desert.  There,  in  their  deepest  dis- 
tress, the  Lord  finds  them.  We  have  however  no 
right  to  deny  that  this  prophetic  picture  of  the 
future  has  its  corresponding  historical  reality  in 
an  external,  literal  sense.  Ver.  3.  A  dramatic 
change  of  persons!  The  people  speak.  They 
see  the  Lord  appear  from  afar.  For  He  had 
kept  Himself  afar  off",  He  had  indeed  quite  dis- 
appeared from  the  sight  of  the  people.  Now  He 
is  again  visible,  of  course  from  Zion.  Comp.  Ps. 
xiv.  7;  Isa.  xlix.  9  sqq. — And  I  love.  The 
connection  of  what  Jehovah  says  with   what  the 


people  say  by  means  of  Vau,  and  (HiTZia  ap- 
propriately compares  1  Ki.  xx.  34)  makes  the 
impression  that  the  Lord  at  once  agrees  to  what 
is  said,  confirms  it,  makes  indeed  glorious  addi- 
tions to  it.  Vau  therefore  =  and  indeed  (comp. 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  111,  1,  a)  is  connected  with  a  col- 
lateral causal  significance  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr., 
^110,  1,  e),  since  that  eternal  love  is  the  only 
ground  of  the  appearance. — Un  the  subject-mat- 
ter comp.  Deut,  vii.  13;  Isa.  liv.  7,  8 ;  1  Ki.  x. 
9. — Build,  etc.  Build  here  is  to  be  t.aken  not 
merely  in  the  sense  of  building  walls,  but  of  res- 
titutio in  integrum.  Comp.  Ps.  xxviii.  5;  cii.  17; 
Jer.  xii.  16.  ["This  metaphor,  which  may  ap- 
pear harsh  in  English,  is  to  be  explained  from 
tlie  use  of  the  Hebrew  word  iawa/i,  to  build,  as 
applied  to  the  building  up  a  family  of  sons  [ba- 
nim)  and  daughters  [banoth)  who  are  like  living 
stones  of  the  household,  built  up  from  the  mo- 
ther, wedded  as  a  Virgin  Bride  to  her  husband." 
Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] — Adorn  thyself,  etc. 
Comp.  iv.  30.  The  kettle-drum,  [or  timbrel]  is 
here  designated  as  pertaining  to  the  ornaments 
of  a  woman  who  appears  in  festal  apparel. — 
Comp.  xxxi.  19. — To  the  rebuilt  cities  and  the 
restored  commonwealth,  it  is  also  necessary  in 
order  that  the  people  may  be  happy,  that  there 
be  agriculture,  especially  the  culture  of  the  vine, 
the  fruit  of  which  rejoiceth  the  heart  of  man. — 
Mountains  of  Samaria  (comp.  1  Ki.  xvi.  24) 
are  the  mountains  of  the  northern  kingdom  ge- 
nerally, in  so  far  as  they  permitted  the  culture 
of  the  vine.  Comp.  Jud.  ix.  27. — Hos.  ii.  17. — ■ 
Enjoy  the  fruit.  Jeremiah  here  refers  to  the 
legal  enactment.  Lev.  xix.  13-25,  that  the  fruit 
of  newly  planted  trees  should  not  be  eaten  at  all 
in  the  first  three  years,  and  in  the  fourth  year  they 
should  be  holy  unto  the  Lord;  not  until  the  fifth 
year  should  they  be  enjoyed  ad  libitum  (comp. 
Saalschuetz,  3Ios.  Recht.  S.  168,  9).  This  appro- 
priation permitted  from  the  5tli  year  onwards  is 

designated  by  the  expression    /vH  profanare,    in 

usum profanum  convertere.  He  who  has  planted  a 
vineyard  and  has  not  yet  enjoyed  the  fruit  of  it 
is  free  from  service  in  war,  Deut.  xx.  6.  It  is 
also  one  of  the  punishments  threatened  to  the 
ungodly  man  that  he  shall  plant  a  vineyard  but 
another  shall  make  it  common  (Deut.  xxviii.  30). 
In  antithesis  to  this  passage  it  is  here  promised 
as  an  element  of  blessing  that  the  planter  shall 

also  be  the  profaner  or  partaker.  (^^^Hp).  Comp. 
Isa.  Ixv.  21. — For  there  is  a  day,  etc.  All  this 
blessing  promised  to  Israel  in  vers.  4  and  5  shall 
and  will  be  imparted  to  them  on  this  account,  that 
the  people  themselves  will  return  to  the  service 
of  Jehovah  as  of  old.  ''2  For,  ver.  6,  thus  gives 
the  reason  of  Jehovah's  action  (vers.  4  and  5) 
in  the  behavior  of  Israel.— W.atchmen.  There 
were  not  only  watchmen  stationed  on  lofty  emi- 
nences (comp.  1  Ki.  xvii.  9;  xviii.  8)  to  announce 
danger  from  enemies  (iv.  6,  19;  vi.  1,  etc.)  but 
also  to  announce  the  new  moons  and  feasi  '. 
Comp.  Saalschuetz,  Mos.  Recht.,  S.  387,  401. — 
The  cry  then,  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  Jeho- 
vah! sounds  again  as  before  the  separation.  Is- 
rael and  Judah  are  again  united  in  the  Lord. 


^tj-i  AiA^    ^  jLwiJx  lli-il    Jjjlli-...J.iAii. 


2.   The  Execution. 
XXXI.  7-14. 

7  For  thus  saith  Jehovah,  Shout  joyfully  over^  Jacob, 

And  exult^  over  the  head  of  the  nations  !  Sing  praises'  aloud  and  say : 
Deliver,  O  Jehovah,  thy  people,  the  remnant  of  Israel. 

8  Behold,  I  bring  them  from  the  North  country, 
And  collect  them  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Among  them  are  the  blind  and  lame, 

The  pregnant  and  the  parturient  together ; 
A  great  assemblage  shall  they  return  hither. 

9  With  weeping  shall  they  come,  and  with  supplication. 
I  conduct  them  ;*  I  lead  them  to  water-brooks. 

By  a  straight  way  in  which  they  shall  not  stumble : 

For  I  am  Israel's  father, 

And  Ephraim  is  my  first-born  son. 

10  Hear  Jehovah's  word,  ye  nations. 

And  proclaim  it  to  the  isles  afar  oflT,^  and  say : 
He  that  scattered  Israel  will  collect  him, 
And  guard  him  as  a  shepherd  his  flock. 

11  For  Jehovah  has  redeemed  Jacob, 

And  liberated  him  from  the  hand -of  him  who  was  too  strong  for  him. 

12  And  they  will  come  and  shout  on  the  summit  of  Zion, 
And  stream  hither  to  the  blessing®  of  Jehovah, 

For  the  corn  and  the  new  wine  and  the  oil. 
And  for  young  lambs  and  calves : 
And  their  soul  shall  be  as  a  watered  garden ; 
And  they  shall  not  languish  any  more.'' 

13  Then  will  the  virgin  rejoice  in  the  dance, 
And  young  men  with  the  aged  together  ; 
And  I  will  turn  their  mourning  into  joy, 
And  comfort  them  after  their  sorrow. 

14  And  I  will  satiate  the  soul  of  the  priests  with  fat, 

And  my  people  shall  be  full  of  the  blessing,  saith  Jehovah.  • 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.7.— >-^S  1J1.    S  as  in  Pa.  xxii.  31;  Ixix.  G,  27.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  S.  227.— The  accus.  nilDE'  as  ^DH  ia 

:  T  :     '  V  V 

Tcr.  3,  . 

2  Ver.  7.— I7n2f '•    Comi).  Isa.  x.  ao ;  xii.  G ;  Jer.  v.  8 ;  1.  11.    The  construction  with  3,  as  in  Isa.  xxiv.  14. 

»  Ver.  7. — On  the  constraction  ^SSh  l^^'Otyn,  comp.  rems.  on  iv.  5  ;  xiil.  18. 

*  Ver.  9. — IIiTZio  would  connect  D^'DIN  ^vitli  what  follows  because  it  does  not  agree  with  D'J1jnr\,  which  does  not 

iignify  miseratio,  cleni'ntia.  But  wo  need  not  use  the  word  in  this  sense,  [Comp.  ExEQ.  rems.  which,  however,  do  not  accord 
with  the  rendering  f;iven  by  N.vegelsbach  in  the  text.  Henderson  and  Notes  adhere  to  the  A.  V.:  and  with  supplications 
will  I  lead  tliem.— 8.  U.  A.] 

*  Ver.  10.— pmorD.     On  the  construction  comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  ?  112,  5,  d. 

*  Ver.  12.— i?0~7X.     On  7X  and  its  interchange  with  ^y  comp.  rema.  on  x.  1. — 3!)£3,  in  distinction  from  ji£3,  i« 
never  used  of  moral,  but  always  of  material  good.    Comp.  ii.  7 ;  Hos.  iii.  5. 

^  Ver.  12.— -\1j^  TIDXH^.    Comp.  ver.  25,  and  Olshausen,  S.  532. 


EXEOETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

After  in  the  previous  strophe  the  Lord  has 
made  known  His  purpose  to  liberate  and  restore 
Israel,  the  present  strophe   goes  a  step  farther. 


It  contains  a  summons  at  the  head  of  each  of  its 

two  halves.  The  first  (ver.  7)  is  addressed  to  the 
Israelites  themselves,  and  exhorts  them,  after  the 
Lord  in  the  foregoing  verses,  1-6,  has  made 
known  His  gracious  determination,  to  approach 
Ilim  now  with  petitions  for  its  actual  execution. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  7-14. 


265 


It  is  also  at  once  promised  that  tlie  Loi-d  will  re- 
spond to  these  petitions  (vers.  8  and  9),  for  in 
these  verses  it  is  described  how  they  willaccom- 
plisn  their  journey  from  the  North  country  and 
the  most  remote  lands,  a  journey  which  will  set 
in  the  most  glorious  light  the  filial  relation  of  Is- 
rael to  his  God.  At  the  head  of  the  second  half 
(vers.  10-14)  is  a  summons  to  all  nations  to  hear 
and  proclaim  the  decree  which  God  has  formed 
with  respect  to  His  people,  tliat,  namely,  they 
shiiU  be  liberated  (vers.  10,  11)  and  be  brought 
home  to  a  glorious  life  in  joy  and  abundance  on 
their  native  soil  (vers.  12-14). 

Vers.  7-9.  For  thus  saith  .  -  .  first-born 
son. — For  refers  not  merely  to  ver.  7  but  to  all 
that  follows.  All  that  is  subsequently  said  of  the 
realizat  i  on  of  the  divine  intentions  is  a  proof  of  the 
truth  of  the  promise  given  in  vers.  1-G.  The  sum- 
mons to  exult  joyfully  is  addressed  to  the  indivi- 
dual members  of  the  holy  nation.  Who  else  will 
then  supplicate  for  Israel?  The  antithesis  to  ver. 
10  also  favors  this  view.  There  the  heathen  are 
summoned  not  to  pray  for  Israel  but  to  proclaim 
the  purpose  which  the  Lord  has  formed  on  this 
account.  Israel  is  called  the  head  of  the  nations. 
The  prophet  depends  in  this  expression  on  those 
passages  in  the  Pentateuch  where  Israel  is  called 
the  holy  nation,  the  treasure  above  all  peo- 
ple, (Ex.  xix.  5,  6;  Lev.  xx.  24,  26;  Deut.  vii. 
6;  xiv.  2;  xxvi.  18),  the  great  nation,  to  which 
the  Deity  approaches  (Deut.  iv.  7,  8),  the  people 
of  inheritance  (Deut.  iv.  20),  the  highest  above 
all  nations  (Deut.  xxvi.  19);  further  on  prophetic 
passages  which  designate  the  nation  as  chief  of 
the  nations  (Am.  vi.  1  coll.  iii.  2)  as  one  na- 
tion in  the  earth  (2  Sam.  vii.  23  coll.  Numb, 
xxiii.  9;  Deut.  xxxiii.  28). — Deliver,  etc.  It  is 
evident  that  this  is  meant  as  an  earnest  petition 
from  the  accusative  thy  people.  By  His  promise 
in  vers.  1-6  the  Lord  has  givea  the  Israelites  the 
right  and  the  courage  to  supplicate  in  comfort 
and  in  joy  for  the  redemption  of  their  nation. 
There  is,  it  is  true,  an  assonance  in  this  word  to 
the  words  of  praise  N3  H^'iyin  [Hosanna.  A.V. : 
save  now.  Comp.  Matth.  xxi.  9]  (Ps.  cxviii.  25) 
which  are  however  not  merely  words  of  praise, 
but  according  to  their  verbal  significance,  are  at 
the  same  time  a  petition,  and  in  so  far  as  they 
are  that  form  of  petition  whicli  is  sure  of  being 
heard  are  at  the  same  time  praise.  Vers.  8  and  y 
then  contain  the  comforting  promise  that  the  pe- 
tition will  be  heard.  It  is  as  if  the  Lord  in  ver. 
7  had  only  provoked  the  petition,  in  order  to  an- 
nounce His  readiness  to  realize  the  promise  given 
in  vers  2-6. — From  the  North  country.  As 
the  D'^K/  came  from  the  North,  the  ^2V}  must 
also  be  brought  back  from  the  North  country. 
Comp.  lii.  12,  18;  xvi.  15. — Ends  of  the  earth. 
Comp.  vi.  22;  xxv.  32;  1.  41. — Among  them, 
etc.  The  deliverance  is  to  comprise  the  whole 
people.  The  weak  and  frail  will  then  not  be  ex- 
cluded, but  be  conducted  in  a  manner  suited  to 
their  circumstances.  With  tears  of  joy  and  con- 
trition, with  prayer  and  supplication  to  the  Lord 
their  God  will  they  retrace  their  way.  Comp. 
iii.  21  ;  1.   4.     As  in  Ps.  xlv.    15;  Isa.   Iv.   12,  a 


being  led  forth  with  gladness  and  with  peace  ia 
spoken  of,  so  here  it  is  said  that  the  Lord  will  lead 
Israel  with  supplication,  i.  e.,  in  the  continued 
spirit  and  practice  of  prayer.  Only  thus  is  the 
symmetry  of  the  construction  preserved,  accord- 
ing to  which  a  more  particular  definition  is  to  be 
given  to  each  verb  by  means  of  a  prepositional 
expression. — To  water-brooks,  in  a  level  and 
comfortable  path,  are  they  to  be  brought.  Comp. 
Isa.  xlviii.  21. — This  careful  guidance  is  truly 
{.aternal.  No  wonder;  for  Jehovah  is  Israel's 
father  (comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  6;  Isa.  Ixiii.  16;  Jer. 
iii.  19;  Herzoq,  R.-Enc,  XVII.  S.  252),  and 
Ephraim  is  His  first-born  son.  This  predicate  is 
ascribed  to  the  whole  nation.  Exod.  iv.  22  coll. 
Duut.  xiv.  1.  Here  however  Ephraim  is  pur- 
posely designated  as  first-born,  in  allusion  to  the 
preference,  which  Jacob  awarded  to  the  sons  of 
Joseph  (Gen.  xlix.  22  coil.  4),  and  which  is  dis- 
tinctly defined  in  1  Chron.  v.  2,  where  it  is 
said  that  Judah  obtained  the   dignity  of  chief 

ruler  ('T'J^),  but  Joseph  the  birthright    (HlbS). 

Comp.  Delitszch  on  Gen.  xlix.  3,  4;  Herzoo,  R.- 
Enc.  XIV.,  S.  769. 

Vers.  10-14.  Hear.  .  .  saith  Jehovah.  The 
nations  themselves  which  held  Israel  captive  and 
mocked  at  his  expulsion  (xv.  4 ;  xxiv.  9 ;  xxix. 
18),  must  proclaim  the  purpose  of  God  to  liberate 
His  people.  We  are  here  reminded  of  the  edict. 
of  Cyrus  (Ezr.  i.  1  sqq.).  This  proclamation  by 
those  hitherto  in  power  is  itself  a  new  and  im- 
portant step  towards  the  realization  of  the  pro 
mise  given  in  vers.  1-6. — Isles.  Comp.  Exeq 
rems.  on  ii.  10;  xxv.  22. — Scattered.  Comp. 
XV.  7-xxiii.  3  ;  xxix.  14. — Observe  that  the  pro- 
phet, as  in  vers.  8  and  9  he  bad  described  the 
glory  of  the  return,  so  now  he  portrays  the  glory 
of  the  arrival  and  the  prosperity  to  be  expec'.ed 
afterwards. — For  the  corn.  Comp.  Deut.  xxviii. 
51;  Joel  i.  10;  ii.  19,  etc. — Watered  garden. 
Isa.  Iviii.  11. — Then  •will  the  virgin,  etc. 
Comp.  ver.  4.  The  dances  of  virgins  with  mea 
according  to  our  custom  are  not  to  be  thought 
of,  for  such  dancing  was  not  practised  by  the 
ancients  generally  and  especially  not  by  the 
Hebrews.  (Comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc.  XV.,  S. 
414  sqq.).  Men's  dances  also  occur  (comp.  Jud. 
ix.  27 ;  2  Sam.  vi.  14),  but  in  general  dancing 
was  regarded  as  something  particularly  appro- 
priated to  women  and  especially  virgins.  (Comp. 
Exod.  XV.  20;  Jud.  xxi.  21 ;  xi.  34 ;  1  Sam.  xviii. 
6;  Winer,  R.-W.-B.  s.  v.  Tanz).  Hence  the 
joy  in  the  dance  is  to  be  referred  to  the  virgin 
alone.  When  it  is  further  said  that  youths  and 
old  men  would  rejoice  with  each  other,  this  is  to 
express  the  general  diffusion  of  the  joy.  Not 
only  youth,  the  period  addicted  to  joyousness, 
but  even  age  shall  be  infected  by  the  joy,  so  that 
all  ages  and  sexes  will  participate  in  it.  And 
evei'y  rank  also !  Hence  the  priests  are  ren- 
dered especially  prominent,  their  share  in  the 
sacrifices  (Lev.  vii.  32-34;  ix.  21)  being  set  forth 
as  particularly  fat,  i.  e.  ample  and  dainty  (the 
eating  of  fat  being  strictly  forbidden,  Lev.  viL 
23-25). 


THE  I'ROPIIET  JEREMIAH. 


3.   The  threefold  Turn. 
XXXI.  15-22. 

15  Thus  saith  Jehovah :  A  voice  is  heard  in  Ramah, 
Lamentation  and  most  bitter  crying  ; 

Rachel  weeps  for  her  children, 

Refusing^  to  be  comforted  for  her  -children,  for  they  are  no  more.' 

16  Thus  saith  Jehovah :  Restrain  thy  voice  from  weeping, 
And  thine  eyes  from  tears : 

For  there  is  reward  for  thy  work,  saith  Jehovah  ; 
And  they  shall  return  from  the  land  of  the  enemy. 

17  There  is  also  hope  for  thy  future,  saith  Jehovah ; 
And  children*  shall  return  to  their  border. 

18  I  have  surely  heard  Ephraim  bemoaning  himself; 
Thou  hast  chastised  me, 

And  I  allowed  myself  to  be  chastised  like  an  untrained  bullock ; 
Turn  thou  me  again,  that  I  may  turn ; 
For  thou  art  Jehovah  my  God. 

19  For  after  my  revolt,*  I  repent ; 

And  after  I  have  learned  to  know  myself,*  I  smite  on  the  thigh : 

I  blush,  I  am  also  ashamed 

That  I  have  borne  the  reproach  of  my  youth. 

20  Is  then  Ephraim  a  favourite®  son  to  me  or  a  bosom-child,^ 
That  whenever  I  speak  against  him  I  must  still  remember  him  ? 
Therefore  my  bowels  heave  towards  him ; 

I  must  have  pity  on  him,  saith  Jehovah. 

21  Erect  for  thyself  signals,  set  up  for  thyself  poles,* 
Turn  thy  mind  to  the  highway,  the  way  thou  wentest! 
Return,  O  virgin  Israel, 

Return  to  these  thy  cities. 

22  How  long  wilt  thou  turn  hither  and  thither,®  thou  backsliding  daughter  ?" 
For  Jehovah  has  created  a  new  thing  on  earth : — 

The  woman  shall  turn  the  man.  ^ 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  15.— njt^O.     Comp.  iii.  3 ;  v.  3  ;  viii.  5  ;  xv.  18. 

-  Ver.  15. — 1  jj'X  ^2.     As  in  xi.  4  tlie  ])hir:',l  pronoun  is  referred  to  a  singular,  regarded  collectively,  so  here,  the  cast 
being  reversed,  the  singular  pronoun  is  referred  to  a  plural,  regarded  as  a  unity.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  61, 1 ;  Ps.  v.  9 ; 

Job  xxiv.  24;  T\^3,  viii.  C,  He. 

3  Ver.  IT.— The  article  is  wanting  before  D' J3,  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr..  g  71,  3. 

•  T 

*  Ver.  10. — "yyj  '"inX.    This  'iVI?  has  been  commonly  taken  in  tlif  same  sense  as  in  ver.  18  [A.  V.?  Surely  after  that 
I  Willi  turned  J,  winch  has  given  rise  to  great  ohscurity  and  to  arbitrary  attempts  to  avoid  it,  as  e.  g.  by  Venema,  who  takes 

^311^  at  once  for  ■''7  ^.Vd,  *'•  «■  after  I  had  come  again  to  myself.    The  only  correct  rendering  is  that  of  Hitzig  and  Graf. 

They  take^VC/  '»  H'"  '^i'"'*'*  "f  ««  avtrUre  a  Jove.    They  are  justified  in  this  by  n^-IL^'D  (iii-  6,  8.  II,  12,  etc.),  3311^  (hi.  14, 

22),  n331E',  n^Znty  (vUi.  5 ;  xxxi.  22),  and  by  the  expression  *■"•  "  I^HXO  ^W  ("'•  I'-U,  which  does  not  indeed  occur  with- 

T  ■■  T  : 

out  the  'TflNO   ill  viii.  4,  but  it  does  in  J*jsli.  xxiii.l2.     It  seems  ius  though  tlie  prophet,  hero  also  as  well  an  in  ch.  iii.,  were 

endeavoring  to  liriiig  the  idea  of  2'<iy  '"f"  application  in  as  great  a  varii-ty  of  meanings  as  possible. 

*  Ver.  19. — 'T,'~\in-    Many  commentators  take  this  word  in  the  sense  of  the  passive  of  j^'Hin,  e'loctre.=to  be  made  wise, 

to  be  instructed.  But  Niph.  is  only  the  reflexive  or  passive  of  Kal.  It  means  therefore  only  to  be  acknowledged  or  to  ac- 
knowledge one's,  self.  The  latter  signification,  in  which  it  moreover  appears  £0  be  used  in  no  other  passage  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment but  this,  corresi>onds  perfectly  to  the  c(inne<tion. 

6  Ver.  20.— -fn\     Hebrew  here  only;  Chald.  K/.r.  iv.  10;  Dan.  ii.  11.     It  denotes,  like  Ip'  (xv.  19;  Lam.  iv.  2,  e«c.> 
I  Itt 

and  1p'  (xx.  5),  what  is  precious,  a  jewel. 

1  Ver.  20.— D'.;;iK/J,'iy.    Comp.  Vj/'.li'^'t!'  ^'£03,  Isa.  v.  7  toll.  Prov.  viii.  30,  31 


CHAP.  XXXI.  15-22 


267 


8  Ver.  21.— DnnDn  from  ^Dfl,  prominuit,  related  to  loh,  palmm  truncus,  x.  5,  and  mon,  columna,  Joel  iii.  3, 
occurs  here  only.  All  other  preparations  are  comprised  in  tlie  brief  phrase  OJI  "I^lS  'DU?.  Comp.  Exod.  yii.  23 ;  Pa. 
xlviii.  14. 

9  Vci.  22.— |"p:onnn-     The  verb  is  found  only  in  Cant.  v.  6  and  connected  with  '^2}^■     The  connection  requires  the 

meaning  of  "to  turn  one's  self  away,"  with  which  the  only  noun  derived  from  it  p:ir3n^(Cant.  vii.  2)  accords.    This  can 

only  signify  "winding,  rounding  "(Delitzscr:  the  swinging  of  thy  loins).  A"cording  tT)  the  etymology  then  the  Hithp 
must  have  the  sense  ot  turning  one's  self  hither  aud  thither. 

i«  Ver.  22.— r^22^^r^  run-  observe  that  it  is  n^nVi:;,  not  n:]3'll^,  as  in  iii.  14,  22;  Isa.  Ivii.  17.  The  passive  form 
has  doubtless  the  meaning  of  "  turned  away,  alienated."  The  active  form  must  primarily  have  an  active  meaning.  The 
Pil'l  from  yrj  is  primarily  objective  causative  and  signifies  to  make  some  on-e  or  something  return,  bring  back  (1  19)  re- 
store (I»s.  Ix.  3  ;  xxiu.  -.i).  to  render  alienated  (Isa.  xlvii.  U).  It  may  also  have  a  subjective  causative  meaning :  to  malu-  a 
turn,  b.«;k  or  away,  ».e.  to  turn  one's  self  back,  to  desert.  Hi[plul  has  primarily  this  si-ai.V- i^i  m.  (&'-i;i  \  vegelsb  Or 
g  IS,  3  ;  1  Ki.  viii.  47).  But  the  I'iel  forms  also  have  it  (Ew.,  g  120,  c).  As  now  it  is  decided  by  the  connection  in  what  sense 
the  verb  J^lty  is  to  be  taken,  the  meaning  of  the  iV.  verbak  is  also  thus  decided.    It  may  then  mean  one  who  brings  back. 

restores,  alienates,  and  also  one  who  turns,  deserts.  It  has  the  latter  meaning  in  xlix.  4  and  Mic.  ii.  4.— The  Pilel  of  hollow 
roots  includes  also  the  significance  of  the  Piel  (Ewald,  ^  121  a,  coll.  ^  120j.  Especially  does  this  word  seem  to  me  to  involve 
the  idea  of  2Vd  in  the  causative  sense,  which  corresponds  to  the  following  3^iDj"l,  i.-e,  in  the  sense  of  reducens  (comp. 
22rC^0,  Isa.  Iviii.  12 ;  Olsh.,  S.  552).  "      ' 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  causes  the  return  of  Israel,  set 
forth  before  us  in  prospect,  to  be  seen  from  an- 
other side,  viz.  as  at  the  same  time  an  inward 
return  to  God,  or  conversion.  In  a  wonderfully 
touching  picture  the  prophet  represents  Rachel, 
the  mother  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  as  raising  a 
lamentation  at  Ramah  over  the  tracks  of  those 
who  are  going  into  exile,  as  though  they  were 
dead  (ver.  15).  Jehovah  Himself,  however, 
comforts  her;  a  reward  is  still  to  be  hoped  for 
her  work  and  comfort  for  the  future,  for  the  re- 
turn of  her  children  is  promised  (vers.  16  and  17). 
But  is  this  possible?  Yes,  for  Israel  will  turn  in- 
wardly to  the  Lord  and  thus  fulfil  that  condition, 
which  the  outward  return  as  a  necessary  con- 
sequence thereof  must  liave.  The  prophet  does 
this  by  introducing  Ephraim  as  speaking  and 
causing  him  to  make  an  honest  and  hearty  con- 
fession (vers.  18  and  19).  On  this  Jehovah  gives 
us  to  understand  in  touching  words  that  His 
love  for  Ephraim  is  deeply  rooted  and  invinci- 
ble (ver.  20).  Ephraim  consequently  receives 
the  command  to  make  all  the  preparations  for 
return.  Thus  at  the  same  time  the  (according 
to  iii.  1)  entirely  new  and  unheard  of  case  is 
now  realized,  that  a  woman,  rejected  and  shared 
by  other  men,  brings  back  her  first  husband 
(vers.  21  and  22). 

Ver.  15.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  they 
are  no  more.  AVith  respect  to  Ramah  and  the 
grave  of  Rachel  the  greatest  obscurity  still  pre- 
vails. My  view  is  as  follows:  1.  The  tomb  of 
Rachel  was  near  Ramah.  This  definitely  follows 
from  this  passage  and  1  Sam.  x.  2.  Delitzscii 
remarks  (Comm.  on  Genesis,  2te  Aufl.  2ter  Theil., 
S.  5o)  that  Rachel's  weeping  is  heard  in  Ramah 
not  because  her  tomb  is  in  the  neighborhood,  but 
because,  according  to  Jer.  xl.  1,  the  exiles  a-i- 
sembled  there,  but  to  this  it  is  opposed  {a)  that 
according  to  1  Sam.  x.  2  the  tomb  of  Rachel  was 
positively  near  Ramah;  and  (6)  that  Rachel's 
weeping  does  not  refer  to  the  exiles  mentioned 
in  xl.  1  ;  for  these  were  Jews,  while  according 
to  the  whole  connection  of  this  passage,  Rachel 
bewails  the  exile  of  the  Ephraimitcs.  2.  Ramah, 
Hear  which  was  Rachel's  tomb  and  where  Samuel 
dwelt  (1    Sam.  x.  2)  was  in  Benjamin,  in  the 


vicinity  of  Gibeah,  north  of  Jerusalem.     This  is 
seen  from  Jud.    xix.   13 ;  Isa.  x.  29 ;  Hos.  v.  8. 
In  Josh,  xviii.  25  it  is  expressly  said  that  Ramah 
was  in  Benjamin.     The   original    and  complete 
name    is   Ramathaim   Zophim    (D''3iy  D'J^aT),  1 
Sam.  i.  1  coll.  ver.  19.     The  statement  that  Ra- 
mah was  situated  on  the  mountains  of  Ephraim 
(Jud.  iv.  5;   1  Sam.  i.  1)  is  not  in  contradiction 
to  this,  for  the  southern  slopes  of  the  mountains 
of  Ephraim  extended  thus  far.     (Comp.  Herzoq, 
R.-Enc.  XII.,  S.  515  [Robinson,  Bill.  Researches, 
II.,  315-317;  331-33-1;  Thomson,  The  Land  and 
the  Book,  II.,  503.— -S.  R.  A.]).     It  has  been  ob- 
jected to  the  identity  of  the  Ramah  of  Samuel 
and  the  Ramah  near  Gibeah  that  Saul  in  seeking 
the  she-asses  took  three  days  in  going  from  Gibeah 
to  Ramah  (I  Sam.  ix.  20),  and  that  David  fleeing 
from  Gibeah  took  refuge  in  Ramah  (1  Sam.  xix. 
18).     Even  Raumer  [Faliist.  S.  210)  lays  some 
weight  on  these  objections.      [Comp.  also  Smith, 
Bible  Diet.,  s.  v.  Ramah. — S.  R.  A.].     As  to  the 
first,  however,  it  is  clear  from  1  Sam.  ix.  4,  5 
that    Saul    did    not    follow  the  direct  road,  but 
seeking   or   pursuing   the    track    of    the   asses, 
reached  Ramah  by  a  very  circuitous  route.    With, 
respect  to  the  second  Ruetschi  (Herz.  R.-Enc, 
ut  sup.)  has  replied  that  David  did  not  seek  (tem- 
porary) protection  from  the  city  of  Ramah  but 
from  Samuel.     3.  There  is  also  a  Ramah  in  Gilead 
(Ramoth,  Ramath    Mizpeh,  Josh.   xiii.    20;  xx. 
8  ;  xxi.  38,  etc.) ;  another  south-west  from  Jeru- 
salem, west  of  the  mountains  of  Judea  (Ramath- 
lebi,  Jud.  XV.  17=EIeutheropolis.     Comp.  R.\u- 
MER,    Paliist.,  S.  185,   G)  ;  a   third    in   Np.phtali 
(Josh.  xix.  30) ;  a  fourth  in  Asher  (Josh.  xix.  29). 
A  fifth  place,  which  sometimes  occurs  under  this 
name  is  Ramlah,  a  city  which  is  not  mentioued 
at  all  in  tiie  Old  Testament  (unless  perhaps  in 
Neh.  xi.  33),  of  later  origin,  and  very  probably 
identical  with  Arimathea,    and    situated   to  the 
west  of  Jerusalem  in  the   plain    of  Saron   near 
Lydia   (Diospolis).     Comp.  Raumer,  Pallist.,  S. 
217,  8,  448.     There  is    then  no   Ramah  in   the 
vicinity  of  Bethlehem!     4.  Bethlehem  is  doubt- 
less also  called  Ephrath  or  Ephratah  (Mic.  v.  1 ; 
Ruth  i.  2;   1   Sam.  xvii.  12).     Now  if  Rachel's 
tomb  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ramah  it  cannot 
be  near  Bethlehem,  and  the  Ephratah  near  which 
(Gen.   xxxvi.  16,  19  coll.   xlviii.  7)   Rachel  bore 
13enjamin  and  was  buried,  cannot  be  Bethlehem. 


268 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Now  we  read  in  2  Chron.  xiii.  19  of  a  place  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Bethel,  the  name  of  which 
according  to  the  Chethibh  is  pi3;;.  but  accord- 
ing to  the  Keri  r^3;;.  The  latter  reminds  us  of 
'E6,3a//i  or  'Bdpefi,  a*  little  town,  which,  according 
to  -JEnoMB,  lay  20  m.  p.  north  from  Jerusalem, 
where  Christ  remained  for  some  time  after  the 
resurrection  of  Lazarus  (John  xi.  54).  Josephus 
also  relates  {B.  Jud.  IV.,  9,  9)  that  Vespasian 
destroyed  B//i?;;Ad  re  koX  'Etppaifj,  noXixvia,  and  then 
rode  to  Jerusalem.  In  Josh,  xviii.  23  n^3j;  is 
msntioned  among  the  cities  of  Benjamin.  The 
same  name  recurs  in  1  Sam,  xiii.  17.  Eusebius 
in  his  Onomast.,  s.  v.  Aphra,  says:  'Ust  et  hodie 
vicus  Effrem  in  quinto  milUario  Bethelis  ad  Orien- 
tem  respiciens.'"  The  distances  given  point  to 
ihe  identity  of  Ephraim  (Ephron)  and  Ophra. 
(Comp.  Robinson,  II.,  S.  3o3  sqq.  [III.,  124]; 
R.^UMER,  .S*.  189  and  216).  Now  it  is  remarkable 
that  the  Alexandrian  translators  in  1  Sam.  xiii. 
17  render  the  name  ms;^  by  Toipspd,  and  on  the 
other  hand  in  Josh,  xviii.  23  by  'E^pai?a  (Cod. 
Alex.  'Afpd).  From  this  it  seems  to  follow  that 
even  in  very  ancient  times  HliiJ^  and  r>"13J<  were 
interchanged,    and    that    hence    not    only   the 

DnS  r\'2  Nin,  Gen.  XXXV.  19  y  xlviii.  7,  but  also 
the  name  np"1£35<,  xxxv.  16,  19;  xlviii.  7,  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  corruption  of  the  original  read- 
ing. I  had  reached  this  result  before  Graf's 
treatise  on  ihe  situation  of  Bethel  and  Rama 
[Stud.  u.  Krit.,  1854,  IV.,  S.  868)  became  known 
to  me. — The  prophet  goes  back  in  spirit  to  the 
time  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
ten  tribes  were  led  away  to  Assyria  into  capti- 
vity. Since  that  time,  he  says,  making  use  of 
figurative  language,  may  be  heard  in  Ramah,  the 
greater  city  near  Rachel's  tomb  (1  Sam.  xx.  2), 
nightly  wailing  and  bitter  weeping  (vi.  26).  It 
is  Rachel  who  is  weeping  for  her  children.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes  may 
be  designated  children  of  Rachel,  because  at 
their  head  stands  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  which  is 
frequently  mentioned  as  a  representative  of  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  Isa.  vii.  2-5,  8,  9,  17;  xi.  13; 
Hos.  iv.  17,  elc;  Jer.  vii.  15;  xxxi.  9,  18,  20. 
The  mother  of  the  ruling  tribe  appears  thus  as 
the  personification  of  the  kingdom  ruled  by  it. 
The  spirit  of  Rachel  is  the  genius  of  the  king- 
dom of  the  ten  tribes,  whom  the  prophei  repre- 
sents by  a  bold  poetical  figure  as  rising  from  her 
tomb  by  ni<i;ht  and  bewailing  the  misery  of  her 
c'lildren. — Are  no  more.  Comp.  Isa.  xvii.  14; 
.'.zj'iv.  xxvi.  21. 

Vers.  16  and  17.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  . 
their  border.  The  Lord  comforts  Rachel  by 
promising  her  a  glorious  reward  for  her  mater- 
nal labor  and  care,  (on  restrain  thy  voice 
comp.  guard  thy  foot,  ii.  25.  On  there  is 
reward  comp.  2  Chron.  xv.  7)  viz.  her  children 
shall  be  redeemed  from  the  land  of  captivity — 
and  by  setting  before  her  the  consolatory  hope 
for  the  future,  that  the  children  will  also  return 
to  their  native  land.  On  there  is  also  hope 
comp.  xxxi.  11. 

Vers.  18  and  19.  I  have  surely  ...  of  my 
youth.  These  verses  give  the  inner  reason  of 
that  joyful  change:  Israel  will  fulfil  the  condi- 
tion ioquired  of  him  by  the  Lord  (iii.  18  sqq.). 


First  the  people  express  their  acknowledgment 
that  the  chastisement  was  necessary  for  them, 
for  they  were  like  an  untamed  and  untrained 
bullock  (the  prophet  evidently  has  in  mind  Hos. 
X.  11),  but  they  have  also  let  themselves  be 
chastened  and  accepted  the  cnastening  (v.  3). 
As  Jeremiah  here  geuerally  moves  in  the  same 
circle  of  thought  as  in  ch.  iii.,  so  especially  in 
what  follows,  where  also  as  there  the  idea  of 
turning  forms  the  central  point  or  pivot  of  his  re- 
presentation.— Turn  thou  me,  etc.  The  know- 
ledge gained  as  the  result  of  the  chastisement 
produces  a  double  effect :  a  positive  and  a  nega- 
tive. The  positive  effect  consists  in  the  desire 
to  return  to  Jehovah.  Meanwhile  the  people 
are  well  aware  that  willing  is  not  performing. 
They  therefore  pray  the  Lord  that  He  Himself 
will  turn  their  hearts  to  Him,  who  alone  is  Isra- 
el's "God.  (This  is  the  sense  of  the  causal  sen 
fence.  For  thou  art,  etc.).  Then  only  will  they 
really  return.  The  bodily  return  is  connected 
with  the  spiritual  in  the  closest  causal  relation. 
Comp.  Rems.  on  ''2.W,  ver.  19,  and  Lam.  v.  21. 
— Lam.  iii.  40;  Ps.  Ixxx.  4,  8,  20. — The  negative 
effect,  which  on  their  part  forms  the  psychologi- 
cal condition  of  the  positive,  and  is  therefore 
introduced  by  for,  is  the  inner  turning  and  cut- 
ting loose  from  all  that  which  had  allured  Israel, 
but  had  yet  only  brought  him  to  hurt  and  shame. 
— The  smiting  on  the  side  (^V,  DOT  duofemina 

cum  natibus,  comp.  Ezek.  xxi.  17)  was  a  sign  of 
mourning.  Comp.  Winer  and  IIerzog,  R.-Enc, 
s.  V.  Trauer. — I  blush,  etc.  Como.  Isa  xlv.  16, 
17. — The  connection  of  this  passage  is  then  as 
follows:  Ephraim  has  taken  the  chastening  to 
heart.  In  consequence  he  addresses  the  prayer 
for  power  to  return  to  Jehovah,  for  he  has  now 
learned  to  repent  of  his  turning  away  from  Him, 
and  to  be  ashamed  of  the  consequences. 

Vers.  20-22.  Is  then  Ephraim  .  .  .  the 
man.  Jehovah  grants  the  moving  petition. 
Astonished  at  surprising  Himself,  as  it  were,  in 
such  tender  feelings  towards  Ephraim,  Jehovah 
asks  Himself  if  then  Ephraim  is  his  favorite  son, 
his  darling  child  [en/ant  gdte),  since  often  as  he 
has  been  obliged  to  bring  the  severe  judgment  of 
rejection  upon  him,  he  has  yet  never  been  able 
to  forget  him. — Speak  against.  We  may  com- 
pare 2  Chron.  xxii.  10,  where  it  is  said  of  Atha- 
liah  that  she  arose  and  "131/11  all  the  seed  royal. 

But  apart  from  "131  being  here  construed  with  a 
single  accusative,  we  have  in  the  parallel  pas- 
sage (2  Kings,  xi.  1)  13NP^   so  that  it  is  easy  to 

suspect  a  mistake.  Now  IST  and  IS^J  in  the 
sense  of  "speak,"  are  frequently  connected  with 
2  in  different  meanings:  loquiperaliquem  [Num. xii. 
2),  de  aliquo  (Dent.  vi.  7 ;  1  Sam.  xix.  3  ;  Ps.  cxix. 
46  coll.  23),  ad  aliquem  (Numb.  xii.  8  ;  Hab.  ii. 
1  ;  Zech.  i.  9,  etc..  Numb.  xii.  2,  etc.,  1  Sam.  xxv. 
39;  Cant.  viii.  8).  But  it  also  signifies  Joqui  con- 
tra a.liquem,  Numb.  xxi.  7  coll.  ver.  5  ;.  Ps.  1.  20; 
Ixxviii.  19.  This  last  meaning  corresponds  per- 
fectly to  the  connection  here: — Often  as  I  C^O 

as  in  1  Sam.  xviii.  30;  1  Kings  xiv.  28)  speak 
against  him,  i.  e.,  cast  him  from  mo  by  a  sentence 
of  reprobation,  yet  I  cannot  forget  him.  I  am 
always  reminded  of  him  again,  and  then  the  old 
feelings  of  love  and  pity  are  excited  anew. — My 


CHAP.  XXXI.  15-22. 


263 


bow^els.     Dreciisler  correctly  remarks  on  Isa. 

xvi.  5,  that  D'^O  does  not  like  cr7r/ld/^va,  viscera, 

include  the  nobler  entrails  (the  heart).  The 
word  does  not  therefore  designate  the  innermost 
eource  of  the  feelings,  but  only  a  place  of  the  ex- 
ternal organism  where  these  make  themselves 
specially  noticeable.  Comp.  Cant.  v.  4;  Job  xxx. 
27;  Lam.  i.  20;  ii.  11;  Isa.  Ixiii.  15;  Jer.  iv. 
19. — The  immediate  effect  of  this  excitation  of 
love,  is  that  Israel  receives  directions  to  make 
preparations  for  the  journey  homewards.  Tims 
persons  are  to  be  sciiit  in  advance  to  set  up  stone 
pillars  as  way  marks  for  the  coming  train,     p3f 

cippus,  monumentum ;  comp.  2  Kings  xxiii.  17; 
Ezek.  xxxix.  15. — Israel's  returning  by  the  same 
road  which  he  came  is  comforting  in  two  respects, 
first  in  itself,  secoml  because  it  is  known  and 
easier  to  retrace. — The  word  these,  before  thy 
cities,  shows  unquestionably  that  the  author 
has  his  point  of  view  in  Palestine,  and  not  in  the 
lands  of  the  captivity.  Comp.  Graf,  S.  387,  Anin. 
Turn  hither  and  thither.  Hitzio  finds  in 
this  not  incorrectly  the  collateral  idea  of  delay. 
This  accords  well  with  how  long  ?  which  ex- 
presses a  certain  degree  of  impatience.  Israel 
does  not  respond  quickly  enough  to  the  invita- 
tion to  return.  The  Lord  has  to  drive  him.  The 
expression  backsliding  daughter,  occurs  be- 
sides only  in  a  much  later  passage,  of  the  people 
of  the  Ammonites. — It  is  surprising,  that  the 
Lord  in  the  midst  of  this  assurance  of  His  tender- 
est  love,  and  after  Israel  in  vers.  18  and  19,  has 
manifested  such  sincere  aud  deep  penitence, 
should  utter  another  word  of  harsh  censure.  In 
this  passage  there  appears  to  me  to  be  a  play 
upon  words.  In  the  section  iii.  1-iv.  2  namely, 
to  which  this  discourse  is  most  closely  related 
in  matter  as  well  as  in  form,  the  prophet  gives  as 

many  variations  of  the  theme  J-liy  as  possible, 
sometimes  applying  the  idea  to  Israel  and  Judah 
in  a  physical,  at  others  in  a  spiritual  sense.  A 
similar  variation  though  in  abbreviated  measure 
is  found  in  viii.  4,  5.  In  this  passage  also  from 
ver.  19  onwards,  the  idea  of  2W  forms  the  main 
thought.  It  is,  however,  variously  modified:  in 
vers.  16  and  17  the  word  is  referred  to  bodily 
return,  in  ver.  18  to  spiritual  and  bodily  turning, 
and  in  ver.  19  to  spiritual  alienation,  in  ver.  21 
again  to  bodily  conditioned  by  spiritual  turning. 
Now  when  the  prophet  in  ver.  22  calls  Israel 
n^Illiy,  would  he  not  thus  wish  to  say  that  Israel 
is  a  person,  who  makes  much  of  turning,  who 
applies  the  idea  of  2W  in  every  possible  way  ? 
It  appears  to  me  that  the  prophet  with  the  follow- 
ing sentence  goes  back  again  to  the  conceptions 
of  ch.  iii.  In  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  he 
designates  it  as  a  crime  profaning  the  land  that 
a  man  return  to  his  rejected  wife,  who  has  mean- 
while been  another's.  Notwithstanding  that  Israel 
is  such  a  wife,  .Jehovah  yet  calls  her  back  to  Him- 
self. This  is  the  repentance  of  which  our  pas- 
sage speaks.  For  when  the  Lord  does  sonie- 
tLiiug  which,  according  to  His  own  law,  has  been 
hitherto  regarded  as  inadmissible,  this  is  cer- 
tainly an  exception  to  the  rule,  therefore  somc- 
Hiing  new  and  extraordinary.  If  now  we  ask 
how  the  Lord  comes  to  make  such  an  exception? 
— the  answer  is  given  in  xxxi.  20.  Israel  has 
done  this    to  the  Lord,  he  is  His   darling  child, 


whom  he  cannot  forget.  Israel  is  like  a  magnet 
which  irresis..'.jly  attracts  the  Lord.  Israel,  the 
woman,  here  mentioned  by  the  specific  name  of 
the  sex  H^PJ,  causes  the  Lord  to  turn  to  herself, 
who  is  also  antithetically  designated  by  the  word 
1.DJ  which  sets  forth  the  specific  distinction  of 
the  male  sex.  Thus  the  weak  is  victorious  over 
the  strong.  It  is  not  only  a  new  thing  that  the 
Lord  returns  to  his  desecrated  wife,  but  that  this 
power  to  bring  back  proceeds  from  the  weak,  so 
that  the  strong  succumbs  to  the  weak.     I  tliere- 

fore  take  23'''^^"?  ^^  ^^^  sense  of  "to  turn  round, 
to  cause  to  turn  back."  Although  no  passage 
can  be  shown  where  3j?13  is  really  used  in  this 

sense  (everywhere  where  it  occurs,  it  means  either 
circuire,  Ps.  xxvi.  6  ;  Iv.  11 ;  lix.  7,  15 ;  Cant.  iii. 
2,  or  circumdare;  Deut.  xxxii.  10 ;  Ps.  vii.  8  ; 
xxxii.  7,  10;  Jon.  ii.  4,  6),  this  is  only  accident- 
al, for  there  is  nothing  in  the  radical  meaning 
which  excludes  this  sense.  The  root  JD  which 
is  radically  related  to  2V\i}  has  the  meaning  of 
turning  or  returning  in  the  widest  sense.  And 
that  it  may  also  stand  for  reverti  is  shown  by  the 
passage,  Ps.  Ixxi.  20,  21,  where  the  verb  is  inter- 
changed with  2W.     It  cannot    then   be   denied 

that  331Dn  may  mean  reducit.  ^^Vdr}  would  cer- 
tainly be  more  suitable,  especially  as  correspond- 
ing more  exactly  to  n^^it!/,  and  it  is  not  indeed 

impossible  that  the  prophet  did  originally  write 
22Wn.  Neither  the  (13311:;,  nor  in  general  the 
importance  of  the  idea  3^1^  for  the  explanation 
of  the  whole  passage,  and  particularly  the  refer- 
ence to  iii.  1  being  understood,  may  have  occa- 
sioned the  change  into  331Dn,  unless  indeed  it  is 
an  error  of  the  copyist.  It  is  not,  however,  at 
all  necessary  to  ah  er  the  reading,  since  even  this, 
as  we  have  shown,  gives  the  sense  required  by 
the  connection.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  give 
the  play  upon  words  in  the  translation,  since  we 
have  no  corresponding  word  with  the  same  variety 
of  meanings.  I  know  no  better  rendering  now 
than  "thou  turn-coat  daughter,"  though  the 
phrase  is  not  particularly  suitable  as  applied  to 
a  nation.  This  explanation  is  not  a  new  one. 
It  is  essentially  that  of  most  of  the  Rabbins : 
^^Proinde  Ilcbrsei  hunc  locumsic  legendum  contendunt : 
feinina  reducet  virum,  et  hoc  est  novum  in  terra,  at 
mulier,  qux  passim  aliis  viris  se  prostituit,  veteris 
mariti  cupida,  ilium  iterum  sui  amantcm  obtineat.'^ 
MuENSTER.  My  explanation  of  n33W  only  is 
new,  so  far  as  I  know,  for  all  the  commentators 
take  the  word  as  simply  equivalent  to  T\22W. 
The  other  explanations  of  the  passage  whose 
number  is  legion,  all  do  violence  either  to  the 
language  or  the  connection.  To  mention  only 
the  principal  ones — the  old  orthodox  explana- 
tion, wliich  refer  the  words  "a  woman  shall 
compass,"  etc.,  to  the  birth  of  the  Saviour  from  a 
virgin,  must  take  DJpJ  in  the  sense  of  virgin,  a 
meaning  which  the  word  never  has  nor  can  have. 
Abakbanel  explains  "/em/was  viros  circumdahunt, 
i.  e.,  superabunt,'^  understanding  by  the  women  the 
weak  Israelites,  by  the  men  their  strong  ene- 
mies. But  neither  is  this  a  neio  thing,  nor  has 
331D  this  meaning.  " Femina  vertetur  in  virum'" 
is  the  translation  of  Abulmawd,  R.  Tanchum, 
who  are  followed  by  Luther  (in  the  first  edii.ons 


270 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  bis  Bible  till  1538)  and  by  Ewald  among  the 
moderns.  The  alteration  of  ^^.IDi^^  into  3^iDA 
however,  or  the  rendering  of  the  former  in  a  pas- 
sive sense  is  forced:  the  sense  also  must  be  such 
as  to  agree  with  the  context.  The  explanation 
proposed  by  Schnurrek,  which  is  adopted  by 
many  modern  commentators,  is  "the  woman  will 
protect  the  man," — but  neither  corresponds  to 
the  connection,  nor  is  it  satisfactory  in  itself. 
When  women  protect  men,  either  the  men  are  be- 
come women  and  the  women  men,  or  there  is  no 
need  of  any  protection. — T:ie  explanation  given 
by  HiTZiG,  '\femina  ambibit  virura"  which  is  found 
also  in  Castalio  and  Clericus  ( Vid.  Graf,  S. 
or>'J)  is  not  inappropriate  in  meaning,  but  cannot 
be  justilicd  grammatically.  Henustenberg,  to 
whom  Graf  attaches  himself  for  want  of  a  better, 

takes  31313  in  the  sense  of  "  to  keep  one's  self 

near,  to  persist  in  dependence,  seeking  protec- 
tion" {Ckrlstology,^ng.Tv.,  II.,  p.  429).  But 
this  rendering  is  developed  from  the  idea  of 
"surrounding"  which  cannot  be  declared  of  a 
single  person  with  respect  to  another.  The  sense 
thus  obtained  is  also  the  reverse  of  the  primary 
meaning  of  the  words,  on  which  the  rendering  is 
based.  Radically  the  explanation  of  Hengsten- 
BERG  is  no  other  than  that  the  man  will  surround 
the  woman  with  his  protection,  as  Meier  also 
actually  renders  the  words  in  his  translation. 
Besides  the  larger  commentaries,  there  are  many 


monographs  on  this  passage.  Lists  of  them  are 
found  in  Ser.  Scumidt,  Starke,  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
Ohserv.  in  Jer.,  p.  248;  Rosenmueller;  Dietel- 
MAiR  in  the  E/i(/L  Biblework,  Tom.  IX.,  S.  543.  I 
add  Andr.  Dan.  Habxchhorst,  Diss,  de  femina 
circumdante  virum,  1670  and  1677. 

[Of  English  and  American  commentators, 
Blayney  renders  "a  woman  shall  put  to  the 
rout  a  stronjj  man."  Henderson:  "Woman 
shall  encompass  man,"  following  however  Blay- 
ney and  Calvin  in  his  explanation,  "Jehovah 
would  make  the  feeblest  of  tliem  more  than  a 
match  for  the  most  powerful  of  their  foes." 
Wordsworth  retains  the  interpretation  of  the 
words,  which  refers  them  to  the  miraculous  con- 
ception of  the  Virgin,  quoting  in  favor  of  this 
view  S.  Jerome  and  Jackson  and  Pearson  on 
the  Creed,  with  references  also  to  Justin  Martyr, 
Cyprian,  Augustine,  Luther,  QJIcolampadius, 
Chemnitz,  Galatinus,  Calovius,  IIuetius,  etc. 
Noyes  translates  "the  woman  shall  protect  the 
man,"  with  the  note,  "  there  shall  be  a  state  of 
peace  and  security,  so  that  those  who  are  re- 
garded as  feeble  and  defenceless,  and  unfit  for 
war,  shall  be  competent  to  the  defence  of  the 
country."  Cowles  agrees  most  closely  with 
Naegelsbach,  referring  "the  woman"  to  the 
Virgin  Israel,  the  people  of  God,  who  "instead 
of  perpetually  going  about 'after  other  lovers, 
will  go  about  (in  the  sense  of  seeking  to  win  th« 
love  of)  her  own  divine  Lord." — S.  R.  A.] 


THE    share    op    JUDAH. 


The  Blessing  of  the  Sanctuary. 


XXXI.  28-26. 


23  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel : 
Yet  will  they  speak  this  word  in  the  laud  of  Judah, 
And  in  its  cities,  when  I  turn  their  captivity : 

Jehovah  bless  thee,  dwelling-place  of  salvation  [or  justice]* 
Mountain  of  the  sanctuary ! 

24  And  Judah  shall  dwell  therein  and  all  its  cities  together, 
As  husbandmen  and  those  who  go  forth  with  flocks.' 

25  For  I  refresh  the  panting  soul, 

And  every  languishing^  soul  I  satisfy. 

26  Upon  this  I  awoke  and  looked  up ; 
And  my  sleep  had  been  sweet  unto  me. 


TEXTUAL,  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  23. — On  7113-  Comp.  Prov.  iii.  33 ;  xiiv.  15  ;  for  Tyvi  comp.  rems.  on  vii.  5 ;  ix.  23. 

V  T  I    V  •.• 

2  Ver.  24.— "n^'^  1>  D3V     Supply  "1K/X  before  \^^y    Tliis  verb  is  the  technical  term  for  the  nomadic  mode  of  Iir» 

Cii:i»p.  Geu.  .wxiii.  \J.;  xx.\v.  21  ;  xlvi.  1,  etc. —On  3=in  medio,  i.e.,  cum.     Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  5  a. 

'Ver.  2'). — 7^^X^•  Comp.  ver.  12.    I  do  not  see  why  this  word  should  necessarily  be  a  participial  form.     It  may  be  a 
finite  verb  with  "Myi^  wanting.     Comp.  xiv.  4;  Isa.  li.  1 ;  Ps.  vii.  IG 


CHAP.  XXXI.  23-26. 


27i 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

After  the  prophet  had  promised  the  ten  tribes 
•piritual  and  material  prosperity  ia  richest  mea- 
sure, he  now  does  the  same  with  respect  to  Judah. 
Judah  will  also  return  to  his  country  ;  the  sanctu- 
ary, the  central  point  and  source  of  all  blessing 
is  again  saluted  with  benedictions  (ver.  23). 
The  whole  land  is  again  inhabited;  agriculture 
and  cattle-breeiling  again  flourish  (ver.  24).  For 
the  Lord  is  disposed  to  afl^ord  help  in  every  dis- 
tress, satisfaction  for  every  need  (ver.  25).  The 
prophet  received  this  revelation  in  a  dream.  Its 
joyful  import  was  the  cause  of  his  feeling  on 
awaking  that  his  sleep  had  been  sweet  (ver.  26). 
He  remarks  this  specially  because  with  no  other 
revelation  in  a  dream  had  he  had  a  similar  ex- 
perience. > 

Vers.  23-2-5.  Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  . 
satisfy. — When  I  turn.  Comp.  on  xxix.  14. — 
Jehovah  bless  thee.  The  words  may  mean 
either  Jehovah  will  bless  thee,  or,  Jehovah  bless 
thee.  The  former  bears  more  of  the  priestly  char- 
acter, the  latter  is  more  appropriate  as  spoken  by 
the  congregation.  We  find  such  a  benediction 
specified  in  Ps.  cxxii.  6-9. — Dwelling-place, 
etc.  Comp.  1.  7,  where  Jehovah  himself  is  so- 
called. — Mountain,  etc.,  may  be  in  apposition 
to  dwelling-place,  etc.,  and  then  the  expression 
may  either  be  a  designation  of  the  temple  alone, 
or  of  the  whole  city  of  Jerusalem  (comp.  Isa. 
Ixvi.  20;  Zech.  viii.  3).  It  may  also  be  taken  as 
an  asyndeton,  so  that  then  the  former  will  desig- 
nate the  holy  city,  the  latter  the  temple.  Finally 
the  double  phrase  may  designate  both  at  the 
same  time,  i.  e.,  the  city  including  the  temple,  and 
as  there  is  no  reason  for  excluding  either  of  the 
two,  this  may  well  be  the  correct  rendering. 
Comp.  Ps.  ii.  6;  xlviii.  2  sqq. ;  Isa.  xi.  9;  Joel 
iv.  17. — Ver.  25.  Therein,  i.  e.,  the  land,  ver. 
23. — Judah  and  all  its  cities.  The  expres- 
sion cannot  designate  Jerusalem  and  the  pro- 
vincial cities  (comp.  xi.  12),  nor  the  whole  and 
the  single  parts  of  the  nation,  because  such  a 
distinction  can  be  made  only  in  abstracto.  I  there- 
fore think  that  the  prophet  really  distinguishes 
the  people  and  the  cities.     Both  sit,  dwell,  lie  in 

the  land.    Comp.  3E^\  xxx.  18;  Zech.  ii.  8;  xii. 

6  ;  xiv.  10. — Ver.  25.  For  I  refresh.  The  per- 
fect is  the  prophetical  perfect.  It  represents  the 
future  fact  as  already  accomplished.  For  de- 
notes that  all  that  has  been  previously  mentioned 
is  only  the  realization  of  the  purpose  of  Jehovah 
to  relieve  every  distress  and  need,  wherefore  the 
satisfaction  of  hunger  and  thirst  spoken  of  in 
ver.  25  is  only  to  be  understood  as  instar  omnium. 
f]';;  of  the  thirsty.  Comp.  Ps.  Ixiii.  2;  cxliii.  6; 
Prov.  XXV.  25;  Job  xxii.  7;  Isai.  xxxii.  2. 
Yer.  26.   Upon  this  . .  .  sweet  unto  me. 


If  we  take  these  words,  with  Chr.  B.  Michaelis, 
RosENMUELLER,  Umbreit  and  others,  as  the 
words  of  God,  we  have  the  altogether  crooked 
sense  that  Jehovah  designates  the  time,  when  He 
was  acting  as  a  severe  judge,  as  a  time  of  sweet 
sleep.  If  we  understand  the  people  as  awaking, 
then  we  have  again  the  contradictory  thought 
that  the  time  of  visitation  is  compared  with  a 
sweet  sleep.  The  explanations  of  Ewald  (quota- 
tion from  a  well-known  song,  which  is  to  show  that 
then  they  will  have  no  more  bad  dreams),  and 
of  Gkaf  (therefore  will  it  then  be  said,  I  awake, 
etc.),  are  too  artificial,  for  they  require  the  sup- 
plementation of  introductory  formulas  which  by 
no  means  oft'er  themselves.  As  the  words  stand 
they  can  be  understood  only  of  the  prophet. 
But  it  is  a  question,  whether  it  is  a  real  physical 
sleep  or  an  ecstatic  condition  resembling  sleep, 
which  is  spoken  of.  It  is  difficult  to  decide. 
Hengstenberg  has  declared  in  favor  of  the  lat- 
ter {Ghristology,  Eng.  Tr.  II.,  426).  But  in 
Zech.  iv.  1,  to  which  passage  Hengstenberg 
appeals,  the  prophet  is  awakened  to  an  ecstatic 
vision.  I  do  not  think,  moreover,  that  the  ecsta- 
tic condition  is  anywhere  directly  called  sleep, 
and  that  he  who  awakes  from  it  has  the  feeling 
of  having  slept.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
dreams  generally  served  as  the  physical  means 
of  divine  revelation.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxiii.  25 
and  Numb.  xii.  6;  Joel  iii.  1 ;  1  Ki.  ill.  5  ;  ix.  2. 
Jeremiah  never  tells  us  elsewhere  in  what  bodily 
condition  he  was  when  he  received  his  revela- 
tion, but  of  this  he  tells  us  that  he  received  it 
in  sleep.  Why  here  only  such  a  remark  on  the 
outward  form  of  the  revelation  and  the  feeling 
which  he  had  in  connection  with  it?  Let  us  re- 
member that  this  prophecy  is  the  only  uninter- 
ruptedly consolatory  one  in  the  whole  book.  Is 
it  not  then  very  intelligible  that  that  moment 
was  never  forgotten  when,  awaking  after  the 
reception  of  this  revelation,  he  had  the  feeling 
of  an  exceedingly  sweet  and  refreshing  sleep  ? 
I  therefore  perceive  in  this  brief  remark  an  in- 
dication that  Jeremiah  himself  regarded  the 
moment  of  the  reception  of  this  revelation  as  a 
point  of  light  in  his  otherwise  rough  and  labo- 
rious prophetic  career  (comp.  xx.  7  sqq.).  We 
may  indeed  truly  say  that  here  we  stand  at  the 
most  comforting  and  brightest  point  in  the  pro- 
phecies  of    Jeremiah. — Upon    this.      nxr~7j,' 

may  well  mean  "  upon  this,"  combining  the  local 
and  causal  senses  (comp.  iv.  28). — Looked  up. 
The  prophet  mentions  that  he  opened  his  eyes 
and  saw,  to  intimate  that  he  was  really  and  fully 
awake,  and  that  in  a  fully  awake  and  .'^elf-con- 
scious  state  he  had  the  feeling  that  his  sleep  had 
been  sweet.  There  is,  as  we  know,  a  half-awak- 
ing, which  Is  only  apparent  and  therefore  de- 
ceptive.— Sweet  unto  me.  Comp.  Prov.  iii 
24;  Jer,  vi.  '2,0. 


272 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


IV.  The  Entire  Renovation. 

1.   The  New  Life. 
XXXI.  27-30. 

27  Behold,  the  days  are  coming,  saith  Jehovah, 

When  I  will  sow  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judahi 
With  the  seed  of  man  and  with  the  seed  of  beast. 

28  And  it  shall  be  that  as  I  have  been  wakeful  over  them, 
To  pluck  up  and  to  root  out, 

To  pull  down,  to  destroy  and  to  afflict, 

So  I  will  be  wakeful  over  them, 

To  build  and  to  plant,  saith  Jehovah. 

29  In  those  days  it  shall  no  more  be  said. 
The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes. 

And  the  teeth  of  the  children  are  blunted. 

30  But  every  one  shall  die  for  his  own  iniquity: — 
Every  man  who  eats  sour  grapes, 

His  teeth  shall  be  blunted. 


(/ 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Whether  Jeremiah  fell  asleep  again  at  once  or 
whether  the  following  revelation  was  separated 
by  a  longer  interval  from  the  previous  one  is  a 
question  which  must  remain  undecided.  Both 
cases  are  possible.  At  any  rate  there  is  a  close 
logical  connection.  This  and  the  quotation  from 
i.  10  indicate  that  this  passage  by  no  means  takes 
its  origin  from  a  sensibly  later  period.  The  pro- 
phet who,  in  ch.  xxx.,  had  treated  of  Judah  and 
Israel,  in  xxxi.  1-22  only  of  Israel,  and  in  xxxi. 
23-26  only  of  Judah,  now  again  directs  his  pro- 
phetic gaze  on  both  (comp.  iii.  18;  v.  11).  He 
promises  the  old  theocratic  blessing  of  great  fruit- 
fulness  both  of  the  men  and  the  cattle  (ver.  27), 
the  absence  of  all  that  is  destructive  or  afflic- 
tive, and  on  the  other  hand  growth  and  progress 
on  all  sides  (ver.  28).  Entering  more  deeply 
into  the  ground  of  the  previous  destructive 
judgment,  he  sets  before  them  so  lofty  a  position 
and  such  energy  of  general  morality  that  com- 
mon guilt  and  solidaric  implication  of  the  fol- 
lowing generations  shall  no  more  be  spoken  of. 
But  the  transgressions  would  be  only  exceptional 
cases,  which  would  hence  be  no  longer  injurious 
to  the  whole,  but  only  to  the  single  individual 
(vers.  29  and  30). 

Vers.  27  and  28.  Beliold  the  days  .  .  .  saith 
Jehovah.  On  the  promise  of  fruitfulness, 
comp.  rems.  on  xxix.  i\. — I  ■will  so\v.  Comj). 
Gen.  xlvii.  23. — I  have  been  ^vakeful.  Comp. 
rems.  on  i.  12,  10:  xviii.  7,  9. 

Vers.  29  and  30.  In  those  days  ...  be 
blunted.  The  proverb  of  the  sour  grapes  and 
bluiUuJ  teeth,  here  mentioned  for  the  first  time, 
may  have  a  double  meaning.  It  may  mean  the 
fathers  have  begun  to  eat  sour  grapes,  but  it  is 


the  sons  only  who  haye  had  their  teeth  blunted, 
i.  e.  the  punishment  does  not  always  come  im- 
mediately on  the  first  who  are  guilty,  but  on 
those  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth  generations. 
It  may  also  mean  that  the  punishment  does  not 
always  come  on  the  guilty  father,  but  often  only 
on  the  innocent  son  or  grandchild.  In  the  latter 
sense  Ezekiel,  chap,  xviii.,  combats  the  proverb 
as  a  blasphemy  of  God's  justice.  In  the  former 
sense  however  the  proverb  involves  no  blasphemy, 
but  expresses  only  what  the  law  itself  declares  in 
the  words,  I  am  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  sins 
of  the  fathers  on  the  children,  to  the  third  and 
fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate  me  (Exod. 
XX.  5;  xxxiv.  7:  Numb.  xiv.  18;  Deut.  v.  9; 
Jer.  xxxii.  18;  Lam.  v.  7).  This  canon  of  the 
divine  justice  rests  on  the  hypothesis  that  there 
is  not  only  an  individual  but  a  corporate  sin,  a 
sin  of  families,  races,  generations,  nations,  states. 
Of  course  every  such  sin,  common  to  many,  has 
its  history.  It  unfolds  like  every  other  germ, 
till  it  lias  attained  its  widest  extent  and  fullest 
maturity.  When  the  point  of  maturity  is  reached 
the  judgment  comes.  Those  who  are  then  living 
have  their  teeth  blunted,  possibly  indeed  as  the 
less  guilty  (think  of  Louis  XVI.,  of  France) — 
always,  however,  as  the  children  of  their  fathers 
in  the  same  sense  as  the  expression  is  used  in 
Matt,  xxiii.  31,  32,  i.  e.  as  the  apple  falling  not 
far  from  the  trunk,  as  the  organic  continuation 
and  perfection  of  the  moral  tendency  adopted  by 
the  fathers.  According  to  those  who  understand 
the  proverb  only  in  a  bad  sen.se,  Jeremiah  only 
declares  in  this  passage  "  that  Jehovah  will  not 
then  as  now  be  accused  of  unrighteousness  iu 
an  ungodly  proverb,  but  it  will  be  perceived  that 
each  ouiiuas  to  suifer  for  his  own  guilt  (Graf)." 
Appeal  is  made  in  favor  of  this  explanation  to 
Deut.  xxiv.  ](j.     To  which  I  make  the  following 


CHAP.  XXX[.  31-40. 


objections:  1.  The  non-employment  of  the  pro- 
verb (in  the  false  sense)  prov<  s  certainly  a  cor- 
rect knowledge  of  the  justice  of  God,  but  only 
elementary,  merely  negativ'.-  knowledge.  It  is 
not  a  symptom  of  greatly  advanced  knowledge 
to  perceive  that  God  does  not  punish  any  inno- 
cent person;  while  according  to  the  whole  con- 
nection of  this  passage  a  period  of  the  highest 
prosperity  of  theocratic  life  is  to  be  here  de- 
scribed, an  essential  basis  of  which  is  a  corres- 
ponding stnje  of  religious  and  moral  perfection. 
Comp.  vers.  18  and  19. — 2.  The  passage  Deut. 
xxiv.  16  is  to  be  regarded  not  as  the  norm  of 
divine,  but  only  of  human  punitive  justice.  By 
this  declaration  that  savage  custom  of  the  hea- 
then merely  was  to  be  guarded  against,  accord- 
ing to  which  ob  nnxam  uniiis  omnis  propinquitas 
was  to  perish.  (Coiup.  Jud.  xv.  6  ;  Haevernick 
on  Ezek.,  S.  286).  Comp.  also  2  Ki.  xiv.  6;  2 
Chron.  xxv.  4. — I  accordingly  do  not  supply 
they  shall  say  after  but,  ver.  30,  but  I  regard 
vev.  30  as  the  declaration  of  the  prophet.  The 
moral  level  will  be  so  high  that  only  individual 


transgressions  will  occur  as  isolated  exceptions 
from  tiie  rule.  In  general,  and  as  a  whole,  Israel 
will  be  a  holy  congregation  in  which  the  power 
of  the  prevailing  spirit  will  not  allow  the  evil 
proceeding  from  individuals  to  extend  itself. 
This  will  be  restricted  to  the  individual  author 
and  lead  to  the  ruin  of  himself  alone.  Comp. 
Isa.  Ix.  18,  20.  I  find  here  the  same  view  of  the 
moral  condition,  which  the  kingdom  of  God  is  to 
attain  as  the  highest  stage  of  its  earthly  perfec- 
tion, which  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  Sermon  on  tho 
Mount,  and  which  found  its  certainly  only  pre- 
cursorj'  and  passing  realization  in  the  apostolic 
church  at  Jerusalem.  For  in  Matt.  v.  21  sqq.,  the 
Lord  tells  us  what  will  be  the  pri'vailing  spirit  in 
His  Church,  and  according  to  what  standard  any 
contravention  by  individuals  will  be  punished, 
to  which  Acts  v.  furnishes  a  practical  commen- 
tary. In  this  view  of  the  passage  its  connection 
with  what  follows  is  also  clear,  this  passage  being 
a  preparation  for  what  the  prophet  says  of  the 
Lord's  new  covenant  with  the  Church,  and  that 
being  an  elucidation  of  the  present  passage. 


2.    The  New  Covenant. 


XXXI.  31-40. 


31  Behold,  the  days  are  coming,  saith  Jehovah, 

When  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah : 

32  Not  like  the  covenant  which  I  made  with  their  fathers 
In  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  their  hand/ 

To  lead  them  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ; 

Which  my  covenant  they  broke ; 

And  yet  I  was  their  husband,  saith  Jehovah. 

33  But  this  is  the  covenant  which  I  will  make 

With  the  house  of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith  Jehovah : 
I  will  put  my  law  within  them,  and  write  it  on  their  heart. 
And  I  will  be  their  God  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 

34  And  a  man  will  no  more  teach  his  neighbor, 
Nor  a  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  Jehovah ! 

For  all  will  know  me  from^  the  least  to  the  greatest,  saith  Jehovah: 

For  I  will  forgive  their  sin, 

And  their  iniquity  I  will  remember  no  more. 

35  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  who  giveth  the  sun  for  light  by  day, 
i  And  the  laws  of  the  moon  and  stars  for  light  by  night, 

/   Who  exciteth  the  sea  so  that  its  waves  roar, 
Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  his  name : 

36  If  these  laws  perish  before  me,  saith  Jehovah, 

The  seed  of  Israel  will  also  cease  to  be  a  nation  before  me  forever. 

37  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  AVhen  the  heavens  above  are  measured, 
And  the  foundations  of  the  earth  searched  out  beneath, 

\    Then  will  I  also  reject  the  whole  seed  of  Israel 
For  all  that  they  have  done,  saith  Jehovah. 
'38  Behold,  the  days  are  coming,^  saith  Jehovah, 
When  the  city  shall  be  built  for  Jehovah, 
From  the  tower  of  Hananeel  to  the  corner-gate. 
18 


274 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


39  And  the  measuring-line*  shall  go  forth  further, 
Straight  out  to  the  hill  Gareb  and  turn  towards  Goath. 

40  And  the  whole  valley  of  the  dead  bodies  and  of  the  ashes, 
And  all  the  land^  to  the  brook  Kedron, 

To  the  corner  of  the  horse-gate  towards  the  east, 

Shall  be  holy  unto  Jehovah, 

And  shall  no  more  be  devastated  nor  destroyed  forever. 

TEXTUAL.   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  32.— On  the  punctuation  of  ^p'THn  conip.  Olshausen,  §192  /. 

2  Ver.  34. — On  JO 7  comp.  rems.  on  vii.  7,  25. 

3  Ver.  38.— D'XD.  which  is  wanting  in  the  Chethibh,  but  is  supplied  by  the  Keri,  is  nowhere  else  lacking  in  the  formula, 

•  T 
go  frequent  in  Jeremiah.     There  is  probably  then  a  scriptural  error. 

*  Ver.  39. — Instead  of  Hip  the  Masorutes  would  read  1p  (here  as  in  1  Ki.  vii.  23  ;  Zech.  i.  IG).     Although  1p   is  the 
It  It  It 

usual  form,  the  form  nip  (comp.  m'^?)  is  however  not  to  be  discredited, 
vl  t  .  V  T 

5  Ver.  40. — A  word  nO'lty  does  not  occur,  nor  is  a  root  Qliy  to  be  found.     We  are  therefore  obliged  to  read  with  the 
T  ••  :  -T 

Masoretes  fl'lOlU/-    (Comp.  Isa.  xxxvii.  27  ;  xvi.  8  ;  Hab.  iii.  17  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  32 ;  2  Ki.  xxiii.  4). 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

This  prophecy  reaches  its  acme  in  the  promise 
of  a  new  covenant  (ver.  31).  This  new  cove- 
nant is  the  foundation  of  the  moral  condition  set 
before  us  in  vers.  29  and  30.  For  the  essence 
of  the  new  covenant,  in  distinction  from  the  oUl, 
which  was  broken  (ver.  32),  will  be  an  inward 
central  union  with  God  (ver.  83),  the  consequence 
of  which  will  be,  that  on  the  part  of  men,  out- 
ward instruction  will  be  superfluous,  the  ground 
of  which,  on  the  part  of  God,  is  His  forgiving 
love  (ver.  34).  This  covenant  has  two  further 
characteristics:  1.  it  will  be  eternal,  as  the 
et3rnal  ordinances  of  nature  (vers.  35-37)  ;  2.  it 
will  also  have  in  its  train  the  penetration  of  the 
natural  sphere  with  the  elements  of  holy  life. 
Jerusalem  will  be  inwardly  so  holy  to  the  Lord 
that  even  the  unholy  places,  which  the  city  has 
hitherto  had,  lilie  all  other  cities,  in  its  suburbs, 
will  now,  as  being  sanctified,  be  reckoned  to  the 
city  itself  (vers.  38-40). 

Vers.  31,  32.  Behold  .  . .  Jehovah.  Here  also 
the  prophet's  dii^course  extends  to  bolli  halves  of 
the  nation.  The  Lord  will  conclude  a  new  cove- 
nant with  the  whole  of  Israel  (xxxii.  40;  1.  5; 
Isa  Iv.  3).  This  new  covenant  stands  in  contrast 
to  the  old,  which  the  Lord  made  with  the  fatlicrs 
of  the  Israelites  ''ir.  the  day  when  He  took  them 
by  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt." 
Wrong  as  it  would  be  to  understand  by  tliis 
"day"  the  stay  at  Sinai,  equally  so  would  it  be 
to  restrict  it  to  the  day  of  the  exodus  (Exod. 
xii.  Gl ;  xiii.  3,  4).  Two  tilings  pertain  to  the 
conclusion  of  a  covenant,  a  performance  and  a 
condition  or  requirement;  the  concluding  of  the 
covenant  between  Jehovah  and  the  people  Israel 
then  lasted  through  the  whole  period  of  the 
Mosaic  legislation,  ^'.ist  as  long  as  tlie  bringing 
forth  out  of  Egypt  lasted.  The  munuduction 
en''s  only  with  the  promised  land,  and  from  the 
day  of  the  exodus  to  the  day  of  his  death  Moses 
did  not,  cease  to  give  laws  to  the  people  (Exod. 
xii.  to  Dent,  xxxii.).  Since  now  there  is  no  gram- 
matical necessity  of  taking  "diiy"  in  a  literal  sense 
(comj).  Isa.  xi.  16;  2  Sam.  xxi.  12;  xxii.  1),  we 
are  justified  in  understanding  by  the  covenant 


of  ver.  32  that  covenant  which  Jehovah  con- 
cluded through  the  mediation  of  Moses  in  differ- 
ent acts  (Deut.  xxix.  1 ;  comp.  Kurtz,  Gerch.  d. 
A.  B.  II.,  S".  522  [History  of  ike  Old  Covenant] 
with  the  people  Israel,  and  required  as  it  -;  comli- 
tion  the  keeping  of  the  Torah  (comp.  IXIi'inil 

Deut.  xxix.  24;  xxviii.  1  sqq.,  13  sqq.). — 
Which  my  covenant.  "Which  is  at  any 
rate  to  be  referred  to  my  covenant,  since  this 
is  also  the  main  conception  in  the  previous  clause 
of  the  sentence. — They  is  emphatic  :  the;/  broke 
the  covenant,  not  /.  It  was  the  weak  side  of 
this  covenant  that  it  could  be  broken,  and  had  j 
God  made  this  only,  there  might  have  been  a  | 
doubt  either  as  to  His  omniscience  or  His  holy  ! 
love.  The  first  covenant,  however,  was  only/l 
preliminary,  preparatory  and  typical. — And/' 
yet  I  v^as  their  husband.  The  LXX.,  which 
translates  iii.  14  KaraiivpLevau  v/ucjv,  liere  has 
T]ukAr]ca  avTuv.  So  likewise  in  Heb.  viii.  9. 
From  the  context  we  should  certainly  expiict  an 
idea  corresponding  to  broke,  ?'.  e.  a  word  by 
which  Jehovah's  relation  to  tiie  covenant-break- 
ers would  be  designated.  Meanwhile  gramma- 
tical considerations  require  us  to  take  7j^3  in  the 
meaning,  which  it  has  everywhere  else,  namely 
=to  possess,  and  indeed  (predominantly)  as 
spouse.  But  we  cannot,  with  Hkngstenberg, 
take  the  sentence  and  yet  I,  etc..  as  a  promise 
(I  will  marry  them),  for  that  would  be  an  anti- 
cipation of  the  turn  of  thought  beginning  witi'i 
But,  in  ver.  33;  we  must  rather,  with  Ewald, 
regard  it  as  an  antithetical  statement  of  a  fact: 
and  yet  I  was  (or:  while  I  was  their  husband). 
Thus  the  etiipliasis  rests  on  the  idea  of  liusband^ 
and  tlie  sense  is:  it  is  not  a  covenant  concluded 
inter  pares,  which  each  of  the  contracting  parlies 
may  renounce,  which  they  have  broken,  but  & 
marriage  alliance  in  which  they  represent  the 
woman,  who  is  never  justified  in  desiring  the  dis- 
solution of  the  matrimonial  connection,  or  in  ef 
fecting  it.  ["  Probably  the  true  rendering  is,  and 
therefore  I  rejected  them  (from  bcial,  to  refuse,  to 
loathe).  See  the  Syriac,  Pococke  {Port.  Mo-sis, 
pp.  5-10,  Gesknius,  130,  and  Mr.  Turpik's  valu- 
able work,  '  T/ie  Old  Testament  in  the  New,''  pp 
251,  252)."    Wordsworth.— S.  R.  A.]. 


'\) 


CHAP.  XXXI.  31-40. 


!7o 


Vers.  33  and  34.     But  this  is  .  .  .  remem- 
ber no  more.     "3  is  "for,"  but  in  the  sense  of 

"  but,"  because  it  corresponds  to  not,  in  ver. 
32.  Comp.  Nabgelsb.  Gr.,  §  110,  4.— Those 
days.  It  is  not  said  these,  for  tliis  would  be 
the  days  of  the  present,  while  the  word  used 
refers   to   more   distant  days,  to  those   namely, 

which  will  precede  the  turn  to  good,  the  2W 
Pi^2p  (ver.  16  sqq.). — I  will  put,  etc.  The  pro- 
V,  phet  evidently  has  in  view  the  sione  tables  of  the 
Law,  on  which  the  ten  "  words,"  the  kernel  of 
the  Torah,  were  written.  This  law  of  command- 
ments (Eph.  ii.  15 ;  Col.  ii.  14)  externally  im- 
posed on  men  by  a  subordinate  mediator  (Gal. 
iii.  19),  was  da&si'i/^  nal  a,vu(p£?J/c:  (Heb.  vii.  19), 
wherefore  it  is  also  said  of  it  ov6£v  srsXeiiiXjei' 
(Heb.  vii.  19).  It  was  only  to  render  men  con- 
scious how  far  the  human  subject  in  and  of  him- 
self was  in  a  condition  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  a  boly  God,  i.  e  the  law  was  to  produce  con- 
viction of  sin  (Rom.  iii.  20).  Only  a  heart  in 
which  the  law  has  been  livingly  written  and  in 
which  it  dwells,  i.  e.  only  a  human  will,  which  has 
become  one  with  the  divine  will,  and  thus  free,  can 
continue  in  covenant  with  God  (xxxii.  40;  xxiv. 
7;  Ezek.  xi.  19;  2  Cor.  iii.  3).  Only  where  this 
takes  place  is  God  truly  the  man's  God,  and  the 
people  God's  people.  To  be  God  is  to  be  the 
most  exalted  being,  therefore  the  highest  good, 
the  source  and  end  of  life.  Only  where  God  is 
thus  for  man,  is  He  truly  his  God.  And  a  peo- 
ple only  which  stands  in  this  relation  to  God,  is 
truly  God's  people  (comp.  vii.  23). — Hengsten- 
BERG  is  of  opinion  that  between  the  old  and  new 
covenants  there  is  only  a  quantitative  not  a 
qualitative  difference.  "Parallel  to  the  pas- 
sage under  jonsideration  is  the  promise  of  God 
of  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit,  Joel  iii.  1, 
2  (ii.  28,  29),  so  that  what  we  remarked  on  that 
passage  is  applicable  here  also  ...  As  under 
the  New  Covenant  generally  in  its  relation  to  the 
Old  there  is  nowhere  an  absolutely  new  begin- 
ning but  always  a  completion  only  ...  so  in  refer- 
ence 10  the  communication  of  the  Spirit,  Joel  puts 
only  abundance  in  the  place  of  scarcity,  many 
in  the  place  of  few"  ^Christologt/,  Eng.  Tr.  II.,  p. 
439].  It  is  true  no  legal  enactment  of  the  Old 
Covenant  is  declared  false  in  the  New  (Matth. 
v.  17-19) ;  it  is  true  that  men  knew  even  under 
the  Old  Covenant  that  the  law,  in  order  to  b6  ful- 
iilled  must  not  be  merely  externally  before  the 
eyes,  or  merely  in  the  head,  but  that  it  must  be  in 
the  heart  (Dent.  xxx.  6;  Ps.  xl.  9;  Prov.  iii.  1- 
3).  But  this  Old  Testament  having-in-the-heart, 
which  is  spoken  of  in  the  passages  cited,  is  quite  a 
different  thing  from  that  which  .Jeremiah  means 
in  this  passage.  There  were  many  God-fearing 
Jews  who  had  the  law  jit  heart,  and  in  their  heart, 
and  who  loved  the  Lord  with  all  their  strength, 
but  was  one  of  them  justified  by  this  observance 
of  the  law?  We  shall  recur  to  this  again  directly. 
Ver.  34.  No  more  teach,  etc.  Theodoret 
says,  T<l)v  61  pr/ruv  tovtuv  re  re^.og  6  ^ie7Jiui>  du^e- 
Tai  jMoq.  We  have  however  no  intimation  that 
the  prophecy  of  ver.  34  will  be  fulfilled  at  an- 
other time  than  that  which  is  spoken  of  before 
and  afterwards.  No  passage  can  be  shown  in 
which  the  Old  Testament  prophets  make  pre- 
dictioi  s    concerning   the   heavenly   state.     The 


prophet  therefore  sets  before  his  hearers  a  pe- 
riod of  terrestrial  development  in  which  the  illu- 
mination of  the  Spirit  (Joel  iii.  1,  2;  John  ri. 
45)  will  lead  each  of  himself  to  the  essentially 
correct  knowledge  of  God.  Ueciprocal  further- 
ance is  certainly  not  thus  denied. — For  all  will, 
etc.  In  these  words  the  prophet  indicates  the 
proper  basis  of  the  gifts  of  grace  previously 
named.  So  also  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  understands  the  passage,  quoting  x.  16 
sqq.  (in  distinction  from  viii.  7  sqq.)  so  that  after 
6t6ovQ  vofiovg  unv  sm  KapSlaq  ahrui'  Kal  irrl  ~//v  6id- 
voiav  avruv  ETrr/putpCi)  avToiiQ  he  directly  adds  the 
concluding  words  of  ver.  34,  km  tC)v  djuapTiCii'  nv- 
TG)v  Kal  dvofiiuv  a'vTOiv  oh  fiij  /.ivr/a\} r/ao/iat  in.  Only 
where  the  real  (not  merely  ideal  and  hypotheti- 
cal) forgiveness  of  sins  conditioned  by  the  tru^ 
atoning  sacrifice  is  imparted  (comp.  Heb.  x.  1-4), 
can  there  be  the  communication  of  the  spirit  of 
adoption  (Gal.  iii.  2,  5),  and  thus  true  knowledge, 
and  the  true  walk  according  to  God's  will.  And 
herein  also  consists  the  most  radical  objective 
difference  between  the  Old  Covenant  and  the  New, 
in  the  former  all  is  shadow  and  type,  the  latter  only 
has  the  essence  of  the  good  things  itself  (Heb.  x. 
1).  Not  till  the  sacrifice  was  offered  on  the  cross 
was  the  veil  of  the  temple  rent,  and  the  way  of 
access  to  God  actually  opened.  Now  even  if 
Moses  and  Elias  be  pointed  to  (Matth.  xvii.  3), 
it  is  certain  that  no  one  received  the  knowledge 
of  the  "mystery  of  godliness"  (1  Tim.  iii.  1(3) 
before  the  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord. 
John  was  more  than  a  prophet,  and  yet  the  least 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he 
(Matth.  xi.  9  sqq.)  The  for  before  I  will  for- 
give is  therefore  to  be  well  observed.     Here  also 

It  is  with- 
in tne  sense  of 
"■  constiluere,  to  establish,  make  arrangements," 
for  everywhere  else  it  signifies  to  conclude  a  co- 
venant. But  where  God  concludes  a  covenant  it 
is  always  at  the  same  time  He  who  works  the  will 
and  the  execution,  whence  also  in  this  passage 
gifts  of  God  only  are  mentioned.  At  the  same 
time  we  are  neither  justified  nor  in  a  condition 
to  give  a  definite  historical  date  for  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  New  Covenant.  If  we  should  desig- 
nate the  day  of  the  crucifixion  as  on  the  part  of 
God  the  moment  when  He  entered  into  the  New 
Covenant  relation,  yet  on  the  part  of  mankind 
there  would  then  be  no  corresponding  date  of  ac- 
ceptance. In  the  fact  that  the  Covenant  is  in 
the  most  exalted  sense  granted,  lies  also  the  ne- 
cessity of  its  acceptance.  God  does  not  give  His 
Son  for  an  uncertainty.  The  taking  is  included 
in  the  giving.  In  fact  the  measure  of  the  cove- 
nant members  becomes  full  by  the  successive  ac- 
cession of  individual  believers. 

Vers.  35-37.  Thus  saith  .  .  .  Jehovah.  Not 
only  by  its  inwardness,  but,  also,  closely  con- 
nected with  this  by  its  eternal  duration,  is  the 
New  Covenant  distinguished  from  the  Old  The 
Old  was  broken  by  Israel  and  the  nation  there- 
fore rejected  by  Jehovah.  This  will  no  more 
take  place  under  the  New  Covenant.  This  will 
be  as  it  were  a  second  ordinance  of  nature.  It 
will  be  as  immovable  as  the  great  laws  of  ftature. 
— Who  giveth  the  sun,  etc.  The  prophet  has 
Gen.  i.  14  in  view.  Comp.  Ps.  cxxxvi.  8.  The 
expression  and  the  laws,  etc.,  seems  to  be  a  re- 


vve  learn  the  meaning  of  iT""!^  Til.; 
out  doubt  incorrect  to  take  it  in  the 


276 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


nainiscence  of  Job  xxxviii.  33,  which  comes  out 
more  plainly  inxxxiii.  25. — Who  exciteth  the 
sea,  etc.,  is  taken  from  Isai.  li.  15.  There  the 
might,  of  the  Lord,  as  it  has  been  displayed  in  the 
wonders  of  history  and  of  nature  in  general,  is 
set  forth  for  the  comfort  of  Israel.  Here  all  the 
emphasis  lies  on  the  idea  of  the  fixedness  and 
Btabilitysjf  the  ordinances  of  nature,  which  God 
has  created.  That  God  can  excite  the  mighty 
ocean  is  rather  a  proof  of  His  power  than-an  in- 
stance of  the  inviolate  order  of  nature,  and  it  is 
hence  probable  that  the  expression  originated 
with  Isaiah.— Ver.  36.  If  th«se  laws,  e/c.  As 
certainly  as  the  laws  of  nature  are  inviolable,  so 
certaiuly  shall  Israel  everlastingly  continue  as  a 
nation  before  the  Lord  (xxxiii.  20-26  ;  Ps.  Ixxxix. 
37,38).  The  question  is  natural  here:  why  then 
has  Jeuovah  raised  the  eternal  continuance  of 
the  people  of  Israel  as  it  were  to  the  rank  of  a 
law  of  nature  ?  The  answer  is  given  in  ver.  37, 
(which  does  not  feebly  hobble  after,  as  Graf  sup- 
poses), not  however  with  a  solution  of  the  pro- 
blem, but  with  the  declaration  that  the  ground 
of  the  historical  fact  is  as  secret  as  the  heavens 
above  us  are  immeasurable,  and  the  earth  beneath 
us  in  its  profoundest  depths  is  unsearchable. 
Comp.  xxxiii.  22.  26. 

Vers.  38-40.  Behold  the  days  .  .  .  forever. 
— Tower  of  Hananeel.  This  tower  designates, 
as  is  acknowledged,  the  North-East  corner  of  Je- 
rusalem. It  is  also  mentioned  in  Zech.  xiv.  10; 
Neh.  iii.    1;  xii.   39.     The   corner-gate    (comp. 

2  Ki.  xiv.  13  ;  2  Chron.  xxvi.  9,   and   also  l^'"^ 

D'^an  Zech.  xiv.  10)  designates  the  North-West 

corner.  Vid.  Raujiek,  Paldst.  S.  290.  By  these 
two  points  then  the  northern  limit  of  the  city  is 
defined.  As  the  tower  of  Hananeel  and  the  cor- 
ner tower  were  part  of  the  fortifications  of  the 
city,  there  seems  to -De  no  further  extension  on 
tliis  side — Straight  out,  HJJ  accus.  of  motion 
to  the  question  ■whither?  To  its  opposite,  i.  e., 
straight  out.  Comp.  Am.  iv.  3;  Josh.  vi.  5,  20. 
— Gareb  occurs  here  only  as  the  name  of  a  place, 
as  the  name  of  a  person  in  2  Sam.  xxiii.  38 ;  1 
Chron.  xi.  40.  The  meaning  of  the  word  must 
according  to    3"^ J  scabies,    (Lev.  xxi.   20;   xxii. 

22)  be  "  scabby,  leprous."  In  accordance  with 
the  other  localizations,  this  must  mean,  as  Graf 
lias  shown,  the  South-West  corner.    What  Goath 

(Hj^J)  is,  is  quite  uncertain.  The  word  occurs 
nere  only.  The  Ciiald.  has  N*?:^  r\2^2  (cow- 
pond),  the  Syr.  lormeto, «.  «e.,  rocky  hill,  by  which 
it  seems  to  have  understood  the  projecting  rock 
of  the  castle  Antonia  (Hitziq,  Fuerst).  Vitringa 

and  HEXGSTF.NRr.RG  take  it  as  =  nrii^U  il,  i.  e., 
Golgotha.  P>ut  hutli  the  etymology  and  topog- 
rapliy  are  very  uncertain.  The  valley  of  corpses 
and  ashes  is  witliout  doubt  the  vale  of  Hinnom 
in  the  South,  for  that  was  the  place  where  all  the 
refuse  of  the  city  ran  or  was  carried.  (Comp. 
Comm.  on  xix.  2).  1.53  is  the  unburieij  cadaver 
of  men  and  beasts  (xli.  9;  Gen.  xv.    11),  \p'^_  is 

especially  the  ashes  of  burnt  fat  (Lev.  i.  16  ;  iv. 
1 ).  It  is  better  to  regard  it  as  the  ashes,  of  the 
offal,  burned  without  the  camp,  than  of  the  sa- 
crifices burned  on  the  altar  (flesh,  skin,  dung. 
Lev.  It.  11,  12;  vii.  17,  19;  viii.  17,  32;  ix.  11; 


xvi.  27 ;  xix.  6)  and  clothing  (Lev.  xiii.  52,  55, 
57).  The  horse-gate  was  on  the  East  of  the  city 
by  the  temple  (Neh.  iii.  18;  xii.  39,  40).  So  far 
as  we  can  perceive  in  general  from  these  local 
determinations,  the  subject  is  not  primarily,  as 
in  Ezek.  xlviii.  15  sqq.  an  extension  of  the  city. 
For  the  gain  in  space  according  to  the  bounda 
ries  mentioned  is  relatively  insignificant.  Only 
in  the  South-West,  South,  and  at  any  rate  in  the 
South-East,  are  some  small  portions  added  to  the 
city.  The  main  point  is  that  by  this  extension 
the  places  which  were  unholy  will  be  rendered 
holy.  They  were  the  purlieus  of  the  city. 
If  even  these  places  are  added  to  the  city,  it 
shows  that  the  city  no  longer  needs  such  places. 
It  is  in  itself  so  thoroughly  holy  to  the  Lord  that 
it  will  have  nothing  unholy  to  cast  out.  Nothing 
unclean  will  enter  (Rev.  xxi.  27),  therefore  no- 
thing unclean  will  proceed  from  it.  It  will  be 
thoroughly  sanctified  and  enlightened,  therefore 
safe  from  destruction  to  all  eternity, 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  JoH.  CoNR.  ScHALLER,  pastor  at  Cautendorf, 
says  in  his  Gospel  Sermons,  (Hof.  1742,  S.  628), 
"  These  chapters  are  like  a  sky  in  which  sparkle 
many  brilliant  stars  of  strong  and  consolatory 
declarations,  a  paradise  and  pleasure-garden  in 
which  a  believing  soul  is  refreshed  with  delight- 
some flowers  of  instruction,  and  solaced  with 
sweetly  flavored  apples  of  gracious  promise." 

2.  On  XXX.  1-3.  The  people  of  Israel  were  not 
then  capable  of  bearing  such  a  prophecy,  brim- 
ming over  with  happiness  and  glory.  They  would 
have  misused  it,  hearing  to  the  end  what  was 
promised  them,  and  then  only  the  more  certainly 
postponing  what  was  the  only  thing  then  neces- 
sary— sincere  repentance.  Hence  they  are  not  yet 
to  hear  this  gloriously  consolatory  address.  It  is 
to  be  written,  that  it  may  in  due  time  be  perceived 
that  the  Lord,  even  at  the  time  when  He  was 
obliged  to  thi-eaten  most  severely,  had  thoughts 
of  peace  concerning  the  people,  and  that  thus  the 
period  of  prosperity  has  not  come  by  chance,  nor 
inconsequence  of  a  change  of  mind,  but  in  con- 
sequence of  a  plan  conceived  from  the  beginning 
and  executed  accordingly. 

3.  On  XXX.  7.  The  great  and  terrible  day  of 
the  Lord  (Joel  iii.  4)  has  not  the  dimensions  of  a 
human  day.  It  has  long  sent  out  its  heralds  in 
advance.  Yea,  it  has  itself  already  dawned.  For 
since  by  the  total  destruction  of  the  external  the- 
ocracy judgment  is  begun  at  the  house  of  God  (1 
Pet.  iv.  17),  we  stand  in  the  midst  of  the  day  of 
God.  in  the  midst  of  the  judgment  of  the  world. 
Then  the  time  of  trouble  for  Jacob  has  begun 
(ver.  7),  frona  which  he  is  to  be  delivered,  when 
the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  is  come  in  (Umu.  xi.) 

4.  On  XXX.  9.  Christ  is  David  in  his  highest  po- 
tency, and  He  is  also  still  more  For  if  we  re- 
present all  the  typical  points  in  David's  life  as  a 
circle,  and  draw  a  line  from  each  of  these  points, 
the  great  circle  thus  formed  would  comprise  only 
a  part  of  the  nh'/pufxa  given  in  Christ.  Ne'^'er- 
theless  Christ  is  the  true  David,  who  was  not 
chosen  like  Saul  for  his  bodily  stature,  but  jnly 
for  his  inward  relation  to  God  (comp.  Ps.  ,',;,  7), 
whose  kingdom  also  does  not  cease  after  a  '.hort 
period  of  glory,  but  endures  forever;   wh  j  will 


CHAP.  XXX.  1— XXXI.  40. 


271 


not  like  Saul  succumb  to  his  enemies,  but  will 
conquer  them  all,  and  will  give  to  hi?  kingdom 
the  widest  extent  promised;  all  this  however  not 
without,  like  David,  having  gone  through  the 
bitterest  trials. 

5.  Onxsx.  11.  ^^  Modus  paternx  castigationis  ac- 
comwodatiia  el  quasi  appe7ixus  ad  stalcram  judicii  Dei 
adeoque  non  immensus  sed  dimensus."  "  Ckrislus 
ecclesiam  criicis  suse  hseredem  constiluit.     Guegor. 

M."       FoKSTER. 

6.  On  XXX.  14.  '■'■Cum  virlutem  patientise  nostrse 
flagdla  transeunt,  valde  metuendum  est,  ne  peccatis 
■nosiris  exigentibus  non  jam  quasi  filii  a  patre,  sed 
quasi  hnsles  a  Domino  feriamur.  Gregor.  M. 
Moral.  XIV.  20,  on  .Job    xix.  11."  Giiisler. 

7.  On  XXX.  17.  '■'rrovideniia  DeimortaliliHs  salu- 
tifera,  antequam  percutiat,  pharmaca  medendi  gratia 
componit,  et  gladium  irse  sum  <pikav&po)Kia  acuit. 
EvAGR.  Hist.  Eccl.  iv.  6." — ^'■Qaando  iiicidis in  tenta- 
tionem,  crede,  quod  nisi  cognovisset  te  posse  ilium 
evadere,  non  permisisset  te  in  illam  inciderc.  Theo- 
PHYL.  incap.  xviii  Joh."  Fov.ST^'R.-'^Feriam prius 
et  sanabo  melius.   Theophyl.  m  Hos.xi."  Ghisler. 

8.  On  XXX.  21.  "This  church  of  God  will  own 
a  Prince  from  its  midst — .Jesus,  of  our  flesh  and 
blood  ilirough  the  virgin  Mary,  and  He  ap- 
proaches God,  as  no  other  can,  for  He  is  God's 
image,  God's  Son,  and  at  the  same  time  the  per- 
fect, holy  in  all  His  sufferings,  only  obedient  son 
of  man.  Tliis  king  is  mediator  and  reconciler 
with  God;  He  is  also  high-priest  and  fulfilled  all 
righteousness,  as  was  necessary  foi<  our  propiti- 
ation. What  glory  to  have  such  a  king,  who 
brings  us  nigh  unto  God,  and  this  is  our  glory!" 
Diedrich. 

9.  On  xxxi.  1.  "There  is  no  greater  promise 
than  this:  I  will  be  thy  God.  For  if  He  is  our 
God  we  are  His  creatures,  His  redeemed,  His 
sanctified,  according  to  all  the  three  articles  of 
the  Christian  faith."  Cramer. 

10.  On  xxxi.  2.  "  The  rough  heap  had  to  be 
sifted  by  the  sword,  but  those  who  survived, 
tliough  afflicted  in  the  desert  of  this  life,  found 
favor  with  God,  and  these,  the  true  Israel,  God 
leads  into  His  rest."  Diedrich. 

11.  On  xxxi.  3.  "The  love  of  God  towards  us 
comes  from  love  and  has  no  other  cause  above 
or  beside  itself,  but  is  in  God  and  remains  in  God, 
so  that  Christ  who  is  in  God  is  its  centre.  For 
herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that 
He  loved  us  (1  John  iv.  10)."  Cramkr.  "  Totum 
gratix  imputatur,  non  nostris  meritis.  AirGUSTiNE  in 
Ps.  xxxi."'  Forster.  "  Befoi-e  I  had  done  any- 
thing good  Thou  hadst  alreaily  moved  towards 
me.  Let  these  words  be  written  on  your  hearts 
with  the  pen  of  the  living  God,  that  they  may 
light  you  like  flames  of  fire  on  the  day  of  the 
marriage.  It  is  your  certificate  of  birth,  your 
testimonial.  Let  me  never  lose  sight  of  how 
much  it  has  cost  Thee  to  redeem  me."  Zinzen- 
DORF.  "  God  says:  My  chastisement  even  was 
pure  love,  though  then  you  did  not  understand 
it;  you  shall  learn  it  afterwards."  Diedrich. 
["I  incline  to  the  construction  given  in  the  En- 
glish version,  both  because  the  suffix  to  the  verb 
is  more  naturally,  '  I  have  drawn  thee,'  than  '  I 
have  drawn  out  toward  thee.'  and  because  there 
seems  to  be  a  tacit  allusion  to  Hos.  xi.  4,  '  With 
lovii  cr-kindness  have  I  drawn  thee.' — A  great 
moriil  truth  lies  in  this  passage  so  construed,  viz., 


that  the  main  po*er  which  humbles  man's  pride, 
softens  his  hard  heart  and  makes  him  recoil  in 
shame  and  sorrow  from  sinning,  comes  through 
his  apprehension  of  God's  love  as  manifested  in 
Christ  and  His  cross.  It  is  love  that  draws  the 
fearful  or  stubborn  soul  to  the  feet  of  divine 
mercy."  Cowles. — .S.  II.  A.] 

12.  On  xxxi.  6.  "  It  is  well:  the  watchmen 
on  Mount  Ephraim  had  to  go  to  Zion.  They 
received  however  another  visit  from  the  Jewish 
priests,  which  they  could  not  have  expected  at 
the  great  reformation,  introduced  by  John,  and 
which  had  its  seat  among  other  places  on  Mount 
Ephraim.  The  Samaritans  were  not  far  distant, 
and  Mount  Ephraim  had  even  this  honor  that 
when  the  Lord  came  to  His  temple  He  took  Hia 
seat  as  a  teacher  there."  Zinzendorf.  ["God's 
grace  loves  to  triumph  over  the  most  inveterate 
prejudices.  .  .  No  words  could  represent  a  greater 
and  more  benign  change  in  national  feeling  than 
these:  Samaria  saying  through  her  spiritual 
watchmen,  '  Let  us  go  up  to  Zion  to  worship,  for 
our  God  is  there.'"  Cowles.  " ' Ascendamus  in 
Sion,  hoc  est  in  Ucclesiam'  says  S.  Jerome.  Ac- 
cording to  this  view,  the  watchmen  here  men- 
tioned are  the  Preachers  of  the  Gospel."  Words- 
worth.— S.  R.  A.] 

13.  On  xxxi.  9.   "  I  will  lead  them.     It  is  an 

old  sighing  couplet,  but  full  of  wisdom  and  solid 

truth:  — 

'  Lord  Jesus,  while  I  live  on  earth,  0  guide  me. 
Let  me  not,  self-led,  wander  from  beside  Thee.' " 

— Zinzendorf. 

14.  On  xxxi.  10.  "  He  who  has  scattered  Israel 
will  also  collect  it.  Why?  He  is  the  Shepherd. 
It  is  no  wolf-scattering.  He  interposes  His  hand, 
then  they  go  asunder,  and  directly  come  to- 
gether again  more  orderly."  Zinzendorf. 

15.  On  xxxi.  12-14.  '^  Gaudebunt  electi,  quando 
videbunt  supra  se,  intra  se,juxta  se,  infra  se.  Augus- 
tine."— '■'■Priemia  coelestia  erunt  tam  magna,  ut  non 
possint  rnensurari,  tam  mult  a,  ut  non  possint  numer- 
ari,  tamcopiosa,  utnonpossint  terminari,  tam pretiosa, 
ut  non  possint  sestimari.   Bernhard."  Forster. 

16.  On  xxxi.  15.  "Because  at  all  times  there  is 
a  similar  state  of  things  in  the  church  of  God,  the 
lament  of  Rachel  is  a  common  one.  For  as  this 
lament  is  over  the  carrying  away  captive  and  op- 
pressions of  Babylon,  so  is  it  also  a  lament  over 
the  tyranny  of  Herod  in  slaughtering  the  inno- 
cent children  (Matt.  ii.  1-7.)"  Cramer.  "  Pre- 
muntur  justi  in  ecclesia  ut  clament,  clamanies  ex- 
uudiunlur,  cxauditi  glorificent  Deum.  Augustin." 
Forster. — With  respect  to  this,  that  Rachel's 
lament  may  be  regarded  as  a  type  of  maternal 
lamentation  over  lost  children,  Forster  quotes 
this  sentence  of  Cyprian:  7ion  amisimus,  sed prx- 
7nisimus  (2  Sam.  xii.  23).  [On  the  application 
of  this  verse  to  the  murder  of  the  innocents  con- 
sult W.  L.  Alexander,  Contiexion  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  p.  54,  and  W.  H.  Mill  in  Words- 
worth's Note  in  loc. — S.  R.  A.] 

17.  On  xxxi.  18.  The  conversion  of  man  must 
always  be  a  product  of  two  fictors.  A  conversion 
which  man  alone  should  bring  about,  without 
God,  would  be  an  empty  pretence  of  conversion ; 
a  conversion,  which  God  should  produce,  with- 
out man,  would  be  a  compulsory,  manufactured 
aff"air,  without  any  moral  value.  The  merit  and 
the  praise  is,    however,   always   on  God's  side. 


:7b 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


He  gives  the  will  and  the  execution.  Did  He 
not  discipline  us,  we  should  never  learn  disci- 
pline. Did  He  not  lead  back  our  thoughts  to  our 
Father's  house  which  we  have  left  (Lukexv.)  we 
should  never  think  of  returning. 

18.  On  xxxi.  19.  "  The  children  of  God  are 
ashamed  their  life  long,  they  cannot  raise  their 
heads  for  humiliation.  For  their  sins  always 
seem  great  to  them,  and  the  grace  of  God  always 
remains  something  incomprehensible  to  them." 
ZiNZENDOUF.  The  farther  the  Christian  advances 
in  his  consciousness  of  souship  and  in  sanctifi- 
catioa,  the  more  brilliantly  rises  the  light  of 
grace,  the  more  distinctly  does  he  perceive  in 
this  light,  how  black  is  the  night  of  his  sins  from 
which  God  has  delivered  him.  ["  It  is  the 
ripest  and  fullest  ears  of  grain  which  h£^ug  their 
heads  the  lowest."— S.  R.  A.] 

19.  On  xxxi.  19.  "The  use  of  the  dear  cross  is 
to  make  us  blush  (Dan.  ix.  8)  and  not  regard  our- 
selves as  innocent  (Jer.  xxx.  11).  And  as  it 
pleases -a  father  when  a  child  soon  blushes,  so 
also  is  this  tincture  a  flower  of  virtue  well- 
pleasing  to  God."  Cramer.  "  Deus  oleum  mixe- 
rationis  sux  non  nisi  in  vas  contritum  et  contribula- 
tum  infundit.   Berxiiard."   Fokster. 

20.  On  xxxi.  19.  The  reproach  of  my  youth. 
"  The  sins  of  youth  are  not  easily  to  be  forgot- 
ten (Ps.  XXV.  7;  Job  xxxi.  18).  Therefore  we 
ought  to  be  careful  so  to  act  in  our  youth  as  not 
to  have  to  chew  the  cud  of  bitter  reflection  in  our 
old  age.  It  is  a  comfort  that  past  sins  of  youth 
will  not  injure  thd  truly  penitent.  Non  nocent 
peccata  praeterila,  cum  non  placent  prsesentia.  Au- 
gustine. To  transgress  no  more  is  the  best  sign 
of  repentance."  Cramer. 

21.  On  xxxi.  20.  "  Comforting  and  weighty 
words,  which  each  one  should  lay  to  heart.  God 
loves  and  caresses  us  as  a  mother  her  good  child. 
He  remembers  Ilis  promise.  His  heart  yearns 
and  breaks,  and  it  is  His  pleasure  to  do  us  good." 
Cramer.  ^' Jpsius pi-opr turn  est,  miser eri  semper  et 
parcere."  Augustine. — ^^Major  est  Deimisericordia 
quam  omnium  hominum  misrria."  Idem. 

22.  On  xxxi.  23.  The  Lord  bless  thee,  thou 
d^77elling-place  of  righteousness,  thou  holy 
mountain.  "Certainly  no  greater  honor  was 
ever  done  to  the  Jewish  mountains  than  that  the 
WK)man's  seed  prayed  and  wept  on  them,  was 
transfigured,  killed  and  ascended  above  all 
heavous."  Zinzenuorf.     "  It  cannot  be  denied 

that  a  church   sanctifies  a  whole  place 

Members  of  Jesus  are  real  guardian  angels,  who 
do  not  exist  in  the  imagination,  but  are  founded 
on  God's  promise  (Matt.  xxv.  40)."  Idkji. 

23.  On  xxxi.  29, 30.  "The  so-called  family  curve 
has  no  influence  on  the  servants  of  God;  one  in^iy 
sleep  calmly  nevertheless.  This  does  not  mean 
that  we  should  continue  in  the  track  of  our  pre- 
decessors, cx.gr.,  when  our  ancestors  have  gained 
much  wealth  by  sinful  trade,  tiiat  we  should^con- 
tinue  this  trade  with    this  wealth   with  the  hope 

of   tlie   divine   blessing If  this  or  that 

property,  house,  right,  condition  be  afflicted 
wi.h  a  cur.se,  the  children  of  God  may  soon  by 
prudent  separation  deliver  themselves  from  these 
unsafe  circumstances.  For  nothing  attaches  to 
their  persons,  when  they  have  been  baptized 
with   the   blood    of  Jesus   and  are   blessed    by 

Him."    ZiNZENDOEF. 


24.  On  xxxi.  29,  30.  "/«  testamento  novo  per  san- 
guinem  viediatoris  deleto  paterno  chirographo  incipit 
homo  paternis  dtbitis  non  esse  ohnoxius  renascendo, 
quibus  nascendo  fuerat  obligatus,  ipso  Mediatore  di' 
cente:  Ne  vobis patrem  dicalis  in  terra  (Matt,  xxiii 
9).  Secundum  hoc  utiquc,  quod  alios  natales,  quibuf 
non  patri  succederemus,  sed  cum  patre  semper  vive- 
remus,  invenimus."  Augustine,  contra  Julian,  VI. 
12,  in  Ghisler. 

25.  On  xxxi.  81.  ^'Tnveteribus  libris  autnusquam 
ant  difficile  prseter  hunc  propheticum  locum  legiVdr 
facta  commemoratio  tcstamenti  novi,  tit  omnino  ijjso 
nomine  appellarelur.  Nam  multis  locis  hoc  signifi- 
calur  et  prsenuntiatur  futurum,  sed  non  ita  ut  etiam 
nometi  legalur  expressum."  Augustine,  de  Spir.  et 
Lit.  ad  Marcellin,  Cap.  19  (where  to  Cap.  29  there 
is  a  detailed  discussion  of  this  passage)  in  Ghis- 
Ler. — "  In  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  there 
is  no  passage,  in  which  the  view  is  so  clearly  and 
distinctly  expressed  as  here  that  the  law  is  only 
TzaidayaySg.  And  though  some  commentators  have 
supposed  that  the  passage  contains  only  a  cen- 
sure of  the  Israelites  and  not  of  the  Old  Cove- 
nant, they  only  show  thus  that  they  have  not 
understood  the  simple  meaning  of  the  words." 
Ebrard.    Comm.  zum  Hebrderbr .  S.  275. 

26.  On  xxxi.  31,  sqq.  '^Propter  veteris  hominia' 
noxam,  qux  per  literam  jubentem  et  minantem  mini- 
me  sanabatur,  dicitur  illud  testamentum  vetus ;  hoe 
aiitem  novum  propter  novitatem  spiritus,  quae  homi- 
nem  novum  sanat  a  vitio  vetustatis."  Augustine, 
c.  Lit.  Cap.  19. 

27.  On  xxxi.  33.  "Quid sunt  ergo  leges  Dei  ab  ipso 
Deo  scriptie  in  cordibus,  ?iisi  ipsa  prsesentia  Spiritus 
sancti,  qui  est  digitus  Dei,  quo  prsesente  diffunditur 
charitas  in  cordibus  nostrio,  quse  plenitudo  legis  est 
ct prseceptiji?iis?"  Augustine,  I.  c.  Cap.  20. 

28.  On  xxxi.  34.  "  Quomodo  tempus  est  novi  testa- 
menti,  de  quo  propheta  dixit :  et  non  docebit  unus- 
quisque  civem  suum,  etc.  nisi  quia  ejusdem  testamenti 
nooi  xternam  mercedem,  id  est  ipsius  Dei  beatissimam 
contemplationem  promittendo  conjunxit  ?  "  Augus- 
tine, I.  c.  Cap.  24. 

29.  Onxxxi.  33,  34.  "  This  is  the  blessed  diff"er- 
ence  between  law  and  Gospel,  between  form  and 
substance.  Therefore  are  the  great  and  small 
alike,  and  the  youths  like  the  elders,  the  pupils 
more  learned  than  their  teachers,  and  the  young 
wiser  than  the  ancients  (1  John  ii.  20  sqq.). 
Here  is  the  cause: — For  I  will  forgive  their  ini- 
quities. This  is  the  occasion  of  the  above;  no 
one  can  eff'ect  this  without  it.  Forgiveness  of 
sins  makes  the  scales  fall  from  people's  eyes,  and 
gives  them  a  cheerful  temper,  clear  conceptions, 
a  clear  head."  Zinzenuorf. 

30.  On  xxxi.  35-37.  "Etsiparticulares  ecclesisein 
tolum  dejlcerepossunt,  ecclesia  tamen  catholica  7iun- 
quam  defecit  aut  deficiet.  Obslanl  eniui  LJci  amplis- 
sinix  promissiones,  inter  quas  non  ultimum  locum  sibi 
vindicut  qux  hie  hubetur  Jer.  xxxi.  37."  Forster. 

31.  On  xxxi.  38-40.  "Jerusalem  will  one  day  be 
much  greater  than  it  has  ever  been.  This  is  not 
to  be  understood  literally  but  spiritually.  Jeru- 
salem will  be  wherever  there  are  believing  souls, 
its  circle  will  be  without  end  and  comprise  all 
that  has  been  hitherto  impure  and  lost.  This  it 
is  of  which  the  prophet  is  teaching,  and  wjich 
he  presents  in  figures,  which  were  intelligib.e  to 
the  people  in  his  time.  The  hill  Gareb,  probably 
the   residence  of  the  lepers,  the   emblem  of  the 


CHAP.  XXX.  1— XXXI.  40. 


279 


sinner  unmasked  and  smitten  by  God,  and  the 
cursed  valley  of  Ben-Hiunom  will  be  taken  up 
into  the  holy  city.  God's  grace  will  one  day 
effect  all  this,  and  Israel  will  thus  be  manifested 
as  much  more  glorious  than  ever  before."  Dib- 

DRICH. 

HOMILETICAL  AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  XXX.  5-9.  Sermon  on  one  of  the  last 
Sundays  after  Trinity  or  the  second  in  Advent. ; 
The  day  of  the  judgment  of  the  world  a  great 
day.  For  it  is,  (Ij  a  day  of  anxiety  and  terror 
for  all  the  world;  (2)  a  day  of  deliverance  from 
all  distress  for  the  church  of  the  Lord ;  (•^)  a  day ' 
of  realization  of  all  the  happiness  set  in  prospect 
before  it. 

2.  On  XXX.  10-12.  Consolation  of  the  church 
in  great  trial.  1.  It  has  well  deserved  the  trial 
(ver.  12) ;  2.  it  is  therefore  chastised,  but  with 
moderation ;  3.  it  will  not  perish  but  again  en- 
joy peace. 

3.  On  XXX.  17.  ["  The  Restorer  of  mankind. 
1.  Faith  in  the  Christian  Sacrament  and  its  at- 
tendant revelation  of  divine  character  alone  an- 
swer the  demand  of  the  heart  and  reason  of  man 
for  a  higher  state  of  moral  perfection.  2.  Chris- 
tianity offers  to  maintain  a  communication  be- 
tween this  world  and  that  eternal  world  of  holi- 
ness and  truth.  3.  It  commends  itself  to  our 
wants  in  the  confirmation  and  direction  of  that 
principle  of  hope,  which  even  in  our  daily  and 
worldly  life,  we  are  perpetually  forced  to  substi- 
tute for  happiness,  and  4.  By  the  adorable  ob- 
ject, which  it  presents  to  our  affections."  Archer 
Butler. — S.  R.  A.] 

4.  On  xxxi.  1,  2.  Gesetz  and  Zeugniss  (Law  and 
Testimony)  1864,  Heft.  1.  Funeral  sermon  of 
Ahlfeld. 

5.  On  xxxi.  2-4.  lb.  1865.  Heft  1.  Funeral 
sermon  of  Besser,  S.  32  ff. 

6.  On  xxxi.  3.  C.  Fr.  Hartmann  (Wedding, 
School,  Catechism  and  Birth-day  sermons,  ed.  C. 
Chr.  Eberh.  Ehemann.  Tiib.  1865).  Wedding 
sermon.  1.  A  grateful  revival  in  the  love  of 
God  already  received.  2.  Earnest  endeavor 
after  a  daily  enjoyment  of  this  love.  3.  Daily 
nourishment  of  hope. 

7.  On  xxxi.  3.  Floret.  Comfort  and  warning 
at  graves.  I.  Bdndchen,  S.  258.  On  the  attrac- 
tions of  God's  love  towards  His  own  children. 
They  are,  1.  innumerable  and  yet  so  frequently 


overlooked ;  2.  powerful  and  yet  so  frequently 
resisted  ;  3.  rich  in  blessing  and  yet  so  frequently 
unemployed.  [For  practical  remarks  ou  this 
text  see  also  Tholuck,  Stunden  der  Andacht,  No. 
11.— S.  R.  A.] 

8.  On  xxxi.  9.  Confessional  sermon  by  Dekan 
V.  BiARowsKY  in  Erlangeu  (in  Palmer's  Euang. 
Casual-Reden,  'IteFolge,  1  Band.  Stuttgart,  1850.) 
Every  partaking  of  the  Lord's  supper  is  a  return 
to  the  Lord  in  the  promised  land,  aud  every  one 
who  is  a  guest  at  the   supper  rises  and   comes. 

1.  How  are  we  to  come?  (weeping  and  praying). 

2.  What  shall  we  find?  (Salvation  and  blessing, 
power  and  life,  grace  and  help). 

9.  On  xxxi.  18-20.  Comparison  of  conversion 
with  the  course  of  the  earth  and  the  sun.  1.  The 
man  who  has  fallen  away  is  like  the  planet  in  its 
distance  from  the  sun ;  he  flees  from  God  as  far  as 
he  can.  2.  Love  however  does  not-  release  him: 
a.  he  is  chastened  (winter,  cold,  long  nights, 
short  days);  b.  he  accepts  the  chastening  and 
returns  to  proximity  to  the  sun  (summer,  warmth, 
light,  life).  Comp.  Brandt,  ALtes  und  Neues  in 
eztemporirbaren  Entwiirfen.  Niiremberg,  1829,  II. 
5.  [The  stabborn  sinner  submitting  himself  to 
God.  I.  A  description  of  the  feelings  and  con- 
duct of  an  obstinate,  impenitent  sinner,  while 
smarting  under  the  rod  of  affliction:  He  is  re- 

I  bellious — till  subdued.  II.  The  new  views  and 
,  feelings  produced  by  affliction  through  divine 
I  grace:  [a)  convinced  of  guilt  and  sinfulness; 
(6)  praying;  (c)  reflecting  on  the  effects  of  di- 
vine grace  in  his  conversion.  III.  A  correcting 
but  compassionate  God,  watching  the  result,  etc., 
[a)  as  a  tender  father  mindful  of  his  penitent 
child;  (6)  listening  to  his  complaints,  confes- 
sions and  petitions;  (c)  declaring  His  determina- 
tion to  pardon.  Payson. — S.  R.  A.] 

10.  On  xxxi.  31-34.  Sermon  on  1  Sunday  in 
Advent  by  Pastor  Diechert  in  Groningen,  S. 
Stern  aus  Jakob.  I.  Stuttg.  1867. 

11.  On  xxxi.  33,  34.  Do  we  belong  to  the  peo- 
ple of  God?  1.  Have  we  holiness?  2.  Have  we 
knowledge?  3.  Have  we  the  peace  promised  to 
this  people?  (Caspari  in  Predigtbuch  von  Ditt- 
MAR,  Erlangen,  1845). 

12.  On  xxxi.  33,  34.  By  the  new  covenant  in 
the  bath  of  holy  baptism  all  becomes  new.  1. 
What  was  dead  becomes  alive  2.  What  was  ob- 
scure becomes  clear.  3.  What-  was  cold  becomes 
warm.  4.  What  was  bound  becomes  free 
(Floret,  1862). 


280  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


B.  THE  ELEVENTH  DISCOURSE. 

Chapters  XXXII.—XXXIII. 

with  an  appendix  (chap.  xxxiv.  1-7). 

The  thirty-third  chapter  contains  a  revelation  of  somewhat  later  date  than  ch.  xxxii.     In  xxxiii.  1  it  is  ex- 
pressly stated  that  the  contents  of  this  chapter  loere  communicated  to  the  prophet  separately,  and  sub- 
sequently to  the  revelation  contained  in  ch.  xxxii.     The  word  second  (Pi^W)  xxxiii.  1,  hoivever, 
designates  this  chapter  as  the  second  part  or  continuation  of  ch.  xxxii.,  which  also  accords  ivith  its 
very  similar  purport.     As  ch.  xxxii.  shows  us  that  the  occupation  of  the  Israelitish  country  by  the 
northern  foes  does  not  prevent  the  Lord  from  commanding  the  prophet  to  purchase  a  piece  of  this  very 
land,  as  a  pledge  that  the  time  ivill  come  when  the   land  can  be  bought  and  sold  and  inhabited  and 
tilled  in  peace,  so  in  ch.  xxxiii.,   in  connection  with   the  destruction  of  many  houses   in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  for  the  purposes  of  defence  it  is  predicted  that  the  city  apparently  devoted  to  entire  devasta- 
tion shall  be  rebuilt,  that  joy  and  rejoicing  shall  again  prevail  in  it,  that  in  the  country  breeding  of 
cattle  shall  again  be  followed  with  blessing,  and  especially  that  from  the  house  of  David  a  '■'■righteous 
sprout"  shall  proceed,  by  ivhom  righteousness  and  salvation   shall  be  diffused  through  the  land.      The 
throne  of  Israel  shall  no  more  lack  a  prince  of  the  house  of  David,  nor  the  worship  Levitical  priests. 
This  covenant  shall  stand  everlastingly  as  the  laws  of  nature  ;  innumerable  as  the  stars  of  heaven  or  the 
sand  of  the  sea  shore  shall  be  the  seed  of  David  and  Levi.     In  the  midst  of  the  present  mourning  the  pro- 
phet makes  known  these  promises,  for — and  this  is  the  formal  basis,  which  ch.  xxxiii.  has  in  common 
with  ch.  xxxii. — the  Lord  has  the  power  to  do  this;  nothing  is  too  wonderful  for  Him  (comp.  xxxiii. 
2,  3  with  xxxii.  17,  27).      Without  doubt  these  prophecies,  proceeding  from  the  court  of  the  prison, 
are  among  the  grandest  which  the  prophet  uttered.      We  shall  see  what  a  depth  of  misery  this  court  of 
the  prison  involved  for  the  prophet  and  for  Israel.     And  in  the  very  midst  of  this  prophecy  the  abused 
prophet  raises  his  voice  in  the  mosi  glorious  prediction,  .that  the  wonder-working  power  of  God  may  be 
recognized  and  praised,  and  faith,  tvhich  rests  not  on  the  seen,  but  on  the  unseen  (2  Cor.  iv.  18),  may 
be  thus  confirmed  and  encouraged.      The  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  runs   through  all  the  stages  of 
development,  from  that  first  feeble  beginning,  which  was  made  after  the  return  from  exile,  to  the  con- 
summation of  the  fiaoLkeia  tuv  ovpaviiv  which  the  future  seon  will  bring  us. 
From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  evident  that  the  present  discourse  forms  a  parallel  to  the  earlier  consolatory 
discourse,  chh.  xxx.  and  xxxi.,  and  that  both,  being  placed  purposely  at   the  close  of  the  collection, 
may  with  propriety  be  called   the  Book  of  Consolation.      Though  the  general  purport  of  the   two  dis- 
courses is  similar,  some  differences  are  also  noticeable.      While  the  first  (chh.  xxx.   and  xxxi.)  may 
be  compared  to  a  picture  tvhich  beams  with  light  and  color,  and  in  which  the  shading  is  indicated  only 
by  a  few  though  powerful  strokes  (comp  xxx.  5-7,  11  ;   xxxi.  15,  16,  18,  19),  the  second  seems  like 
a  picture,  in  which  the  deepest  shades  and  the   brightest   light  are  equally   divided  and  displayed  in 
vivid  contrast.     Not  only  does  the  promise  in  the  second  discourse  rise  from  present  distressing  circum- 
stances, but  the  guilt  of  Israel,  which  is  the  cause  of  this   distress,  is  portrayed  with   a  strong    hand 
(xxxii.  29-35).     Still  as  the  shade  is  stronger  in  the  second  discourse  than  in  the  first,  so  is  the  light. 
That  tvhich  may  be  called  the  crown  of  all  theocratic  promise,  viz.,  the  Messianic  kingdom,  together 
with  the  priesthood  standing  inseparably  by   its  side  as  a  necessary   supplement,  is  in   the  second  dis- 
course set  forth  much  more  clearly,  mtich  more  comprehensively,  and  in  much  more  various  relations. 
While  in  the  first  discourse  the  Messianic  king  is  spoken  of  in  a  Jew  words  only,  and  with  no  special 
emphasis,  xxx.  9,  21,  in  the  second  the  most  prominent  passage  is  occupied  in  detail  with  the  Messianic 
king  and  priesthood.      Tlie  passage  xxxiii.  14-26,  tvhich  is  evidently  to  form  the  crowning  close  of  the 
whole  discourse,  is  entirely  devoted  to  that  most  important  subject  of  Messianic  prediction. 
The  lime  of  the  composition  o/chh.  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.  is  stated  in  the  text.     In  xxxii.  1  it  is  expressly 
mentioned  that  the  events  there  narrated  took  place  in  the  tenth  year  of  Zedekiah,  the  eighteenth  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  (i.  e.,  B.  C,  587),  during  the  siege  by   the  Chaldeans,  and  while  Jeremiah   was  a 
prisoner  in  the  court  of  the  gaol.      Only  a  little  later  followed,  as  a  continuation  and  completion  of  the 
consolatory  prediction,  the  revelation  communicated  to  us  in  the  thirty-third  chapter  [comp.  xxxiii.  1). 
MovEKS,  De  Wette  and  Hitzig  regard  ch.  xxxiii.  as  worked  over  by  the  author  of  Isa.  xl.-lxvi.    This 
view  has  been  so  thoroughly  refuted  by  Graf  thatit  will  sufficeto  refer  to  him  (comp.  Graf,  *S'.  369,  415). 
— J.D.MiCHAELis  {Orient.  Bibl.,  XVII.,  S.  \12  sqq.),  Jahn  {Vatt.  Messian.,  P.  II.,  S.  112  sqq.) 
and  HiTziG  dispute  the  genuineness  o/ xxxiii.  14-26.     Movers  [deutr.  Rec,  etc.,  S.  41)  declares  that 
vers.  18,  21  b-'lb  at  least,  are  an  interpolation.      We  may  also  appeal  to  Graf  for  the  refutation  of 
this  view  {S.  369,  370,  and  his  exposition  of  the  passages  in  question).     For  a  valuation  of  the  cir- 
cumstance that  the  section  mentioned  is  wanting  in  the  LXX,  comp.  Graf,  Einleitung,  pag.  XL VI 'II. 
Graf  himself  however  regards  xxxiii.  2,  3  as  interpolated.    I  refer  on  the  other  hand  to  my  ezposi.ion 
of  thit  passage. 


CHAP.  XXXII.  1-15.  281 

Since  both  chapters  are  so  far  of  similar  import,  that  ch.  xxxiii.  may  be  regarded  as  a  continuation  and 
extension  of  ch.  xxxii.,  the  two  together  may  consequently  be  regarded  as  one  prophetic  discourse. 
They  are  not  so,  however,  in  a  logical  and  rhetorical  sense,  since  they  did  not  originate  contemporanC' 
ously.      We  shall  therefore  treat  the  two  halves  separately. 

I.  CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  most  glorious  future  warranted  in  the  midst  of  the  most  gloomy  present  by  the  purchase  of  a  piece  of 
ground  in  the  enemy'' s  hands. 

1.  The  transaction  of  the  purchase,  xxxii.  1-15. 

2.  A  prayer  of  praise  and  inquiry,  xxxii.  16-25. 

3.  Nothing  is  impossible  to  the  Lord,  xxxii.  26-44. 

II.  CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Promise  of  the  most  glorious  future,  given  at  the  moment  when  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  alreadg 
begun  by  its  own  inhabitants  in  the  interest  of  defence. 

1.  Brief  transition :  summons  to  new  prayer  in  the  sense  of  xxxii.  16-25,  and  promise  of  a 

hearing,  xxxiii.  1-3. 

2.  Destruction  in  the  present.     Glorious  internal  and  external  rebuilding  in  the  future  notv 

withstanding,  xxxiii.  4-9. 

3.  The  glorious  city -life  of  the  future,  xxxiii.  10,  11. 

4.  The  glorious  country -life  of  the  future,  xxxiii.  12,  13. 

5.  The  glorious  kingdom  and  priesthood  of  the  future,  xxxiii.  14-18. 

6.  The  kingdom  and  priesthood  of  the  future  eternal,  xxxiii.  19-26. 


1.  CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  most  glorious  future  warranted  in  the  midst  of  the  moat  gloomy  present  by  the 
purchase  of  a  piece  of  ground  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

1.   The  transaction  of  the  Purchase. 
XXXII.  1-15. 

1  The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord   in  the  tenth  year  of  Zedekiah, 

2  king  of  Judah,  which  was  the  eighteenth  year  of  Nebuchadrezzar.  For  then  the 
king  of  Babylon's  army  besieged  Jerusalem :  and  Jeremiah  the  prophet  was  shut 
up  in  the  court  of  the  prison  [or  guard]  which  was  in  the  king  of  Judah 's  house. 

3  For  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah  had  shut  him  up,'  saying,  Wherefore  dost  thou  pro- 
phesy, and  say,  Thus  saith  the   Lord,  Behold,  I  will  give  this  city  into  the  hand 

4  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  take  it;  And  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah  shall 
not  escape  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans,  but  shall  surely  be  delivered  into  the 
hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  shall  speak  with  him  mouth  to  mouth,  and  his 

5  eyes  shall  behold  his  eyes ;  And  he  shall  lead  Zedekiah  to  Babylon,  and  there  shall 
he  be  until  I  visit  him,  saith  the   Lord :  though  ye  fight  with  the  Chaldeans,  ye 

6  shall  not  prosper.     And  Jeremiah  said,  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  say- 

7  ing.  Behold,  Hanameel  the  son  of  Shallum  thine  uncle  shall  come  unto  thee,  say- 
ing. Buy  thee  my  field  that  is  in  Anathoth :  for  the  right  of  redemption  is  thine  to 

8  buy  it.  So  Hanameel  mine  uncle's  son  came  to  me  in  the  court  of  the  prison  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  said  unto  me.  Buy  my  field,  I  pray  thee, 
that  is  in  Anathoth,  which  is  in  the  country  of  Benjamin :  for  the  right  of  inheri- 
tance is  thine,  and  the  redemption  is  thine ;  buy  it  for  thyself     Then  I  knew  that 

9  this  was  the  word  of  the  Lord.  And  I  bought  the  field  of  Hanameel  my  uncle's 
son,  that  was  in  Anathoth,  and  weighed  him  the  money,  even  seventeen  shekels  of 

10  silver.^     And  I  subscribed  the  evidence    [deed],^   and  sealed  it,  and  took  wit- 

11  nesses,  and  weighed  him  the  money  in  the  balances.  So  I  took  the  evidence  [deed] 
of  the  purchase,  both  that  which  was  sealed  according  to  the  law  and  custom  [or 

12  (containing)  the  assignment  and  limitation],  and  that  which  was  open :  And  I  gave 
the  evidence  [deed]  of  the  purchase  unto  Baruch,  the  son  of  Neriah,  the  son  of 
Maaseiah,  in  the  sight  of  Hanameel  mine  uncle's  son.  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
witnesses  that  subscribed  the  book  of  the  purchase,  before  all*  the  Jews  that  sat  in 


282 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


13,14  the  court  of  the  prison.  And  I  charged  Baruch  before  them,  saying.  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God'of  Israel ;  Take  these  evidences,  this  evidence  ^f 
the  purchase,  both*  which  is  sealed,  and  this  evidence  which  is  open  ;  and  put  them 

15  in  an  earthen  vessel,  that  they  may  continue  many  days.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel ;  Houses  and  fields  and  vineyards  shall  be  possessed 
again  in  this  land. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL, 

1  Yer.  3. IxS^  1il/X-    The  Nota  relationis  is  to  be  regarded  as  in  the. accusative.  Comp. Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  70,  6;  Num. 

xiii.  27  ;  Isa.  Ixiv.  10;  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  i. 

i  Ver.  9.— On  the  accus.  np^ri-  Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,^1Q,  g.—Oa  the  article.  Ih.  71,  4  a. 

8  Ver.  10.— The  article  in  "1303  is  again  general.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  I  71,  4  a. 

4  Ver.  12. — Sd  ^yvh.     Misk-d  by  the  Atnach,  many  suppose  that  y  is  wanting  here.    But  this  'yj^7  does  not  belong 
to  'PNI,  inU.ver.,  but  to  DOjlijil. 

5  \\.r.  i4._pxi — nXV    TliP  two  Vaus  here  as  in  ver.  20=both,  and  also  comp.  v.  24.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  ?110,  3.    The  con- 
struction would  certainly  be  simpler  and  clearer,  if  HNI  were  wanting  before  Q-TDnrii  and  it  would  certainly  not  be  im- 

•  ■ :  T  *.■ 

possible  that,  as  Graf  thinks,  this  HNI  may  have  been  repeated  from  ver.  11  by  an  oversight.     A  certain  solemn  breadth 

may,  however,  also  have  been  intended.  Then  first  the  quantitative  multiplicity  or  duplicity  of  the  deeds  may  be  generally 
set  "forth,  then  their  qualitative  unity  (they  form  together  only  one  deed  of  sale.  Comp.  vers.  11  and  12)  ;  finally  the  multi- 
plicity is  specified  :  there  are  two  deeds,  one  sealed,  the  other  open.  The  niH  and  'I^J  can  then  both  be  referred  at  the 
same  time  to  D^Dnn. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

In  the  tenth  year  of  king  Zedekiah,  during  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  ChaUleans,  at  a  time 
when  all  hope  of  deliverance  had  vanished  and 
the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  was  certain  to  all 
those  who  were  not  blinded,  Jeremiah,  who  was 
then  on  account  of  his  prophecy  of  inevitable 
ruin  held  a  prisoner  in  the  prison  court,  received 
a  divine  revelation,  which  announced  that  the  lot 
of  ground  of  his  uncle  Shallum  at  Anathoth 
would  be  oifered  him  for  sale  on  account  of  his 
right  of  redemption.  Hanameel,  the  son  of  Shal- 
lum, really  came  with  this  offer  to  Jeremiah. 
The  latter  recognizing  the  Lord's  will,  buys  the 
lot,  carefully  observing  all  the  formalities,  as  a 
sign  that  "  houses,  fields  and  vineyards  will  again 
be  bought  in  the  land  of  Judah." 

Vers.  1-5.  The  v7ord  .  . .  shall  not  prosper. 
The  superscription  is  again  of  the  larger  kind. 
It  dominates  chh.  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.  The  word 
of  Jehovah  which  it  announces,  is  not  merely  the 
next  following  brief  revelation  of  ver.  7,  but  all 
the  revealed  contents  of  both  chapters.  Comp. 
rems.  on  xxx.  1. — In  the  tenth,  etc.  Comp. 
rems.  on  xxviii.  1.  The  numerical  statements 
are  in  entire  agreement  with  xxxix.  1  ;  xxv.  1 ; 
lii.  12. — Besieged.  Comp.  xxi.  4;  xxxvii.  .5; 
xxxix.  1  ;  Deut.  xx.  12,  eta. — Court  of  the 
prison.  According  to  xxxvii.  15,  Jercmiali  was 
incarcerated  by  the  princes  in  "i^DNH  Pi'^2  [prison, 

literally:  house  of  bonds].  When  the  king  had 
him  brought  out  for  an  audience,  he  besought 
that  he  might  not  be  taken  back  to  that  prison. 
Die  king  giaiiteil  his  rccjucst  and   liail  him  kept 

in  the  court  of  the  guard,  (^rr^CD^n  "li'n,  xxxvii. 

21  coll.  xxxviii.  6,  13,  28;  xxxix.  14,  15).  Ac- 
cordingly this  must  have  been  at  any  rate  a  more 
tolerable  place.  The  expression  occurs,  besides 
the  passages  mentioned,  only  in  xxxiii.  1 ;  Neh. 
iii.  25;  xii.  39.  mtS'D  is  custodia  and  may  mean 
watch  as  well  as  custody.     As  his  detention  here 


afforded  him  relief,  as  he  received  visits  and  was 
supported  from  without  (xxxvii.  21),  we  may 
with  the  greater  probability  suppose  that  it  was 
the  closed  court  in  which  the  palace-watch  was 
stationed. — Wherefore  dost  thou  prophesy. 
Comp.  xxi.  4  sqq. ;  xxxiv.  2  sqq.  ;  xxxvii.  17. 
The  words  from  I  ^vill  give  to  Zedekiah  to 
Babylon  agree  almost  verbatim  with  xxxiv.  2, 
o.  From  the  slight  differences  we  may  infer  that 
we  have  here  two  independent  records,  of  which 
the  passage  xxxiv.  2-5  is  in  so  far  to  be  regarded 
as  the  more  complete,  as  it  gives  the  particulars 
of  Zedekiah's  fate  after  his  captivity,  while  in 
xxxii.  5  all  that  relates  to  this  is  comprised  in 
the  words,  "and  there  shall  he  be  until  I  visit 
him."  If  we  compare  xxxiv.  4,  5  with  xxxix. 
7;  lii.  11,  we  shall  see  that  in  the  first  passage 
the  fate  of  the  king  is  portrayed  from  its  favora- 
ble, in  the  latter  passages  from  its  unfavorable 
side.  The  representations  are  by  no  means  con- 
tradictory. In  xxxiv.  4,  5  it  is  merely  stated  that 
the  king  will  not  die  by  a  violent,  but  in  peace 
by  a  natural  death,  and  after  his  death  will  re- 
ceive an  honorable  interment.  This  by  no  means 
excludes  the  cruel  treatment,  which  lie  received 
according  to  xxxvii.  7;  lii.  11.  The  indefinite- 
ness  of  the  expression  visit  and  the  prospective, 
leaving  it  open  either  to  deliverance  or  death, 
was  perceived  even  by  Jerome,  who  says  "  visi- 
tatio  et  consolalionem  significat  et  supplicnnn.'^  It 
should  also  be  not  unobserved  that  the  expres- 
sion "die  in  peace,"  xxxiv.  5.  admits  of  this 
double  meaning. — Though  ye  fight,  etc.  These 
words  are  not  found  in  the  record,  cli.  xxxiv. 
Coming  after  the  positive  prediction  of  calamity 
they  do  not  make  the  impi-ession  of  being  in- 
tended for  an  admonition,  but  appear  to  have 
the  meaning  of  a  statement  of  reason:  if  you 
fight  with  the  Chaldeans  it  certainly  cannot  re- 
sult otherwise;  ye  cannot  then  prosper.  The 
prophet  does  not  want  to  call  forth  a  subjective 
volition,  but  merely  to  present  the  objective 
nexus  rcrutn.  On  the  subject-matter,  comp.  xxi. 
9;  xxvii.  8  sqq.,  as  well  as  the  introduction  to 
xxxiv.  1-7,  and  the  remarks  on  xxxiv.  1-5. 


CHAP.  XXXII.  1-15. 


283 


Vers.  6  and  7.  And  Jeremiah  ...  to  buy 
it.  After  that  in  vers.  1-5  the  general  situation 
had  been  portrayed  in  which  the  following  event 
took  place,  ver.  6  begins  the  narrative  of  the  event 
itself.  This  narrative  is  given  as  the  report  of  a 
third  person.  From  the  word  in  ver.  6,  to  the 
close  of  the  prayer  in  ver.  25,  it  is  Jeremiah  who 
speaks.  It  is,  however,  a  third  person  who  tells 
us  that  Jeremiah  spoke  all  these  things,  as  is 
seen  from  the  words  and  Jeremiah  said,  ver. 
6.  This  form  of  presentation  is  not  unusual  in 
this  book.  Comp.  xix.  14,  15;  xxvi.  7-9;  xxviii. 
5-7  coll.  ver.  1;  ch.  xxxvii.  etc. — Son  of  Shal- 
lum  thine  uncle.  That  the  uncle  was  named 
Shallum    is    seen   from  vers.  8  and   9.     Though 

Hanameel  is  also  designated  "m,  uncle,  this  is 
explained  by  the  possibility  of  using  this  word  in 
the  wider  sense.  The  meaning  of  ^^patruus"  is 
the  innermost  of  a  series  of  concentric  circles, 
which  represent  a  progress  from  general  to  par- 
ticulars. From  the  Canticles  we  unquestionably 
obtain  the  radical  meaning  of  "caritas,  amor"  (i. 
2,  4,  etc.).     From  this  is  derived  the  meaning  of 

"carus,  amicus"  [abstr. pro  concreto  as  in  il^lID), 
comp.  Isa.  V.  1  ;  Cant.  i.  13,  14,  1(^,  etc.  Now 
though  the  father's  brother  is  especially  called 
the  dear  one,  the  friend  of  the  family,  tliis  is  an 
honorable  distinction,  which  may  of  course  in 
certain  circumstances  be  transferred  to  another 
relative,  as  is  doubtless  the  case  here  for  the  sake 
of  brevity  with  respect  to  the  son  of  the  in. — 
Right  of  redemption.  According  to  Lev.  xxv. 
2o  in  I  he  case  of  an  iuipoverished  Israelite  wish- 
ing to  sell  his  piece  of  ground,  his  nearest  of  kin 
have  the  right  of  purchase.  Comp.  Saalschuetz, 
Mos.  Recht.,  S.  147  sqq. ;  483,  808  sqq.— The 
members  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  also,  according  to 
Numb.  xxxv.  2  coll.  Josh.  xxi.  owned  real  estate, 
viz.,  so  much  as  was  included  in  the  precincts  of 
the  cities  allotted  to  them  [W^IO,  comp.  1  Chron. 
vi.  40,  41).  The  statement  in  Lev.  xxv.  34,  that 
this  real  estate  could  not  be  sold  appears  simply 
to  mean  that  the  sale  of  priests'  property  to  those 
who  are  not  priests  was  forbidden.  Among  the 
family  the  sale  must  have  been  possible,  other- 
wise an  illegal  act  would  have  been  demanded 
of  Jeremiah,  not  only  by  his  cousin  but  by  the 

Lord  Himself.  The  right  of  redemption  (n^NJ) 
had  moreover  its  two  sides.  Towards  the  seller 
it  was  a  duty,  towards  the  more  distantly  related 
it  was  a  right.     Comp.  Ruth  iv. 

Vers.  8-10.  So  Hanameel  ...  in  the  bal- 
ances. The  right  of  inheritance  was  generally 
and  especially  among  the  priests  the  basis  of  the 
right  of  redemption.  For  it  was  indeed  the  sense 
of  the  whole  institution,  that  the  real  estate 
should  remain  in  the  family.  Accordingly  it 
was  always  the  next  heir  who  was  in  the  first 

place  entitled  and  obligated  to  the  rivXJ.  We 
find  no  intimation  in  the  Law  wliat  the  relation 

of  the  "^XJ  was  to   the  "ID'S  (comp.  Saalschutz, 

Mos.  R.  S.  81 1 ).  After  all  it  appears  to  me  that 
this  was  lelt  to  the  friendly  understanding  of  the 
two  relatives,  and  the  loyal  disposition  of  the 
god  was  reckoned  upon.  From  the  fact  that  tlie 
visit  announced  to  him  by  revelation  was  really 
received,  Jeremiah  knew  that  the  proposal,  which 


his  visitor  made  him,  and  of  which  the  Lord  had 
not  yet  said  anything,  was  also  an  expression  of 
the  divine  will. — The  price  seems  small.     This 
has  been  explained  by  supposing  that  the  seller 
was  driven  to  the  sale  by  urgent  need  and  that 
the  property  was  depreciated  by  the  war.     Both 
may  be  correct,  but  I  do  not  think  that  the  small 
price  is  thus  explained.     This  would  have  been 
unworthy  of  the  prophet.     Could  Jeremiah  buy 
as  a  speculator  ?     Livy  relates  (XXVI.  11)  that 
when   Hannibal  was  before  the  gates  of  Rome 
tlie  very  field  on  which  his  camp  stood  was  sold, 
'■'■nihil  ob  id  dimiimto pretio.'"     Comp.  Florus,  II. 
6  (^Parva  res  dictu,  sed  ad  magnanimilnlcm  populi 
Romani  probandam  satis  efficaz,  quod  illis  ipsis  qui- 
bus  obsidebatur  diebxis  ager,  quern  Hannibal  castris 
insederat,  venalis  Romse  fuit  hastseque  suhjectus  in- 
vcnit  emtorem). — Can  the  proud  assurance  of  the 
Romans  have  produced  a  greater  effect  than  the 
trust;  reposed  by  our  prophet  on  the  divine  pro- 
mise?    I    therefoi-e  think    that    seventeen    she- 
kels was  the  nominal  price.     Its  smallness  may 
be  explained,  apart  from  the  possible  smallness 
of  the  object  purchased,  by  the  nearness  of  the 
jubilee  year.     Though  we  have  no  data  by  which 
to    determine   how  far  distant  the  jubilee  was 
from  the  time  of  sale,  it  may  be  safely  assumed 
that  the  provisions  of  the  law,  Lev.  xxv.  15,  16, 
were  not  unobserved.     The  year  of  manumissio, 
spoken    of  in   ch.    xxxiv.,    was   not   a  jubilee. 
Comp.  rems.  on  xxxiv.  14  and  Herzog,  R.-Enc. 
XIII. ,  S.  212.     Seventeen  shekels  in  our  money 
was  little  more  than  ten  dollars.     Comp.  Herz. 
R.-Enc,  IV.,  S.  764. — AVhence  did  Jeremiah  ob- 
tain   the   money?     Had   he,    the   pri-soner,    fot- 
whom  a  daily  scanty  subsistence  was  furnished 
(xxxvii.  21),  pecuniary  means  at  command?     His 
silence  on  this  point  shows  that  he  regarded  it 
as  of  little  moment.     There  was  probably  more 
money   than  bread   in   the    city.     Baruch    also 
might  have  procured  him  the  funds. — After  the 
account  of  tlie  purchase  and  the  price  in  ver.  9, 
the  particulars  of  the   transaction  are  specially 
enumerated    in  ver.  10.     First  the  writing  and 
sealing.     From  what  follows  we  see  that  the  deed 
of  purchase  was  written  in  duplicate.     One  copy 
remained  open,  the  other  was  closed  with  seals. 
"^  Quse  emtionum  consuetude  hucusque  servatur,  ut 
quod  intrinsecus   clausuni  signacula    continent,  hoc 
legere  cupientibus  apertum  volumen  exhibeat,"  Je- 
rome ou  ver.  14.     Whether  the  open  copy  also 
bore  a  seal  cannot  be  definitely  ascertained  from 
the  text.     The  object  of  the  writing  in  duplicate 
appears  to  me  to  have  been  twofold.     First,  that 
which  duplicates  generally  have,  viz.,  to  have  a 
second  copy  in  case  the  first   is  los; ;  secondly 
(and    this   is  especially   the   destination   of  the 
sealed   deed),  in  case  of  injury  or   defacement, 
which  the  open  deed  might  sutfer  either  by  acci- 
dent or  design,  to  have  an  intact  original.     The 
circumstance  that  Jeremiah  does  not  mention  the 
witnesses  till  after  the  sealing  is  not  to  be  ex- 
plained, with  HiTZiG,  as  though  the  contents  of 
the    closed  deed  and  the  price  were    concealed 
from  them.     Evidently  the  prophet  does  not  wish 
to  confuse  the  three  points  in  ver.  10.     He  there- 
fore relates  first  of  the  deed  ("'SD),  then  of  thj 
witnesses,  then  of  the  weighing   of  the   money. 
The  order  of  subjects  then  prevails,  not  however 
excluding  the  order  of  time,  since  the  weiguing 


«84 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


out  the  money  at  any  rate  came  last.  If  we 
should  argue  as  Hitzig  does,  we  should  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  witnesses  had  nothing  at  | 
all  to  do  with  the  documents.  This,  however,  is 
contradicted  by  ver.  12,  where  it  is  expressly 
stated  that  the  witnesses  "  subscribed  the  book 
of  the  purchase."  As  now  in  ver.  11,  ver.  12 
init.,  ver.  li  njp^n  "(3p  appears  to  be  a  general 
conception,  to  which  the  specifications  given  in 
the  second  half  of  the  verse  are  subordinate,  the 
word  may  in  ver.  12  also  designate  both  docu- 
ments; they  may  therefore  have  both  been  sub- 
scribed by  the  witnesses. 

Vers.  11  and  12.  So  I  took  ...  of  the 
prison.  The  words  D'pnni  Hll^^n,  in  ver.  11, 
are  difficult.  Those  explanations  do  violence  both 
to  granuoar  and  context  which  («)  assume  an 
accusative  of  the  norm;  according  to  the  law 
and  customs,  for  which  no  instance  can  be  ad- 
duced ;  (6)  consider  these  words  to  indicate  the 
contents  of  a  third  "13D.  The  enumeration  in 
ver.  1-4  is  opposed  to  this,  and  the  difficujty  of 
perceiving  what  laws  and  customs  were  observed 
in  a  third  deed,  and  why  this  was  drawn.  Only 
one  explanation  is  grammatically  possible  and  in 
agreement  with  the  context,  viz.,  that  which  takes 
the  words  as  in  apposition  to  D^nnn.  Then  the 
question  arises,  what  are  we  to  understand  by 
the  words  themselves?  The  respective  defini- 
tions of  the  Mosaic  law  (comp.  ex.  gr.  Deut.  v. 
28)?  But  why  should  these  be  written  out  in 
detail  and  be  designated  as  the  main  contents  of 
the  U\PX\  ?     It  is  better  then  to  take  mSD  in  the 

T  t:  • 

spnse  of  statutum,  establishing,  settling,  and 
D\"5n  in  the  sense  of  stipulation.  The  main 
thing  established,  i.  e.  the  object  of  the  purchase 
and  the  price,  as  well  as  the  special  stipulations 
or  conditions  of  sale  were  then  fully  contained 


only  in  the  3inn.  Yet  I  confess  that  this  ex- 
planation also  is  not  perfectly  satisfactory.  We 
must  wait  for  further  illumination. — Baruch  ia 
here  mentioned  for  the  first  time.  Hence  the 
more  exact  statement  of  his  lineage.  Josephus 
{Antt.  X.  9,  1)  calls  him  k^  enia7//iov  a(p66pa  umiaq 
ovra  Kal  rrf  Trarpwcj  yAuTTt)  ^laibenavrug  Treirnu^evue- 
vov.  The  high  position  of  his  brother  Seraiah 
at  court  (li.  59)  seems  to  prove  that  he  was  of  a 
respectable  house.  —  Before  all  the  Jews. 
The  prophet  intimates  that  two  circles  of 
witnesses  are  to  be  imagined  surrounding  the 
central  point,  formed  by  Jeremiah  and  Baruch, 
a  narrower  and  a  wider.  The  wider  circle  tes- 
tifies to  the  witness  of  tho  narrower. 

Vers.  13-15.  And  I  charged  ...  in  this 
land. — In  an  earthen  vessel.  To  keep  the 
deeds  from  damp,  mot  lis  or  dirt.  Can  the 
earthen  vessel  have  survived  the  abomination  of 
destruction?  It  matters  not.  The  main  thing 
was  the  establishment  of  the  fact  that  the  Lord 
in  the  midst  of  their  dread  of  destruction,  at  a  mo- 
ment when  all  hope  for  the  future  seemed  to  have 
fled,  gave  the  promise  of  a  glorious  restoration, 
as  indicated  in  ver.  15.  The  object  of  this 
promise  was  on  the  one  hand  to  comfort  those 
who  were  involved  in  the  present  ruin,  and  on 
the  other  hand  to  prove  that  the  Lord  had  fore- 
willed,  foreknown  and  foretold  the  predicted 
favorable  turn  of  affairs.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxx.  1. 
To  attain  the  latter  object  the  transaction  had 
certainly  to  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  pos- 
terity in  an  authentic  manner.  For  this  purpose 
the  documents  themselves  relating  to  the  pur- 
chase, which  would  hardly  contain  any  account 
of  the  accompanying  circumstances,  would  be  less 
useful  than  on  the  one  hand  oral  tradition  based 
on  the  declaration  of  many  eye  and  ear  witnesses, 
and  on  the  other  hand  the  written  report  of  the 
prophet. 


2,  A  Prayer  of  Praise  and  Inquiry. 
XXXn.  16-25. 

16  Now  when  I  had  delivered  the  evidence  of  the  purchase  unto  Baruch  the  son  of 

17  Neriah,  I  prayed  unto  the  Lord,  saying,  Ah  Lord  God !  behold,  thou  hast  made 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  by  thy  great  power  and  stretched  out  arm,  and  there  is 

18  nothing  too  hard  for  thee  [hid  from  thee]  '}  Thou  shewest  loving-kindness  unto 
thousands,  and  recompensest  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  into  the  bosom^  of  their 
children  after  them :  the  Great,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  hosts   [Jehovah 

19  Zebaoth]  is  his  name.  Great  in  counsel,  and  mighty  in  work^ :  for  thine  eyes  are 
open  upon  all  the  ways  of  the  sons  of  men  :  to  give  every  one  according  to  his  ways, 

20  and  according  to  the  fruit  of  his  doings.  Which  [who]*  hast  set  signs  and  wonders 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  even  unto  this  day,  and  in  Israel,  and  among  other  men ;  and 

21  hast  made  thee  a  name,  as  at  this  day  ;  And  hast  brought  forth  thy  people  Israel 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  with  signs,  and  with  wonders,  and  with  a  strong  hand 

22  and  with  a  stretched  out  arm,  and  with  great  terror ;  And  hast  given  them  this 
land,  which  thou  didst  swear  to  their  fathers  to  give  them,  a  land  flowing  with  milk 

23  and  honey ;  And  they  came  in,  and  possessed  it ;  but  they  obeyed  not  thy  voice, 
neither  walked  in  thy  law^;  they  have  done  nothing  of  all  that  thou  commandedst 


CHAP.  XXXII.  16-25. 


2^5 


24  them  to  do :  therefore  thou  hast  caused  all  this  evil  to  come  upou  them.®  Behold 
the  mounts  [ramparts],  they  are  come  uuto  the  city  to  take  it :  and  the  city  is 
given  into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans,  that  fight  against  it,  because  of  [o?  in  con- 
sequence of  ]  the  sword  and  the  famine  and  of  the  pestilence  :  and  what  thou  hast 

25  spoken  is  come  to  pass ;  and,  behold  thou  seest  it.  And  thou  hast  said  unto  me, 
O  Lord  God,  Buy  thee  the  field  for  money,  and  take  witnesses ;  for  [and  yet]''  the 
city  is  given  into  the  hands  of  the  Chaldeans. 


TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  n.—ahS''  xS-  Comp.  Gen.  xviii.  14  ;  Dent.  xvil.  8:  Zech.  viii.  G;  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  75,  2,  4. 

2  Ver.  18.— Instead  of  D'H   hn  we  find  in  Deut.  vii.  10,  □" Jj)  "7X.  Comp.  besides  Isa.  Ixv.  (3, 7  ;  Ps.  Ixxix.  12. 

3  Ver.  19.— The  form  H'S'S^  is  found  here  only. 

*  Ver.  20. — The  construction  in  the  sentence  PiTZU  lt!?X  to  niD  DTTI  1^,  is  as  in  xi.  7.    In  both  cases  ^_J^  is  to  be  re- 

pirded  as  depending  on  the  idea  latent  in  the  verb  of  "  stretching,  lasting."    It  is  accordingly  a  constructio  prsegnans.  Comp. 
Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  7. 

6  Ver.  23.— "IJinn^V    The  reading  of  the  Chethibh  which  is  HnTlh  (xxxviii.  22 ;  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  44,  4,  Anm.) 

Is  probably  to  be  explained  by  a  mere  oversight  of  the  ^.  Comp.rems.  on  xvii.  23. 
6  Ver.  23. — XTprW     Hiphil  here  only.  Comp.  Deut.  xxxi.  29. 

1  Ver.  25.— T^ni.    To  obtain  the  meaning  :  although  the  city,  as  spoken  by  Jehovah,  we  should  have  to  read  '3  Q}. 

On  the  1  comp.  Ewald,  g  341  a ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  110,  4. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

The  main  thought  of  this  pi-ayer  is  praise  of 
the  omnipotence,  justice  and  grace  of  God.  It 
consists  of  three  parts:  1.  Vers.  17-19;  2,  vers. 
20-23;  3,  vers.  24  and  25.  In  the  first  part 
God's  omnipotence  is  shown  from  the  creation 
(ver.  17),  then  His  justice  from  His  providence 
in  history  (vers.  18,  19).  In  the  second  part 
God's  omnipotence  is  shown  from  His  leading  of 
the  people  of  Israel,  as  it  was  especially  glorified 
in  the  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage  (vers. 
20-22),  then  His  justice  from  the  terrible  calamity 
which  has  now  come  upon  the  disobedient  nation 
(ver.  23).  In  the  third  part,  which  is  least  in 
extent,  but  the  most  important,  a  problem  or  un- 
solved riddle  appears  to  be  proposed.  It  is  said 
that  the  Lord  sees  this  calamity,  and  yet  com- 
mands the  prophet  to  buy  the  lot  of  ground  (ver. 
24).  All  however  which  has  been  previously  said 
of  the  Lord's  omnipotence,  especially  "  notliing 
is  too  hard  for  thee,"  in  union  with  that  which 
must  be  extolled  of  the  Lord's  grace  towards 
Israel  (ver.  21  sqq.),  gives  the  key  for  the  solu- 
tion of  that  riddle. 

Vers.  16-19.  Now  -when  .  .  .  fruit  of  his  do- 
ings On  ver.  17  comp.  xxvii.  5;  Deut.  xxix. 
9. — Thou  she-west  loving-kindness,  etc. 
Comp.  Exod.  XX.  6  ;  xxxiv.  7  ;  Deut.  v.  10.   For 

C'r'Sx'?  we  find  in  Deut.  vii.  9  "in  fj^xb.  If 
we  compare  with  this  the  phrase  in  the   parallel 

clause  Qy,^\  0'^).^  (Exod.  xx  5 ;  xxxiv.  7  ; 
Numb.  xiv.  18;  Deut.  v.  9)  which  can  only  sig- 
nify the  oflFspring  of  the  third  and  fourth  gene- 
ration, it  is  clear  that  the  phrase  in  the  text  is 
taken  in  such  a  general  signification  that  the  idea 
of  "  thousands,  belonging  to  the  thousandth  ge- 
neration" is  included. — And  recompensest, 
etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxi.  29,  30. — The  mighty- 
God.  Comp.  Deut.  x.  17. — Jehovah  Zebaoth. 
Comp.  X.  l(i;  xxxi.  35,  e<c. — Great  in  counsel. 
etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xxviii.  29;  Ps.  Ixvi.  5. — To  give 
every  one,  etc.  Comp.  xvii.  10. 


Vers.  20-23.  "Who  hast  set  ...  evil  to 
come  upon  them.  It  is  as  though  it  were  said, 
thou  who  in  Egypt  didst  set  in  operation  a  wonder- 
working power,  which  continues  to  operate  until 
this  day. — The  antithesis  of  Israel  and  other  men, 
as  in  Isai.  xliii.  4;  Ps.  Ixxiii.  5. — As  at  this 
day.  Comp.  xxv.  18.  —  Wich  signs.  Cuinp. 
Deut.  iv.  34 ;  xxvi.  8. — Which  thou  didst 
swear.     Comp   Gen.  xii.  7  ;   rcius.  on  xi.  5. 

Vers.  24,  25.  Behold  the  ramparts  .  .  .  the 

Chaldeans.  jlw/On  are  ramparts  set  up  by 
the  besiejiers.  Comp.  xxxiii.  4;  vi.  tj. — Given, 
etc.  The  Chaldeans  are  indeed  still  without  the 
city,  but  according  to  the  prophet's  idea  this  is 
as  good  as  surrendered,  and  on  the  fall  of  the 
chief  city  naturally  follows  the  exile  and  the  im- 
possibility of  further  cultivation  of  the  soil. — In 
consequence  of  depends  on  given.  Sword, 
famine  and  pestilence,  bring  the  city  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemies.  Comp.  xiv.  16;  xxv.  16, 
27;  xxxviii.  9.  Tiie  Lord  sees  the  condition  of 
the  city  and  yet  He  commands  the  prophet  to  buy 
a  field.  The  fact  that  the  prayer  closes  with  this, 
paradox  must  be  regarded  as  an  expression  of 
the  most  tormenting  uncertainty  and  helpless- 
ness, if  the  prophet  had  not  himself  in  the  previ- 
vious  context  accumulated  the  most  ample  mate- 
rial to  dispel  such  doubts.  This  apparently  un- 
satisfactory conclusion  is  thus  in  the  highest  de- 
gree skilful  and  elevated.  He  leaves  it  to  the 
reader  to  find  the  solution  of  the  problem,  after 
giving  him  all  the  aid  that  he  needs.  The  con- 
cluding sentence,  and  the  city,  etc.,  ver.  25  b, 
viewed  as  spoken  by  the  prophet,  appears  at  first 
sight  a  tautological  repetition.  We  might  there- 
fore be  tempted  to  take  it  as  spoken  by  Jehovah; 
buy  the  field  although  the  city,  etc  But  al- 
though is  not  suitable  in  the  mouth  of  Jehovah, 
for  whom,  in  fact,  the  apparent  contradiction  is 
non-existent.  The  sentence  is  then  spoken  by 
the  prophet  ;  but  it  is  not  co-ordinate  with  buy 
thee,  but  an  exclamation,  in  which  the  main 
point  in  the  apparent  contradiction  is  expressly 
repeated  from  ver.  24.  Comp.  /he  translation 
and  Textual  Notes. 


286  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


3.  Nothing  is  impossible  to  the  Lord. 
XXXII.  26-44. 

26,  27  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  Jeremiah,  saying,  Behold,  I  am  the 

28  Lord,  the  God  of  all  flesh  :  is  there  anything  too  hard  for  Me?  Therefore  thus 
saith  the  Lord  :  Behold,  I  will  give  this  city  into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans,  and 

29  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  take  it :  and  the 
Chaldeans  that  fight  against  this  city  shall  come  and  set  fire  on  [to]  this  city,  and 
burn  it  with  the  houses,  upon  whose  roofs  they  have  ofiered  incense  unto  Baal  and 

30  poured  out  drink  offerings  unto  other  gods,  to  provoke  Me  to  anger.  For  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  and  the  children  of  Judah  have  only  done  evil  before  Me  from  their 
youth  ;^  for  the  children  of  Israel  have  only  provoked  Me  to  anger  with  the  work 

31  of  their  hands,  saith  the  Lord.  For  this  city  hath  been  to  Me  as  a  provocation  of 
Mine  anger  [or  for  My  anger]  and  of  my  fury  from  the  day  that  they  built  it  even 

32  to  this  day  ;  that  I  should  remove  it  from  before  my  face,^  because  of  all  the  evil 
of  the  children  of  Israel  and  the  children  of  Judah,  which  they  have  done  to  pro- 
voke Me  to  anger,  they,  their  kings,  their  princes,  their  priests,  and  their  prophets, 

33  and  the  men  of  Judah  and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem.  And  they  have  turned 
unto  Me  the  back  [neck]  and  not  the  face:  though  I  taught  them,  rising  up  early 

34  and  teaching  them,  yet  they  have  not  hearkened  to  receive  instruction.     But  they 

35  set  their  abominations  in  the  house,  which  is  called  by  My  name,  to  defile  it.  And 
they  built  the  high  places  of  Baal,  which  are  in  the  valley  of  the  sou  of  Hinnom 
[or  valley  of  Ben-Hinnom]  to  cause  their  sons  and  their  daughters  to  pass  through 
the  fire  unto  Molech  ;  which  I  commanded  not,  neither  came  it  into  My  mind,  that 
they  should  do  this  abomination,  to  cause  Judah  to  sin.' 

36  And  now  therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  concerning  this  city, 
whereof  ye  say.  It  shall  be  delivered  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon  by  the 

37  sword,  and  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pestilence;  behold  I  will  gather  them  out 
of  all  countries,  whither  I  have  driven  them  in  Mine  anger,  and  in  My  fury,  and  in 
great  wrath;  ^nd  I  will  bring  them  again  unto  this  place,  and  I  will  cause  them  to 

38,  39  dwell  safely  ;  and  they  shall  be  My  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God  :  And  I 
will  give  them  one  heart,*  and  one  way,  that  they  may  fear  me  forever,  for  the  good 

40  of  them,  and  of  their  children  after  them  :  And  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  them,*  that  I  will  not  turn  away  from  [lit,  behind]  them,  to  do  them  good ; 

41  but  I  will  put  my  fear  in  their  hearts,  and  they  shall  not  depart  from  me.  Yea,  I 
will  rejoice  over  them  to  do  them  good,  and  I  will   plant  them  in  this  land   as- 

42  suredly  [or  in  truth]  with  my  whole  heart  and  with  my  whole  soul.  For  thus 
saith  the  Lord  :  Like  as  I  have  brought  all  this  great  evil  upon  this  people,  so  will 

43  I  bring  upon  them  all  the  good  that  I  have  promised  them.  And  fields®  shall  be 
bought  in   this  land,  whereof  ye  say.  It  is  desolate  without'  man  or  beast ;  it  is 

44  given  into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans.  Men  shall  buy  fields  for  money,  and  sub- 
scribe evidences  [deeds]*  and  seal  them,  and  take  witness  in  the  land  of  Benja- 
min, and  in  the  places  about  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  in  the  cities 
of  the  mountains,  and  in  the  cities  of  the  valley,  and  in  the  cities  of  the  South  :  for 
I  will  cause  their  captivity  to  return,  saith  the  Lord. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  80.— On  Dn''n'l;?3D  (the  fem.  form  horp  only).    Cnnip.  iii.  24,  2S  ;  xxii.  21. 

*  Ver.  31. — The  7j;  is  less  surprising  (since  tins  jirepositiou  is  freijiifnily  interchanged  with  Sx.  [comp.  rems.  on  x. 
1,  Isai.  xxix.  11,  14],  and  even  S  [conip.  Jiyi-b^'  Isai.  Ix.  7  with  Jl^f^S  Ivi.  7;  Jer.  vi.  -20])  than  the  suffix  in  the  fol- 
lowing "7.    Accordingly  the  construction,  which  takes  j^  in  the  causal  sense  and  makoe  m'OnS  depend  immediately 


CHAP.  XXXII.  26-44. 


287 


on  nn'n.  on  account  of  the  pregnant  sense  in  which  nnTI  must  then  be  taken,  and  on  account  of  the  suffix   in  HTOn 
r :  T  T  :  T  t    •  -: 

is  still  more  difficult.  This  latter  word  forms  the  transition  to  the  special  grounds  of  the  judgments,  of  which  vers.  32-35 
treat.  In  ver.  32  first  follows  a  specification  of  the  subjects.  Comp.  ii.  26;  xvii.  25.  Then  in  vers.  33-35  a  specification  of 
the  prcilicates. 

3  Ver.  35  — Ou  the  form  'DHn  comp.  Olsh.,  g  38,  c.  .•  192,/.    Olshausen  supposes  a  clerical  error,  which  may  certainly, 

as  Grap  thinlis,  have  been  occasioned  by  the  following  X.    Comp.  xix.  15. 

*  Ver.  39.— On  the  infinitive  HX"^'  comp.  Ewald  ?  238,  a ;  Olsh.  g  245,  d. 

T    ; 

5  Ver.  40. — The  construction  with  7  as  in  Isa.  Iv.  3 ;  Ixi.  8 ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25 ;  xxxvii.  26  ;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  4. — ^J^X  here  i« 

•vidently  a  conjunction  =  that.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §  109, 1  6. 

0  Ver.  43. — mtiTl.    The  article  is  generic.    Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  9. 
'  Ver.  43.— ['XO-    Comp.  ii.  15 ;  iv.  7 ;  ix.  9-12 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  106,  5. 

8  Ver.  44.-31  ri31  •    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  92, 2,  a. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

At  the  head  of  this  discourse,  the  limpid  but 
diffuse  style  of  which  is  peculiar  to  the  prophet's 
later  period,  and  is  notably  distinguished  from 
that  of  the  preceding  discourse,  we  again  find 
the  thouglit,  which  the  prophet  has  once  before 
made  the  basis  of  a  prayer  (ver.  17):  can  any- 
thing be  too  wonderful  for  the  Lord  ?  (ver.  27). 
The  answer  ps,  No  !  Therefore  Jerusalem  shall 
indeed  be  destroyed  by  the  Chaldeans  (vers.  28, 
29),  as  a  well  deserved  punishment  for  the  mani- 
fold abominations,  by  which  Judah  and  Israel 
had  provoked  the  Lord  from  the  first  (vers.  30 
35),  but  therefore  also  a  re-asserabling  and  bring- 
ing back  of  the  people  to  their  own  country  shal' 
take  place  (vers.  36,  37).  Then  will  Israel  be 
Jehovah's  people  and  Jehovah  be  Israel's  God 
(ver.  38) ;  they  will  with  unanimity  serve  the 
Lord  to  their  own  eternal  welfare  (ver.  39);  the 
Lord  will  conclude  an  everlasting  covenant  with 
them,  in  consequence  of  which  neither  will  He 
ever  cease  to  do  them  good,  nor  will  they  ever 
again  depart  from  the  Lord  (ver.  40)  ;  it  will  be 
a  joy  to  the  Lord  to  do  them  good,  and  with  all 
His  heart  He  promises  them  that  from  this  time 
forward  they  shall  be  firmly  planted  and  rooted 
in  their  land  (ver.  41).  With  these  two  colors 
does  ill  '  prophet  paint  the  future  of  his  nation, 
for  I  ver.  42)  this  is  the  very  proof  of  His  om- 
nipotence, to  which  nothing  is  impossible,  that 
as  certainly  as  He  has  now  brought  destruction 
on  Jerusalem,  He  will  one  day  also  perform  His 
p.-omise  of  blessing  to  the  people  (ver.  42).  Then 
will  fields  again  be  bought  in  the  country,  which 
is  now  called  a  desert  (ver.  43) ;  yea,  with  all 
the  usual  formalities  will  purchases  be  made, 
deeds  drawn,  sealed  and  witnessed  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  (ver.  44).  The  passage  thus  seems 
to  be  closely  connected  with  the  historical  basis 
of  Jeremiah's  purchase  of  a  field  (ver.  7sqq.),  as 
well  as  to  be  a  logical  exposition  of  the  main 
thought  of  ver.  27  ii ; — nothing  is  impossible  to 
the  Lord,  therefore  He  destroys  Jerusalem  and 
restores  it  again  It  is  because  He  is  almighty 
that  He  can  do  both. 

Vers.  26-2U.  Then  came  the  word  .  .  . 
provoke  me  to  anger. — God  of  all  flesh. 
The  expression  r:'ninds  us  of  Numb.  xvi.  22; 
xxvii.  16,  whore  God  is  called  the  God  of  the  spi- 
rits of  all  flesh. — Is  there  anything,  etc.  Comp. 
ver.  1". — Therefore.  The  blinded  Israelites 
thought  it  impossible  that  the  chosen  place  of  the 
sanctuary  could  be  destroyed  (comij.  rems.  on 
vii.  4;  xxi.  13).     They  did  not  reflect  that  to  the 


Lord  nothing  is  impossible. — Set  fire.  Comp. 
xvii.  27;  xxi.  10,  14;  xxxiv.  22;  xxxvii.  8. — ■ 
Offered  incense,  etc.     Comp.  vii.  9;  xix.  4,  13. 

Vers.  30-35.  For  the  children  .  .  .  Judah 
to  sin.  These  six  verses  express  the  reason  of 
the  punitive  judgment  announced  in  vers.  28,  29. 
Verses  30,  31  give  the  general  reason,  vers.  32- 
3J  the  special.  In  vers.  30,  31  we  find  three 
causal  sentences  beginning  with  for.  In  what 
relation  do  these  stand  to  each  other  and  to  the 
preceding  context?  The  first  for  might  refer 
( 1 )  to  the  acts  of  the  Chaldeans,  or  (2)  to  offered 
incense,  etc.,  and  poured  out,  etc.,  or  (3)  to 
to  provoke  me.  It  is  not  probable  that  it  can 
refer  to  (2),  for  no  one  expects  a  reason  in  this 
connection  for  the  Jews  having  offered  incense  to 
their  idols,  but  for  the  Lord's  giving  up  the  place 
of  the  sanctuary  to  destruction.  (Comp.  on  there- 
fore ver.  28j.  This  for  may  then  refer  either  to 
(1)  or  (3).  Regarded  according  to  the  subject 
both  amount  to  the  same,  for  what  produced  the 
anger  of  the  Lord  also  brought  about  the  destruc- 
tion. The  ground  of  the  one  is  also  the  ground 
of  the  other.  Add  to  this  that  a  special  ground 
of  the  to  provoke  me  is  expressed  in  the  sen- 
tence immediately  preceding.  W*  shall  thus 
have  to  refer  the  first  causal  sentence,  ver.  30, 
essentially  to  the  prediction  of  destruction  in 
vers.  28,  29.  This  will  accordingly  have  for  its 
motive  the  objective  fact  of  the  habitual  sinful- 
ness of  the  Jews  and  Israelites,  since  done  evil 
further  strengthened  by  only  expresses  the  ha- 
bitual state.  The  second  and  third  causal  sen- 
tences set  forth  more  the  subjective  element  of 
the  Divine  anger;  Jerusalem  must  be  d-estroyed, 
for  they  have  provoked  Jehovah.  It  must  not 
however  be  overlooked  that  the  words  have  only 
provoked  me  to  anger  by  the  work  of  their 
hands  look  back  to  ver.  29  6.  For  (1)  pro- 
voked is  only  a  confirmation  of  to  provoke ;  (2) 
the  work  of  their  hands  is  not  their  moral  con- 
duct in  general  (this  would  be  only  a  tautologi- 
cal repetition  of  the  first  half  of  the  verse),  but 
the  idol  images  are  to  be  understood  by  it  in  a 
concrete  sense,  to  which  according  to  ver.  29  b 
incense  was  burned.  Comp.  i.  16;  Deut.  iv.  28; 
xxvii.  15.  The  prophet  appears  also  to  have  had 
Deut.  xxxi.  29  generally  in  view. — The  third 
causal  sentence  forms  a  climax  with  the  second. 
He  no  longer  uses  the  expression  to  prorolc  but 
the  cumulative  and  stronger  expressions  for  My 
anger  and  for  My  fury.  Jerusalem  has  filled  the 
measure  of  the  divine  anger,  hence  the  total  de- 
struction announced  in  vers.  28,  29.  The  ex- 
pression this  city  has  been  to  Me,  for  My  any  r  and 
for  3Iy  fury  (on  which  the  passages  lii.  3 ;  2  Ki, 


288 


THE  PKOPilET  JEREMIAH. 


xxiv.  8,  20  seem  to  be  founded)  is  unusual.  The 
sense  can  paly  be  that  the  city  became  an  object 
of  anger  to  Me.  On  ver.  33  comp.  ii.  27;  vii. 
13,  25  ;  XXV.  3,  4.  On  vers.  34,  35  comp.  vii. 
30,  31;  xix.  5. — In  ver.  35  the  sentence  neither 
cam6  it,  etc. ,  does  not  depend  on  ■which,  but  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  new  and  independent  sentence. 
Both  sentences  however,  from  •which  to  abomi- 
nation, are  parentheses,  and  to  cause  ...  to 
sin  is  connected  with  cause  ...  to  pass. 

Vers.  36-41.  And  now  therefore  .  .  .  my 
whole  soul.  By  and  now^  Jeremiah  desig- 
nates the  joyful  present  in  contrast  with  the 
mournful  past,  vehich  he  described  in  the  previ- 
ous context.  This  is  indeed  not  yet  real  but 
ideal,  yet  none  the  less  certain;  for  this  ideal 
present  is  based  on  the  word  of  Divine  promise. 
Therefore,  nn  already  remarked,  corresponds  to 
therefore  in  ver.  28,  and  now  draws  the  second 
inference  from  the  proposition  that  nothing  is  too 
wonderful  for  God.  As  from  this  followed  the 
destruction  which  appeared  impossible  to  the 
Jews,  so  also  follows  the  apparently  equally  im- 
possible restoration. — 1'J^n  7X  with  respect  to 
this  city,  comp.  xxii.  11  ;  xxviii.  8,  9;  xxix.  16, 
21. — By  the  sword.  Comp.  because  of  the  sword, 
ver.  24. — Behold  I  •will  gather  them  refers 
to  the  idea  of  "inhabitants,  citizens"  contained 
implicitly  ia  the  city,  to  which  in  the  widest  sense 
all  those  enumerated  in  ver.  32  belong.  On  the 
subject-matter  comp.  Dent.  xxx.  3sqq. ;  Jer.  iii. 
18-20;  xxiii.  3;  xxix.  14;  xxxi.  8,  10. — Cause 
them  to  dwell  safely.  Comp.  Hos.  xi.  11; 
Ezek.  xxxvi.  11,  33.— Ver.  38.  And  they  shall 
be,  etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxx.  32. — Ver.  39. 
And  I  w^ill  give,  etc.  The  restoration  and  re- 
turn must  necessarily  be  at  the  same  time  spiri- 
tual (comp.  xxxi.  18-20.)  An  essential  element 
of  this  spiritual  return  is  also  the  cessation  of 
all  enmity  and  discord  among  the  members  of 
the  people,  consequently  the  prevalence  of  a  spi- 
rit of  love  and  concord  among  them.  Comp. 
Ezek.  xi.  19;  Jer.  xxiv.  7;  xxxi.  34. — One 
way.  An  allusion  to  the  division  introduced 
by  Jeroboam  I.  between  Judah  and  Israel.  Comp. 
X.  2  ;  Am.  viii.  14. — That  they  may  fear  me. 
In  this  the  unity  of  the  way  is  manifested  that 
they  fear  the  Lord  with  one  mind.  The  sentence 
is  taken  verbatim  from  Deut.  iv.  10. — For  the 
good  of  them.  A  reminiscence  from  Deut.  vi. 
24  coll.  X.  13  ;  xxx.  9,  10.— Ver.  40.  And  I  wiU 
make,  etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxi.  31,  32;  1. 
5.  According  to  the  stipulations  of  the  cove- 
nant the  Lord  promises  two  things:  (1)  that 
He  will  no  more  turn  away  behind  the  people  in 
respect  of  doing  them  good,  i.  e.,  that  as  a  faith- 


ful shepherd  to  His  people  He  will  always  follow 
them  with  His  protective  and  blessed  guardian- 
ship ;  (2)  that  He  will  also  give  the  people  them- 
selves the  power  no  longer  to  turn  away  from 
Hiui.  We  see  that  the  Lord  takes  the  priestanda 
entirely  upon  Himself.  Hence  also  the  con- 
struction   7  TV^^  mj,     which    does    not    occur 

elsewhere  in  Jeremiah. ^That  they  shall  not, 

etc.  Comp.  Deut.  xvii.  20.  Josh,  xxiii.  6. — Yea, 
I  will  rejoice,  etc.  Comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  63  ; 
xxx.  9;  Isai.  Ixii.  5. — I  will  plant,  etc.  This 
J^OJ  is  the  opposite  of  tynj.  Comp.  i.  10;  xviii. 
7  sqq. ;  xxxi.  28. — In  truth  is  explained  in  the 
following  words.  The  first  planting  had  been  im- 
perfect (comp.  ii.  21)  as  much  so  as  the  iirst  co- 
venant, (xxxi.  32).  Because  this  was  only  hy- 
pothetical (vii.  5-7)  and  because  the  Lord  knew 
that  the  condition  would  not  be  kept,  He  could 
not  be  in  it  with  His  whole  heart.  Now  He 
knows  (for  He  has  Himself  promised,  ver.  40  6), 
that  the  condition  will  be  fulfilled  ;  therefore  He 
can  designate  the  planting  as  done  in  truth  [i.  e., 
without  the  reservation  that  it  is  only  for  a  short 
time),  and  also  as  one  which  He  performs  with  a 
full  and  undivided  heart.  Comp.  2  Sam.  vii.  10. 
Vers.  42-44.  For  thus  saith  .  .  .  Jehovah. 
From  ver.  27  onwards  a  double  inference  is  drawn 
from  the  general  proposition  that  nothing  is  im- 
possible to  the  Lord  (vers.  28-35,  and  vers.  36- 
41).  From  ver.  42  onwards  the  argument  is  dif- 
ferent. It  is  to  demonstrate  the  certainty  of  the 
promise,  vers.  36-41.  This  is  done  by  pointing  to 
the  fulfilment  of  the  minatory  prophecy,  which 
was  indeed  regarded  as  impossible  by  blinded 
Israel.  As  certainly  as  the  Lord  has  brought 
great  calamity  on  us,  and  so  verified  His  word 
on  the  one  hand,  so  certainly  will  He  verify  it  on 
the  other  hand. — Like  as  I  have  brought,  etc. 
Comp.  xxxi.  28. — Ver.  43.  And  fields,  etc.  Re- 
turn to  the  historical  point  of  departure.  Comp. 
ver.  15. — In  the  land  of  Benjamin.  Comp. 
xvii.  26;  xxxiii.  13.  Benjamin  is  mentioned  not 
because  Anathoth  belonged  to  this  tribe,  but  be- 
cause the  tribes  of  Benjamin  and  Judah  consti- 
tuted the  Jewish  kingdom.  Benjamin  as  the 
smaller  part  of  this  kingdom  is  named  only  in  ge- 
neral, while  Judah  as  the  main  part  is  charac- 
terized according  to  its  chief  constituents,  as  they 
are  also  enumerated  elsewhere.  (Comp.  besides 
loc.  cit.  Josh.  X.  40;  Jud.  i.  40).  ["The  New 
Testament  mentions  the  sale  of  lands  in  Judea 
in  Apostolic  times,  when  Jerusalem  was  about  to 
be  destroyed,  and  the  church  was  to  be  planted 
in  all  the  world  (Acts  iv.  34;  v.  4)."  Words- 
worth.— S.  R.  A.] 


CHAP.  XXXIII.   1-3. 


289 


II.  CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Promise  of  the  most  glorious  future  given  at  a  moment  -when  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem by  its  own  inhabitants  in  the  interest  of  defence  ^w■as  already  begun. 

1.   Brief  transition:  Summons  to  new  prayer  in  the  sense  of  xxxii.  16-25,  and  Promise  of  a  Hearing. 

XXXIII.  1-3. 

1  Moreover  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  Jeremiah  the  second  time,  while  he 
was  yet  shut  up  in  the  court  of  the  prison,  saying, 

2  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  who  does  it, 

Jehovah,  who  prepares  it,  to  complete  it, — Jehovah  is  His  Name, 

3  Call  upon  Me,  and  I  will  answer  thee, 

And  will  announce  to  thee  great  and  hidden  things  that  thou  knewest  not. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet,  still  in  the  court  of  the  prison,  re- 
ceives a  second  time  a  revelation  of  an  exceedingly 
comforting  character.  It  is  introduced  by  some 
words  of  Jehovah,  which  set  forth  His  power  to 
carry  out  his  thouglits  (ver.  2),  as  well  as  His 
readiness  to  aflFord  the  prophet  on  his  request  a 
glimpse  into  the  great  facts  of  the  future,  which 
the  Lord  intends  to  accomplish,  notwithstanding 
that  they  are  now  regarded  as  impossible  (ver.  3). 
Some  would  consider  these  words  a  later  addition, 
because  they  cannot  distinguish  Jeremiah's  style 
in  tliem  (Graf).  But  Graf  himself  has  shown  in 
opposition  to  Movers  and  Hitzig  that  the  style  of 
the  alleged  Isaiah  II.  is  not  seen  in  these  verses, 
that  rather  the  main  elements  (ppn,  X'^p  of 
calling  upon  God,  1017  mH'')  accord  well  with 
the  style  of  Jeremiah.  I  add  that  11>'\  in  the 
sense  of  "  forming  thoughts,"  is  found  pTr.allcl 
with  n^lJ/no  3tyn  in  Jer.  xviii.  11.  The  expres- 
sion nti/j?,  as  far  as  the  meaning  of  the  verb 
goes,  has  noihing  gpecilic  about  it,  and  the  neu- 
tral signiliuiition  of  tlie  t'emiuiue  sufiBx  is  not  for- 
eign to  ihesLyle  of  Jeremiah,  iv.  28;  xiii.  17. — On 

riwlJ,  etc.,  vid.  infra. — What  might  most  make 

the  impression  of  a  style  differing  from  that  of 
Jeremiah  is  this  Introduction  in  itself,  and  espe- 
cially the  peculiar  turn  of  ver.  3  :  Call  upon  me, 
and  I  will  answer,  etc. — But  we  must  here  well 
observe  that  these  words  are  occasioned  by  the 
prayer  of  the  prophet  in  xxxii.  16-25.  The  pro- 
phet had  indeed  already  received  an  answer  to 
this  prayer  in  xxxii.  26-44.  But  he  is  here  ad- 
monished to  approach  the  Lord  more  frequently 
with  such  petitions.  The  God,  who  has  the  powei- 
to  carry  out  His  determinations,  is  ready  and 
willing  to  afford  him  a  glance  into  His  great 
thoughts  of  the  future.  A  proof  of  this  imme- 
diately follows.  Consequently  the  verses,  xxxiii. 
1-3,  form  a  bridge  of  connection  bi'tween  clih. 
xixii.  and  xxxiii.  In  the  admonitiou  to  pray 
ID 


more  frequently  they  point  back  to  the  previous 
context  and  prepare  by  the  promise  I  will  an- 
nounce, etc.,  for  the  following  disclosures. 

Vers.  1-3.  Moreover  the  w^ord  .  .  .  knew- 
est not. — Who  does  it.  This  passage  both  in 
the  thought  and  the  words  reminds  us  of  Isa. 
xlvi.  11. — Jehovah  is  his  name.  Comp.  x.  Ifi; 
xxxi.  35;  xxxii.  18.  In  the  name  of  Jehovah 
lies  the  guarantee  of  His  action.  For  what  He 
is  called  He  is. — And  I  will  announce.  It 
might  here  be  asked  whether  the  prophet  is  pro- 
mised an  insight  into  the  inner  connection  of  the 

divine  arrangements  (in  the  same  sense  as  T-IH 

is  used  of  the  solution  of  riddles,  Jud.  xiv.  12- 
14),  or  only  a  view  of  facts.  I  believe  that  the 
two  are  to  be  connected.  The  innermost  grounds 
of  the  divine  action  are  a  secret  to  the  prophet 
as  to  the  angels  (1  Pet.  i.  11,  12).  When  however 
the  Lord  shows  the  prophet  a  chain  of  facts,  it 
can  not  only  be  evident  to  him  what  will  happen, 
but  also  how  one  thing  follows  from  another. 
Tliis  may  have  taken  place  in  only  a  limited  de- 
gree, yet  it  furnished  the  prophet  with  a  bridge 
of  connection  between  the  past  and  the  present. 
Hidden  things,  Pni*:}.  In  Isa.  xlviii.  6  we 
read  Dnin"'  K7I  n'll.^JI.     The  resemblance  is  un- 

mistakable.  The  whole  connection  of  the  pas- 
s  ige  renders  it  incredible  that  the  words  in  Isaiah 
are  a  quotation,  they  must  therefore  be  so  here. 

The  reading  here,  miVS,  may  be  due  to  a  criti- 
cal error  (3  for  J),  especially  as  the  word  does 
not  occur  elsewhere  iu  this  altered  sense.  It  is 
always  used  elsewhere  of  walls  or  cities  (Num. 
xiii.  28;  Deut.  i.  28;  ix.  1;  Josh.  xiv.  12,  etc.). 
Meanwhile  it  is  also  conceivable  that  the  prophet 
may  have  written  ^11^3.  He  frequently  modi- 
fies the  words  which  he  quotes.  This  might 
take  place  the  more  easily  as  the  related  pas- 
sage, Isa.  xxxvii.  26,  may  at  the  same  time  have 
hovered  before  his  mind.  nni>3  is  not  in  itsell 
inappropriate,  as  it  may  signify  "  secluded, 
separate,  inaccessible." 


290  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


2.  Destruction  in  the  Present.     ^Nevertheless  glorious  Internal  and  External  Rebuilding  in  the  Future. 

XXXIII.  4-9. 

4  For  thus  saith  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel, 
Concerning  the  houses  of  this  city, 

And  concerning  the  houses  of  the  kings  of  Judah, 

Which  were  thrown  down  against  the  ramparts  and  against  the  sword, 

5  Which  are  come  to  fight  against  the  Chaldeans,^ 
And  to  fill  them  with  the  dead  bodies  of  men. 
Whom  I  have  slain  in  my  anger  and  in  my  fury, 

And  for  all  whose  wickedness  I  have  hid  my  face  from  this  city: 

6  Behold,  I  bring  it  health^  and  cure,  and  heal  them, 

And  reveaP  unto  them  an  abundance*  of  peace  and  truth. 

7  And  I  turn  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  the  captivity  of  Israel, 
And  build  them  as  in  the  beginning. 

8  And  I  cleanse  them  from  all  their  guilt,  with  which  they  have  sinned  against  me, 
And  pardon  all  their  transgressions,  with  which  they  have  sinned  and  transgressed* 

against  me. 

9  And  it  [the  city]  shall  be  to  me  a  name  of  joy, 

A  praise  and  an  honor  before^  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
Who  shall  hear  all  the  good  that  I  do  unto  them ;'' 
Aud  shall  tremble  and  quake  on  account  of  all  the  goodness, 
And  on  account  of  all  the  prosperity,  that  I  procure  unto  it. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

lYer.  5. — ("Ul  Dn/Hv   D^X3-    This  passage  is  a  difBcult  one.    Movers  and  HiTzia  strike  out  D'J<3  entirely,  after  the 

■    T 

example  of  the  LXX.,  by  which  the  sense  certainly  becomes  easy.  But  how  can  this  difficult  word  have  got  into  the  text  ? 
EwALD  emends  D''N3   3Tn  into  □'"Jinn,  which  he  takes,  after  Kzek.  xxvi.  9,  in  the  sense  of  "  heavy  siege  weapons, 

•  T        •.•  '.■  •  T  -:  ~ 

artillery."     But  the  plural  of  3^11  is  never  D''3Tn.    Meier  reads  D'X3  3'inn,  and  translates  "and  against  the  desola- 

•  T  -:  ■  T        •  -;  - 

tiuii  uf  tlie  invaders."  Both  this  use  of  the  infinitive,  however,  and  the  mode  of  expression  (the  ramparts  are  erected  by 
the  invaders  not  lor  the  purpose  of  hinderitiR  the  desolation  of  tlio  invaders^  render  the  altenition  STispicious.  If  we  adhere 
to  the  text  the  question  is,  To  what  does  Q'XB  I'efer  ?    It  has  been  referred  to  the  Chaldeans  {vejiiuid  ad  pugnandum  Chaldsti, 

•  r 
De  Bieu,  Schnubreb,  Rosenicueller).    In  this  case,  however,  J^X  would  be  nota  nominativi,  which  ia  impossible.    Comp. 

Naf.gelsb.  Gr.,  g  69, 1,  Anm.  1.— Others  refer  it  to  the  .Tews.  So  Jerome, Chald.,  Syr.,  Seb.  Schmidt,  Venema,  .T.  D.  Michaelis, 
and  these  translate  either  veniunt  or  venieatium,  referring  D'N3  to  the  persons  implied  in  the  city.     In  the  first  case  there 

•    T 

is  no  subject  designated,  and  in  the  second  the  connection  with  ')i)  T^Tl  T\2  is  very  harsh,  apart  from  the  circumstance 

that  the  expression  D'8<3  is  not  appropriate  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  and  that  DXvIO  7  presents  great  difficulty 

•   r  T  :  -  : 

with  regard  both  to  the  suffix  and  the  prefix.   As  the  text  now  stands,  we  can  take  Q'X^  only  as  co-ordinate  with  □'Jfrijri 

in  second  apposition  to  D'n3-    The  absence  of  the  article  is  certainly  not  normal,  but  yet  not  without  analogy.    Comp.  ii.  27  ; 

*    T 

X.  12,  23 ;  Ps.  civ.  2-4;  cxxxv.  7  ;  Zech.  xii.  1 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,i  97,  2  a.  , 

2  Ver.  G. — On  HD^i^  comp.  Comm.  on  viii.  22.    The  suffi.ves  in  DTINST  and  DH  /  refer  to  the  same  object  as  the  suffix 

.  T\ -:  •     T  :  VT 

in  n  V,  i.  e.  to  the  holy  city.    It  is  the  same  construciio  ad  sensum  as  in  D''N3.    See  rems.  on  this. 

8  Ver.  G. — '  jT'vJI.  In  itself  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  this  word  from  being  derived  from  Till,  to  reveal.  Yet  compa- 
rison with  ^r\''73,  xi.  20;  xx.  12,  leads  us  to  think  that  the  form  may  be  traced  to  77J,  to  roll  (Hitzig),  or  with  FuERST  to 
nbj  II-,  synonymous  with  S^J-     Comp.  Am.  v.  24;  Isa.  xlviii.  18;  Ixvi.  12. 

TT 

*  Ver.  G.— j"\1  j"\j;  is  air.  key.     For  the  verb  comp.  Prov.  xxvii.  6 ;  Ezek.  xxxv.  13. 

*  Ver.  8. — ^'dii  radically  means  :  to  break,  from  which  is  developed  the  meaning :  to  revolt.    It  is  stronger  than  K£3ri. 

•^  -  T  -  T 

IK'X  is  the  accusative  of  the  instrument.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  70,  i. 

«  Ver.  9. — 737.     The  preposition  as  in  "'Yyl,  xxviii.  1,  5, 11 ;  xxxii.  12.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  112,  5,  b.  e. 

1  Ver.  9.— nmX  may  stand  for  HjIK  (i.  IG),  but  it  may  also  be  the  accusative  of  the  object.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gt.,  g  69, 2  d. 


EXEOETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

In  conaection  with  the  view  which  the  city  of 
Jerusalem    then    aflforded,    with     many   houses 


thrown  down  in  the  interest  of  defence  (vers.  4, 
5),  the  prophet  promises  the  city  healing  and 
peace  (ver.  6),  the  return  of  all  the  exiles,  re- 
storation (ver.  7)  and  forgiveness  of  all  sin  (ver. 
8j.     Jeliovah  will  again  make  Jerusalem  the  ob- 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  4-9. 


294 


ject  of  His  joy  and  His  glory  in  view  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  who  will  be  most  powerfully 
impressed  by  this  marvel  of  restoration  to  peace 
and  prosperity  (ver.  9). 

Vers.  4,  5.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  . 
from  this  city.  By  for  at  the  beginning  of 
ver.  4  the  prophet  introduces  the  specification  of 
the  great  and  wonderful  facts  of  redemption 
promised   in   general  in  vers.  2,  3.     This   ^2  is 

thus  the  key  of  the  whole  chapter. — Concern- 
ing the  houses.  From  .Isa.  xxii,  10  we  see 
thac  houjes  were  ihrowu  down  in  sieges,  to  re- 
pair or  strengthen  the  walls.  It  was  natural 
that  tliose  houses  should  be  used  for  this  purpose 
which  were  nearest  the  walls,  whether  private 
or  royal  property,  and  it  is  unnecessary,  with 
HiTziG,  to  explain  tlie  prominence  of  the  royal 
hou'^es  from  the  greater  ease  in  obtaining  them 
or  the  superiority  of  their  materials.  It  is  clear 
that  we  cannot  render  for  ramparts  and  for 
sword,  for  in  the  first  place,  as  has  been  repeat- 
edly remarked,  the  Hebrew  does  not  signify 
ramparts  of  defence  but  of  attack  (comp.  xxxii. 
24;  vi.  G;  2  Sam.  xx.  15;  2  Ki.  xix.  32;  Ezek.  iv. 
2;  xvii.  17;  xxi.  27  ;  xxvi.  8 ;  Dan.  xi.  15),  and  in 
the  second  place, /or  sword  would  not  be  appro- 
priate. We  are  not  justified  in  rendering  this 
singular  in  any  other  than  the  usual  sense,  espe- 
cially as  it  is  not  at  all  certain  that  the  plural 
ni3in,  Ezek.   xxvi.  9,  has  any  other  than  the 

usual  meaning.  Comp.  Haevernick,  in  loc. — 
To  take  7X  for  7  and  to  attribute  a  causal  mean- 
ing to  it  so  that  it  is  equivalent  to  through,  is 
altogether  arbitrary.  It  cannot  be  urged  that 
the  prophet  here  speaks  of  all  the  houses  of  Je- 
rusalem as  being  destroyed.  Jeremiah  only 
takes  occasion,  in  a  view  of  the  houses  destroyed 
in  behalf  of  the  defence,  to  set  over  against  this 
gloomy  picture  of  the  present,  which  certainly 
was  the  prelude  of  entire  destruction,  the  most 

glorious  picture  of  the  future  restored  city.  /X 
is  here  therefore:^against. — Sword  is  evidently 
used  by  synecdoche  for  all  manual  weapons, 
while  the  ramparts  also  include  the  machines 
erected  upon  them,  so  that  these  two  words  com- 
prise the  totality  of  the  implements  of  attack. 
Comp.  Ezek.  xxi.  24,  25. — Which  are  come, 
etc.  Comp.  Textual  Notes.  As  the  text  now 
stands  it  is  declared  of  the  houses  that  they  are 
come  (1)  to  fight  with  the  Chaldeans,  (2)  to  fill 
tliem  [viz.,  the  houses)  with  corpses.  Now 
though  the  first  may  be  said,  in  so  far  as  by  a  bold 
hyperbole,  the  houses  thrown  down  would  be 
designated  as  moved  forward  into  line  of  battle 
and  taking  part  in  the  fray,  still  the  second  is  in 
the  highest  degree  surprising.  For  how  can  the 
houses  come  to  fill  them  with  corpses  ?  This 
"them"  must  either  denote  thcmselrcs,  which 
would  be  grammatically  and  logically  incorrect^ 
or  it  must  be  referred  to  the  other  houses,  which 
would  be  doing  violence  to  it,  seeing  that  the 
other  houses  have  not  been  previously  mentioned. 
Then  also  the  fiUiiiff,  etc.,  must  be  regarded  as  the 
unintended  result,  which  seems  forced.  Since, 
then,  the  present  text  proves  to  be  incapable  of 


giving  us  a  satisfactory  sense,  nothing  ''urther  i? 
left  us  but  to  resort  to  an  ercendation.  We  have 
mentioned  in  the  Textual  Notes  attempts  al- 
ready made,  none  of  which,  however,  meet  with 
our  approval.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to 
read  Jerusalem  (xxxvii.  10),  or  to  Jerusalem 
(xxxiv.  1-7  coll.  xxxii.  24,  29)  instead  of  tht 
Chaldeans.  Then  the  words  are  come  would  refer 
to  ramjjarts  and  sivord.  The  circumstance  that 
these  substantives  are  feminine  is  of  no  account. 
For  the  masculine  come  may  be  referred  Kara 
a'vveaiv  to  the  persons,  to  whom  the  ramparts  and 
sword  serve  as  implements.  (Comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gr.,  I  GO,  4).— Them  alter  fill  would  then  be 
referred  to  the  idea  of  houses,  which  is  promi- 
nent enough  in  ver.  4  to  justify  such  a  construc- 
tion.    Perhaps  also  we  might   real   to   fill   it 

(comp.  n?   ver.    6).      The   alteration   into   the 

Chaldeans  might  be  explained  by  the  difficulty 
of  understanding  are  come  of  the  ramparts  and 
sword,  and  by  the  idea  that  it  might  refer  to  the 
houses  of  the  city  or  their  inhabitants.  Perhaps 
also  the  remembrance  of  xxxii.  5  may  have  as  ■ 
sisted  in  this.  Meanwhile  I  confess  that  I  per- 
ceive the  difficulties  attending  tliis  conjecture 
also,  and  therefore  will  gladly  receive  better  in- 
struction. 

Vers.  6,  7.  Behold  I  bring  ...  as  in  the 
beginning.  In  opposition  to  tearing  down  in 
ver.  4  the  prophet  promises  bandages  or  healing, 
instead  of  filling  with  corpses  he  promises  cure. 
— Peace  and  truth,  i.  e.  genuine,  lasting  pros- 
perity. Comp.  xiv.  13;  Ps.  Ixxxv.  11. — Build 
them.  Comp.  xxiv.  6;  xxxi.  4.  The  expres- 
sion is  chosen  with  reference  to  the  occasion  of 
the  prophecy,  ver.  4.  Yet  the  idea  is  not  to  be 
taken  merely  in  the  narrower  sense. — As  in  the 
beginning.  The  phrase  is  used  proleptically, 
comp.  ver.  11.  It  is  not  the  building  which  is 
compared  with  the  building  of  the  beginning, 
but  the  result  of  the  building  is  compared  with 
the  original  state  of  things.  Comp.  besides  Isa. 
i.  26;   1  Ki.  xiii.  6. 

Vers.  8,  9.  And  I  cleanse  .  .  .  procure 
unto  it.  In  ver.  8  the  internal,  heart-restora- 
tion is  described.  Comp.  xxxi.  18-20,  34. — 
"Which  they  have  sinned.  Comp.  Zeph.  iii. 
11. — Ver.  y.  And  it  shall  be.     The  subject  is 

the  city.  Comp.  H?  ver.  6. — A  name  of  joy 
ptyr  W,  which  reminds  us  of  \\t''a  pp^  (Ps.  xlv 
8;  Isa.  Ixi.  3),  is  joyful  renown,  renown  which 
brings  joy.  On  the  subject-matter  comp.  xiii. 
11;  Zeph.  iii.  19,20;  Deut.  xxvi.  19.— Before 
all  the  nations.  How  far  Jerusalem  will  ex- 
tend the  Lord's  glory  among  the  nations  is  de- 
clared in  the  following  clause.  The  view  of  all  the 
good  which  the  Loi-d  is  preparing  for  Jerusalem 
will  fill  them  with  dread.  At  any  rate  with  a 
wholesome  fear,  for  after  they  have  in  their  ter- 
ror perceived  that  they  have  neglected  the  al- 
mighty and  benevolent  Ood  for  vain  idols,  they 
will  turn  again  to  the  former.  Comp.  Num.  xiv. 
13-15;  Deut.  xxix.  24;  Isa.  ii.  2-4;  xi.  10;  xix- 
17. 


292 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


8.   The  glorious  City-life  of  the  Future. 
XXXIII.  10,  11. 

10  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  Again  shall  be  heard  in  this  place, 
Of  which  ye  say,  It  is  desolate  without  man  and  beast — 

In  the  cities  of  Judah  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  which  are  desolate, 
Without  man,  without  inhabitant  and  without  beast — 

11  The  voice  of  joy  and  the  voice  of  gladness, 

The  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  voice  of  the  bride, 

The  voice  of  those  who  say.  Praise  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 

For  Jehovah  is  good,  for  his  mercy  endureth  forever ! — 

Who  bring  thank-offerings  into  the  house  of  Jehovah. 

For  I  will  reverse  the  captivity  of  the  land  as  at  the  beginning,  saith  Jehovah. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

After,  in  the  previous  context,  the  restoration 
in  general,  viz.  of  the  city  and  the  state,  had 
been  promised  on  the  basis  of  inward  purifica- 
tion, the  prophet  now  becomes  more  specific ; 
city  and  country  are  again  to  be  peopled  and  to 
become  the  theatre  of  ioyous  civil  and  religious 
life. 

Vers.  10,  11.  Thus  saith  .  .  .  Jehovah. 
The  subject  of  shall  be  heard  is  the  voice  of 
joy,   etc.,   ter.    11. — This  place   is  the  land 


(comp.  ver.  12;  xxiv.  5;  xvi.  3;  vii.  7)  as  is 
seen  from  the  following  "in  the  cities  of  Judah," 
etc.- — Of  wjiich  ye  say.  Comp.  xxxii.  36,  43. 
■Without  man,  etc.  Comp.  vers.  32,  43. — The 
voice,  etc.  Comp.  vii.  84;  xvi.  9;  xxv.  10: 
Zech.  viii.  4,  5. — Praise  Jehovah.  A  frequent 
liturgical  formula  of  thanksgiving  in  the  later 
period.  Ps.  cvi.  .1  ;  cvii.  1  ;  cxviii.  1-3;  cxxxvi. 
1-3;  Ezr.  iii.  11;  2  Chron.  v.  13;  vii.  3,  etc.— 
Who  bring,  etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  xvii.  26 ;  Ps. 
Ivi.  13. — For  I  will  reverse,  etc.  Comp.  rems 
on  xxiz.  14. 


4.  The  Glorious  Country-life  of  the  Future. 
XXXIII.  12-13. 

12  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  Again  will  there  be  in  this  place, 
Which  is  desolate,  without  man  and  beast,^ 

And  in  all  its  cities  a  habitation  [or  pasture] 
Of  shepherds  causing  their  flocks  to  lie  down. 

13  In  the  cities  of  the  mountain,  in  the  cities  of  the  plain. 
And  in  the  cities  of  the  south  and  in  the  land  of  Benjamin, 
And  in  the  environs  of  Jerusalem  and  in  the  cities  of  Judah, 

The  sheep  will  again  pass  under  the  hands  of  him  that  numbereth  them,  saith 
Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  12. — nOn3~li'1  mX  rXiD.  TIip  construction  here  is  instead  of  rX731  in  ver.  10.  "^^  expresses  the  idea 
of  an  all-cjiubracing  comiileteness,  even  to  the  extremest  limits  (comp.  Gen.  vi.  7  ;  vii.  23 ;  Num.  viii.  4).  '\^)  requires  the 
supplementation  of  a  corresponding  verbal  idea :  ex.  gr.  1  Sam.  xviii.  4  13in  ^_J'1,  ei  ita  perrexit  usque  ad,  etc. — Where 
^J?^~}0  occurs  there  is  a  confounding  of  two  constructions.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  Jill,  1. — In  the  passage  under  con- 
Bideratioa  '\^\  ^eems  to  have  arisen  from  the  JQ  in  TKD,  which  reminds  us  of  the  JO  in  constructions  like  "y^)    jlCOpQ 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  14-18. 


293 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  passes  from  the  relations  of  the 
city  to  those  of  the  country,  the  breeding  of  cattle 
will  again  flourish  throughout  the  laml. — This 
place  Comp  rems.  on  ver.  10. — Habitation 
of  shepherds.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxiii.  3 — On 
ver.  13.  Comp.  xxxii.  44. — Under  the  hands. 
The  expression  designates  the  relation  of  the 
Lord,  invested  with  full  authority,  to  the  person 
or  thing  given  into  His  power,  which  is  repre- 
sented as  on  or  in  His  hand,  so  that  He  can  do 
with  it  according  to  His  own  pleasure.  Comp.  v. 
31;  xviii.  21;  Job  xvi.  11;  1  Cbroa.  xxv.  2; 
iii.  6.  So  also  here.  The  sheep  pass  or  enter 
past,  "on  the  hands,"  i.  e.,  as  objects  of  which 
the  uumberer  is  bound  to  take  notice.  We  are  not 
to  understand  it  as  meaning  guidance  and  pro- 
tection in  general.     The  expression  numberetb 

(nJlD)  which   occurs  here   only  iu  this  sense 


'  (comp.  besides  Ps.  cxlvii.  4),  is  not  used  by 
chance,  and  therefore  not  to  be  identified  with 
n^n.  It  is  to  be  emphasized  that  the  sheep  will 
have  necessarily  to  be  numbered.  When  there  are 
a  few  sheep  only,  so  that,  they  can  be  surveyed 
with  a  glance,  tliis  is  unnecessary  The  whole 
connection  of  this  passage  forbids  us  to  suppose 
tliat  tlie  prophet  here,  as  in  xxiii.  3,  4,  malies 
use  of  figurative  language  to  portray  the  pros- 
perity of  Israel  as  Joiiov.ih's  flock.  He  describes 
♦he  joyful  future  as  including  all  mental  and 
spiritual  well-being  (comp.  xxxii.  38-40  ;  xxxiii. 
8),  but  always  on  a  corporeal  and  realistic  basis. 
Comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  8-5;  xxx.  9.  [So  also 
Wordsworth,  who  refers  to  Job  x.  3  and  3  John 
14,  "  Greet  the  friends  by  name."  Hitzio  how- 
ever says  "Literally,  after  the  hand,  acknowledg- 
ing each  by  a  movement.  They  were  numbered 
to  control  the  shepherd,  regularly  and  doubtless 
twice  (ViRO.  Eclog.,  iii.  34),  on  being  driven  out 
and  on  returning  home." — S.  R.  A.] 


5.  Tht  Glorious  Ji.in^dom  and  Priesthood  of  the  Future. 
XXXIII.  14-18. 

14  Behold  me  days  are  coming,  saitli  Jehovah,  that  I  will  fulfil 

The  good  word  that  I  have  spoken  of  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah. 

15  In  those  days  and  that  time  will  I  cause' 

The  sprout  of  righteousness  to  spring  to  David, 

And  he  shall  execute'*  justice  and  righteousness  in  the  land. 

16  In  those  days  will  Judah  be  saved  and  Jerusalem  dwell  safely, 
And  this  will  be  her  name,  Jehovah  our  Righteousness.' 

17  For  thus  saith  Jehovah,  a  man  shall  never  be  wanting  to  David, 
Who  may  sit  upon  the  throne  of  the  house  of  Israel. 

18  And  to  tiie  priests,  the  Levites,a  man  shall  not  be  wanting  before  me, 
Who  may  offer  burnt-offerings  and  kindle  meat-offerings, 

And  offer  sacrifices  continually. 


TEXTUAL  AND  -GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  15.— n''OyX.    In  xxiii.  5  we  find  TID''pni.    The  former  corresponds  better  with  the  following  PIDV  while  the 
reading  in  xxiii.  5  is  occasioned  by  the  preceding  "'r\b"'pn,  ver.  4.    Instead  of  DH^  i-X  we  have  here  Hpn^  ^'^,  but  the 

meaning  is  the  same.    The  change  shows  in  this  case,  as  iu  that -of  most  other  differences,  merely  that  the  prophet  quotes 
freely  from  memory.  ,  .  i 

2  Ver.  15— '•Ul  ntyj^l.     Before  these  words  7''3ty^|!|  I'vO  "Hra^  is  omitted.    No  essential  alteration  of  the  sense  la 

thus  produced,  for  the  royal  nature  of.  the  riDS  i'  c!ea«-  even,  Usides  this  passage,  from  vers.  17,  21,  "26. 

3  Ver.  16.— The  divergence  of  this  passage  from  xxiii.  6,  which  is  very  troublesome  to  many  of  the  old  expositors,  they 
seek  either  to  paralyze  by  taking  HI  as  a  nominative  referring  to  nD!f=and  he  who  will  call  it  (the  Ecclesia.  New  Testa- 

metU)  is  Jehovah,  our  righteousness  (Forstee) — or  by  supplying  K^H  after  HT  and  taking  X'^p^  as  passive  and  ^17  as  7 

auctoris,  and  he  is  the  one  who  the  city  of  Jerusalem  will  be  called :  the  Lord,  who  is  our  righteousness  (Ce.\mer). 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Passing  from  the  general  to  the  particular,  fl)e 
circumference  to  the  centre,  the  prophet  furtlier 
declares  with  respect  to  the  hippy  future,  that 
in  it  the  promise  previously  announced  will  be 
fulfilled  (ver.  4),  a  sprout  of  righteousness  shall 


spring  from  the  stock  of  David,  who  will  restore 
justice  and  righteousness  in  the  land  (ver.  15), 
and  by  whom  Judah  and  Jerusalem  will  be  raised 
to  such  a  iieight  of  prosperity  that  the  laiter  will 
actually  bear  the  name  "Jehovah  our  Righteous- 
ness "  (ver.  16).  The  race  of  David  shall  never 
die  out  (ver.  17),  nor  the  priestly  tribe  of  Levi 
and  the  priestly  service  ever  cease. 


29i 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Vers.  14-16.  Behold^  the  days  .  .  .  our 
Righteousness.  Wluit  is  "the  good  word"  in 
ver.  14?  The  expression  occurs  besides  in  Jere- 
miah only  in  xxix.  10.  There  it  refers,  as  is 
evident  from  the  mention  of  the  seventy  years,  to 
XXV.  11.  If  the  expres.sion  is  to  be  taken  there 
in  a  sjiecial  sense,  so  also  here.  For  here  we 
have  a  still  plainer  reference  to  a  former  promise 
(xxiii.  5,0).  The  reference  to  the  general  sal- 
vation, i.  e.,  to  the  most  universal  manifestation 
of  salvation  is  thus  not  excluded.  Though  this 
view  is  favored  by  the  circumstance  that  the  pro- 
phet, as  already  remarked,  proceeds  in  this 
chapter  from  the  general  to  the  special,  yet  the 
special  salvation,  to  which  ver.  15  sqq.  refer,  is 
the  central  point  comprising  all  that  has  been 
said  hitherto,  being  a  condition  of  all  silv.ition 
in  the  widest  sense.     Hengsenberg  incorrectly 

accentuates  the  two  prepositions  /X  and  7j/.  Ac- 
coi'ding  to  the  usage  of  our  prophet  they  are  so 
like  each  other  in  signification,  that  one  fre- 
quently stands  for  the  other  (comp.  xxv.  1  coll.  ; 
vii.  1;  xi.  1,  etc.  ;  xxvi.  15),  or  by  the  side  of  the 
other  with  absolutely  identical  meaning  (xi.  2 ; 
xviii.  II;  xxiii.  35;  xxv.  2;  xxvii.  19;  xliv. 
20). — Ver.  15.  In  those  days,  etc.  In  these 
words  the  chronological  statement  in  ver.  14  is 
resumed  after  the  interruption,  so  that  in  sense 
this  beginning  coinciiles  with  that  in  xxiii.  5.  The 
addition  and  that  time  here  as  in  1.  4,  20  pos- 
sesses a  merely  rhetorical  significance.  It  serves 
to  render  the  declaration  more  solemn.  The  alter- 
ation from  in  his  days  (xxiii.  0)  is  unimportant. 
It  is  however  important  to  note  the  change  of 
Israel  into  .Jerusalem,  this  being  founded  in  the 
connection  of  the  chapter.  While  the  general 
object  of  the  prophet,  as  is  seen  in  ver.  14,  is  to 
show  that  the  comforting  prophecy  given  in 
former  times,  still  holds  good,  notwithstanding 
the  comfortless  circumstances  in  which  Jerusa- 
lem then  was,  being  sorely  pressed  by  the  Chal- 
deans, yet  he  cannot  avoid  somewhat  modifying 
the  prophecy  in  accordance  with  the  present 
occasion.  This  occasion  according  to  ver.  4  is 
the  sight  of  the  houses  thrown  down  in  defence. 
In  view  of  this  mournful  spectacle  he  had  in  vers. 
6,  7  to  promise  healing  of  wounds,  rebuilding  of 
the  city.  He  has  also  here  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
especially  in  view,  though  he  does  not  by  any 
means  forget  Israel,  but  on  the  contrary  diligently 
sets  forth  its  share  in  the  promise  given  to  Judah 
(ver.  14).  Hence  the  alteration  to  Jertisalem. — 
With  this  it  is  also  connected  that  the  last  clause 
states  the  name  which  Jernsalem  will  bear  as  a 
3ignificant  symbolical  inscription.  Comp.  rems. 
an  xxiii.  fj. 

Vers.  17,  18.  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  . 
continually.  The  principal  statement  refers 
neither  to  ver.  15  nor  to  ver.  10  exclusivel}',  but 
toboi'i.  Improbable  as  it  must  then  have  ap- 
peared .it  the  time  of  Zedekiah  that  the  house  of 
David,  which  was  reduced  so  low  both  inwardly 
and  outwardly,  should  send  forth  so  excellent  and 
glorious  a  scion,  equally  so  must  the  happy  con- 
dition promised  to  itie  people  in  ver.  10  have  ap- 
peared. I'oth  however  are  shown  to  be  possible 
by  the  announcement  in  ver.  17  of  the  everlasting 


continuance  of  the  house  of  David  and  of  its  do- 
minion over  Israel.  Observe,  moreover,  that  it 
is  not  said  on  the  throne  of  David  nor  07i  his  throne 
(ver.  21 ;  xiii.  13  ;  xxii.  4),  but  on  the  throne  of 
the  house  of  Israel.  The  house  of  Israel  is  evi- 
dently here  the  whole  of  Israel,  and  the  eternal 
duration  of  David's  rule  over  it  involves  both  the 
inner  and  outer  rejuvenescence  of  the  Davidic 
race,  and  the  welfare  of  the  people,  which  essen- 
tially depends  thereon,  since  it  may  be  subjected 
not  to  foreign  rulers,  but  to  their  own  native 
royal  family. ^A  man  shall  never,  etc.  Comp. 
XXXV.  19.  The  sense  of  the  expression  is  not, 
none  shall  ever  be  extirpated,  but  ever;/  one  shall 
never  be  extirpated,  eo  that  none  will  be  left. 
Herein  is  thus  primarily  contained  only  the 
promise  of  succession  of  rulers  extending  in  per - 
petuum.  Hengstenberg,  however,  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  circumstance  [ChristoL,  S.  516)  [Eng. 
Tr.,  II.,  p.  404]  that  we  are  not  to  suppose  a 
"perfectly  uninterrupted  succession,"  but  only 
one  that  is  not  broken  off  entirely.  The  pro- 
phet moreover  reproduces  almost  verbatim  the 
ancient  promise  given  to  the  house  of  David, 
as  it  is  repeated  on  the  basis  of  1  Sam.  vii.  10,  by 
David  in  his  parting  words  to  Solomon  (1  Kings 
ii.  4),  and  afterwards  by  the  latter  himself  at  his 
deilication  of  the  temple  (1  Kings  viii.  25),  and 
finally  by  the  Lord  Himself  in  His  renewed  pro- 
mise to  Solomon  (1  Kings  ix.  5). — And  to  the 
priests,  etc.  A  second  pillar  on  which  rests  the 
redemption  and  secure  continuance  of  Israel 
(ver.  10)  is  the  normal  permanence  of  the  national 
priesthood.  This  is  the  Levitic. — The  Levites 
is  therefore  in  apposition  (comp.  Deut.  xvii.  9, 
18 ;  Josh.  iii.  3  ;  Ezck.  xliv:  15  coll.  Deut.  xxi. 
6).  The  descendants  of  Levi,  who  according  to 
the  Mosaic  law  were  alone  eligible  to  the  priest- 
hood (Num.  iii.  10;  xvi.  40;  xviii.  7),  will  be 
opposed  to  others  who  might  possibly  assume  the 
priesthood  to  themselves.  The  question  may 
here  arise  how  this  promise  of  the  eternal  con- 
tinuance of  the  Levitic  priesthood  is  related  to 
other  declarations,  especially  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  according  to  which  this  Levitical  priest- 
hood as  only  an  inferior  stage  is  to  give  way  to 
a  higher  priesthood,  viz.,  that  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek  (Heb.  vii.-ix.  coll.  Jer.  iii.  10;  Ps. 
ex.  4).  I  believe  that  this  question  must  be  de- 
cided according  to  the  standard  of  Mutt.  v.  17, 
18.  As  not  a  tittle  of  the  law  is  absolutely  ab- 
rogated, and  thrown  aside  as  worthless,  but  is 
kept  by  being  fulfilled  and  thus  being  elavated 
to  a  higher  potency,  so  also  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood being  absorbed  by  a  higher,  is  lost  in  its 
outward,  temporal  and  local  form,  but  in  its  ideal 
character  is  now  first  established.  Hence  the 
expressions  of  this  passage  (as  well  as  the  re- 
lated ones  in  Ezek.  xl.-xlii.)  neither  contradict 
former  declarations  of  Jeremiah  (asiii.  10;  xxxi. 
31-33),  nor  the  doctrine  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews. Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  22  and  my  review 
of  "  Bai,.mkr-Rinck,  The  Prophet  EzekieVs  vision 
of  the  Temple''  in  Reuter's  Repertorium,  1860, 
ileft.  in.,  S.  152.— "Who  may  offer,  etc.  Comp. 
Exod.  xxix.  18;  Lev.  i.  9,  17;  ix.  10;  Num. 
xviii.  17,  etc. — The  three  species  of  offerings  are 
mentioned  also  in  xvii.  26;  Num.  xv.  3,  4. 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  19-26. 


295 


6.  The  Kingdom  and  Priesthood  of  the  Future  eternal, 
XXXIII.  19-26. 

19,  20       And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  Jeremiah,  saying,  Thus  saith  Jehovah : 
If  ye  will  break  my  covenant^  of  the  day  and  my  covenant  of  the  night. 
So  that^  there  shall  not  be  day*  nor  night  in  their  season ;  ' 

21  My  covenant  with  David  my  servant  shall  also  be  broken, 
So  that  he  shall  have*  no  son  to  be  king  on  his  throne, — 
And  with  the  Levites,  the  priests,  who  serve*  me. 

22  As®  the  host  of  heaven  cannot  be  numbered, 
Nor  the  sand  of  the  sea  measured. 

So  will  I  multiply  the  seed  of  David,  my  servant. 
And  the  Levites  who  serve  me.' 

23  Moreover  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  Jeremiah,  saying : 

24  Hast  thou  not  seen,*  what  this  people  saith, 

"  The  two  families  which  Jehovah  had  chosen  he  has  rejected  ?"^ 
And  thus  despise  my  people,  that  they  are  no  more  a  nation  before  them  [in  then 
sight.] 

25  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  If  my  covenant  continue  not  day  and  night, 
And  I  have  not  appointed  the  ordinances'"  of  heaven  and  earth; 

26  Then  will  I  reject  the  seed  of  Jacob,  and  David  my  servant. 

That  I  will  not  take  of  his  seed  rulers  over  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob : 
For  I  will  reverse  their  captivity'^  and  have  mercy  on  them. 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  20.— The  •>—  at  the  end  of  TinS  is  a  suffix.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  63,  4  g. 

2  Ver.  20.— The  1  before  'jl73 7=and  indeed.     Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  111,  a,  and  Jer.  Ti. 2 ;  xvii.  10 ;  xix.  12  ;  xxv.  9 ; 

xxvi.  5. 

3  Ver.  20.— DdV  is  used  as  a  substantive  in  the  sense  of  DT  hero  and  in  ver.  25  only.    In  Ezek.  xxx.  16  it=quotidie. 

Comp.  Din  ri^/P'  Prov.  xxvi.  2.  Haeverotck  on  Ezek.,  S.  515,  6.— Since  DO'V  according  to  all  analogies  is  an  old  nomi- 
nal form  (comp.  Oi.sh.  §  222,  h),  it  is  possible  that  for  the  sake  of  solemnity  Jeremiah  made  use  of  this  old  form  without  re- 
gard to  tilt!  adverbial  signification  which  had  become  usual. 

*  Ver.  21.— nrnO-  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  106,  6. 

6  Ver.  22.— 'jilt;; O-  flit!?  is  the  technical  term  for  the  ministration  of  the  Levites  and  priests.  Num.  iii.  6;  1  Sam. 
li.  11 ;  Joel  i.  9  ;  ii.  17  ;  2  Chron.  xiii.  10,  etc.    Comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  XII ,  §  175,  6. 

6  Ver.  22. — lU^K  is  here  used  accusatively,  i.  e.,  adverbially  for  Tt^XD.  Comp.  Isa.  liv.  9. 

7  Ver.  22.— TIX  "'JTIK'O-  Comp.  Ewald,  g  288,  a;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,"  g  64,  5  c. 

8  Ver.  24. — jTXI  X/H-  In  Ezekiel  this  idiom  is  frequent,  viii.  12, 15, 17  co!l.  ver.  6 ;  xlvii.  6.  Comp.  also  Jer.  iii.  6 
coll.  vii.  17     This  use  of  nXT  by  synecdoche,  is  like  thatinv.  12;  Lam.  iii.  1;  Gen.  xlii.  1,  coll.  2. 

9  Ver.  24.— QOXO'I-     Comp.  vi.  19;  Naeoelsu.  Gr.,  ^  SS,  7  e. 

10  Ver.  25. — jllpn.  In  xxxi  36,  □''pn.  Comp.xxxii.il.  The  former  is  more  usual  in  Jeremiah, — v.  24;  x.  3;  xxxi. 
35  ;  xliv.  10,  23.      I  I 

11  Ver.  '.46. — ^IC'X-    Only  in  xl.  39  besides  do  we  find  in  Jeremiah  the  imperfect  Kal  in  this  formula.    It  also  occurs  in 

•    T 

Joel  iv.  1.  Elsewhere,  where  the  thought  is  expressed  in  the  imperfect,  we  find  the  imperfect  Hiphil.  (N.  B.  The  Perf.  Hiph. 
occurs  also  xxxiii.  7),  xxxii.  44 ;  xxxiii.  11 ;  xlix.  6  ;  hzek.  xxxix.  25.  The  Masoretes  would  therefore,  and  probably  not  in.' 
correctly,  read  ^'l^X  in  these  three  places  also. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  preceding  sectioi*  concluded  with  the  word 
"  continually."  The  idea  thus  briefly  intimated, 
of  a  perpetual  duration  of  the  promised  blessing, 
forms  the  main  thought  in  what  follows.  As  it 
does  not  lie  within  the  power  of  man  to  break 
the  covenant  of  the  Lord,  which  ensures  the 
ehange  of  day  and  night,  so  also  the  covenant  is 


not  to  be  broken  which  guarantees  the  perpetual 
succession  of  Davidic  kings  and  Levitical  priests 
(vers.  19-21).  A  natural  guarantee  of  this  dura- 
tion will  be  given  by  the  innumerable  increa.>-e 
of  the  royal  and  priestly  seed  (ver.  22).  In  op- 
position to  the  presumptuous  speech  that  Jehovah 
had  chosen  .Judah  and  Israel  and  yet  afterwards 
rejected  them,  which  contains  both  a  complaint 
against  the  Lord  and  a  despising  of  the  people 
(vers.  23  and  24),  the  assurance  is  again   given 


2y6 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


that  so  long  as  day  and  night,  and  the  funda- 
mental laws  of  heaTen  and  earth  continue,  so 
long  also  will  kings  of  Jacob's  and  David's  race 
rule  over  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob. 
Tlieir  rejection  is  only  temporary.  The  Lord 
will  turn  the  captivity  of  the  people  (vers.  25, 
26).  From  this  table  of  contents  it  is  clear,  that 
vers.  19-26  are  related  to  vers.  14  18,  just  as  in 
eh.  XXXV.  vers.  35-37,  are  to  vers.  31-34.  In 
form  and  character  the  section  fully  accords  with 
th  J  character  of  the  prophet,  as  will  be  seen  from 
a  consiiliM-ation  of  the  particulars.  Hitzig's 
view,  which  attributes  the  section  to  Ezekiel,  is 
deficient  in  any  solid  basis.  We  may  indeed  in- 
fer from  the  introductory  formulas  (vers.  19  and 
23),  that  the  prophet  received  these  revelations 
separately,  but  not  that  they  are  disconnected 
later  additions,  seeing  that  these  formulas  stand 
in  the  middle  between  the  large  (comp.  xxxii.  1), 
and  the  small  divisions  (thus  saith  Jehovah). 
Moreover  this  formula  with  to  Jeremiah,  is 
found  all  along  from  ch.  xxviii. ;  xxviii.  12 ; 
xxix.  30;  xxxii.  26;  xxxiii.  1,  19,  23;  xxxiv. 
12;  XXXV.  12;  xxxvi.  27;  xxxvii.  6;  xlii.  7; 
xliii.  8.  Previously  we  find  tome;  i.  4,  11;  ii. 
1;   xiii.  3,  8;  xvi.  1;   xviii.  5;   xxiv.  4. 

Vers.  19-22.  And  the  word  .  .  .  who  serve 
me.  To  break  the  covenant  on  which  the  changes 
of  day  and  night  are  founded,  is  not  in  the  power 
of  man.  For  according  to  the  divine  promise 
(Gen.  viii.  22)  in  no  circumstances,  not  even  in 
the  case  of  an  apostasy  similar  to  that  which  oc- 
casioned the  flood,  will  any  change  take  place  in 
the  laws  of  nature,  so  long  as  the  earth  stands.  In 
these  words  it  is  certainly  declared  that  the  earth 
will  one  day  cease  to  exist,  but  it  will  then  ac- 
cording to  the  teaching  of  the  Scriptures  only 
pass  to  a  higher  stage  of  existence  (Isa.  Ixv.  17; 
Ixvi.  22;  2  Pet.  iii.  13;  Rev.  xxi.  1),  and  this 
transition  is  not  an  annulling  of  the  promise 
given  to  David,  but  only  leads  to  a  corresponding 
transition  to  a  higher  stage  of  realization. — My 
covenant  of  the  day  is  the  covenant  which  I 
have  concluded  with  respect  to  the  day,  whose 
object  is  the  day.— David  my  servant.  Comp. 
2  Sam.  iii.  18;  vii.  5,  8;  Ezek.  .xxxiv.  24,  etc. — 
These  verses  express  substantially  the  same 
thought  as  xxxi.  32-37. — As  the  host,  etc.  The 
reference  to  the  promise  given  to  the  patriarchs. 
Gen.  XV.  5;  xxii.  17;  xxxii.  13  is  evident,  and 
corresponds  with  the  mention  of  the  same  in  ver. 
26.  FIengstenberq  has  pointed  out  with  per- 
fect justice  that  Jeremiah  here  by  no  means  pro- 
phesies an  unlimited  increase  of  the  royal  and 
priestly  posterity  which,  as  Jahn  remarks,  would 
be  only  a  burden  on  the  people.  But  in  perfect 
accordance  with  the  declaration  of  the  Lord,  that 
all  Israel  shall  be  a  "kingdom  of  priests  "  (Exod. 
xix.  6),  and  with  the  prophetic  utterances  {Isa. 
Ixi.  0,  "and  ye  shall  be  named  ihe  priests  of  Je- 
hovali:  men  shall  call  you  the  Ministers  of  our 
God;'  Ixvi.  20,  21,  "ana  1  will  also  take  of  them 
to  be  priests  and  Levites  [Levitic  priests]"). 
Jeremiah  here  declares  that  the  threefold  pro- 
mise of  1.  innumerable  increase;  2.  the  priest- 
ly and  royal  character  of  the  whole  people  ;  3. 
the  everlasting  continuance  of  kingdom  and 
priesthood,  will  form  a  grand  harmonious  chord. 
If,  as  cannot  be  denied,  Jeremiaii  has  in  view 
».hat  time,  in  which  all  that  is  ideal  will  be  real, 


his  words  cannot  (whether  he  was  conscious  of 
it  or  not,  is  a  matter  of  indifl'erence),  express 
anything  else  but  this;  the  priestly  and  royal 
seed  will  be  innumerable,  because  the  whole 
nation  having  now  become  innumerable,  will  con- 
sist according  to  its  original  and  essential  idea 
of  priests  and  kings.  The  innumerousness  of  the 
people,  which  was  never  actual  even  in  the  times 
of  the  highest  prosperity  (comp.  2  Sam.  xxiv.  9) 
rests  on  the  inclusion  of  the  whole  of  regenerate 
humanity  (Isa.  Ixvi.  20). 

Vers.  23-26.  Moreover  the  w^ord  .  .  .  have 
mercy  on  them.  In  the  preceding  verses  (20- 
22)  was  positively  declared  the  eternal  duration 
of  the  covenant  which  Jehovah  has  concluded 
with  the  theocratic  kingdom  and  priest liuod;  in 
the  following  verses  this  declaration  is  defended 
against  a  malicious  attack. — It  is  altogether 
wrong  to  understand  by  "this  people,"  foreign 
nations  (Schnurreb  understands  Egypt,  Jahn 
Chaldean  warriors.  Movers  Samaritans,  Hitziq 
the  neighbors  oi  Xhe  Jews  and  of  Ezekiel  on  the 
Chaboras).  It  was  surely  not  worth  the  trouble 
to  rebut  such  an  assertion,  if  it  were  made  by 
the  heathen.  Their  judgment  had  no  weighf  in 
such  a  case.  But  when  Israelites,  who  ought  to 
know  the  relation  of  their  nation  to  the  Lord, 
subscribed  to  such  pessimism,  a  counter-testi- 
mony was  in  place. — It  is  evident  that  Judah  and 
Israel  are  meant  by  the  two  families.  It  is  clear 
both  from  the  following  phrase  "my  people," 
and  "seed  of  Jacob,"  and  "seed  of  Abraham, 
e<c.,"  ver.  26.    nnSi^rD  is  often  used  in  Jeremiah 

T  T  :   • 

of  national  races;  i.  15;  x.  25;  xxv.  9 — And 
thus  despise,  VXJ  is  here  "cum  irrisione   sper- 

nere,'''  as  in  general  the  idea  of  rejection,  rejection 
with  disdain,  is  related  to  that  of  contempt.  Comp. 
xiv.  21  where  33Jn  is  used  as  synonymous  with 
yxjn.  These  Jews  thus  pronounce  on  their  own 
responsibility,  without  any  occasion  on  the  part 
of  the  Lord,  a  sentence  of  rejection  upon  their 
nation,  thus  on  the  one  hand  insulting  God,  as 
though  He  were  inconsistent,  on  the  other  their 
nation,  as  though  it  were  only  good  enough  to 
be  the  foot-ball  of  its  Lord's  caprice. — A  na- 
tion before  them.  From  xxxi.  36  coll.  xxxv. 
19  we  see  that  1,  "  to  be  a  nation  "  signifies  na- 
tional existence  in  opposition  to  division  and 
scattering  of  the  constituents  of  the  nation ;  2. 
that  "before  them  "  is  not  to  be  taken  in  a  tem- 
poral but  a  physical  sense;  i.  e.,  they  maintain 
that  they  will  no  longer  be  witnesses  of  that  na- 
tional existence,  that  their  eyes  will  no  longer  be 
gratified  by  the  sight  of  such  prosperity — If  my 
covenant,  etc.  Comp.  xxxi.  35,  37.  The  charge 
is  rebutted  by  an  appeal  to  th^e  guarantee  in- 
volved in  the  order  of  nature.  Is  this  more  firmly 
established  than  the  order  of  salvation?  To 
supplement  if  by  the  following  have  appointed, 
as  in  2  Sam.  xxiii.  5,  seems  to  me  forced.     If  we 

do  not  wish^  to  take  X'S  according  to  Job  vi.  21  as 
a  substantive,  it  is  sufficient  to  regard  it  as  a 
negative  particle:  if  my  covenant  is  not  daily 
and  nightly,  /.  e.,  has  no  real,  permanent  exis- 
tence.— Then  will  I  reject  the  seed,  etc.  Ob- 
serve that  the  charge  in  ver.  24  involved  the 
rejection  of  both  tribes.  With  a  view  to  this, 
"seed  of  Jacob  "  is  placed  first  as  the  main  con- 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  19-26. 


297 


ception,  "and  David  my  servant"  is  inserted, 
because  if  the  charge  were  well-founded,  the  pro- 
mise in  vers.  17,  18  would  also  fall  to  the  ground. 
Since  now,  however,  the  seed  of  Jacob  is  to  re- 
main in  possession  of  his  promise,  the  basis  is 
thus  given  for  the  preservation  of  the  seed  of 
David.  The  priests  are  no  longer  spoken  of 
specially,  being  included  in  the  seed  of  Jacob. 
The  prophet  lays  special  emphasis  on  the  seed  of 
David,  because  in  ver.  15  he  started  with  this 
idea  as  the  security  and  central  point  of  the 
theocracy.  He  then  connects  this  idea  with  that 
of  the  seed  of  Jacob  by  saying  that  there  shall 
never  fail  a  descendant  of  David  to  rule  over  the 
seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  In  naming 
the  three  patriarchs  he  throws  new  weight  into 
the  scale  in  favor  of  the  nation.  Not  only  Jacob, 
but  Isaac  and  Abraham  also  must  have  lost  favor 
in  the  sight  of  God,  if  He  reject  their  seed.  They, 
however,  are  dear  for  the  fathers'  sake  (Rom. 
xi.  28,  29  coll.  i.  2,  16).  Comp.  Exod.  ii.  24, 
25;  xxxii.  13;  Lev.  xxvi.  42;  2  Kings  xiii.  23; 
Ps.  cv.  8-10;  Isa.  xli.  8. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xxxii.  3.  "An  effect  of  anger  and  a  pro- 
cedure almost  like  that  of  Ahab  with  the  prophet 
Micah.  The  same  spirit  prevails  now-a-days. 
For  without  entering  on  an  investigation,  with 
what  right  or  reason  men  are  found  who  often  in 
pretty  general  e.xpressions  in  a  call  to  repentance, 
borrow  from  the  prophet  all  sorts  of  judicial 
threatening  and  point  to  this  or  that  city,  we 
cannot  avoid  seeing  why  they  are  always  put  in 
arrest,  viz.:  for  this  cause,  'Why  dost  thou  pro- 
phesy what  we  do  not  like  to  hear?'  When  one 
is  sure  of  his  cause,  a  noble  disdain  of  such  peo- 
ple would  be  the  best  means  to  use  against  them. 
But  men  cannot  bear  a  bad  conscience  and 
threaten! ngs  of  all  sorts  together,  and  the  fear 
that  it  may  be  true  has  the  foolish  effect,  that 
they  cause  the  bearers  of  such  unpleasant  tidings 
to  come  to  a  bad  end,  in  order  to  affright  others 
from  coming  with  similar  messages."     Zinzen- 

DORF. 

2.  On  xxxii.  7  sqq.  '■'■  Fundatur  in  hoc  textu  lo- 
cus classicus  de  contractibus  emiionis  et  venditionis, 
guos  improhanl  Anabaplistse,  probnt  Scriptura,  sicut 
ostenditnt  hsfc  quee  jam  sequuntur  documenia:  Prov. 
xxxi.  14;  Matt.  xiii.  3."  Forster. 

3.  On  xxxii.  15.  "The  prophet  had  often 
enougli  declared  the  land  lost  to  the  Chaldeans. 
Here,  iiowever,  he  must  testify  that  it  is  not  lost 
forever:  his  purchase  was  to  restore  confidence 
in  the  future  to  other  troubled  souls.  Thus  the 
most  afflicted  servant  of  God  must  again  be  the 
most  hopeful." — "When  we  are  outwardly  pros- 
perous, we  think  no  one  can  take  our  prosperity 
from  us,  and  when  trouble  comes  upon  us,  we 
again  think  that  no  one  can  help  us.  Both 
courses  are,  however,  equally  ungodly.  There- 
fore God's  servants  must  contradict  both  those 
who  are  at  ease,  and  those  who  are  in  dospair. 
The  reverse  is  always  right.  In  good  days  lium- 
ble  thyself,  and  in  bad  days  let  thyself  be  exalted, 
for  then  it  is  a  great  thing  to  do."   Diedrich. 

4.  On  xxxii.  9,  16,  24,  25.  "Jeremiah  also 
contends,  but  as  a  servant  of  the  Lord.  First  he 
»beys  and  afterwards  speaks  about  it.     This  is  a 


noble  way,  by  which  every  teacher,  who  knows 
the  Lord,  may  prove  himself.  As  soon  as  he  ob- 
serves that  the  Lord  wishes  this  or  that,  it  is  not 
the  time  to  expostulate,  but  to  act,  not  to  call 
anything  in  question,  but  to  set  to  work.  If 
then  any  hesitation  is  left,  or  one  and  another 
scruple,  it  is  time  afterwards  to  consult  with  the 
Lord  about  it,  when  one  has  first  shown  obedi- 
ence." ZiNZENUORF.  ["Though  we  are  bouud 
to  follow  God  with  an  implicit  obedience,  yet  we 
should  endeavor  that  it  may  be  more  and  more 
intelligent  obedience.  We  must  never  dispute 
God's  statutes  and  judgments,  but  we  may  and 
must  inquire.  What  mean  these  statutes  and  judg- 
ments? Deut.  vi.  20."   Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

5.  On  xxxii.  25.  Tertullian  (c.  Marc,  L.  IV., 
c.  40)  sees  in  the  words  "  Buy  thee  the  field  for 
money,"  the  prophetic  passage  to  which  Matt, 
xxvii.  9  refers,  regarding  the  reading  ' Is pe/ilov  as 
correct.  Comp.  Eusbb.  Demonstr.  Ev.,  L.  X.,  c. 
4;   AuGUSTiN,  De  consensu  Evang.,  L.  III.,  c.  7. 

6.  On  xxxii.  27.  To  God  there  is  no  wonder 
[miracle].  There  are  wonders  only  on  the  lower 
stage  of  existence.  Every  higher  stage  is  a 
wonder  to  the  lower.  Or  is  there  only  one  stage 
of  existence,  and  accordingly  only  o?ie  order  of 
nature?  When  the  North  American  savages 
cruelly  murdered  one  of  their  number  who  had 
been  on  a  visit  to  the  Great  Father  in  Washing- 
ton, and  told  them  of  the  wonders  of  civilization, 
as  a  demoniacally  possessed  liar,  were  they  less 
in  the  right  than  our  highly  civilized  savages, 
to  whom  it  is  a  fundamental  axiom,  that  there  la 
no  other  world,  but  that  which  they  can  reach 
with  their  five  senses  ?  It  is  certainly  not  proved 
that  there  is  a  living,  personal,  omnipotent  God. 
But  this  is  not  to  be  proved,  it  is  to  be  felt  from 
the  heart.  He  who  is  born  of  God  heareth  His 
voice.  To  him  also  miracles  cease  to  be  aught 
irrational.  He  knows  well  how  to  distinguish 
between  true  and  false  miracles,  but  the  former 
come  to  him  like  a  voice  from  the  higher  world, 
in  which  he  feels  truly  at  home.  For  the  stages 
of  existence  and  orders  of  nature  are  not  hermeti- 
cally sealed  towards  each  other,  but  the  higher 
break  through  in  order  to  lift  the  lower  up  to 
themselves. 

7.  On  xxxii.  36  sqq.  On  the  fulfilment  of  this 
prophecy  comp.  the  Comm.  on  xiii.  14,  and  the 
Doctrinal  notes  on  iii.  18-25,  No.  8.  As  the 
threatening  that  Israel  should  be  dispersed  among 
all  nations  from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other 
(Deut.  xxviii.  64  titi)  has  been  literally  fulfilled, 
why  should  not  this  promise  also  be  literally  ful- 
filled, that  they  shall  be  collected  from  all  lands 
whither  the  Lord  has  cast  them  out?  Why  can- 
not this  people  be  destroyed  '  Why  do  they  re- 
tain their  peculiarities  with  such  tenacity,  that 
neither  the  most  raging  fanaticism,  nor  the  most 
humane  cosmopolitanism,  which  is  much  more 
dangerous  than  the  former,  can  mingle  them  with 
other  nations  ;  so  that  we  can  fnUow  the  course 
of  their  national  stream  through  tht  .^ea  of  na- 
tions, as  it  is  said  of  the  Rhine  that  its  water 
flows  unmingled  through  the  lake  of  Constance? 
Assuredly  this  people  must  yet  have  a  future. 
Only  thus  much  is  correct,  that  the  real  kernel 
of  these  prophecies  is  offered  to  us  in  a  shell 
which  the  prophets  prepared  from  contemporary 
events,  but  it  is  difficult  to  determine  where  th« 


■2'.;.< 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


shell  ceases  and  the  kernel  begins.  Comp.  Rinck, 
The  Scripluralness  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Millennial 
reign  defended  against  Hengstenbero.  Eberfeld, 
1866,  S.  45  sqq. 

8.  Oa  xxxii.  36  sqq.  "Is  the  consummation  of 
the  redemptive  work  possible  while  Israel  is  re- 
jected as  a  nation  ?  According  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment this  question  must  be  unconditionally  nega- 
tived. This  knows  only  a  temporary  rejection 
of  Israel,  which  at  the  same  time  has  this  result, 
that  Israel  does  not  perish  as  a  nation,  but  is 
preserved  for  future  restoration.  Is  this  law 
annulled  since  Israel  despised  the  gracious  visi- 
tation of  the  Messiah,  the  kingdom  of  God  taken 
from  them  and  given  to  a  people  which  bring 
forth  the  fruits  thereof?  Are  thus  the  predic- 
tions of  the  prophets,  which  treat  of  a  glorifica- 
tion of  Israel  in  the  latter  days,  eternally  abro- 
gated on  account  of  the  nation's  sin?  Or  can 
their  fulfilment  be  found  only  in  a  spirit  ual  manner 
in  the  Christian  church,  the  main  trunk  of  which 
was  formed  by  a  chosen  few  from  Israel  ?  These 
questions  are  answered  in  the  aflSrmative  by  Ber- 
THEAU  {Old  Testament  prophecy  of  Israel's  nation- 
al glory  in  their  own  land.  Jahrb.f.  deutsche  Theol., 
1859  and  1860)  in  accordance  with  the  older  pro- 
testant  theology  (comp.  especially  Hollaz,  Exam. 
theolog.  ed.  Teller,  p.  1264  sqq.)  as  decidedly  as 
according  to  our  conviction  they  must,  on  the 
ground  of  Rom.  i.  25  sqq.,  be  negatived.  It 
seems  to  us  to  be  irrefragably  established  that 
when  the  times  of  the  world-nations  are  full 
(Luke  xxi.  24),  Israel  will  obey  the  gospel  call, 
and  thus  be  prepared  to  welcome  the  Messiah 
(Matt,  xxiii.  39) ;  that  for  this  reason  in  its  dis- 
persion among  the  nations  of  the  earth  it  has 
never  been  absorbed  by  them,  but  preserved  in 
separate  existence  for  its  final  destination,  be- 
cause God's  gifts  of  grace  and  calling  are  ajuera- 
(iklTjTa.'"  Oehler  in  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  XVII.,  S. 
658,  9. 

9.  On  xxxiii.  3.  "This  is  the  Lord's  declara- 
tion to  His  obedient  servant  Jeremiah.  My  dear 
child.  He  says,  thou  hast  acted  according  to  my 
will,  without  knowing  why.  Thou  hast  done 
well.  But  I  will  make  it  clear  to  thee,  so  that  thou 
wilt  wonder  no  more;  I  will  tell  thee  that  and 
yet  more,  so  that  thou  wilt  at  last  say,  'Yes,  let 
it  be  so.'  We  find  such  connections  a  few  times 
elsewhere  in  the  Scriptures.  The  Lord  says, 
'  How  can  I  hide  from  Abraham  the  thing  that  1 
dol'  (Gen.  xviii.  17.)  And  the  same  Lord  de- 
clares to  His  ilisciples,  whence  comes  this  inclina- 
tion or  predisposition  to  tell  something  new  to 
His  disciples,  '  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants, 
for  the  servant  knoweth  not  what  his  Lord  doeth, 
but  I  have  called  you  friends,  for  all  things  that 
I  have  heard  of  my  Father,  I  have  made  known 
unto  you'  (Jolin  xv.  15).  So  also  is  it  here  with 
Jeremiah."  Zi.nzkndouf. 

10.  On  xxxiii.  6.  Healing,  restoration,  joy 
and  permanent  prosperity  are  promised  by  the 
prophet  to  Jerusalem  at  a  time  when  all  seemed 
lost,  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  regain  them. 
How  desolate  must  it  have  then  appeared  in  Je- 
rusalem when  one  house  after  another  was  thrown 
down  to  furnish  means  of  defence!  How  wildly 
raged  the  tumult  of  war,  and  how  comfortless 
was  the  condition  of  the  city  shut  in  hy  the  ene- 
my and  completely  cut  ott"   from  the  rest  of  the 


country  !  To  the  mind  of  him,  who  then  thought 
of  Jerusalem  in  the  future,  pictures  of  destruc- 
tion alone  presented  themselves.  Jeremiah, 
however,  whose  sight  was  sharpened  by  the  divine 
anointing,  sees  beyond  the  present  abomination 
of  desolation  in  the  far  distant  future  pictures  of 
peace  ami,  moreover,  of  everlasting  peace.,  such 
as  no  eye  has  ever  seen,  nor  hath  it  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man.  There  was  the  patience  and 
faith  of  the  saints  (Rev.  xiii.  10).  •  Impossible  ' 
is  a  word,  which  does  not  occur  in  God's  language. 

11.  On  xxxiii.  8.  "After  the  stubborn  race  has 
been  partly  annihilated  and  partly  humbled,  God 
will  turn  the  captivity  of  the  nation,  as  a  whole. 
Israel  cannot  perish  eternally.  God  will  purify 
the  people  from  their  sins,  by  forgiveness,  the 
only  way  in  which  men  can  be  really  freed  from 
sin.  Grace  and  forgiveness  are  the  only  ground 
on  which  we  stand  as  Christians.  This  seems 
nothing  to  the  world,  and  yet  it  is  more  than  hea- 
ven and  earth."   Dieurich. 

12.  On  xxxiii.  7-13.  "An  important  doctrine 
meets  us  in  these  words,  that  it  is  not  the  gifts 
of  God  which  we  should  seek  to  apprehend,  but 
the  love  of  God  which  is  manifested  in  that  He 
imputes  not  our  sin  to  us.  Otherwise  we  treat 
the  Divine  benefits  like  the  fishes  which  swallow 
the  hook  with  the  bait."  Heim  and  Hofmann. 
The  major  prophets  expounded  for  edification,  1839, 
S.  509. 

13.  On  xxxiii.  14-17.  "  All  God's  promises  are 
at  the  same  time  fulfilled  by  the  true  man,  the 
Son  of  Man,  the  pure  sprout  of  David.  He  will 
be  a  King,  in  whom  we  have  perfect  protection 
from  all  destructive  agencies,  for  He  will  help 
us  from  sin,  procuring  and  executing  on  earth 
justice  and  righteousness  for  all  mankind.  Aa 
we  all  together  inherited  sin  and  death  from 
Adam,  so  Jesus  by  His  righteousness  has  brought 
justification  of  life  for  all  men,  if  we  would  now 
only  take  it  with  joy.  Jerusalem  will  itself  bear 
the  King's  name,  as  he  was  called  in  xxiii.  6: 
Jehovah  our  Righteousness,  i.  e.,  that  Jehovah 
bestows  on  us  the  righteousness,  which  is  the 
bond,  which  at  the  same  time  unites  us  to  the  ci- 
tizens of  His  celestial  city."  Dieurich. 

14.  On  xxxiii.  15,  16.  [^The  Lord  our  righteous- 
ness. "  This  is  to  be  explained  by  the  union  of 
the  Church  with  Christ  (see  Rom.  xii.  4,  5 ;  1 
Cor.  X.  17:  xii.  12;  Eph.  i.  22;  iv.  12,  15,  16, 
25;  vi.  23,  30;  Col.  i.  18,  24)  so  that  what  be- 
longs to  Him  is  communicated  to  her  (Calvin, 
PiscATOR,  Muenster). — Thus,  by  virtue  of  her 
mystical  union  with  Christ,  and  by  the  imputa- 
tion of  His  merits,  and  the  infusion  of  His  Spirit, 
the  Name  of  the  Church  may  be  said  to  be  '  The 
Lord  our  righteousness:'  she  hides  herself  in 
Him,  and  is  seen  by  God  as  in  Him ;  she  is 
clothed  with  Christ  the  Sun  of  righteousness  (see 
Rev.  xii.  1)  and  is  accepted  in  the  Beloved  (Eph. 
i.  6)."   Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.] 

15.  On  xxxiii.  17.    [••  When  the  First-begotten 
was  brought  into  the  world  it  was  declared  con 
cerning  Him,  The  Lord  God  shall  gii'c   unto  Him 
the   throne    of  His    Father  David,    Luke    i.    32." 
Henry.— S.R.  A  ] 

16.  On  xxxiii.  13-22.  ["  Four  words,  each  of 
them  full  of  meaning,  coinprise  the  conceptions 
which  we  attribute  to  the  Paradisaical  state. 
They  are   these :    Innocence,   Love,   Rural  Life, 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  19-28. 


299 


Piety;  and  it  is  towards  these  conditions  of 
earthly  happiness  that  the  human  miml  reverts, 
as  often  as  it  turns,  sickened  and  disappointed, 
from  the  pursuit  of  whatever  else  it  may  have 
ever  labored  to  acquire.  The  innocence  we  here 
think  of  is  not  virtue  recovered,  that  has  passed 
through  its  season  of  trial,  but  it  is  Moral  Per- 
fectness,  darkened  by  no  thought  or  knowledge 
of  the  contrary.  This  Paradisaical  love  is  con- 
jugal fondness,  free  from  sensuous  taint.  This 
Rural  Life  is  the  constant  flow  of  summer  days, 
spent  in  gardens  and  afield,  exempt  from  our 
exacted  toil.  This  })iety  of  Paradise  is  the  grate- 
ful approach  of  the  finite  being  to  the  Infinite, — 
a  correspondence  tha.t  is  neither  clouded,  nor  is 
apprehensive  of  a  cloud."  Isaac  IaxTuOB.,  Spirit 
of  Hebrew  Poetry. — S.  R.  A.] 

17.  On  xxxiii.  19-22.  ["  The  richest  promises 
are  confirmed  by  the  strongest  assurances." 
CowLES. — S.  R.  A.]  "As  God's  arrangements 
in  nature  do  not  fail,  still  less  can  His  word  fail 
in  His  kingdom  of  grace,  and  all  His  word  refers 
to  the  divine  Son  of  David  and  His  eternal  king- 
dom of  grace.  Yea,  the  whole  innumerable  Is- 
rael, Abraham's  spiritual  posterity,  shall  become 
Davids  and  Levites,  i.  e.,  priests  and  kings,  as 
was  designed  even  at  the  beginning  of  Israel. 
(Exod.  xix.  G;   1  Pet.    ii.  9;  Rev.  v.  5)."     Die- 

DRICH. 

18.  On  xxxiii.  18-22.  [Wordsworth  rejects 
Hengstenberg's  explanation  that  these  words 
are  to  be  applied  to  all  Christians  indiscrimi 
nately,  and  approves  of  the  argument  derived  by 
the  ancient  Christian  fathers  from  the  passage  in 
favor  of  the  threefold  order  of  ministers  in  the 
Christian  church.  He  adds  "The  Gospel  of 
Christ  and  the  Church  of  Christ  possess  the  spi- 
ritual essence  of  whatever  was  commanded  in  the 
Levitical  dispensations.  Whatever  was  local  and 
personal  in  those  dispensations  has  passed  away. 
The  Tabernacle,  the  Temple,  their  Sacrifices, 
their  Sabbaths,  their  Annual  Festivals,  their 
threefold  Ministry,  all  these  have  been  spiritu- 
alized in  the  Gospel.  Sinai  is  perpetuated  in 
Zion.  The  glory  of  the  Law  has  been  absorbed 
into  that  of  the  Gospel.  See  Ps.  Ixviii.  17,  the 
great  Pentecostal  Psalm." — S.  R.  A.] 

19.  On  xxxiii.  23-26.  "  In  the  first  place  they 
will  not  be  warned,  and  afterwards  they  will 
not  be  comforted.  The  true  prophet  however 
announces  death  to  sinners  according  to  the 
law,  but  afterwards  grace  for  renovation  and 
for  life.  Despair  is  blasphemy.  God's  king- 
dom stands  and  will  be  perfected,  but  the  faint- 
hearted will  not  enter  it.  God  answers:  so  long 
as  heaven  and  earth  are  preserved  by  Me,  it  is 
for  the  sake  of  My  kingdom,  and  as  a  pledge  that 
it  will  not  fail.  Israel  or,  what  is  the  same 
thing,  David's  seed  shall  be  a  royal  seed,  and 
the  captivity  which  the  people  must  now  endure 
is  transient.  It  is  however  impossible  for  the 
worldly  to  comprehend  this,  who  persist  in  carnal 
repose  as  though  no  God  could  punish  them, 
and  again  in  affliction  are  so  despondent,  as  though 
there  were  no  God  to  help  them  any  more." 
DiEPRicH.  ["Deep  security  commonly  ends  in 
deep  despair;  whereas  those  that  keep  up  a  holy 
fear  at  all  times  have  a  good  hope  to  support 
themselves  in  the  worst  of  times."  Henry. — S 
R.  A.] 


HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xxxii.  16.  ["  Before  Jeremiah  went  to 
prayer  he  delivered  the  deeds  that  concerned  his 
new  purchase  to  Baruch,  which  may  intimate  to 
us,  that  when  we  are  going  to  worship  God  we 
should  get  our  minds  as  clear  as  may  be  from  the 
cares  and  encumbrances  of  this  world. — Note, 
Prayer  is  the  salve  of  every  sore."  Henry. — S. 
R.  A.] 

2.  On  xxxii.  17-25.  The  Divine  promises  our 
heat  consolation  in  every  affliction.  1.  There  are 
promises  of  Divine  help  for  every  kind  of  dis- 
tress in  human  life.  2.  These  promises  often 
sound  very  wonderful  (vers.  24  and  25).  3. 
Their  fulfilment  on  the  part  of  God  is  guaranteed 
by  the  perfection  of  the  Divine  nature  (vers.  17- 
19).  4.  Their  fulfilment  is  on  our  part  condi- 
tioned by  faith. 

3.  On  xxxii.  18,  19.  Harvest  [Thanksgiving- 
day]  Sermon.  "To  what  should  our  admiration 
of  the  power  and  grace  of  God  in  the  present  har- 
vest lead  us?  1.  To  thank  God.  2.  To  trust  all 
to  Him,  that  He  has  promised  us.  8.  To  obey 
His  voice."  Jentsch.,   Gesetz  and  Zeugniss,  1853. 

4.  On  xxxii.  19.  "  The  very  serious  and  im- 
portant truth,  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  open  to 
all  the  paths  of  the  children  of  men.  This  should 
1,  shake  us  and  awake  us  from  our  security,  if 
some  of  our  ways  are  sinful  and  such  as  the  Lord 
must  certainly  disapprove  ;  2,  humble  us.  if  we 
are  indeed  under  the  discipline  of  God's  Spii-it, 
and  yet  turn  to  our  own  self-made  courses,  and 
have  not  yet  allowed  a  fixed  and  sure  heart  to  b<j 
imparted  to  us;  8,  be  for  our  comfort  and  en- 
couragement, when  we  are  ofien  led  in  dark  and 
difficult  paths."  J.  M.  Mueller,  Zeugnissc  v. 
Christo.  lWit?iesses  to  Christ}.  Neaes  Frediytbuch., 
Stuttgart,   1866,  S.  1^1. 

5.  On  xxxii.  19.  ["  The  greatness  of  God's, 
wisdom  and  the  abundance  of  His  power.  Proved 
from  His  nature.  Rem.  1.  God  hath  the  power- 
of  making  the  deepest  affliction  of  His  children 
produce  their  highest  happiness.  2.  The  con- 
trivances of  tyrants  to  oppress  the  church  pro- 
cure its  establishment.  3.  The  triumphs  of  Satan 
turn  to  the  destruction  of  his  empire."  Saubin. 
— S.  R.  A] 

6.  On  xxxii.  39.  Wedding-sermon,  "  The  pro- 
mise which  the  Lord  gives  to  God-fearing  cou- 
ples. 1.  One  heart.  2.  Oneway.  3.  One  bless- 
ing, which  shall  extend  to  their  children."  Flo- 
REY,  1862. 

7.  On  xxxii.  40.  Wedding-sermon.  The  na- 
ture and  fruit  of  a  true  marriage.  1.  Its  na- 
ture: it  is  a  covenant  which  a  man  and  a  woman 
conclude  in  the  Lord,  and  with  the  Lord  (put  My 
fear  in  their  hearts; — not  depart  from  Me; — 
everlasting  covenant).  2.  Its  fruit:  good  from 
the  Lord  witliout  ceasing. 

8.  On  xxxii.  40.  ["  Teachers  may  put  good 
things  into  our  heads,  but  it  is  God  only  that  can 
put  them  into  our  hearts,  that  can  work  in  us 
both  to  will  and  to  do.''   Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

9.  On  xxxii.  39-41.  "  The  greatest  and  dearest 
of  all  the  promises  of  God  to  a  marriage  in  the 
higliest  degree  happy  and  delightful."  G.  Conr. 

RiEGER. 

lU.  On  xxxii.  40,  41.  Baptismal  Sermon.   "  The 


»J00 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


gracious  promises  of  God,  which  He  gives  to  a 
child  of  man  in  holy  baptism."  Florey,  1862. 

11.  On  xxxii.  42.  "  In  communion  of  suffering 
of  pious  Christians  is  also  a  blessed  fellowship 
of  consolation,  since  1,  when  we  as  Christians 
bear  with  one  another,  we  can  also  with  each 
other  and  by  each  other  obtain  composure  with 
respect  to  whatever  has  befallen  us;  2,  our  heart 
is  revived  by  what  remains,  viz.,  love  on  earth 
and  hope  in  heaven ;  3,  we  become  strong  for 
whatever  duty  is  laid  upon  us,  viz.,  labor  and 
courage."  Florey,  1863 

12.  Oil  xxxiii.  1.  ["No  confinement  can  de- 
prive God's  people  of  His  presence  ;  no  locks  or 
bars  can  shut  out  His  gracious  visits;  nay,  often- 
times as  their  afflictions  abound  their  consolations 
much  more  abound,  and  they  have  the  most  re- 
viving communications  of  His  favor  then  wli«n 
the  world  frowns  on  them  Paul's  sweetest  Epis- 
tles were  those  that  bare  date  out  of  a  prison." 
Henry.— S.  R.  A.] 

13.  On  xxxiii.  6.  "  The  disease  of  our  times  is 
no  other  than  a  rebellious  spirit,  aad  the  cause 


of  this  is  no  other  than  a  want  of  reverence  foi 
God  and  His  law."  Discourse  on  the  Birth-day 
of  the  king  by  Deacon  Hauber  in  Tubingen. 
Palmer,  Ev   Casualreden,  2te  Folge,  1,  1850. 

14.  On  xxxiii.  14-16.  "Jesus  Christ  a  King, 
1.  From  what  a  noble  royal  stock  did  He  pro- 
ceed! (Raised  by  GoJ,  descending  from  David, 
both  by  His  deity  and  humanity  heir  of  the 
throne).  2.  How  well  has  He  exercised  His  rule 
with  judgment  and  righteousness  (He  Himself  is 
the  Lord,  who  is  our  righteousness).  3.  How 
far  does  His  dominion  extend!  (From  Jerusalem 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth).  4.  How  safely  does 
His  people  dwell  by  His  help  in  peace  !"  Nau- 
MANN,  in  Oesetzu.  Zeugn.,  18H0,  March. 

15.  On  xxxiii.  14-16.  "  AVho  is  He  announced 
to-day?  1.  The  long  promised — with  reference  to 
His  historical  appearance.  2.  The  Son  of  David 
and  at  the  same  time  God's  Son — this  is  His  per- 
sonal significance.  3.  The  Lord,  who  is  our 
righteousness — this  relates  to  His  holy  office 
and  work."  Anaoeee,  in  Gesetz  u.  Zeugn.,  1860, 
March. 


C.  Historical  Appendix  to  zzzii.  1-5. 

(Chap.  XXXIV.  1-7). 

From  the  introductory  words  to  chh.  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.  we  perceive  that  the  event,  which  is  here  narrated 
(xxxiv.  1-7),  falls  in  the  10th  year  of  Zedekiah,  since  the  conference,  in  consequence  of  which  Jere- 
miah was  confined  in  the  court  of  the  prison  (xxxii.  3),  must  be  that  of  ivhich  we  have  an  account  in 
this  passage.  Both  passages  agree  almost  verbatim  in  the  announcement  of  the  fate  impending  on  the 
king  and  the  city  (comp.  xxxii.  3-5  with  xxxiv.  2,  3) ;  especially  is  the  phrase  "  thy  mouth  shall 
speak  to  His  mouth,  thine  eyes  shall  see  Bis  eyes  "  peculiar  to  both.  What  is  said  in  xxxiv.  4,  5  of 
the  fate  of  Zedekiah  is  found  in  a  condensed  form  in  xxxii.  5  in  the  words,  ^^  and  there  shall  he  be 
until  I  visit  him."  The  concluding  words  q/ xxxii.  5  '■'■though  ye  fight,  etc.,''  are  not  found  in  ch. 
xxxiv.  (comp.  rems.  on  xxxii.  1-5). — XXXIV.  1-7  is  therefore  evidently  the  special  report,  written  by 
Jeremiah  himself  of  his  conference  with  Zedekiah.  In  consequence  of  this  conference  he  was  thrown 
hack  into  the  court,  notioithstanding  his  favorable  announcement  to  Zedekiah,  xxxiv.  4,  5.  The  king 
might  have  expected  something  better  from  the  prophet,  as  he  approached  when  not  called  for.  It  was 
after  this  return  to  the  court  that  Jeremiah  received  the  revelation  contained  in  chh.  xxxii.  and  xxxiii. 
The  event  narrated  in  xxxiv.  1  -7  also  precedes  these  two  chapters  in  the  order  of  time.  The  report 
of  it,  perhaps  written  by  the  prophet  immediately  after  the  interview,  is  however,  as  a  brief  isolated  pas- 
sage, added  as  an  appendix.  It  is  evident  that  the  conversation  with  Zedekiah  did  not  long  precede  the 
facts  related  in  chh  xxxii.,  xxxiii., /rom  the  circumstance  that  the  co7ifinement  of  Jeremiah  in  the 
court,  which  is  spoken  of  in  xxxii.  3  as  a  C07isequence  of  the  conversation,  was  properly  a  remanding 
to  prison.  If  then  the  first  confinement,  as  appears  from  xxxvii.  17-21,  especially  y^v.  21,  falls  in 
the  last  period  of  the  siege,  after  the  return  of  the  Chaldeans  from  their  diversion  against  the  Egyptians 
{B.  C.  687),  the  second  incarceration  cannot  be  placed  earlier,  but  must  be  ascribed  to  a  somewhat  later 
dale  of  the  same  year 

XXXIV.  1-7. 

1  The  word  which  came  unto  Jeremiah  from  the  .Lord  [Jehovah]  when  \or  while] 
Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon,  and  all  his  army,  and  all  the  kingdoms  of  the' 
earth,  of  [subject  to,  lit,  the  dominion  of  His  hand]  His  dominion,  and  all  the  peo- 

2  pie,  fought  against  Jerusalem,  and  against  all  the  cities  thereof,  saying,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel :  Go  and  speak  to  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah,  and  tell  him, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  ;  Behold,  I  will  give  this  city  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Ba- 

3  bylon,  and  he  shall  burn  it  with  fire :  And  thou  shalt  not  escape  out  of  his  hand, 
but  shalt  surely  be  taken,  and  delivered  into  his  hand;  and  thine  eyes  shall  behold 
the  eyes  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  speak  with  thee  mouth  to  mouth,'^  and 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  1-7. 


301 


thou  shalt  go  to  Babylon.  Yet  [only]  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  O  Zedekiah  king 
of  Judah  ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  thee,  Thou  shalt  not  die  by  the  sword  :  But  thou 
shalt  die  in  peace ;  and  with  the  burnings^  of  thy  lathers  the  former  kings  which 
were  before  thee,  so  shall  they  burn  odors*  for  thee;  and  they  will  lament  thee, 
saying,  Ah  [alas]  lord!  for  I  have  pronounced  the  word  [spoken  a  word],  saith 
the  Lord.  Then  Jeremiah  the  prophet  spake  all  these  words  unto  Zedekiah  king 
of  Judah  in  Jerusalem.  When  [while]  the  king  of  Babylon's  army  [power]  fought 
against  Jerusalem,  and  against  all  the  cities  of  Judah  that  were  left,,  against  Lachish, 
and  against  Azekah :  for  these  defenced  cities  remained  of  the  cities  of  Judah. 


TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1. — The  article  is  wanting  before  V"1X,  as  in  iii.  2 ;  xiv.  18. 

2  Ver.  3. — [Literally :  thy  moutli  shall  speak  with  his  mouth]. 

8  Ver.  5. — [Henderson  says  twenty-eight  MSS.,  with  the  LXX.,  Arab.,  Syr.,  Vulg.,  read  like  the  burnings. — S.  R.  A.] 
*  Ver.  5. — [Some  render :  light  the  funeral  fire,  but  comp.  Exeg.  rems. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

During  the  siege  (ver.  1)  Jeremiah  receives 
eommaud  to  go  and  announce  to  king  Zedekiah 
that  the  city  will  be  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
king  of  Babylon  and  burned  (ver.  2).  Zedekiah 
himself  will  be  captured,  brought  before  the 
king,  and  carried  to  Babylon  (ver.  3).  Yet  he 
will  not  perish  by  the  sword  (ver.  4),  but  die  in 
peace  and  be  interred  with  royal  honors,  after 
the  traditional  manner  (ver.  5).  Jeremiah  exe- 
cuted this  commission  punctually  (ver.  6)  at  the 
time  when  Jerusalem  and  the  still  uncaptured 
fortified  cities  of  Lachish  and  Azekah  were  being 
besieged  (ver.  7). 

Vers.  1-5.  The  word  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
The  style  in  vers.  1,  2  bears  the  character  of 
great  ditfuseness,  such  as  is  peculiar  to  Jeremiah 
in  the  later  period  of  his  ministry.  Hence  such 
phrases  as  all  the  people,  ver.  1,  and  tell  him, 
ver.  2,  which  strictly  taken  are  superfluous,  need 
not  surprise  us. — Of  the  dominion  of  his 
hand.  This  addition  is  a  restriction  ahd  defi- 
nition of  the  earth  ;  not  all  kingdoms  of  the 
earth,  but  of  the  earth  in  so  far  as  it  was  the 
"dominion  of  his  hand."  Comp.  li.  28^  1  Ki. 
ix.  19. — Go,  etc.  Two  questions  here  present 
themselves  which  it  is  not  easy  to  answer.  1. 
How  is  the  conference  with  Zedekiah  here  nar- 
rated connected  with  the  other  mentioned  in 
xxxii.  3  ;  xxxvii.  17  ?  2.  What  relation  does  that 
bear  which  is  said  in  vers.  4,  5  of  Zedekiah's 
end,  to  the  other  declarations  concerning  it 
(xxxix.  5-7  ;  Iii.  9-11  ;  2  Ki.  xxv.  6,  7)  ?  These 
two  questions  seem  to  be  heterogeneous.  There 
is,  however,  a  close  connection  between  them, 
for  which  reason  we  investigate  the  second  ques- 
tion here  instead  of  at  vers.  4,  5. 

Are  the  words  of  the  prophet  in  vers.  2-5  to 
be  understood  in  a  good  sense  for  Zedekiah,  or 
as  a  menace  ?  All  depends  on  the  understanding 
of  the  sentence  yet  hear,  etc.,  ver.  4.  Venema, 
Chr.  B.  Michaelis,  HiTzxG  and  Graf  are  of 
opinion  that  this  sentence  proposes  an  excep- 
tional case,  viz.,  in  case  Zedekiah  obeys  the  com- 
mand to  give  himself  up  to  the  Chaldeans  the 
threatening  pronounced  against  him  in  ver.  3 
will  not  be  fulfilled,  but  he  will  die  in  quiet  pos- 
session of  his  throne.  The  reasons  urged  for 
this  explanation  are:  The  pleasant  prospect, 
which  in  vers.  4,  5  is  placed  before  Zedekiah, 


would  contradict  the  elsewhere  constantly  re- 
peated exhortation  to  surrender  himself ;  it  would 
also  be  otherwise  too  favorable.  Here  it  is  pre- 
supposed that  ver.  5  can  be  understood  only  of 
the  quiet  possession  of  the  throne  and  of  a  peace- 
ful end  and  honorable  interment,  which  Zedekiah 
will  receive  as  the  reigning  king.  Aside  from 
ver.  4  a,  this  explanation  would  certainly  be  pos- 
sible. It  is,  however,  also  possible  to  under- 
stand ver.  5  as  an  antithesis  to  "  thou  shalt  not 
die  by  the  sword,"  not  a  violent  death  in  battle, 
but  a  natural,  peaceful  end.  This  might  be,  even 
if  Zedekiah  died  a  prisoner  (comp.  Iii.  11),  as 
imprisonment  is  not  necessarily  a  hinderance  to 
the  usual  funeral  obsequies.  The  Jews  were 
generally  well  treated  while  in  captivity, — many 
of  them  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  rulers,  and  ex- 
cited the  envy  of  the  natives  by  their  preferment, 
and  most  of  them  were  undesirous  of  returning 
to  their  native  land. — Jehoiachin  was  elevated  to 
royal  honors  after  twenty-seven  years'  confine- 
ment (Iii.  31).  Why  may  not  Zedekiah  have 
been  kept  in  mild  imprisonment  and  permission 
have  been  given  to  the  Jews  after  his  death  to 
bury  their  king  according  to  the  custom  of  their 
country  ?  This  appears  to  be  the  only  possible 
explanation,  as  the  sentence  "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  thee,"  ver.  4  6,  cannot  be  other  than  a 
summary  of  the  word  of  God,  which,  according  to 
ver.  4  a,  Zedekiah  is  to  hear.  I  leave  out  of  ac- 
count that  the  other  explanation  would  require 
"Listen  to"  or  "Heed"  the  word,  and  also  a 
designation  of  the  divine  word  to  which  Zedekiah 
is  to  listen.  But  it  would  be  indispensable  that 
"  hear  the  word,"  etc.,  should  be  plainly  desig- 
nated as  a  condition,  and  what  follows  as  a  con- 
sequence of  the  condition's  being  fulfilled.  As 
the  words  now  read  ver.  4  b  can  be  taken  only 
as  the  word  which  Zedekiah  is  to  hear.  Ver.  4  a 
then  expresses  no  condition,  but  in  vers.  4  and 
5  a  restriction  or  more  exact  definition  (not  a 
continuation,  as  Hitzig  supposes),  is  added  to 
ver.  3.  In  ver.  3  it  was  said  that  Zedekiah 
should  be  captured  and  taken  to  Babylon.  Vers. 
4  and  5  mitigate  this  harsh  sentence,  adding  that 
he  shall  not  die  by  violence  there,  but  in  peac^ 
and  be  buried  with  royal  honors.  Thus  ren- 
dered, the  passage  harmonizes  with  the  other 
intimations,  which  are  given  with  respect  to  the 
end  of  the  king:  xxxii.  5;  xxxix.  5-7;  Iii.  9-11  ; 
2  Ki.  xxv.  6,  7.  Is  then  this  declaration  adnpted 
to  excite  the  anger  of  the  king?     Though   tha 


302 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


first  part  of  it  is  gloomy,  the  second  presents 
some  points  of  comfort.  The  terrible  fate  which 
befel  the  tyrant  Jehoiakim  (the  words  "  will 
lament  thee,"  ver.  5,  are  in  evident  contrast  to 
xxii.  18)  will  not  be  Zedekiah's.  His  fate,  when 
the  severest  crisis  is  past,  will  take  a  (relatively) 
better  turn;  he  will  at  least  enjoy  a  respectful 
treatment  as  a  prisoner,  and  indeed  again  receive 
honor  after  death.  Zedokiah  is  thus  relatively 
favored.  Should  he  for  this  have  the  prophet 
confined,  as  must  have  been  the  case  if  the  con- 
ference reported  here  be  ideniical  with  that 
meniioned  in  xxxii.  8?  According  to  chh. 
xxxvii.  and  xxxviii.,  where  tlie  whole  history  of 
the  relation!?  bet  ween  Zedekiah  and  the  prophet 
is  related  according  to  its  main  features,  the 
former  confined  the  latter  in  the  court  only  with 
benevolent  intentions.  In  the  first  instance  the 
court  of  the  guard  was  assigned  as  a  mitigation 
in  contrast  to  the  terrible  detention  he  had  suf- 
fered in  the  prison  of  Jonathan,  the ,  Scribe 
(xxxvii.  20).  Afterwards  the  court  of  the  guard 
was  again  assigned  him  out  of  kindness,  after 
his  still  more  terrible  confinement  in  the  pit 
(xxxviii.  13).  Chh.  xxxvii.  and  xxxviii.  make 
the  general  impression  that  Zedekiah  kept  the 
prophetin  custody  only  on  accouutof  the  princes. 
Had  it  not  been  for  these  he  would  have  given 
him  his  entire  freedom  (comp.  xxxviii.  5).  It 
should,  moreover,  be  observed  that  according  to 
xxxiv.  2  Jeremiah  seeks  the  king  freely,  while 
according  to  chh.  xxxvii.  sq.  this  scarcely  seems 
possible.  Then  we  have  reports  of  two  confer- 
ences of  Jeremiah  with  the  king.  On  the  first 
he  is  brought  from  strict  confinement  in  the 
house  of  Jonathan  (xxxvii.  17),  on  the  second 
lie  is  brought  after  his  deliverance  from  the  pit 
(xxxviii.  14).  The  fear,  which  Jeremiah  ex- 
presses on  this  latter  occasion,  shows  that  he 
had  no  desire  to  present  himself  before  the  king. 
Thus  it  appears  as  if  the  different  accounts  of 
Jeremiah's  conferences  with  Zedekiah  would  not 
agree,  especially  does  a  confinement  in  the  court 
of  the  guard  as  a  punishment,  according  to 
xxxii.  3,  seem  to  agree  neither  with  chh.  xxxvii. 
and  xxxviii.  nor  with  xxxiv.  2-5.  Meanwhile  as 
the  apparent  want  of  agreement  itself  excludes 
the  idea  of  an  interpolation,  and  as  there  is 
nothing  in  the  language  which  betrays  a  strange 
hand,  we  are  forced  to  the  hypothesis  that  in 
xxxii.  1-5  and  xxxiv.  1-5  we  have  an  account  of 
a  conference  of  Zedekiah  with  Jeremiah  which 
is  distinct  from  the  two  narrated  in.  xxxvii.  17- 
20  and  xxxviii.  14-16.  From  the  words  "wilt 
thou  not  certainly  put  me  to  death,"  xxxviii.  15, 
it  is  clear  that  Jeremiah  did  not  expect  a  very 
kindly  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  king.  It  is 
conceivable  that  the  court  was  assigned  him  as 
a  place  of  punishment,  when  after  a  voluntary 
visit  to  the  king  (comp.  xxii.  1),  he  was  dis- 
missed with  the  ungracious  words  "back  into 
the  court!"  Although,  as  we  have  shown,  the 
words  in  xxxiv.  4,  5  are  relatively  favorable  to 
the  king,  yet  he  may  have  expected  something 
better  of  the  prophet  when  he  appeared  uncalled 
for  and  have  accordingly  become  indignant  at 
t.i'j  es-ietitially  invariable  prediction  of  the  cap- 
ture of  th(!  city  and  his  own  inipri'-onment  If 
it  is  asked  wliat  was  tlie  object  of  this  address  to 
♦.he  king,  not  occasioned  by  the  king  but  com- 


manded by  God,  it  is  surprising  that  the  prophet 
does  not  say  what  the  fate  of  the  city  will  be  in 
case  of  voluntary  submission  (comp.  xxxviii.  17). 
He  does  not,  however,  say  fully  what  will  be  the 
fate  of  the  king  in  case  of  stubborn  refusal  to 
surrender.  Nothing  is  here  said  of  Zedekiah's 
children  together  with  the  princes  of  Israel  being 
killed  before  his  eyes,  of  his  own  eyes  being  put 
out  (Hi.  10),  or  ot  liis  wives  being  given  to  the 
Babylonian  princes  (xxxviii.  21-23).  This  lack 
of  an  alternative  distinguishes  the  present  pas- 
sage from  xxi.  9;  xxxviii.  2,  17. 

This  passage  reads  like  an  unconditional  sen- 
tence, in  which,  however,  it  is  expressly  remarked 
that  this  still  severe  sentence  is  yet  to  be  regarded 
as  a  mitigation.  (Comp.  vers.  4  and  5  with  xxii. 
18).  It  accordingly  seems  probable  that  this 
passage,  together  with  the  prophecy  closely  con- 
nected with  it  in  chh.  xxxii.  and  xxxiii  ,  belongs 
to  the  period  indicai^ed  in  xxxviii.  26,  i.  e.  to  the 
period  after  the  last  exhortation  which  the  pro- 
phet addressed  to  Zedekiah  conditionally.  Now 
a  simple  announcement  is  made  to  him  of  what 
will  take  place.  The  possibility  that  Zedekiah 
may  yet  tread  the  path  of  deliverance  so  often 
pointed  out  to  him,  is  no  longer  thought  of.  It 
is  still  a  great  favor  that  the  full  terrible  reality 
is  not  yet  disclosed  to  him.  He  doubtless  owed 
this  as  well  as  the  relative  mildness  of  his  sen- 
tence to  the  good-will  he  had  manifested  towards 
the  prophet.  It  certainly  seems,  as  remarked 
above,  that  this  announcement  of  his  sentence, 
by  the  prophet  who  comes  before  him  uncalled- 
for,  first  irritated  liim  towards  the  latter,  on 
which  supposition  the  words,  "Wherefore  dost 
thou  prophesy?"  in  xxxii.  3,  would  be  explained. 

And  with  the  burnings  of  thy  fathers. 
The  burning  of  the  dead  was  not  a  Jewish  cus- 
tom. Burning  alive  only  occurs  as  a  punishment. 
Lev.  XX.  14 ;  xxi.  9  coll.  Isa.  vii.  25 — and  there 
is  a  trace  of  burning  corpses  in  time  of  pesti- 
lence in  Am.  vi.  10  (if  1i31D0=1£nE/0).  At  any 
rate  in  the  present  passage  it  is  the  burning  of 
spices  which  is  meant,  2  Cliron.  xvi  14;  xxi.  19. 
With  this  also  will  agree  the  dative  of  the  pro- 
noun and  the  form  of  the  verb.  Comp.  the  verb 
with  the  accusative  of  the  thing  and  the  dative 
of  the  person  for  whom  the  sacrifice  is  burned. 
Exod.  XXX.  20;  Lev.  vii.  5;  2  Chron.  xiii.  11. 
[Calvin  says,  that  to  prevent  putrefaction,  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  dried  by  a  slow  fire,  but 
only  at  the  burial  of  kings. — S.  R.  A.] 

For  I  have  spoken  a  word.  Not  merely 
breath,  but  a  word  wiiich  is  spirit,  life,  power 
has  the  Lord  uttered.  (Comp.  Deut.  xxii.  47 ; 
Ps.  xxxiii.  4;  cxix.  IGO;  Prov.  xxx.  6;  Isa.  il. 
8;  Iv.  10,  11  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  29).  The  expression 
"  I  have  spoken,"  without  "  word,"  is  found  with 
special  frequency  in  Ezekiel,  v.  13,  15,  17:  xvii. 
21,  24,  etc. 

Vers.  6,  7.  Then  Jeremiah  .  .  .  cities  of 
Judah.  The  performance  of  the  task  is  men 
tioned  as  a  proof  that  Jeremiah  had  the  courage 
to  appear  before  the  king  with  a  message,  which 
was  by  no  means  such  as  he  wished  to  hear  in  a 
time  of  severe  affliction. — Lachish  and  Azekah 
were  both  situated  in  the  Sephela,  the  low  coun- 
try in  the  south-western  part  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  (Jer.  xv.  33,  35,  39).  They  were  both 
fortified  by  Rehoboam  (2  Chron.  xi.  9).    Lachish 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  8-22. 


303 


was  besieged  by  Sennacherib  (2  Ki.  xviii.  14, 
17;  xix.  8;  Isa.  xxxvi.  2;  xxxvii.  8).  ["This 
celebrated  siege  is  supposed  by  Layard  to  be  de- 
picted on  certain  slabs  disinterred  from  the  ruins 
of  Nineveh." — Cowles]. — Fortified  citiescan- 
not  well  be  taken  as  in  apposition  to  cities  of 
Judah,  because  this  addition  would  either  be 
superfluous  or  would  give  the  wrong  thought 
that  unfortified  cities  were  still  left.     It  cannot 


also  well  be  attached  as  a  definition  to  remained : 
7iam  hxc  oppida  ex  oppidis  Judse.  munita  suprrerant 
(Rosenmueller).  It  is  not  credible  that  there 
were  no  other  fortified  cities  besides  these.  It 
can  only  be  in  apposition  to  these  ;  these,  as 
fortified  cities,  were  still  left.  The  reason  of 
their  remaining  is  thus  expressed,  and  this  rea- 
son was  the  strength  of  their  fortifications. 


11.  Hidtorical  Appendix  to  the  Collection  of  Discourses. 

(Chap.  XXXIV.  8-22  and  Chap.  XXXV.) 

At  the  close  of  the  collected  discourses  we  find  two  portions  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  appendix,  inas- 
much as  they  afford  a  glaring  instance  of  Israel's  disobedience  towards  Jehovah,  in  contrast  with  the 
obedience  of  a  non-Israelitish  tribe  towards  the  command  of  their  ancestor.  Th"  history  of  the  dis- 
charge of  servants,  ordered  in  the  pressure  of  distress  but  taken  back  ichcn  the  dniiger  seemed  to  be 
past,  is  a  proof  how  lightly  obedience  to  Jehovah's  law  sat  on  the  hearts  of  the  Israelites,  ivhile  the 
obedience  of  the  Rechabites  to  their  ancestral  ordinances  was  deeply  rooted  and  impregnable.  Although 
the  two  portions  are  chronologically  far  apart,  the  first  belonging  to  the  tenth  year  of  Zedekiah  {more 
exactly  to  the  time  of  the  temporary  suspension  of  the  siege),  the  second  to  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim 
(more  exactly  when  the  first  invasion  of  the  Chaldeans  under  Nebuchadnezzar  was  expected) ;  yet  it  is 
quite  appropriate  that  they  should  stand  side  by  side,  since,  as  remarked  above,  the  second  serves  as  a 
foil  to  the  first. 
The  reason  for  placing  the  older  portion  last  may  be  that  the  following  chapter  (xxxvi.)  belongs  to  the  same 

period,  viz.,  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim. 
The  division  into  two  parts  is  very  clear  and  simple.  The  facts  are  narrated  in  xxxiv.  8-11.  Then  in 
vers.  12-16  the  facts  are  recapitulated  by  the  prophet  with  reference  to  the  legal  enactments,  finally  in 
vers.  17-22  the  divine  sentence  is  pronounced  on  the  covenant-breaking  Israelites. — Chap.  xxxv.  is 
plainly  divisible  into  ttvo  halves.  In  the  first  (vers.  1-11)  the  facts  are  again  related,  in  the  second 
the  parallel  is  drawn  between  the  behaviour  of  the  Rechabites  and  of  Israel,  a7id  corresponding  recom- 
pense announced  to  both. 


A.    THE    DISOBEDIENCE    OF   THE    ISRAELITES 


SHOWN    IN    THEIR    BEHAVIOUR    IN    SETTING    FREE    THEIR 
SERVANTS. 


8 


10 


11 

12 
13 

14 


15 


XXXIV.  8-22. 

This  is  the  word  that  came  unto  Jeremiah,  from  the  Lord,  after  that  the  king 
Zedekiah  had  made  a  covenant  with  all  the  people  which  were  at  Jerusalem,  to 
proclaim  liberty  unto  them  ;^  That  every  man  should  let  his  man-servant,  and  every 
man  his  maid-servant,  being  an  Hebrew  or  an  Hebrewess,  go  free ;  that  none  should 
serve  himself  of  them,^  to  wit,  of  a  Jew  his  brother.  Now  when  all  the  princes, 
and  all  the  people,  which  had  entered  into  the  covenant,  heard  that  every  one 
should  let  his  man-servant,  and  every  one  his  maid-servant,  go  free,  that  none 
should  serve  themselves  of  them  any  more,  then  they  obeyed,  and  let  them  go. 
But  afterward  they  turned,  and  caused  the  servants  and  the  handmaids,  whom 
they  had  let  go  free,  to  return,  and  brought  them  into  subjection  for  [or  compelled 
them  to  be]'  servants  and  for  handmaids.*  Therefore  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
to  Jeremiah  from  the  Loed,  saying.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel ;  I 
made  a  covenant  with  your  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them  forth  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondjaen,  saying,  At  the  end  of  seven 
years  let  ye  go  every  man  his  brother  an  Hebrew,  which  hath  been  sold  [or  who  hath 
sold  himself]  unto  thee ;  and  when  he  hath  served  thee  six  years,  thou  shalt  let 
him  go  free  from  thee :  but  your  fathers  hearkened  not  unto  me,  neither  inclined 
their  ear.  And  ye  were  now  [to-day]  turned,  and  had  done  right  in  my  eight,  in 
proclaiming  liberty  every  man  to  his  neighbor;  and  ye  had  made  a  covenant  be- 
fore me  in  the  house  which  is  called  by  my  name  [whereupon  my  name  is  called]  : 


S04 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


16  but  ye  turned  and  polluted  my  name,  and  caused  every  man  his  servant,  and  every 
man  his  handmaid,  whom  he  had  set  at  liberty  at  their  pleasure,  to  return,  and 
brought  them  into  subjection  [compelled  them],  to  be  unto  you  for  servants  and 
for  handmaids. 

17  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  Ye  have  not  hearkened  unto  me,  in 
proclaiming  liberty,  every  one  to  his  brother,  and  every  man  to  his  neighbor :  be- 
hold, I  proclaim  a  liberty  for  you,  saith  the  Lorl>  [Jehovah],  to  the  sword,  to  the 
pestilence,  and  to  the  famine ;  and  I  will  make  you  to  be  removed*  into  all  the 

18  kingdoms  of  the  earth.  And  I  will  give®  [or  deliver]  the  men  that  have  trans- 
gressed my  covenant,  which  [who]  have  not  pertormed  the  words  of  the  covenant 
which  they  had  made  before  me,  when  they  cut  the  calf  in  twain,  and  passed  be 

19  tween  the  parts  thereof,  the  princes  of  Judah,  and  the  princes  of  Jerusalem,  the 
eunuchs,  and  the  priests,  and  all  the  people  of  the  land,  which  passed  between  the 

20  parts  of  the  calf;  I  will  even  give  them  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  and  into 
the  hands  of  them  that  seek  their  life :  and  their  dead  bodies  shall  be  for  meat 

21  unto  the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  and  to  the  beasts  of  the  earth.  And  Zedekiah,  king 
of  Judah,  and  his  princes  will  I  give  into  the  hand  of  their  enemies,  and  into  the 
hand  of  them  that  seek  their  life,  and  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon's 

22  army,  which  are  gone  up  from  you.  Behold,  I  will  command,  saith  the  Lord,  and 
cause  them  to  return  to  this  city ;  and  they  shall  fight  against  it,  and  take  it,  and 
burn  it  with  fire ;  and  I  will  make  the  cities  of  Judah  a  desolation  without  an  in- 
habitant. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  8. — The  construction  is  ad  sensum,  and  very  common  in  Hebrew.    Comp.  2  Ki.  x.  24;  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  95,  2. 
■2  Ver.  9.— 03    n3i'-    Comp.  xxii.  13 ;  xxv.  14  ;  xxx.  8. 

8  Ver.  11. — D1t^03''V    The  Hiphil  does  not  occur  elsewliere.    The  Masoretes  therefore  read  Kal(ver.  16;  2  Cliron. 
xxviii.  10).  , 

i  Ver.  11.— On  the  construction  ')  DM^^  7^  comp.  Naegelsb.  &r.,  g  95  g.,  Anm.  5. 

5  Ver.  17. — [A.  V.  marg.:  for  a  remoring;  NAEOEtSB.:  for  a  horror ;  Henderson  :  give  yon  up  to  agitation.— S.  R.  A.] 

6  Ver.  18.— [Naegelsb.,  Hitzig,  Wordsworth  :  I  will  make  the  men  who  ....  the  calf  which  they  cut ;  i.  e.  like  the  calf, 
cJc- Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  69,  3.— S.  K.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Vers.  8-11.  This  is  the  word  ...  for  ser- 
vants and  for  handmaids.  Though  the  ex- 
pression "  to  make  a  covenant  "  generally  means 
that  two  persons  pledge  themselves  to  a  mutual 
performance,  which  accrues  to  the  advantage  of 
both  parties,  the  expression  here  denotes  a  per- 
formance which  all  do  in  common  in  the  interest 
of  a  third,  from  which,  however,  advantage  is 
expected  for  all.  For  the  setting  free  was  chiefly 
for  the  advantage  of  those  set  free.  It  was,  how- 
ever, also  hoped  that  it  would  be  for  the  general 
good,  account  being  taken  partly  of  the  gratitude 
of  the  freedmen  and  their  increased  activity  in 
the  defence,  partly  perhaps  also  of  the  favor  of 
Jehovah  thus  to  be  procured.  It  is  clear  that 
the  word  "covenant"  is  thus  employed  in  es- 
sentially the  same  sense  as  usual. — To  proclaim 
liberty  unto  them.  The  expression  is  found 
in  this  sense  besides  only  in  Lev.  xxv.  10;  Isa. 
Ixi.  1  ;  Ezek.  xlvi.  17.  Them  of  course  refers 
to  the  servants  mentioned  afterwards.  The  law 
on  this  point  is  found  in  Exod.  xxi.  1  sqq.  ;  Lev. 
xxv.  39-41 ;  Deut.  xv.  12.  Every  servant  of  He- 
brew origin  was  to  be  set  free  after  six  years' 
service  (without  respect  to  the  Sabbatical  year); 
according  to  Lev.  xxv.  this  was  to  be  done  in  the 
year  of  jubilee.  This  involves  no  contradiction, 
for  in  Ley.  xxv.  it  is  the  law  of  the  jubilee  year 
which  is  given.  The  former  enactment  is  merely 
Bupplementec^  from  this  point  of  view,  the  jubilee 


year  is  to  end  the  service  unconditionally,  where- 
fore the  price  was  to  be  determined  by  the  time 
intervening  befoi-e  the  jubilee  (ver.  50sqq.  where 
it  is  the  sale  of  Israelitish  servants  to  heathen  in- 
habitants which  is  spoken  of,  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  application  of  this  rule  to 
the  purchase  by  Israelites).  Comp.  Saalschuetz, 
Mos.  Rcchi.  Kap.,  14  and  101,  §  3.— These  legal 
prescriptions  had,  like  so  many  others,  remained 
unobserved.  The  reformation  under  Josiah  may 
have  revived  the  knowledge,  but  not  the  obser- 
vance of  them.  The  pressure  of  the  siege  aroused 
the  thought  that  the  observance  of  this  law  might 
be  of  tise  in  both  the  ways  above  indicated. 
They  therefore  pledged  themselves  on  the  king's 
demand  by  mutual  agreement  to  set  free  the  He- 
brew servants  and  maids,  and  as  appears  from 
ver.  9,  all  of  them,  even  those  who  had  not  served 
six  years.  The  supererogation  with  regard  to 
some  was  outweighed  by  their  short-comings 
with  respect  to  the  others.  But — and  this  is  a 
striking  instance  of  false  conversion,  springing 
from  bad  motives, — when  the  danger  seemed  over 
on  the  withdrawal  of  the  Chaldeans,  they  brought 
the  servants  again  under  the  yoke. 

Vers.  12-16.  Therefore  the  word  .  .  .  io\ 
handmaids. — In  the  day.  Comp.  vii.  22  ;  xi. 
4;  xxxi.  32. — House  of  bondmen.  Them 
selves  delivered  from  oppressive  servitude,  Israel 
should  be  kind  towards  their  servants,  which  is 
expressly  designated  in  Deut.  xv.  15  as  the  mo- 
tive of  the  law  of  manumission. — At  the  end 
of  seven  years  cannot  mean  at  the  end  of  every 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  8-22. 


.=^05 


seven  years.  This  would  contradict  what  fol- 
lows, "after  he  has  served  gix  years,"  and  the 
similar  legal  enactments  (Esod.  xxi.  2  ;  Deut. 
XV.  12).  It  can  only  signify  at  the  close  of  a 
septennium.     The  preposition  jD  then  retains  its 

proper  signification; — from  the  close,  i.  c,  when 
the  close  of  the  septennium,  the  seventh  year,  has 
begun.  Comp.  similar  expressions  in  Deut.  xv.  1; 
xiv.  28  coll.  xxxi.  10. — Who  hath  sold  him- 
self. These  words  are  a  quotation  from  memory 
from  Deut.  xv.  12. — Turned,  vers.  15  and  16. 
The  meaning  of  the  verb  is  the  same  in  both  cases, 
only  the  termini  a  quo  and  in  quern  are  opposite. 
— Called  by  my  name.  Every  transgression 
of  the  divine  commands,  but  especially  a  breach 
of  a  covenant  sworn  in  His  name,  is  a  desecration 
thereof  (comp.  Lev.  xix.  12;  xx.  3). — At  their 
pleasure.  The  expression  occurs  also  in  Deut. 
xxi.  14.  It  is  there  used  of  the  captive  woman, 
married  but  afterwards  disapproved.  Here  tlie 
antithesis  is  evidently  not  property  or  family,  so 
that  the  sense  would  be,  what  she  possesses  be- 
longs to  her,  but  tliou  shalt  set  her  person  at 
liberty.  But  the  antithesis  is  the  unfreedom  of 
the  sold,  who  must  go  wherever  his  master  sends 
him,  and  the  freedom  of  the  dismissed,  to  go 
wherever  he  wishes.     The  word  then^accord- 

ing  to,  or  at,  their  pleasure,  IJ'SJ  being  regarded 

as  the  seat  of  desire,  as  in  the  expression  "if  it 
be  your  mind,"  Gen.  xxiii.  8;   2  Kings  ix.  15. 

Vers.  17-22.  Therefore  .  .  .  without  an  in- 
habitant.— Liberty  is  used  the  second  time  in 
ver.  17  ironically  ;  because  ye  did  not  proclaim 
liberty  (that  wliich  is  taken  back  again  directly 
is  as  good  as  none),  liberty  shall  be  proclaimed 
to  you,  but  a  liberty  of  which  you  will  be  the 
victims.  [I  set  you,  whom  I  have  hitherto  re- 
garded as  my  servants,  free,  deliver  you  over,  to 
your  fate,  to  the  sword,  etc. — Hitzig]. — The 
calf.  Ver.  18  seems  to  me  better  connected  with 
I  will  give  [make],  in  which  we  are  gram- 
matically fully  justified  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^ 
69,  3).  So  also  Luther  and  others.  The  sym- 
bolical meaning  of  the  rite  here  alluded  to  ap- 
pears then  immediately  applied,  in  order  to  pre- 
sent before  the  covenant  breakers  the  threatening 
punishment.  They  themselves  are  to  be  the  calf 
cut  in  two.  On  this  rite  comp.  Gen.  xv.  10,  and 
Delitzsch  thereupon.  According  to  the  other 
explanation,  "the  calf"  is  in  opposition  to  "the 
covenant."  Then,  however,  the  similarity  in 
the  fate  of  the  transgressor  to  that  of  the  calf,  is 
only  implicitly  hinted  at,  not  expressed.  The 
late  and  anacoluthic  resumption  "I  will  give," 
in  ver.  21,  is  then  also  troublesome. — In  ver.  19 
chiefs  of  tribes,  city-chiefs  (elders  of  the  city), 
courtiers,  priests  and  common  people,  are  dis- 
tinguished. When  afterwards,  verse  21,  his 
princes  are  again  mentioned  with  the  king,  we 


must  attribute  this  to  Jeremiah's  diffuseness,  and 
emphasize  it  the  less,  as  it  is  very  common  to 
mention  the  king  and  princes  together  (xxiv.  8; 
XXV.  19,  etc.). 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  Onxxxiv.  8-11.  "The peculiar difi'erence be- 
tween hypocritical  repentance  and  true  conver- 
sion. The  hypocrites  when  they  do  penance,  do 
it(l.)  not  from  faith,  but  from  fear  of  distress 
and  dilnger,  in  which  they  are  at  tlie  time;  (2.) 
they  do  not  make  a  change  in  all  points  of  dis- 
obedience, but  only  in  the  ethical,  as  here  with 
the  jubilee  year,  as  if  there  were  nothing  more 
to  be  altered;  (3.)  they  do  such  things  as  make 
a  shovy  for  the  people  and  have  a  high  regard,  as 
the  manumission,  letting  loose  the  rabble,  would 
have  a  great  noise  and  show,  but  meanwhile 
tliere  were  few  thoughts  of  faith,  love,  fear  of 
Godj  hope  and  thanksgiving  ;  (4.)  such  penitence 
does  not  last  long,  but  as  soon  as  the  distress 
finds  a  hole,  the  devotion  goes  with  it."  Cramer. 

2.  On  ver.  12.  "  Qua  locutione  mystica  [verbum 
Jovse  factum  esse  a  Jooa)  qualis  etiam.  Gen.  xix. 
24,  innuitur  mysterium  Trinitatis  juzta  regulam 
Lutheri  commendatam  nobis  in  aureo  scripto  de  ulti- 
mis  verbis  Davidis.  Insinuatur  enim  hac  et  simili- 
bus  loquendi  formulis  pluralitas  personarum,  ut  hie 
Filiiet  Spirilus  sancti."  Forster. 

3.  On  xxxiv.  15,  16,  "  Converted,  but  not 
rightly;  friendship  made  when  the  foot  is  on  the 
neck,  Pharisaic  repentance.  Yet  thus,  there  is 
often  an  interval,  a  period  of  rest  and  of  refresh- 
ment for  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  And  God  has 
tliis  in  view  when  He  extorts  conversions  of  this 

kind."    ZiNZENDORF. 

4.  On  xxxiv.  16, 16, 18-22.  The  Jews  thus  com- 
mitted a  double  sin:  1.  They  did  not  keep  the 
promise  made  to  each  other  and  to  the  servants ; 
2.  They  desecrated  the  name  of  God  by  their 
disobedience  and  breach  of  the  oath  sworn  in 
God's  name  and  house. 

HOMILETICAL    AND   PRACTICAL. 

True  repentance  in  distinction  from  false.  1. 
The  occasion  may  be  the  same  in  both;  external 
distress  (comp.  ex.  gr.,  Isa.  xxviii.  19;  1  Cor.  xi. 
82;  Tit.  ii.  12).  2.  In  false  penitence  the  inward 
disposition  remains  unchanged;  in  true  peni- 
ttnce  man  turns  inwardly  with  pain  and  sorrow 
from  evil  and  to  God.  3.  False  penitence  lasts 
as  long  only  as  the  outward  need  ;  true  penitence 
is  a  permanent  .condition  of  the  heart,  and  not- 
withstanding single  backslidings,  advances  to  a 
more  complete  subjugation  of  the  old  man  (the  old 
Adam  in  us  is  to  be  drowned  and  perish  by  daily 
sorrow  and  repentance). 


20 


306 


THE  PilOPHET  JEREMIAH 


B.    THE  COTJNTERPAKT  TO    THE  DISOBEDIENCE  OF  THE  ISRAELITES:    THE  OBEDIENCE  OF  THE 

BECHABITES  (CHAP.  XXXV.). 

1.    The  Fact. 
XXXV.  1-11. 

1  The  word  which  came  unto  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord  in  the  days  of  Jehoiakim 

2  the  son  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah,  saying,  Go  unto  the  house  of  the  Rechabites,  and 
speak  unto  them,  and  bring  them  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  into  one  of  the  chum- 

3  bers,  and  give  them  wine  to  drink.  Then  I  took  Jaazaniah  the  son  of  Jeremiah, 
the  son  of  Habaziniah,  and  his  brethren,  and  all  his  sons,  and  the  whole  housj 

4  of  the  Rechabites;  And  I  brouglit  them  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  into  the 
chamber  of  the  sons  of  Hauan,  the  son  of  Igdaliah,  a  man  of  God,  which  was  by 
the  chamber  of  the  princes,  which  was  above  the  chamber  of  Maaseiah  the  son  of 

5  Shallum,  the  keeper  of  the  door  [or,  threshold].  And  I  set  before  the  sons  of  the 
house  of  the  Rechabites  pots^  full  of  wine,  and  cups,  and  I  said  unto  them,  Drink 

6  ye  wine.  But  they  said.  We  will  drink  no  wine:  for  Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab 
our  father  commanded  us,  saying,  Ye  shall  drink  no  wine,  neither  ye,  nor  your  sons 

7  for  ever :  Neither  shall  ye  build  house,  nor  sow  seed,  nor  plant  vineyard,  nor  have 
any :  but  all  your  days  ye  shall  dwell  in  tents :  that  ye  may  live  many  days  in  the 

8  land  where  ye  be  strangers.  Thus  have  we  obeyed  the  voice  of  Jonadab  the  son 
of  Rechab  our  father  in  all  that  he  hath  charged  us,  to  drink  no  wine  all  our  days, 

9  we,  our  wives,  our  sons,  nor  our  daughters;  nor  to  build  houses  for  us  to  dwell  in: 

10  neither  have  we  vineyard,  nor  field,  nor  seed:  but  we  have  dwelt  in  tents,  and 
have  obeyed,  and  done  according  to  all  that  Jonadab  our  father  commanded  us. 

11  But  it  came  to  pass,  when  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon  came  up  into  the  land, 
that  we  said,  Come,  and  let  us  go  to  Jerusalem  for  fear  of  the  army  of  the  Chal- 
deans, and  for  fear  of  the  army  of  the  Syrians :  so  we  dwell  at  Jerusalem. 


TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL, 

1  Ver.  5. — J^'iJ,  related  to  J^3J,  nj^3J)  hiHi  designates  here  a  larger  round  vessel  (crater),  from  which  the  cups  were 
filled.    Comp.  Gen.  xliv.  2,  5,  12. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Vers.  1-5.  The  ■word  .  .  .  Drink  ye  wine. 

As  the  Rechabites  did  not  live  in  houses,  the 
house  of  the  Rechabites  must  be  taken  in  a 
gentilic  sense.  The  Rechabites  were  a  branch  of 
tiiat  tribe  of  Kenites,  which  springing  from  Ho- 
bab,  the  brother-in-law  of  Moses  (Num.  x.  2U), 
migrated  with  the  Israelites  from  the  desert  to 
Canaan,  and  were  therefore  closely  connected 
with  them  politically,  as  well  as  religiously 
(comp.  Jud.  i.  10;  iv.  11;  1  Sam.  xv.  6;  xxvii. 
lO;  XXX.  29).  To  what  an  extent  this,  espe- 
cially the  latter,  was  the  case  may  be  learned  from 
what  is  said  of  Jonadab,  the  ancestor  and  law- 
giver of  the  Rechabites,  in  the  book  of  Kings  (2 
Kings  X.  15,  2'^).  The  injunctions  which,  ac- 
cording to  vers.  6,  7,  Jonadab  laid  on  his  descend- 
ants, were  doubtless  for  the  purj)ose  of  preserv- 
ing their  nomadic  state  and  avoiding  the  evils  of 
Stationary  and  agricultural  life.  Jonadab  ap- 
pears to  iiave  forbidden  the  drinking  of  wine,  not 
merely   for   the  sake    of  the   immediate   conse- 


quences, which  it  might  easily  have,  but  also  that 
the  love  of  wine  might  not  be  the  occasion  of 
their  becoming  settled.  The  conscientiousness 
with  which  the  Rechabites  after  three  centuries 
still  followed  the  commands  of  their  ancestor,  is 
a  testimony  that  they  held  him  in  high  honor. 
That  he  deserved  this  honor,  and  that  it  was 
shown  him  by  others  during  his  life-time,  is  seen 
in  the  respect  with  which  Jehu  treated  hira, 
taking  him  as  a  witness  of  his  zeal  in  the  service 
of  Jehovah.     Comp.  Keil  on  2  Kings  x.  12-17. — 

The  nijti'7  were  rooms  in  the  buildings  enclosing 

the  fore-courts,  appropriated  to  various  uses  (1 
Ciiron.  xxviii.  12  coll.  ix.  26;  Jer.  xxxvi.  10,  12, 
20,  21;  l!:zr.  x.  G;  Neh.  x.  38).  One  of  these 
rooms,  which  must  havebeen  ahall  corresponding 
to  the  number  of  the  persons,  was  named  after 
"the  sons  of  Ilanan,  the  son  of  Igdaliah,  the  man 
of  God."  It  is  not  known  who  this  Hanan  was. 
From  the  designation  "man  of  Elohim,"  we  may 
infer  that  he  was  a  prophet  (comp.  Deut.  xxxiii. 
1;  Josh.  xiv.  8;  1  Sam.  ii.  2t);  ix.  8,  10,  etc.), 
and  from  "sons"     (comp.    1    Kings,    xx.  35;  2 


CHAP.  XXXV.  12-19. 


307 


Kings  ii.  3,  5,  7,  16,  etc.),  that  the  room  was  a 
place  of  assemblage  used  by  him  and  his  pupils 
and  adherents.  Maaseiah,  the  threshold-keeper 
(of  which  there  were  three,  lii.  24;  2  Kings 
XXV.  18,  and  who  stood  in  rank  immediately  after 

the  njtZ'O  inj.  Comp.  2  Kings  xxiii.  4)  is  pro- 
bably identical  with  the  Maaseiah,  whose  son 
Zephaniah  was  a  "second  priest"  (lii.  24; 
xxxvii.  o;  xxix.  2o,  xxi.  1). — Of  the  region 
inhabited  by  the  Rechabites  we  have  no  further 
indication  than  the  brief  notice,  1  Chron.  ii.  55, 
from  which  we  learn  merely  tliat  they  dwelt  in 
the  tribe  of  Judah.  Jud.  i.  16  agrees  with  this, 
where  it  is  said  of  the  Kenites,  that  they  settled 
in  the  wilderness  of  Judah,  which  lies  south  of 


I  Arad  (near  the  wilderness  of  Kadesh  to  the  south 

of  Hebron,  Raumer,  Paldst.,S.  172).   As  they  were 

I  Nomads,  they  needed  laud  suited  to  this  mode 

I  of  life.     There  is  no  objection  to  their  southern 

I  position  from  the  approach  of  tlie  enemies  from  the 

N'jrth.     For  they  might  justly  fear  an  inundation 

of  the  whole  land,  and  therefore  sought  refuge  in 

Jerusalem  betimes,  before  they  were  cut  off. 

Ver.  11  Army  of  the  Syrians.  Aram  is 
Syria  in  the  more  restricted  sense.  Before  B. 
C,  738,  when  it  became  an  Assyrian  province, 
it  played  an  important  part  among  the  foes  of 
the  Israelites  (2  Sam.  Viii.  3  sqq.,  etc.),  and 
afterwards  it  still  appears  among  Iheir  number 
in  the  train  of  Assyria  (Isa.  ix.  11),  as  here  iu  that 
of  Babylon  (comp-  2  Kings   xxiv.  2j. 


2.   The  Application, 
XXXV.  12-19. 


12,  13  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  Jeremiah,  saying.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth],  the  God  of  Israel;  Go  and  tell  the  men  of  Ju- 
dah and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  Will  ye  not  receive  instruction  to  hearken 

14  to  my  words  ?  saith  the  Lord.  The  words'  of  Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab,  that 
he  commanded  his  sons  not  to  drink  wine,  are  performed ;  for  unto  this  day  they 
drink  none,  but  obey  their  father's  commandment :  notwithstanding  I  have  spoken 
unto  you,  rising  early  and  speaking   [i.  e.,  zealously  and  unceasingly-]  ;  but   ye 

15  hearkened  not  unto  me.  I  have  sent  also  unto  all  my  servants  the  prophets,  rising 
up  early  and  sending*  them,  saying  Return  ye  now  every  man  from  his  evil  way, 
and  amend  your  doings,  and  go  not  after  other  gods  to  serve  them,  and  ye  shall 
dwell  in  the  land*  which  I  have  given  to  you  and  to  your  fathers :  but  ye  have 

16  not  inclined  your  ear,  nor  hearkened  unto  me.  Because  the  sons  of  Jonadab  the 
son  of  Rechab  have  performed  the  commandment  of  their  father,  which  he  com- 

17  manded  them ;  but  this  people  hath  not  hearkened  unto  me :  Therefore  thus  saith 
the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel ;  Behold,  I  will  bring  upon  Judah,  and 
upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  all  the  evil  that  I  have  pronounced  against 
them :  because  I  have  spoken  unto  them,  but  they  have  not  heard ;  and  I  have 

18  called  unto  them,  but  they  have  not  answered.  And  Jeremiah  said  unto  the 
house  of  the  Rechabites,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel ;  Because  ye 
have  obeyed  the  commandment  of  Jonadab  your  father,  and  kept  all  his  precepts, 

19  and  done  according  unto  all  that  he  hath  commanded  you :  Therefore  thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel ;  Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab  shall  not  want 
a  man  to  stand  before  me  for  ever. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  14.— n31-nX  Dpin.    On  the  construction.  Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  100,  2. 

«  Ver.  14.— Comp.  vii.'lS. 

»  Ver.  15.— TlSiyi  DJStyn.    Comp.  vii.  25  ;  xxv.  4. 

<  Ver.  15.— nOlNn-bx  UE'V  Comp.  XXV.  5.    bxforSy.    Comp.  Comm.  on  x.  1,  as  also  m^n'-bx,  ver.  17,  ana 


the  reverse  in  ri1VD~7^,  ver.  18. 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

The  commands  of  .Jonadab,  the  Rechabite,  have 
been  kept   centuries  after  his  death  by  his  peo- 


ple who  are  not  descendants  of  Abraham,  and 
who  consequently  participate  in  the  covenant  of 
promise  only  mediately,  and  in  the  second  line. 
Israel,  however,  has  not  obeyed  the  commands  of 
Jeliovah,   the  God    of  hosts,   though   they  have 


808 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


been  presented  and  inculcated  unceasingly  by 
prophets.  Therefore  all  the  threateuings  pro- 
nounced by  the  Lord  on  Israel  shall  be  fulfilled. 
But  to  the  Rechabites  it  is  promised,  that  Jona- 
dab  shall  not  want  a  man  to  stand  before  Je- 
hovah. 

Vers.  12-15.  Then  came  .  .  .  hearkened 
unto  me.  From  "go,"  ver.  13,  we  see  that 
Jeremiah  was  to  speak  these  words,  not  in  the 
"chamber,"  but  outside,  to  the  people. — In- 
struction. Comp.  ii.  30;  xxxii.  33. — Return 
ye  now,  etc.  Comp.  xsv.  5. 

Vers.  16-19.  Because  the  sons. .  .forever. — 
Shall  not  w^ant  a  man.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxiii. 
17. — To  stand  before  me.  As  this  expi-ession 
involves  the  idea  of  service  (comp.  Comm.  on  vii. 
10),  and  according  to  the  connection  that  of  the 
priestly  service  or  worship  (comp.  Comm.  on  xv. 
19),  it  is  not  merely  the  continuance  of  the 
Rechabite  family,  but  its  perseverance  in  the 
worship  of  Jehovah.  It  is  said  that  there  are 
still  Rechabites  in  Asia.  Wolff,  the  missionary 
to  the  Jews,  met  them  in  Mesopotamia  and  Ye- 
men. Wolff  designates  the  desert  of  Yemen 
near  Senaar,  as  the  proper  residence  of  these 
Rechabites,  who  still  assert  their  origin  from 
Hobab,  the  brother-in-law  of  Moses.  Comp.  Dr. 
Joseph  Wolff's  Travels. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  As  the  Lord  says  to  the  Jews  of  His  time, 
Luke  xi.  31,  32,  that  the  queen  of  the  South  and 
the  people  of  Nineveh  will  rise  up  in  the  judgment 
against  the  people  of  this  generation,  and  will 
condemn  them,  for  a  greater  than  Solomon  or 
Jonah  is  here,  so  might  Jeremiah  say  to  his  con- 
temporaries that  the  Rechabites  would  rise  up 
against  them,  and  condemn  them,  for  a  greater 
than  Jonadab  is  here. 

2.  The  Rechabites'  obedience  to  their  ancestor's 
command  is  in  itself  praiseworthy  and  exemplary. 
It  is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  fourth  Com- 
mandment. Comp.  Ecclus.  iii.  Were  the  Recha- 
bites equally  conscientious  in  their  observance 
of  the  Divine  commands?  Would  not  a  custom 
contrary  to  the  divine  command  have  been  re- 
tained with  equal  tenacity  on  the  authority  of 
their  chief?  The  family  feeling  and  national 
spirit  are  natural.  They  do  not  mortify  our 
flesh.  They  may,  for  the  sake  of  the  honor  and 
interest  of  our  family,  which  is  mediately  our 
own  personal  honor  and  interest,  impel  us  to  the 
most  difficult  performances.  I  have  heard  of 
•bildren,  on  whom  the  inculcation  of  the  divine 


commands  made  little  impression;  but  when  they 
were  told,  it  is  the  King's  will,  they  did  what  was 
desired  of  them,     Comp.  Mark  vii.  8  sqq. 

3.  "All  families  could  not  pursue  Rechab's 
mode  of  life,  nor  should  they,  God  gires  many 
different  callings;  happy  are  they  who  can  feel 
content  in  the  most  simple,  and  who  constantly 
preserve  the  feeling  of  being  pilgrims  in  this 
world.  It  is  also  not  contrary  to  God's  ordering 
that  distinct  families,  ranks  and  callings,  are 
formed,  or  that  special  plans  are  adopted  for  the 
exercise  of  partnerships  in  certain  times  and  cir- 
cumstances, just  as  the  church  at  Jerusalem  in- 
troduced a  kind  of  community  of  goods.  We  are 
only  not  to  perceive  any  special  sanctity  in  such 
arrangements;  they  are  only  practices,  and  all 
depends  on  the  mind  in  which  they  are  undei'- 
taken."  Diedeich, 

4,  "  Abuli  consueverunt  hac  narratione  de  Re.cha- 
bitis  Monachi  ad  stabiliendam  vitam  monasticam, 
quemadmodum  Bellarminwt  ex  hoc  capite  causam  eo- 
rum  agere  conatur  {De  Mon.  II.,  cap.  5),  hunc  in 
modum  scribens:  '  Ilabemus  etiam  Jer.  xxxv.  insig- 
nem  commendationem  nepotum  Rechab,  qui,  cum  iis 
pater  sive  avus  prtecepisset,  ut  domus  non  eedifica- 
rent,  agros  non  seminarent,  vineas  non  plantarent, 
vinum  nunquam  biberent,  vitam  durissimam  quasi  ex- 
tra mundum  agerent,  omnia  diligentissime  observa- 
runt,  quos  etiam.  monachoruin  nostrorum  figuram 
gessisse   scribit   Hieronymus    in  Epist.  ad  Paulin.' 

Cf.  Hieron.  in  Exod.  cap.  21."     Forster. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

True  obedience  shown  in  the  example  of  Israel 
and  the  Rechabites.  1.  The  Rechabites  put  Is- 
rael to  shame,  in  so  far  as  they  obey  the  com- 
mand of  their  earthly  ancestor,  while  the  latter 
does  not  obey  the  Lord's  command.  2.  The  obe- 
dience of  the  Rechabites  to  the  command  of  their 
earthly  ancestor  is  however  no  pledge  of  their 
obedience  to  the  commands  of  God.  3.  Obedi- 
ence to  God's  commands  is  guaranteed  only  among 
the  spiritual  Israel,  i.  e.,  among  those,  who  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  have  become  members  of  a  higher 
order  of  nature,  in  which  the  will  of  God  is  writ- 
ten in  the  hearts  of  all,  and  has  consequently  be- 
come the  innermost  principle  of  life. — Or,  1,  In 
respect  to  legal  obedience  the  Jews  are  surpassed 
by  the  Rechabites  (the  difference  between  the 
two).  2.  The  obedience  of  the  Rechabites  to 
their  ancestor  does  not  guarantee  their  obedience 
to  God  (equality  of  the  two).  3.  Only  spiritual 
Israel  bears  in  itself  the  guarantee  of  obedience 
to  God's  command  (the  higher  third). 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  1-8.  80» 


SECOND  DIVISION. 

Historical  Presentation  of  the  most  important  Events  from  the  fourth  year  of  Je^- 
hoiakim  to  the  close  of  the  Prophet's  ministry. 

(B.  C.  605—570). 

Chapters  XXXVI.— XLIV. 

To  the  collection  of  discourses  and  its  appendices  are  now  added  historicalisections.  These  contain,  with  the 
exception  of  the  beginning  and  the  conclusion,  a  continuous  historical  narrative.  The  beginning  is 
formed  by  a  single  but  highly  important  event  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  years  of  J^hoiakim's  reign — the 
writiiig  out  of  the  prophecies  (cb.  xxxvi.)  The  conclusion  (ch.  xliv. )  is  formed  by  a  portion,  which, 
after  a  pause  embracing  16-18  years,  gives  an  account  of  Jeremiah's  last  appearance,  in  the  midst  of 
the  people  even  in  Egypt  still  devoted  to  idolatry.  From  ch.  xxxvii.  to  ch.  xliii.  the  events  are  con- 
tinuously narrated,  tvhich  occurred  from  the  beginning  of  ZedekiaKs  reign  up  to  the  arrival  of  the  fu- 
gitive remnant  in  Egypt.  It  should  be  remarked  that  the  presentation  begins  indeed  with  the  beginning 
ofZedekiah's  reign,  but  hurries  rapidly  over  the  first  ten  years  (xxxvii.  1,  2)  and  begins  the  con- 
nected narrative  with  the  imprisonment  of  the  prophet,  tvhich  took  place  in  the  tenth  year  of  this  king. 
The  thread  on  which  the  events  are  hung  is  the  personal  experience  of  the  prophet ;  the  behaviour  of 
the  people  towards  the  Lord's  servant  being  both  the  ground  and  consequence  of  the  fate  which  befel 
them.     The  single  portions  of  this  section  may  be  arranged  as  follows  : 

A.  The  events  before  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  chh.  xxxvi.-xxxviii. 

I.   The  writing  out  of  the  prophecies  in  the  fourth  year  ofJehoiakim,  ch.  xxxvi. 

1.  The  command  and  first  writing,  xxxvi.  1-8. 

2.  The  reading  to  the  people,  xxxvi.  9-18. 

3.  The  reading  to  the  king,  xxxvi.  19-26. 

4.  The  prediction  of  punishment  to  Jehoiakim  and  the  second  writing,  xxxvi.  27-32. 

II.    The  events  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  years  of  Zedekiah,  chh.  xxxvii.  and  xxxviii. 

1.  The  embassy  of  the  king  and  the  imprisonment  of  the  prophet  in  its  first  and  .second  stages, 

ch.  xxxvii. 

2.  Jeremiah  in  the  pit  [third  stage  of  imprisonment),  his  conference  with   the  king  and  confine- 

ment  in  the  court  of  theguard  {^fourth  stage  oj  imprisonment),  ch.  xxxviii. 

B.  The  events  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  chh.  xxxix.-xliv. 

1.  Jeremiah  liberated  from  the  court  of  the  guard,  a?i^  delivered  to   Gedaliah,   xxxviii.  28  6— 

xxxix.  14. 

2.  Appendix  to  xxxix.  1-14;  the  promise  made  to  Ebed-melech  the  Cushite,  xxxix.  15-18. 

3.  Jeremiah  liberated  in  Ramah  and  delivered  the  second  time  to  Oedaliah,  xl.  1-6. 

4.  The  gathering  of  the  people  under  Gedaliah,  xl.  7-16. 

5.  The  murder  of  Gedaliah  and  its  consequences,  ch.  xli. 

6.  The  hypocritical  inquiry,  xlii.  1-6. 

7.  The  unwelcome  answer,  xlii.  7-22. 

8.  The  flight  to  Egypt,  xliii.  1-7. 

9.  Jeremiah  in  Tahpanhes,  xliii.  8-13. 

10.  Jeremiah  at  the  festival  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven  in  Pathros.     The  last  act  of  his  prophetic  mi^ 
iiistry,  ch.  xliv. 

a.  The  charge  against  the  obstinately  idolatrous  people,  xliv.  1-14. 

b.  The  replication  of  the  people,  xW-^.  \b-\^. 

C.  The  recapitulation  of  the  prophet,  xliv.  20-30. 

a.   The  refutation  of  the  people's  assertions,  xliv.  20-23. 

j8.   The  positive  prediction  of  severest  punishment,  xliv.  24-30. 


810 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


A.  The  events  before  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  (chh.  xxxvi. — xxxviii.^ 
I.  The  writing  out  of  the  prophecies  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  {ch.  xxxvi.) 

1.   The  Command -and  the  first  writing. 
XXXVI.  1-8. 

1  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jelioiakim  the  son  of  Josiah  king  of 

2  Judah,  that  this  word  came  unto  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord,  saying,  Take  thee  a  roll 
of  a  book,  and  write  therein^  all  the  words  that  I  have  spoken  unto  thee  against  Is- 
rael, and  against  Judah,  and  against  all   the  nations,  from   the  day  I  spake  unto 

3  thee,  from  the  days  of  Josiah,  even  unto  this  day.  It  may  be  that  the  house  of  Ju- 
dah will  hear  all  the  evil  which  I  purpose  to  do  unto  them  ;  that  they  may  return 

4  every  man  from  his  evil  way ;  that  I  may  forgive  their  iniquity  and  their  sin.  Then 
Jeremiah  called  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  :  and  Baruch  wrote  from  the  mouth  of 
Jeremiah  all  the  words  of  the  Lord,  which  he  had  spoken  unto  him,  upon  a  roll  of 

5  a  book.     And  Jeremiah  commanded  Baruch,  saying,  I  am  shut  up  [hindered] ;  I 

6  cannot  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Therefore  go  thou,  and  read  in  the  roll, 
which  thou  hast  written  from  my  mouth,  the  words  of  the  Lord  in  the  ears  of  the 
people  in  the  Lord's  house  upon  the  fasting  day :  and  also  thou  shalt  read  them  in 

7  the  ears  of  all  Judah  that  come  out  of  their  cities.  It  may  be  they  will  present 
their  supplication^  before  the  Lord,  and  will  return  every  one  from  his  evil  way : 
for  great  is  the  anger  and  the  fury  that  the  Lord  hath  pronounced  against  this 

8  people.  And  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  did  according  to  all  that  Jeremiah  the  pro- 
phet commanded  him,  reading  in  the  book  the  words  of  the  Lord  in  the  Lord's 
[Jehovah's]  house. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ter.  2, — 7X  for  7j^  (comp.  rems.  on  x.  1)  as  is  evident  from  vers.  4  and  29.    In  7X1ti''    1^  however  7J7  has  the 

meaning  of  "  against,"  as  we  see  from  ver.  3,  "  all  the  evil." 

2  Ver.  7. — [Naegelsb.  :  Their  supplication  vpill  come  (prevail)  before  Jehovah.] 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim's  reign  Jere- 
miah receives  the  command  to  commit  to  writing 
the  prophecies  delivered  by  him  from  the  begin- 
ning of  his  prophetic  ministry  (therefore  for 
twenty-three  years).  The  fourth  year  of  Jehoia- 
kim,  as  frequently  shown  already,  was  a  turn- 
ing-point both  in  the  political  world  and  in  Je- 
remiah's ministry.  It  was  then  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  battle  of  Carchemish  both  the  call 
of  Nebucliadnezzar  to  universal  dominion  was 
decided,  and  also  the  question,  who  were  to  be 
the  uortliern  executors  of  the  judgment  on  .Ju- 
dah, so  often  predicted  by  the  proplicl.  It  was 
now  cle.ir  that  they  would  be  the  Chaldeans  un- 
der Nebuchadnezzar.  The  way  to  Palestine  and 
beyond  was  open  to  them.  Their  arrival  was  to 
be  expected  after  a  very  brief  interval.  It  was 
the  last  moment  when  Israel  could  still  propitiate 
the  Lord  by  sincere  penitence,  and  avert  the 
threatening  danger.  To  determine  Israel  to  make 
use  of  the  last  gracious  respite  thus  granted 
a  last  attempt  was  to  be  made  by  the  presenta- 
tion of  Jeremiah's  prophecies  as  a  whole.  They 
were  now  to  hear  at  once,  find  in  a  concentrated 
form,  what  they  had  been  hearing  piece-meal  in 
the  course  of  twenty-three  years,  and  that  a  pow- 
erful elfecl  might  be  expected  from  the  total  im- 


pression, is  seen  from  ver.  16.  Jeremiah  now, 
to  discharge  his  exalted  commission,  dictates  the 
words  of  Jehovah  to  his  faithful  Uaruch,  and 
commands  him  to  read  what  he  has  written  to 
the  assembled  people  on  the  occasion  of  a  fast- 
day,  since  he  himself,  Jeremiah,  is  hindered  from 
being  present. 

Vers.  1-3.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  their 
sin.  From  the  period  before  the  fourth  year  of 
Jehoiakim,  we  tind  in  the  book  of  our  prophet  as 
we  have  it  at  present,  chh.  ii. ;  iii.-vi. ;  vii.-x.;  xi.- 
xiii.;  xiv.-xvii. ;  xviii. ;  xxi.  11-14;  xxii.  1-23; 
xxiii.  ;  xxvi.  Chh.  ixv.  and  xlvi.  1-12;  xlvii.- 
xlix.  33  are  also  to  be  reckoned  in  here,  since  they 
certainly  preceile  the  writing,  which  extended 
into  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim  (xxxvi.  9).  Chh. 
XXX.  and  xxxi.  also  belong  here  chronologically, 
but  in  subject  they  form  a  "13p  by  itself  (comji. 
xxx.  2),  and  cannot  have  been  a  part  of  the  book 
liere  meant,  which  consisted  o\\\y  of  minatory 
prophecies.  The  first  writing  however  did  not, 
according  to  ver.  32,  contain  all  these  passages, 
at  least  not  in  their  present  extent.  The  view  of 
IIiTZiG,  that  Jeremiah  was  not  to  write  out  the 
discourses  for  the  first  time,  but  only  from  the 
scattered  leaves  to  compile  them  into  a  book,  be- 
cause the  former  would  not  have  been  possible 
even  for  the  most  retentive  memory,  has  been 
well  refuted  by  Graf  from  IIitzig's  own  point 
of  view.     From  my  own  point  of  view  I  remark 


ta.ir.  xxxvi.  9-18. 


311 


that  the  same  supernatural  factor  which  operated 
in  the  production  of  the  prophecies  must  have 
acted  also  in  their  reproduction  (comp.  John  xiv. 
26).  Here  neither  the  much  nor  the  little  enters 
into  consideration,  nor  must  we  lay  too  much 
weight  on  the  similarity  of  the  prophecies,  for 
even  the  variations  of  the  theme  have  their  spe- 
cific object  and  occasion,  and  could  not  be  arbi- 
trarily altered. 

It  is  remarkable   that  the   expression  nbjD, 

apart  from  Ps.  xl.  8,  occurs  only  in  Jeremiah 
and  later  writers  (Ezek.  ii.  9  ;  iii.  1 ;  Zech.  v.  1, 
2).  Ps.  xl.,  however,  as  is  well  known,  is  as- 
cribed by  many  to  Jeremiah.  But  comp.  Isai. 
xxxiv.  4.  Hengstenberg,  Beitrdye  II.,  S.  491 
sqq. — Leyrer  in  Herz.  R.-Enc,  XIV.,  S.  18. — 
Ver.  3.  It  may  be,  etc.  It  is  not  expressly  said, 
but  may  be  understood,  that  the  words  of  Jeho- 
vah were  to  be  read  after  being  written,  as  the 
eflFects  mentioned  could  not  be  attributed  to  the 
mere  writing,  and  so  Jeremiah  understood  it, 
vers.  6-8. — That  before  they  may  return  is 
difficult.  We  should  expect  and  they  •will  re- 
turn, (comp.  xxvi.  3).  The  prophet  however 
distinguishes  a  nearer  and  a  more  remote  object. 
The  first  is  that  they  hear,  not  in  a  physical 
sense,  for  that  was  not  problematic,  but  in  a  spi- 
ritual sense,  i.  e.,  in  the  sense  of  marking,  ob- 
serving, taking  to  heart.  Comp.  vii.  13 ;  xxv. 
3,  4,  etc.  The  more  remote  and  properly  main 
object,  to  which  the  proclaiming  and  the  mark- 
ing were  related  only  as  means,  was  that  they 
should  be  converted. 

Vers.  4-8.  Then  Jeremiah  ...  in  Jeho- 
vah's house.  Respecting  Daruch  comp.  xxxii. 
12.  The  reason  why  Jeremiah  did  not  write  liim- 
self  is  not  necessarily  that  he  could  not.  From 
xxxii.  10;  li.  60  on  the  contrary  it  seems  to  fol- 
low that  Jeremiah  was  well  able  to  write.  At 
least  it  is  not  apparent  why  in  these  passages  it 
should  not  be  said  that  Jeremiah  dictated,  since 
such  a  minute  statement  would  well  accord  with 
the  particularity  of  his  style  elsewhere.  It  may 
however  easily  be  conceived  that  in  the  discharge 
of  so  great  a  task,  the  aid  of  a  writer  to  take  the 


mechanical  part,  was  a  necessity  to  the  prophet. 
As  the  reading,  according  to  ver.  9,  did  not  take 
place  till  the  nintli  inontli  of  the  fifth  year  of  Je- 
hoiakim,  the  writing  occupied  nearly  a  year.— c 
Shut  up  ("liy^).  As,  according  to  vers.  19  and 
26,  Jeremiah  and  Barucli  were  able  to  hide  them- 
selves, this  cannot  mean  "imprisontd  "  sis  it  may 
well  do  in  xxxiii.  1 ;  xxxix.  15.  Jeremiah  was 
therefore  only  detained  or  hindered.  By  what 
we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining. — An-d  rea-d 
in  the  roll.     Comp.  Beut.  xvii.    19  ;  Neh.   viii. 

8,  18. — Upon  the  fasting  day.  The  prophet 
does  not  mean  either  the  regular  yearly  fast, 
which  was  observed  in  the  seventh  month  (Lev 
xvi.  29 ;  xxiii.  27),  nor  does  he  expect  in  the  ninth 
month  several  (extraordinary)  fasts,  so  that  we 
should  translate  "  ou  a  fast-day."  The  absence 
of  the  article  is  no  more  emphatic  here  than  in 
iii.  2;  vi.  16,  etc. — "Were  the  ordinary  fast  meant 
in  ver.  6,  andiin  extraordinary  fast-duy  in  ver. 

9,  as  many  of  the  older  commentators  suppose,  we 
cannot  conceive  why  only  the  second  reading  had 
results,  but  the  first  passed  away  without  a  trace. 
— Ver.  7.  They  will  present.  Comp.  xxxvii. 
20;  xlii.  2  coll.  xxxviii.  26;  xlii.  9  ;  Dan.  ix.  18, 
20,  where  we  find  the  Hiphil.  The  expression  ia 
evidently  a  stronger  form  of  "come  before 
thee"  (Ps.  Ixxix.  11;  Ixxxviii.  3  ;  cxix.  170 coll. 
Job  xxxiv.  28)  in  so  far  as  it  involves  the  idea 
of  humble  petitioning,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
collateral  idea  of  prevailing,  being  heard.  For 
that  which /a/^s  down  before  one,  can  as  little  re- 
main unobserved  as  that  which  cowjes  before  one. 
— And  will  return.  The  prophet  presupposes 
that  the  words  of  Jehovah  will  render  clear  to 
the  people  above  all  the  necessity  of  repentance, 
and  that  accordingly  their  prayer  will  above  all 
have  reference  to  power  for  the  fulfilment  of  this 
indispensable  condition.  He  also  hopes  that  this 
effect  will  be  produced  by  the  reading,  as  by  this 
the  greatness  of  God's  anger  will  be  brought  vi- 
vidly before  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  must 
produce  a  wholesome  fear  in  them.  In  ver.  8 
the  accomplishment  of  the  task  is  reported  in 
general.  The  particulars  follow.  Comp,  HiTzia 
in  loc. 


2.  The  reading  to  the  people. 
XXXVI.  9-18. 

9       And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim  the  son  of  Josiah  king  of  Ju- 
dah,  in  the  ninth  month,  that  they  proclaimed  a  last  before  the  Lord  to  all  the  peo- 

10  pie  in  Jerusalem  and  to  all  the  people  that  came  from  the  cities  of  Judah  unto  Je- 
rusalem. Then  read  Baruch  in  the  book  the  words  of  Jeremiah  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord,  in  the  chamber  [cell]  of  Gemariah,  the  son  of  Shaphan  the  scribe,  in 
the  higher  court,  at  the  entry  of  the  new  gate  of  the  Lord's  house,  in  the  ears  of 

11  all  the  people.     When  Michaiah  the  son  of  Gemariah,  the  son  of  Shaphan,  had 

12  heard  out  of  the  book  all  the  words  of  the  Lord.  Then  he  went  down  into  the 
king's  house,  into  the  scribe's  chamber  -}  and,  lo,  all  the  princes  sat  there,  even  Eli- 
shama  the  scribe,  and  Delaiah  the  son  of  Shemaiah,  and  Elnathan  the  son  of 


812 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


13 


14 


Achbor,  and  Gemariah  the  son  of  Shaphan,  and  Zedekiah  the  son  of  Hananiah, 
and  all  the  princes.  Then  Michaiah  declared  unto  them  all  the  words  that  he  had 
heard  when  Baruch  read  the  book  in  the  ears  of  the  people. 

Therefore  all  the  princes  sent  Jehudi  the  son  of  Nethauiah,  the  son  of  Shelemiah, 
the  son  of  Cushi,  unto  Baruch,  saying,  Take  in  thine  hand  the  roll  wherein  thou 
hast  read  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  and  come.'^     So  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  took 

15  the  roll  in  his  hand,  and  came  unto  them.     And  they  said  unto  him,  Sit  down  now 

16  and  read  it  in  our  ears.  Now  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  had  heard  all  the  words, 
tiiey  were  afraid  both  one  and  other,^  and  said  unto  Baruch,  We  will  surely  tell  the 

17  king  of  all  these  words.     And  they  asked  Baruch,  saying,  T?ell  us  now.  How  didst 

18  thou  write  all  these  words  at  his  mouth  ?*  Then  Baruch  answered  them,  He  pro- 
nounced^ all  these  words  unto  me  with  his  mouth,  and  I  wrote  them  with  ink®  in 
the  book. 


TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  12. — [Naegelsbach  :  Chancery  chamber  or  chancellor's  room,  according  to  the  original  Roman  use  of  the  word 
eliancellor  for  chief  notary  or  scribe,  or  accoiding  to  tlie  Scripture  use  for  master  of  decrees,  or  president  of  the  council, 
Ezra  iv.— S.  R.  A.] 

-  Ver.  14. — According  to  our  idiom  the  expression  designates  removal  trom  the  speaker.  In  Hebrew  it  merely  desig- 
nates the  leaving  of  the  former  position  on  the  part  of  the  person  addressed,  the  terminus  in  quern  being  inferred  from  the 
context.    Comp.  1  Sam.  ix.  9;  xi.  14. 

3  Ver.  16.— IHJ^tSx  tJ^'N  nPIS-    On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  7 ;  Gen.  xlii.  28. 

*  Ver.  17. — V30-    The  LXX.  omit  the  word.    So  also  Ewald.    Others  take  it  as  =  VflDH  as  it  must  be  according  to 

their  understanding  of  the  question.    [See  EXEGEt.] 

B  Ver.  18.— X"1p\    The  Imperf.  designates  duration  in  the  past,  wherefore  also  the  part.  3113  corresponds  to  it.  Comp. 

Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  87,/— xiii.  7;  xv.  6. 

6  Ver.  18. — n.  The  word  is  oTT.  Aey.  It  implies  that  Baruch  only  performed  the  mechanical  work.  Comp.  Winee, 
H.-W.-B.  Art.  Schreibekunst ;  Herzoo,  B.-Enc,  Art.  Schriftzeichen  und  Schreibekumt,  S.  19,  [Smith,  Diet.  Ill,  1802]. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim  and  the  ninth 
month  Baruch  on  occasion  of  a  public  fast  reads 
to  the  assembled  people  in  the  temple  the  dis- 
courses of  Jeremiah,  written  down  by  him  (vers. 
9,  10).  Michaiah,  the  son  of  Gemariah,  gives 
notice  of  this  to  the  princes  assembled  in  the 
royal  chancery,  among  whom  was  his  father 
(vers.  11-13).  Thereupon  the  princes  cause 
Baruch  to  be  brought  with  his  roll,  and  com- 
manded him  to  read  it  to  them  (vers.  14,  15). 
What  he  reads  fills  them  with  terror.  They  de- 
clare to  Baruch  that  they  must  inform  the  king 
and  inquire  as  to  the  particular  circumstances 
of  the  writing  (vers.  16,  17).  Baruch  replies 
simply  tliat  Jeremiah  dictated  the  words  to  him 
and  he  wrote  them  down  (ver.  18). 

Vers.  9,  10.  And  it  came  to  pass  ...  all 
the  people.  The  rendering  of  the  "ninth 
niontli"  1)1'  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim  as  the 
ninth  month  of  the  civil  year,  i.  e.  about  Decem- 
ber, is  favored  especially  by  the  circumstance 
that  the  statement  of  the  months  and  days 
(comp.  xxxix.  2),  without  a  previous  exact  state- 
ment of  the  day  and  month  of  the  beginning  of 
the  reign,  would  be  unintelligible  and  purpose- 
less, while,  if  we  understand  the  months  and 
days  of  the  civil  year,  the  matter  is  clear,  pro- 
vided that  the  fragments  of  the  initial  and  con- 
cluding years  are  reckoned  as  full  years. — Pro- 
Claimed  a  fast.  It  was  at  any  rate  an  extraordi- 
nary last,  such  as  was  not  infrequently  appointed 
in  times  of  distress  (comp.  Joel  i.  14;  ii.  15;  1 
Ki.  xxi.  9,  12  ;  2  Ghron.  xx.  3),  then  probably 
occasioued  by  tho  danger  ihreatening  from  the 
Chaldeans  (comp.  ver.  29).     It  is  therefore  very 


probable,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  then  (in  Decem- 
ber of  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim)  had  not  yet 
retired  from  Jerusalem.  This  is  opposed  to  those 
who  make  the  battle  of  Carchemish  immediately 
precede  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  ("only  a  few 
weeks."  Comp.  GustavRosch,  Art.  Bi(/l.  Zeitrech- 
nung  [Bibl.  Chronology]  in  Herzog,  R.-Enc, 
XVIII.,  S.  4ij4).  The  subject,  proclaiming  the 
fast,  appears  (as  in  Jon.  iii.  5  coll,  Joel  i.  14; 
ii.  15)  to  be  the  whole  people.  Elsewhere  it  ia 
the  presiding  officers  who  proclaim  the  fast  (1 
Ki.  xxi.  9,  12;  2  Chron.  xx.  3;  Ezr.  viii.  21). 
Whether  by  the  former  mode  of  expression  any- 
thing is  intimated  concerning  the  suggestion  of 
the  appointment,  or  a  rite  in  proclamations  un- 
known to  us,  is  not  clear.  Ewald,  as  it  seems  to 
me  incorrectly,  after  the  Vulg.,  connects  "all  the 
people"  with  "fast"  as  a  genitive  [^jejimium 
omni populo']. — In  the  chamber  of  Gemariah, 
ver.  10.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxv.  2,  4. — This 
Gemariah  is  named  immediately  afterwards  as 
one  of  the  princes  assembled  in  the  royal  clian- 
cery.  He  had,  it  seems,  as  scribe  a  room  in  the 
temple,  and  also  took  part  in  the  official  trans- 
actions in  the  scribe's  chamber  in  the  king's 
house.  (Comp.  infra  on  ver.  12).  His  father 
appears  to  have  been  scribe  under  Josiah  (2  Ki. 
xxii.  3  sqq.).  Possibly  the  family  was  a  priestly 
one.  (Comp.  2  Ki.  xxii.  3  with  1  Chron.  ix.  11, 
12).  His  brother  Ahikam  is  mentioned  as  a 
protector  of  Jeremiah,  x;cvi.  24.  On  the  upper 
fore-court  and  new  gate  comp.  comm.  on  xx.  2  ; 
xxvi.  10.  The  room  was  situated  not  in  the 
entry  but  at  the  entry,  so  that  it  m'jht  probably 
be  entered  directly  from  the  gateway.  At  any 
rate  it  was  a  very  frequentwl  spot.  As  the 
higher  court  was  that  of  the  priests  (comp. 
Herz.  R.-Enc.  XV.,  S.  509),  which   the  people 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  19-26. 


313 


might  not  enter,  it  is  possible  that  the  new  gate 
led  from  the  higher  into  the  outer  (Ezek.  xl.  17), 
or  great  court  (2  Chron.  iv.  9),  and  that  accord- 
ingly the  room,  from  its  elevated  position,  af- 
forded a  view  over  the  great  court.  Comp.  Hit- 
ZIG,  in  loc. 

Vers.  11-18.  When  Michaiah  ...  in  the 
book.  Michaiah,  the  son  of  iliai  Gemariah  in 
whose  temple-chamber  Baruch  held  his  lecture, 
who  was  probably  present  in  the  chamber, 
thought  himself  called  upon  to  inform  his  father. 
He  found  him  in  the  royal  chancery  (so  Luther). 
According  to  ver.  '10,  the  princes  go  from  the 
chancery  into  the  court  of  the  palace,  to  the 
presence  of  the  king.  Accordingly,  the  chan- 
cery appears  to  have  been  placed  more  on  the 
outer  side  of  the  palace,  probably  for  the  sake 
of  accessibility.  The  "scribe"  Gemariah  ap- 
pears to  have  had  the  ecclesiastical  department 
(ver.  10,  minister  of  worship),  and  the  "scribe" 
Elishama  the  political.  The  latter  was  thus 
chancellor,  or  Secretary  of  State.  Comp.  Her- 
ZOG,  R.-Enc.  XIV.,  S.  2.  On  the  general  mean- 
ing of  "princes"  comp.  the  list  of  Solomon's 
princes,  1  Ki.  iv.  2  sqq. — If  Elishama  is  identi- 
cal with  the  one  mentioned  in  xli.  1  and  2  Ki. 
XXV.  1-5,  which  is  not  impossible,  he  was  a  prince 
of  the  rcyal  family.  Comp.  on  xli.  1. — Elnathan, 
the  son  of  Achbor,  was  mentioned  before  in 
xxvi.  22. — Jehudi,  etc.  The  name  of  his  ances- 
tor leads  us  to  conclude  that  he  was  of  Cushite 
descent.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  name  Jehudi 
was  given  with  reference  to  the  injunction  in 
Deut.  xxiii.  8,  for  there  it  is  merely  said  that  the 
descendants  of  the  Edomites  and  Egyptians  are  not 
to  enter  the  congregation  of  the  Lord  till  the 
third  generation.  With  respect  to  the  other 
nations  (with  the  exception  of  still  more  strictly 
excluded  Canaanites,  Ammonites  and  Moabites) 
there  was  no  such  limitation.  They  might  be 
naturalized  in  the  first  generation  on  fulfilment 
of  the  conditions.  Comp.  Saalschuetz,  Mos. 
Recht,  Kap.  92,  |  3 ;  Kap.  100,  I  2.     Moreover, 


both  the  father  and  grandfather  bear  Israelitish 
names,  and  Jehudi  is  a  family,  not  a  national 
name.  The  feminine,  Judith,  appears,  even  in 
ancient  times,  as  a  proper  name  among  the 
Hittites  (Gen.  xxvi.  34).  Comp.  Fuerst  s.  v. — 
Sit  dow^n  now.  They  are  evidently  friendlily 
disposed.  Comp.  vers.  19  and  25. — I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  they  were  terrified  merely  in  the  in- 
terest of  Jeremiah  and  Baruch.  It  was  possible 
to  protect  them.  Without  doubt  the  concentra- 
tion of  the  threatenings  did  not  fail  of  its  in- 
tended object  in  their  case. — It  was  clear  that 
after  the  public  reading  in  the  temple,  the  mat- 
ter could  not  be  kept  concealed  from  the  king. 
Purposed  concealment  might  be  dangerous  to 
those  whose  duty  it  was  to  report. — Rosenmuel- 
ler,  Hitzig,  Graf  understand  the  question  in 
ver.  17  as  if  the  princes  wished  to  know  whether 
Baruch  had  not  compiled  the  book  against  the 
will  and  knowledge  of  Jeremiah,  from  memory 
or  written  documents.  But  then  the  read- 
ing would  have  been  different.  [See  Textual 
Notes].  As  the  words  stand,  they  seem  to  me 
simply  to  express  the  curious  desire  for  a  peep, 
as  it  were,  into  the  prophet's  workshop.  They 
supposed  that  Baruch  must  have  been  a  witness 
of  secret  transactions,  and  they,  therefore,  wish 
to  know  how  the  dictation,  on  the  part  of  the 
prophet,  was  given,  whether,  ez.  ^r.,  consciously 
or  in  a  state  of  ecstasy.  Baruch  answers  that 
Jeremiah  simply  pronounced  the  words  and  he 
as  simply  wrote  them  down  with  ink.  There 
was  nothing  wonderful  about  it.  How  Hitzio 
can  say  that  Ji'^p  cannot  mean  speaking,  but  only 

reading  to  another,  I  do  not  understand.  Dicta- 
tion requires  no  less  an  elevation  of  the  voice 
than  reading  aloud,  and  may  therefore  be  desig- 
nated as  "calling."  The  phrase  "with  big 
mouth"  also  seems  to  imply  just  the  opposite  of 
reading  from  a  book.  Comp.  ver.  4  with  vers. 
6  and  10. 


3.  Tht  Reading  before  the  King. 
XXXVI.  19-26. 

19  Then  said  the  princes  unto  Baruch,  Go,  hide  thee,  thou  and  Jeremiah ;  and  let 

20  no  man  know  where  ye  be.  And  they  went  in  to  the  hmg,  into  the  court,  but  they 
laid  up^  the  roll  in  the  chamber  of  Elishama  the  scribe,  and  told  all  the  words  in 

21  the  ears  of  the  king.  So  the  king  sent  Jehudi  to  fetch  the  roll:  and  he  took  it 
out  of  Elishama  the  scribe's  chamber.     And  Jehudi  read  it  in  the  ears  of  the  king, 

22  and  in  the  ears  of  all  the  princes  which  stood  beside  [before]  the  king.  Now  the 
king  sat  in  the  winter  house,  in  the  ninth  month  ;  and  there  was  afire  on  the  hearth, 

23  burning  before  him  [the  pot^  kindled  before  him].  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when 
Jehudi  had  read  three  or  four  leaves  [columns],  he  cut  it  with  the  penknife,  and 
cast  it  into  the  fire  that  was  on  the  hearth  [in  the  pot],  until  all  the  roll  was  con- 

24  sumed  in  the  fire  that  was  on  the  hearth  [in  the  pot].  Yet  they  were  not  afraid, 
nor  rent  their  garments,  the  king  nor  any  of  his  servants  that  heard  all  these  words. 

25  Nevertheless'  [And  even  though]  Elnathan  and  Delaiah  and  Gemariah  had  made 
intercession  to  [prayed]  the  king  that  he  would  not  burn  the  roll :  but  [yet]  he 


314 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


26  would  not  hear  them.  But  the  king  commanded  Jerahmeel,  the  son  of  Hamme. 
lech  [the  king],  and  Seraiah,  the  son  of  Azriel,  and  Shelemaiah,  the  son  of  Abdeel, 
to  take  [fetch]  Baruch  the  scribe  and  Jeremiah  the  prophet :  but  the  Lord  [Jeho- 
vah] hid  them. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  20.— On  n"'p3n  comp.  xxxvii.  21 ;  xl.  7. 

8  Ver.  22.— nNn~nX1-  jlXI  is  not  here=and  indeed  with.  It  is  an  emphasizing  of  the  subject,  which  we  might  para- 
phrase by  "and  as  to,"  but  which  the  Hebrews  express  by  the  accusative.  Comp.  2  Ki.  vi.  5;  Ewald,  §  277,  d :  Gesen., 
'i  117,  2. 

8  Ver.  25. — Observe  the  paratactic  construction,  since  QJl  according  to  the  connection  belongs  to  j;OB?  N"?.     Comp. 

Naegelsb.  (?r.,  2,  111,  1  Anm. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  princes  command  Baruch,  together  with 
Jeremiah,  to  hide  themselves  (ver.  19).  There- 
upon they  give  the  king  personally  notice  of 
what  has  occurred  (ver.  20).  The  king  has  the 
roll  brought,  read,  cut  and  thrown  into  the  tire, 
notwithstanding  the  intercession  of  three  princes 
(vers.  21-25).  He  also  wishes  Baruch  and  Jere- 
miah to  be  taken  into  custody,  but  the  Lord  had 
hid  them  (ver.  26). 

Vers.  19,  20.  Then  said  .  .  .  ears  of  the 
king.  It  is  noteworthy  that  under  the  despotic 
and  ungodly  Jehoiakim  the  princes  were  friendly 
to  Jeremiah,  while  under  the  weak  but  kindly- 
disposed  Zedekiah  they  were  hostile  to  him. 
The  reason  for  this  may  be  partly  the  outward 
circumstances,  partly  the  personality  of  the 
king.  Under  Jehoiakim  the  danger  was  not  so 
near,  and  Jeremiah's  continual  exhortation  to 
submit  did  not  make  so  much  the  impression  of 
treachery  and  of  a  laming  influence  (xxxviii. 
4).  Add  to  this,  that  Jehoiakim's  annoyance 
provoked  opposition,  as  Zedekiah's  weakness  did 
insolence. — The  proper  dwelling-house  of  the 
king  (doubtless  identical  with  the  winter  house) 
stood  in  a  court  of  its  own,  "  which,  regarded 
from  the  entrance,  formed  the  hinder  court  of 
the  whole  citadel"  (Keil  on  1  Ki.  vii.  8). — They 
did  not  take  the  roll  with  them,  in  order  as  much 
as  in  them  lay,  to  withdi-aw  it  from  the  eyes  and 
fury  of  the  despotic  king.  If  the  king  himself 
had  it  fetched,  they  were  not  responsible  for 
what  he  did  with  it. 

Vers.  21-24.  So  the  king  .  .  .  these  words. 
— Beside  the  king.  The  king  sat  on  the  floor, 
those  who  were  standing  were  therefore  above 
him.  Comp.  Gen.  xviii.  8;  Jud.  iii.  19;  2  8ani. 
XX.  11. — On  the  winter-house  (Am.  iii.  15)  and 
the  fire-pot  comp.  Winer,  R.-W.-B.  s.  v.  llduser, 
near  the  end.  ["In  common  parlance,  the 
lower  apartments  are  simply  el  belt — the  house; 
the  upper  is  the  'allii/eh,  wliich  is  the  summer- 
house.  Every  respectable  dwelling  has  both, 
and  they  are  familiarly  called  belt  shetawy  and  beit 
%eifi/ — winter  and  summer  house.  If  these  are  on 
Uie  same  story,  then  the  external  amt  airy  apart- 
ment is  the  summer  house,  and  that  for  winter  is 
the  interior  or  more  sheltered  room."  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  I.  p.  478. — "The  Ori- 
entals still  use  pots  made  of  burnt  earthenware 
for  warming,  instead  of  fire-places.  Tiiese  pots 
have  the  form  of  a  large  pitcher,  and  are  usually 
placed   in  a  hollow  place  in   the    middle    of  the 


room.  When  the  fire  is  out,  a  frame  like  a  table 
is  put  over  them,  and  is  covered  with  a  carpet, 
and  thus  the  warmth  is  kept  in  them.  See  also 
NiEBUHR  and  Tavernier  in  Winer,  B.-  W.-B.  I., 
468 ;  Stanley,  Led.  536-538."  Wordsworth. 
— S.  R.  A.]. — The  ninth  month  corresponds 
nearly  to  our  December.  It  was  therefore  the 
cold  and  rainy  season  of  the  year. — Ver.  23. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  etc.  It  is  unequivocally 
evident  from  the  words  "until  all  the  roll  was 
consumed  "  that  the  book  did  not  consist  of  many 
leaves,  but  only  of  one  roll.  The  roll  must  also 
have  been  written  on  one  side  only  or  the  whole 
could  not  have  been  read.  That  Jehudi  did 
read  the  whole  is  evident  (1)  from  the  imperfect 
nj.np''.     If  Jehudi,  after  reading  some  sections, 

had  cut  them  off  and  at  the  same  time  thrown 
them  with  the  rest  into  the  fire,  we  should  have 
had  the  perfect. — It  would  then  be  a  matter  of 
indifference  whether  Jehudi  threw  the  rest  into 
the  fire  entire  or  after  successive  abscissions,  for 
the  latter  is  in  itself  a  perfectly  unessential  cir- 
cumstance. It  is  only  of  account  if  the  succes- 
sive reading  was  connected  with  it.  Only  in  the 
latter  case  is  the  imperfect,  expressing  repe- 
tition in  the  past,  in  place  (compare  remarks 
on  J^Tp',  ver.  18). — (2)  From  the  words  "  till 
all  the  roll  was  consumed  "  and  the  preceding 
words.  Had  Jehudi  thrown  all  at  once  into  the 
coals,  it  could  at  most  be  said  that  they  looked 
on  and  waited  till  the  entire  roll  was  burned 
up.  But  as  it  is  said,  that  Jehudi  cut  and  threw 
into  tiie  fire  till  the  whole  roll  was  consumed, 
there  must  evidently  have  been  a  repeated  cutting 
and  throwing.  Such  a  course,  however,  presup- 
poses also  a  successive  reading  of  the  wliole,  for 
if  he  did  not  wish  to  read  it,  why  should  he  not 
throw  it  all  at  once  into  the  fire.     With  this  also 

agrees  the  prefix  3  before  X'^P,  which  designates 

the  coincidence  (comp.  Gen.  xviii.  1;  xxxix.  18; 
Deut.  xvi.  6;  1  Kings  i.  21),  and  accordingly  in 
repeated  actions  must  assume  the  meaning  of  "as 
often  as."  How  Graf  can  deny  this,  is  as  incon- 
ceivable as  the  assertion,  that  the  successive 
reading  and  cutting  would  be  unnatural  or  in- 
deed trifling.  As  to  the  first,  the  tenor  was  in- 
teresting and  exciting  enough  to  render  the  king 
desirous  of  knowing  the  whole;  as  to  the  second, 
it  was  the  subservient  Jehudi  who  would  not 
wait  till  the  end,  to  execute  punishment  on  the 

hateful    book.      If  the    r\in7T    were   not    single 

T  :  ° 

leaves,  they  were  columns,  the  lines  of  which  ran 
parallel  with  the  margin  of  the  roll.     The  ex- 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  27-32. 


31f 


pression  doors,  which  occurs  nowhere  else  in  this 
sense,  is  easily  explained  by  the   square    shape 
of  the  columns,  which  were  probably  also    en- 
closed in  lines.     Jehudi's  cutting  the   roll   with 
his  penknife,  and  not  tearing  it  with  his  hands, 
is  explained  by  the  character  of  the  material. 
Even  if  it  were  a  papyrus  roll,  cutting  was  to  be 
preferred  to  tearing,  because  in  this   latter  way 
he  would  be  sure  to  injure  the  next  columns.     It! 
is,  moreover,   questionable  whether  they  would 
have  burned  a  leather  or  parchment  roll. — Rent ' 
their  garments.     On  this  custom  comp.  Winer,  j 
R.-W.-B.,  Art.  Trailer.     By  the  servants  of  the; 
king   who     "heard   all  these  words,"  are  here 
evidently  to  be  undei'stood  those  who  beard  them 
here  for  the  first  time,  not  those  who  had  already 
heard  them  in  the  secretary's  office.     Their  peti- 
tion shows  the  respect  which  they  entertained  for 
the  words  of  the  Lord. 
Vers.  25,  26.  And  even  though  .  .  .  hid 


/them. — Jerahmeel,  the  king's  son.  As  ac- 
cording to  2  Kings  xxiii.  36,  .Jehoiakim  came  ta 
I  the  thi-one  when  twenty-five,  and  was  then  in  the 
fifth  year  of  his  reign,  at  most  thirty  years  of  age, 
he  could  not  have  had  a  grown-up  son,  such  as 
this  Jerahmeel  must  have  been.  "Son  of  the 
king"'  is,  therefore,  here  a  prince  royal.  Comp 
xxxviii.  6  with  xli.  1;  Dan.  i.  3. — Who  Seraiah, 
the  son  of  Azriel,  Shelemiah,  the  son  of  Abdeel 
were,  we  do  not  know,  but  the  messengers,  judg- 
ing from  the  rank  of  the  first,  appear  to  have 
been  very  respectable.  Jehoiakim  thus  at  least 
honored  the  prophet  of  the  Lord,  sending  men 
of  the  highest  rank  to  apprehend  him.  Accord- 
ing to  ver.  19  the  kindly-disposed  princes  com- 
manded Jeremiah  and  Baruch  to  hide  them- 
selves. They  had  obeyed.  We  are  now  informed 
that  the  Lord  Himself  had  guided  them  in  the 
choice  of  a  hiding-place,  and  thus  guarded  against 
their  discovery. 


4.   The  Prediction  of  Punishment  to  Jehoiakim  and  the  Second  Writing. 

XXXVI.  27-32. 

27  Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  to  Jeremiah,  after  that  the  king  had 
burned  the  roll,  and  the  words  which  Baruch  wrote  at  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah,  say- 

28  ing.  Take  thee  again  another  roll,  and  write  in  it  all  the  former  words  that  were 

29  in  the  first  roll,  which  Jehoiakim  the  king  of  Judah  hath  burned.  And  thou  shalt 
say  to^  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah] ;  Thou  hast 
burned  this  roll,  saying,  Why  hast  thou  written  therein,  saying,  The  king  of 
Babylon  shall  certainly  come  and  destroy  this  land,  and  shall  cause  to  cease 
[exterminate]  from  thence  man  and  beast? 

30  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  of  [against]'  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Ju- 
dah, He  shall  have  none  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of  David  :  and  his  dead  body  shall 

31  be  cast  out  in  the  day  to  the  heat,  and  in  the  night  to  the  frost  [cold].  And  I  will 
punish^  him  and  his  seed  and  his  servants  for  their  iniquity ;  and  I  will  bring  upon 
them,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  upon  the  men  of  Judah,  all  the 
evil  that  I  have  pronounced  against  them  ;  but  they  hearkened  not. 

Then  took  Jeremiah  another  roll,  and  gave  it  to  Baruch  the  scribe,  the  son  of 
Neriah,  who  wrote  therein  from  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  all  the  words  of  the  book 
which  Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah  had  burned  in  the  fire :  and  there  were  added 
besides  unto  them  many  like^  words. 


32 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Vers  29,  30.— "7_^t  after^^X  has  the  meaning  of  "  over,  concerning,"  thoughfrom  the  connection  in  a  hostile  sense.  Ot 
ter.  31,  where  after  'riXDn  the  third  time  we  find  ^X,  comp.  remarks  on  x.  1. 

2  Ver.  31.— [Literally :  I  will  visit  upon.— S.  R.  A.] 

8  Ver.  32.— [Or,  as  many  more ;  literally :  as  many  as  they.— S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL    AND  CRITICAL. 

Jehoiakim  could,  indeed,  burn  the  roll,  bu  not 
the  living  word  of  God  present  in  themind  of  the 
prophet.  He,  therefore,  gained  nothing  by  his 
act.  On  the  contrary  he  thus  increased  both  his 
guilt  and  the  number  of  the  prophecies  predicting 
calamity  in  the  new  roll. 

Vers.  27-32.  Then  the  word  . .  .  like  words. 


The  direct  address  to  Jehoiakim  in  ver.  29 
passes  over  into  the  indirect  in  ver.  30.  But  as 
the  former  is  not  to  be  conceived  of  as  to  the 
king  in  bodily  presence,  and  as  it  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  question  put  into  the  mouth  of 
Jehoiakim,  "Why  hast  thou  written,"  etc.,  iha 
transition  to  the  third  person  is  easily  explained. 
Comp.  Naec.elsb.  Gr.,  ^  101,  2,  ^w?j.— Ver.  30, 
He  shall  have  none,  etc.  The  successor  of 
Jehoiakim  was  his  son  Jehoiachin  (2  Kings,  xxiv. 


316 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


6).  But  the  reign  of  the  latter  was  so  brief  (it 
lasted  only  three  months)  that  it  does  not  come 
into  consideration.  On  what  is  said  of  his  corpse 
comp.  lems.  on  xxii.  19. — Like  words.  In  itself 
nonS    may   certainly   be  referred  to   "words," 

T  *'  T 

and  the  similar  import  of  the  additions  to  be  thus 
declared.  Then,  however,  it  would  stand  better 
after  "words."  Its  position  after  "many,"  seems 
to  be  to  indicate  that  it  is  to  be  referred  to  tliis 
word,  and  that  thus  the  quantitative  similarity 
is  to  be  declared.  Accordingly  the  new  collection 
must  have  been  about  double  the  size  of  the  pre- 
vious one. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  ver.  2.  The  object  of  the  writing  was 
notouly  that  ^'  lilerascriptamanet"  {Cb.amer:  "the 
mouth  speaks  only  to  those  who  are  present,  but 
the  pen  to  the  absent;  the  mouth  speaks  only  to 
the  present  hours  and  times,  the  pen  many  hun- 
dred years  afterwards  also."  Comp.  Exod.  xxxiv. 
27;  Deut.  x.  4,  5;  xvii.  18;  Isa.  xxx.  8;  Hab. 
ii.  2),  but  also  to  collect  all  the  single  lightning 
strokes  into  one  grand  prophetic  tempest.  More- 
over, it  is  a  matter  of  course  that  the  written  word 
was  of  special  use,  not  only  to  posterity,  but  also 
to  the  contemporaries  in  so  far  as  it  rendered  pos- 
sible continued  study,  repeated  quiet  contempla- 
tion, and  careful  comparison.  Jeremiah  certainly 
prevented  no  one  from  taking  copies  of  his  book. 

2.  On  ver.  4.  Did  Jeremiah  hold  such  a  rela- 
tion to  the  Spirit  of  God  as  Baruch  to  Jeremiah 
when  dictating?  Then  it  was  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference to  whom  the  dictation  was  made.  Then 
a  Saul  would  do  as  well  as  a  Samuel,  if  he  could 
only  write.  The  best  writer  would  be  the  most 
chosen  instrument.  There  was  no  mingling  of 
the  individuality  of  the  prophet  except  in  the 
MS.,  and  that  is  lost  to  us  with  the  original.  All 
prophetic  writings  must  have  the  same  type  as  to 
form  and  purport,  which,  as  is  well  known,  is  so 
little  the  case  that  according  to  the  saying  of 
BuFFON,  le  style  c'est  rhomme,  the  portrait  of  a 
prophet  might  almost  be  drawn  from  his  style. 

3.  On  ver.  5.  "God's  word  is  not  bound;  2 
Tim.  ii.  9.  Paul  for  example  wrote  his  most 
beautiful  epistles  from  prison,  as  those  to  the  Ga- 
latians,  the  Ephesians,  the  Philippians,  the 
Colossians,  to  Philemon,  and  the  second  to  Timo- 
thy." Cramer. 

4.  On  ver.  14.  "It  is  a  good  state  of  things 
wlien  rulers  ask  for  God's  Word,  and  cannot  be 
answered  or  helped  promptly  and  quickly  enough 
to  the  fulfilment  of  their  purpose.  So  it  was  a 
joy  to  Paul  that  he  couM  tell  Agrippa  what  the 
Lord  had  done  for  his  soul,  and  his  heart  yearned 
after  Agrippa,  Festus  and  all  those  around  them." 

ZiNZENDORF. 

5.  On  ver.  16.  "When  a  true  servant  of  God 
gets  his  superiors  so  far  that  they  hear  him,  he 
may  surely  not  doubt,  that  he  will  also  bring 
them  to  obedience.  It  is  then  not  his,  but  the 
Lords  affair."  Zinzendorf. 

6.  On  ver.  23.  "  The  higher  the  enemies  of 
God  are,  the  more  dangerous;  the  greater,  the 
more  bitterly  opposed  to  the  work  of  the  Lord, 


and  the  general  patience  with  respect  to  the 
wickedness  ancl  unrighteousness  of  men,  has 
certainly  given  something  special  to  the  So^acg. 
Procul  a  Jove  procul  afubaine.''   Zinzendorf. 

7.  On  ver.  23.  '■'■Locus  maxime  principalis  in 
prxsenti  hoc  textu  est  de  combustione  sacrorum  libro- 
rum,  quale  fatum  illi  experd  sunt  non  tantuni  Jer. 
xxxvi.,  verum  etiam  1  Mace.  i.  59  sub  Antiocho 
Epiphane;  nee  7ion  tempore  Diocletiani,  qui  et  ipse 
multa  bibliorum  sacrorum  exemplaria  undiquaque 
conquisita  comburi  jussit  ;  quorum  vestigiis  insistere 
non  dubitarunt  Pontifices  roriiani  et  prsesertim  Leo  ^F. 
qui  anno  1520  binos  legatos  emisit  ad  Fridericum 
Sapientem,  postulant es  ab  ipso,  ut  libros  Lutheri 
combureret  .  .  .  Quid  hodie  Jesuitx  de  Ubrorum  com- 
bustione, qui  a  Lutheranis  eduntur,  sentiant,  pecu- 
liari  scripto  Gretserus  aperuit,  quod  de  hoc  argu- 
mento  consarcinavit  [de  jure  et  more  prohibendi, 
expurgandi  et  abolendi  libros  hsereticos  et  noxios. 
Ligoist.  1G03,  4°)."  Forster. 

8.  On  ver.  25.  "AVhen  John's  head  was  in 
question,  Herod  did  not  understand  how  he  could 
resist  his  magnates.  When  Daniel  is  to  go  into 
the  lions'  den,  Darius  has  not  the  heart  to  refuse 
his  princes.  When  Jeremiah  is  to  be  delivered 
up,  Zedekiah  says  with  great  modesty  to  his 
princes:  '  the  king  can  do  nothing  against  you' 
(xxxviii.  5).  But  when  anytliing  evil  is  to  be 
done,  the  rulers  can  insist  on  having  their  own 
way.  Here  we  have  an  instance:  he  hearkened 
not  unto  them."  Zinzendorf. 

9.  On  ver.  26.  "  Dominus  eos  abscondidisse  di- 
citur,  qua  ratione  olim  Eliam  (1  Reg.  xvii.  2  sqq.  et 
xviii.  12),  nee  non  Elisseum,  (2  Reg.  vi.),  itemque 
Athanasium  et  Augustinum  et  nostra  tempore  IjUthe- 
rum  abscondidit."    Forster. 

10.  On  ver.  27.  ["  Here  is  a  sublime  specimen 
of  the  triumph  of  God's  Word,  when  repressed  by 
the  power,  and  burnt  by  the  rage  of  this  world, 
whether  it  be  in  the  suppression  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, or  in  preventing  their  circulation,  or  in 
casting  copies  of  them  into  the  fire,  or  in  the 
imprisonment  and  martyrdom  of  Gods  preachers. 
That  Word  rises  more  gloriously  out  of  all  its 
persecutions."  Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.I 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  2,  3.  Sermon  at  a  Bible  Society 
Anniversary.  The  blessing  of  the  written  ■word.  1. 
That  which  it  has  in  common  with  the  spoken 
word  (ver.  3):  preparation  of  the  heart  for  the 
reception  of  salvation.  2.  That  which  it  brings 
in  distinction  from  the  written  Word  :  (a)  it  is 
present  for  every  one:  (6)  it  is  present  at  every 
time  and  at  every  place-  (c)  it  is  present  in  all 
its  parts  (comparison). 

2.  On  vers.  21-32.  The  majesty  of  the  Word.  1. 
The  power,  which  the  word  exercises.  2.  The 
independence,  which  it  maintains.  3.  The  self- 
verification  which  it  continually  effects.  Sermons 
in  Berlin  by  Fr.  Wilh.  Krummacher.  Berlin, 
1849. 

3.  On  ver.  24.  ["The  guilt  of  indifference  to 
the  divine  threatenings.  It  involves:  1,  con- 
tempt of  God;  2,  unbelief,  making  God  a  liar  ;  3, 

extreme  hardness  of  heart."  Payson. — S.  R.  A.l 
J  ■' 


CHAP.  XXXVII.  1-21.  317 


II.  The  Events  in  the  Tenth  and  Eleventh  year  of  Zedekiab. 

(Chap,  xxxvii.  and  xxxviii.) 

1.   The  embassy  of  the  King  and  the  Imprisonment  of  the  Prophet  in  its  First  and  Second  Stage. 

Chap.  XXXVII. 

1  And  king  Zedekiah  the  son  ot  Josiah  reigned^  instead  of  Coniah,  -the  son  of  Je* 
hoiakim,  whom  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon  made  king^  in  the  land  of  Judah. 

2  But  neither  he,  nor  his  servants,  nor  the  people  of  the  land,  did  hearken  unto  the 
words  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  which  he  spake  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 

3  And  Zedekiah  the  king  sent  Jehucal  the  son  of  Shelemiah  and  Zephaniah  the 

4  son  of  Maaseiah  the  priest  to  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  saying.  Pray  now  unto  the 
Lord  [Jehovah]  our  God  for  us.     Now  Jeremiah  came  in  and  went  out  among 

5  the  people :  for  they  had  not  put  him  into  prison.'  Then  Pharaoh's  army  was 
come  forth  out  of  Egypt,  and  when  the  Chaldeans  that  besieged  Jerusalem  heard 
tidings  of  them,  they  departed  from  Jerusalem. 

6  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  unto  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  saying, 

7  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel;  Thus  shall  ye  say  to  the  king  of  Judah^ 
that  sent  you  unto  me  to  inquire  of  me;  Behold,  Pharaoh's  army,  which  is  come 

8  forth  to  help  you,  shall  return  [is  returning]*  to  Egypt  into  their  own  land.  The 
Chaldeans  shall  come  again,  and  fight  against  this  city,  and  take  it,  and  burn  it 

9  with  fire.     Thus  saith  the  Lord;  Deceive  not  yourselves,^  saying,  The  Chaldeans 

10  shall  surely  depart  from  us  :  for  they  shall  not  depart.  For  though  ye  had  smitten 
the  whole  army  of  the  Chaldeans  that  fight  against  you,  and  there  remained  but 
wounded  men  among  them,  yet  should  they  rise  up  every  man®  in  his  tent,  and  burn 

11  this  city  with  fire.     And  it  came  to  pass,'  that  when  the  army  of  the  Chaldeans  was 

12  broken  up  [had  retired]  from  Jerusalem  for  fear  of  [before]  Pharaoh's  army,  Then 
Jeremiah  went  forth  out  of  Jerusalem  to  go  into  the  land  of  Benjamin,  to  separate 

13  himself  thence  [to  raise  an  inheritance  there]  in  the  midst  of  the  people.  And 
when  he  was  in  the  gate  of  Benjamin,  a  captain  of  the  ward  [watch]  ivas  there, 
whose  name  was  Irijah,  the  son  of  Shelemiah,  the  son  of  Hananiah ;  and  he  took 
[seized]  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  saying.  Thou  fallest  away  [art  going  over]  to  the 

14  Chaldeans.     Then  said  Jeremiah,  It  is  false  [a  lie].:  I  fall  not  away  [am  not  going 

15  over]  to  the  Chaldeans.  But  he  hearkened  not  to  him:  so  Irijah  took  Jeremiah, 
and  smote  him,  and  put  him  in  prison  in  the  house  of  Jonathan  the  scribe:  for 

16  they  had  made  that  the  prison.     When*  Jeremiah  was  entered  into  the  dungeon, 

17  and  into  the  cabins,*  and  Jeremiah  had  remained  there  many  days ;  Then  Zedekiah 
the  king  sent,  and  took  him  out:  and  the  king  asked  him  secretly  in  his  house,  and 
said,  Is  there  any  word  from  the  Lord?     And  Jeremiah  said.  There  is  :  for,  said 

18  he,  thou  shalt  be  delivered  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon.     Moreover  Jere 
miah  said  unto  king  Zedekiah,  What  have  I  ofiended  against  thee,  or  against  thy 

19  servants,  or  against  this  people,  that  ye  have  put  me  in  prison  ?  Where  are  now'" 
your  prophets  which  prophesied  unto  you,  saying.  The  king  of  Babylon  shall  not 

20  Come  against  you,  nor  against  this  land?  Therefore  hear  now,  I  pray  thee,  O  my 
lord  the  king :  let  my  supplication,  I  pray  thee,  be  accepted"  before  thee ;  that 
thou  cause  me  not  to  return  to  the  house  of  Jonathan  the  scribe,  lest  I  die  there. 

21  Then  Zedekiah  the  king  commanded  that  they  should  commit  Jeremiah  into  the 
court  of  the  prison,  and  that  they  should  give  [and  they  gave  him]  him  daily  a 
piece  of  bread  out  of  the  bakers'  street,  until  all  the  bread  in  the  city  were  spent. 
Thus  Jeremiah  remained  in  the  court  of  the  prison  lor  guard.] 


118 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH, 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL 

1  Ver.  1.— Naegelsb.:  And  Zedekiah  became  king.  The  phrase  "jSD'lSrD"')  (instead  of  the  simple  "^"JD^Ij  as  is  espe- 
cially common  in  the  book  of  Kings.  Comp.  1  Ki.  xi.43 ;  xii.  17  ;  xiT.  20,  31,  etc.),  does  not  occur  except  in  xxiii.  5  where, 
however  there  is  more  reason  for  the 'H/O-  Wemust  not,  however,  finda  parallel,  as  Kimchi  does,  with  such  expressions  as 
•^■^j  *nj,  "^JS  TJ3,  where  the  noun  stands  in  th«  accusative,  nor  with  Hitzig  attract  '^70  •^^'p^y,  and  translate:  and 
»  king.  Zedekiah,  came  to  the  government,  etc.,  for  Zedekiah  was  not  king  when  he  came  to  the  government.     "jlO  is  rather 

to  be  taken  as  more  exact  definition  of  the  predicatec  and  Zedekiah  came  to  the  government  as  king,  etc.    The  pleonasm 
seems  to  accord  with  J*?remiah's  more  diffuse  style. 

2  Ver.  1. "^lyX  before  '^'"7071  is  accus.,  and  to  be  Esferred  to  Zedekiah.  Comp.  2  Ki.  xxiv.  17. 

s  Yer.  4. N'bjD  HO-  Here,  as  in  lii.  31,  in  which  passages  alone  the  word  occurs,  the  Masoretes  would  alter  with- 
out any  necessity  to  ii>h2.    Comp.  Gesen.,  ?  84, 13,  etc. 

4  Yer  7 lyix*?  2]i^-    The  participle,  naving  itself  no  tense  can,  from  the  context,  signify  only  that  they  are  in  the 

act  of  returning. 

6  Ver.  9.— [Literally:  your  souls.— S.  R.  A.l      .  L         L_    ,  .,..,,,,,.. 

6  Ver  10 HiTMG  correctly  remarks  that  0"^}^,  in  antithesis  to  7'n~/J  denotes  inaividuuls,  a,nd  tha.t  therefore  it 

,  •   T-:  ■•       T 

Is  more  correct  to  connect  r?nX3  U/''^  with  what  follows,  as  the  punctuation  denotes,  since  it  is  evidently  intended  to 

express  that  these  individuals,  without  any  previous  agreement,  would  arise,  moved  by  a  divine  impulse,  to  perform  the 

work  of  destruction.  _        «  ...    «  ...    „„  i     ^ 

V  Ver.  11.— riTIV  This  form  stands  here,  a  trace  of  the  later  usage,  for  TI'V  Comp.  iii.  9;  xxxvui.  28  0;  Ewald,  ^ 
345  h ;  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  88,  7,  Anm.  '  '•'  ,  ^       . 

8  Ver.  16. 2  at  the  beginning  of  the  verse  is  surprising.    Neither  its  causal  nor  its  temporal  signification  is  suitable 

here.    The  LXX.  translate  <cal  JiKOev,  Hitzig,  Ewald,  Graf  and  others  read  ^y^  with  reference  to  1  Sam.  ii.  21,  and  2  Ki. 

XX.  12  coll.  Isai.  xxxix.  1.  .  ,     .  i        ,^       t .  ,   .^        . 

9  Ver.  16.— [Or :  cells  ;  Naegelsbach  has  :  vaults.  "  Some  suppose  it  to  mean  bent  bars,  by  which  the  prisoner  was  con- 
fined, and  in  which  he  sat  as  in  a  cage  in  a  distorted  position,  (Gesen.,  Graf)."    Wordsworth.— S.  R.  A.] 

10  Ver.  19. With  respect  to  the  form  1'XI,  the  question  is,  how  the  Chethibhis  to  be  pronounced  I'X  or  VX-    Usually 

the  former  is  adopted,  an  obscuration  of  the  suflax-meaning  being  maintained  as  in  npl  j    Fdekst  on  the  other  hand  (Fid. 

p.  W.  B.  S.  66)  isof  opinion  that  weare  to  read  TX,  which  stands  for  j^X  with  the  old  plural  termination,  the  traces  of 

which  are  preserved  in  verbs  and  particles  (Comp.  Olsh.,  J  16,  6).   The  decision  is  difficult,  as  the  form  is  a  solitary  one  with 
either  punctuation. 

U  Ver.  20.— [Literally  :  fall]. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL, 

This  chapter  consists  of  two  parts,  reporting 
two  events,  which  had  their  course  or  beginning  in 
the  pause  occasioned  by  the  departure  of  the  Chal- 
deans. In  the  first  part  (vers.  1-10)  it  is  related 
that  Jeremiah  replied  to  an  embassy  of  king  Ze- 
dekiah, which  he  sent  to  the  prophet  with  the 
request  for  his  intercession  (vers.  1-5) : — The 
army  of  Pharaoh  which  has  come  out  to  your  as- 
sistance will  return  again  to  their  own  country, 
the  Chaldeans  however  will  resume  tbe  siege  of 
Jerusalem  and  capture  the  city  and  burn  it  (vers. 
6-8).  Therefore  deceive  not  yourselves!  Even 
were  the  Egyptians  to  smite  the  entire  Chaldean 
army,  and  there  were  only  a  few  wounded  men 
left,  these  would  rise  from  their  tents  and  burn 
Jerusalem  (vers.  9,  10). — In  the  second  part  the 
i  iiprisonment  of  the  prophet  is  described,  in  vers. 
10-16  its  occasion  and  first  stage,  and  then  in 
vers.  17-21,  the  (by  the  favor  of  Zedekiah) 
loss  severe  second  stage. — Jeremiah  had  wished, 
during  the  pause  caused  by  the  temporary  with- 
drawal of  the  Chaldeans,  to  leave  Jerusalem  and 
go  into  the  land  of  Benjamin  to  attend  to  a  little 
business  of  inheritance  (vers.  11,  12).  He  was 
however  detained  at  the  gate  by  the  commander 
of  the  watch,  as  he  entertained  the  suspicion  that 
Jeremiah  wished  to  go  over  to  the  enemy  (ver. 
13).  Jeremiah's  assurance  that  he  had  no  such 
intention  was  of  no  avail.  He  was  brouglit  be- 
fore tlie  princes,  who  caused  him  to  be  beaten 
and  closely  imprisoned  in  a  dungeon,  where  he 
languished  for  some  time  (vers.    14-16).     From 


this  prison  Zedekiah  had  him  secretly  brought 
one  day,  to  inquire  whether  there  was  any  word 
from  the  Lord.  Jeremiah  could  answer  in  the 
affirmative,  but  could  only  give  a  revelation  of 
the  same  tenor  as  before.  Thou  wilt  be  given  into 
the  hands  of  the  Chaldeans.  Still  at  the  earnest 
petition  of  the  prophet  Zedekiah  does  not  send 
him  back  to  the  prison,  but  has  him  confined  in 
the  court  of  the  guard,  and  scantily  supplied  with 
bread  (vers.  17-21). 

Vers.  1,  2.  And  king  Zedekiah  ,  .  .  the 
prophet  Jeremiah.  With  respect  to  Coniah 
comp.  rems.  on  xxii.  24. — People  of  the  land. 
Comp.  rems.  on  i.  18. — Did  not  hearken. 
Comp.  xxxvi.  31. 

Vers.  3-5.  And  Zedekiah  .  .  .  from  Jeru- 
salem. Jehucal,  the  son  of  Shelemiah,  is  also 
mentioned  among  the  "  princes  "  in  xxxviii.  1 
coll.  4.  Zephaniah,  the  son  of  Maaseiah,  was, 
according  to  lii.  24  coll.  xxi.  1 ;  xxix.  25  a  priest 
of  the  second  order.  The  messengers  were  thus 
very  respectable. — Pray  now.  The  prophet  is 
not  merely  to  inquire,  but  to  intercede.  Comp, 
to  inquire  of  me,  ver.  7.  Fi-om  this  it  is  appa- 
rent that  notwithstanding  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Chaldeans  the  state  of  mind  was  not  one  of  per- 
fect confidence.  The  result  of  the  conflict  be- 
tween tliu  rival  forces  had  still  to  be  expected. — 
Came  in  and  went  out.  Tliis  is  emphasized 
in  antithesis  to  the  subsequent  imprisonment  and 
also  to  tlio  statement  in  xxxvi.  26,  that  Jeremiah 
and  Baruoh  had  to  hide  themselves.  The  free- 
dom in  which  Jeremiah  livuil  accorded  with  the 
respect  which  the  king  showed  him.  and  ex- 
plains  at  the  same    time   how   Jeremiah    couk' 


CHAP.  XXXVII.   1-21. 


3iy 


think  of  a  journey.  Both  verses  4  and  5  are  to 
be  regarded  as  a  parenthetical  and  explanatory 
sentence  (Ewald,  |  341). — Pharaoh's  army. 
This  Pliaraoh  was  Pharaoh  Hophra  (xliv.  30), 
successor  ofPsaininuthis,  and  ascended  the  throne 
B.  C.  588.  In  the  tirst,  or  at  least  the  second 
year  of  his  reign,  seventeen  years  after  the  battle 
of  Carchemish,  he  undertook  to  make  war  on  Ne- 
Duchadnezzar,  occasioned  probably  by  the  em- 
bassy of  Zedekiah  (Ezek.  xvii.  15).  Hophra  was 
slain  (coiiip.  Ezek.  xxix.  1-16;  chh.  xxx.-xxxii.) 
and  the  hopes  excited  in  the  Israelites  by  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Chaldeans  were  shown  to  be 
nugatory. 

Vers.  6-10.  Then  came  the  vrovd  .  .  .  -with 
fire.  Jeremiah  does  not  cease  to  demonstrate 
the  vanity  of  their  hopes.  He  might  have  insi- 
nuated himself  into  the  favor  of  the  king  and 
great  men  by  a  prophecy  correspondent  to  their 
wish-'s,  but  he  does  not.  With  inflexible  fidelity 
he  proclaims  the  word  of  the  Lord  as  he  has  re- 
ceived it. — Deceive  not  your  souls.  Comp. 
xxix.  8  ;  2  Ki.  xviii.  29  coll.  2  Chron.  xxxii.  15. 
The  prophet  warns  against  self-deception.  On  this 

meaning  of  K'SJ  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  |  81,  2. 

Vers.  11-16.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  many 
days.  Jeremiah  wishes  to  use  the  time,  while 
the  ways  are  free,  to  do  some  business  in  the  land 

of  Benjamin,  (probably  from  p/PI?  in  Anathoth). 

— To  separate,  etc.  This  is  a  difficult  passage. 
LXX.  translates  tov  ayopaaai  iKn-dev  ev  /xeacf)  rob 
Xaov,  which  Theodoket  explains  by  Tvpiaadai  ap- 
Tovg.  The  other  ancient  translations  all  express 
the  idea  of  division  of  inheritance,  in  which  they 
are  followed  by  most  of  the  commentators.  The 
diiferent  explanations  are  as  follows  :     Abarba- 

NEL  takes  p''7nn  in  the  sense  of  demulcere  (to 

smooth.  Comp.  Prov.  xxix.  5)  and  refers  it  to 
the  people  of  Anathoth  who  were  inimical  to  Je- 
remiah :  Ad  demulcendum  eos  blandis  verbis,  ut 
amarent  ipsum  et  inter  illos  inveniretur,  si  abirent  in 
ezilium.  Kimchi,  Sanctius:  Ad  dividendum  se 
et  separandum  ab  Hierosolymis,  in  quibus  fuit  in 
medio  populi.  Lyranus:  Ut  agrum  emtum  (cap. 
^s-nn.)  separaret  ab  aliis.  Luther:  To  till  fields 
[j^cker  zu  bestellen].  HiTzio:  To  separate  his 
own  from  the  portions  of  land  which  had  be- 
come common  property  in  the  Sabbatical  year 
(which  HiTziG  regards  as  B.  C.  588,  on  the 
basis  of  xxxiv.  8  sqq.)  Tremellius,  Piscator, 
RosENMUELLER  :  Ad  lubrificcindum  se  ipsum,  i.  e., 
ad  subducrnduin  se.  Seb.  Schmidt:  Ut  divideret 
cum  populo  relicta  Chaldseorum  spolia,  partemque 
sibi  acciperet  et  in  urbem  secum  sumeret.  L.  de 
DiEU :  Ut  partitim  comnioraretur  nunc  hie  nunc 
illic.  All  these  explanations  are  manifestly 
forced  or  grammatically  incorrect.      The  ancient 

interpretation  alone,  which  understands  P^SnS 

of  a  division  of  inheritance,  appears  admissible 
according  to  the  present  form  of-  the  text.  The 
form  of  the  word  is  like  ^OK'/  Isai.  xxiii.  11. 
Comp.  Olsh.,  I  78,  c.  In  the  midst  of  the 
people  declares  that  the  prophet  had  no  secret 
purpose,  but  wished  to  transact  his  business  with 
the  usual  amount  of  publicity.  Comp.  Ruth  iv. 
In  this   explanation  however  some  points  must 


still  be  considered  unsatisfactory.  1.  That  P'^HH 
must  be  taken  in  the  specific  meaning  "  to  divide 
inheritance"'  in  which   it  nowhere   else  occurs; 

though  p7n.  np/n  may  mean  joa^rmowmm  (Num. 

xviii.  20) ;  2.  That  to  the  Hiphil,  in  order  to  be 
able  to  connect  it  with  Qt'O,  must   be  specially 

alsf)  attributed  the  meaning  of  fetching,  since  pri- 
marily it  contains  only  the  idea  of  parting.  Mean- 
while, as  said  above,  the  text  as  it  stands  does 
not  afford  a  satisfactory  meaning.  It  has  been 
attempted  to  alter  the   text.     J.   D.   Michaelis 

would  read  D^  'Ip'^nS  or  DE^  DpSnS.  This  how- 
ever wojLild  not  be  good  Hebrew.  The  scriptio 
defection  P /H  £,  as  well   as   the    similarity  of  -p 

and  *]  renders  it  easier  to  read  DK^D  ^^n'7_.  ^J\ 
means  to  change,  which  meaning  appears  with 
various  modifications.  For  not  only  all  kinds 
of  change  of  place  are  designated  by  it  (comp. 
transiit,  Job  ix.  11 ;  transgressus  est,  Isai.  xxiv. 
5  ;  abiil.  Cant.  ii.  11  ;  perrexit,  1  Sam.  x.  8 ;  per' 
transivit,  Jud.  v.  26;  periit,  Isai.  ii.  18,  in  which 
meanings  it  is  for  the  most  part  synonymous  with 

^^J')  but  change  of  material  (comp.  renovari,  revi- 

vescere,  Hab.  i.  11;  Ps.  xc.  5)  and  of  form  (comp. 
Piel.,    Gen.    xli.    14;  Hiph.,  Gen.    xxxi.    7,   41; 

XXXV.   2  ;  further  ^T}  and  m'SwH).     It  might 

then  be  declared  that  the  prophet's  going  to  Ben- 
jamin had  for  its  object  a  change  of  residence. 

Uli/D  might  very  suitably  be  referred  to  Jerusa- 
lem. It  might  however  also  according  to  well- 
known  usage  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  |  112,  5,  rf) 
signify  "  in  that  direction,  thither"  (comp.  Isai. 
xvii.  13).  It  might  thus  be  intimated  to  us  that 
the  prophet  had  no  intention  of  going  over  to  the 
Chaldeans,  or  of  fleeing  to  secure  his  personal 
safety,  but  simply  of  returning  to  his  native 
place,  because  he  knew  that  a  residence  in  Jeru- 
salem no  longer  afl^orded  him  any  safety,  and  be- 
cause he  regarded  his  ministry  there  as  ended. 
(Comp.  Starke,  ad  h.  I.)  It  is  however  declared 
by  the  words  "in  the  midst  of  the  people  "  that 
he  did  not  take  this  step  alone  and  secretly,  but 
publicly  and  in  company  with  many  others,  per- 
haps of  those  who  believed  in  his  prophetic  ut- 
terances.    From   this  as  well  as  from   Dl^D  ( be- 

T    •        ^ 

cause  it  indicates  tliat  the  prophet  took  his  way 
not  to  the  army  of  the  Chaldeans,  but  in  the  op- 
posite direction)  it  would  be  clear  how  unjusti- 
fiable the  imprisonment  of  the  prophet  was.  In 
this  however  I  merely  express  my  own  supposi- 
tion.— On  the  gate  of  Benjamin  comp.  xxxviii.  7, 
and  rems.   on  xx.  2. — Thou  fallest  away  to 

the  Chaldeans.     The  expression   73J  appears 

to  be  an  allusion  to  the  answer,  which  Jeremiah, 
according  to  xxi.  9,  gave  a  former  embassy  of 
Zedekiah.  I  say  a  former.  For  at  the  time,  to 
which  ch.  xxi.  belongs,  Jerusalem  was  besieged 
by  the  Chaldeans,  but  the  prophet  was  at  liberty 
(comp.  xxi.  1,  2,  and  xxxvii.  3,  with  xxxvii.  17). 
After  his  imprisonment,  related  in  xxxvii.  13, 
however,  Jeremiah  was  not  again  set  at  liberty. 
Chap.  xxi.  must  therefore  be  placed  before  the 
retirement  of  the  Chaldeans  related  in  xxxvii.  5. 


820 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


^The    princes,    before    whom    Jeremiah    was  1 

brought,  were,  as  Graf  correctly  remarks,  not 
the  same  as  those,  who  had  so  warmly  espousetl 
his  cause  under  Jehoiakim  (chh.  xxvi.  xxxvi.) 
These  had  probably  been  carried  away  with  Je- 
hoiachin  into  captivity  (xxiv.  1  ;  xxix.  2)  comp. 
rem*,  on  xxviii.  1. — The  house  of  the  secretary 
Jonathan,  of  which  we  have  no  further  know- 
ledge, was  used  as  a  prison,  because  there  were 
parts  of  it  adapted  for  such  a  purpose.  These 
are  designated  (1)  by  the  word  "113.  This  word 
does  not  necessarily  everywhere  mean  a  pit, 
though  it  certainly  does  in  xxxviii.  6,  7,  9,  as  is 
shown  by  passages  like  Gen.  xl.  15;  Exod.  xii. 
29.  It  is  at  any  rate  a  subterranean  cavity,  and 
"li^n'jT^  is  a  house  where  there  are  such  cavi- 
ties, for  the  word  may  be  taken  collectively. 
Such  places  are  (2)  designated  as  n'rjn.  The 
word  occurs  here  only.  In  the  dialects,  accord- 
ing to  the  i-adical  meaning,  it  is  "to  let  one's- 
self  down,  to  encamp,  to  turn  in,"  and  "  a  camp, 
a  place  to  put  up  at,  a  booth,  a  cell."  (Fuerst). 
Here  it  is  evidently  the  subterranean  cell  of  a 
prison.     (Comp.  Rosenmueller  ac?  A. /.) 

Vers.  17-21.  Then  Zedekiah  ,  .  .  court  of 
the  guard.  The  second  stage  of  imprisonment! 
The  weak  king,  dependent  on  his  nobles,  has  the 
prophet  secretly  brought  from  his  prison  to  ask 
him,  whether  there  is  not  a  word  from  the  Lord 
which  in  their  desperate  condition  would  give 
them  some  light  and  comfort.  From  the  scarcity 
of  means  of  subsistence  (ver.  21)  it  is  seen  that 
the  city  was  again  blockaded.  Jeremiah's  pro- 
phecy (ver.  8)  was  thus  already  fulfilled.  This 
was  doubtless  the  circumstance  which  filled  Ze- 
dekiah with  80  much  solicitude,  that  he  deter- 


mined to  have  the  prophet  called,  a  step  which 
involved  humiliation  to  himself  (comp.  ver.  19), 
and  it  might  also  compromise  him  with  the 
princes  (comp.  "secretly,"  ver.  17). — From  the 
circumstance  that  Zedekiah  has  the  prophet 
brought  from  the  prison  in  the  house  of  Jona- 
than, it  is  plainly  seen  that  we  have  not  before 
us  the  same  conference,  as  that  spoken  of  in 
xxxii.  3-5  and  xxxiv.  2-5.  For  in  this  Jeremiah 
took  part  voluntarily,  and  for  this  as  a  punish- 
ment he  was  confined  in  the  court  of  the  guard, 
(xxxii.  3).  For  the  conference  here  recorded  he 
was  brought  from  the  prison,  and  afterwards  as 
a  favor  assigned  to  the  court  of  the  guard.  Since 
now  the  other  conference  at  all  events  belongs  to 
the  last  stage  of  the  siege,  as  was  shown  above 
on  xxxiv.  1-5,  which  entire  stage  Jeremiah  spent 
partly  in  prison  and  partly  in  the  guard-court, 
the  conference  recorded  here  must  be  the  earlier 
of  the  two. — It  is  accordingly  also  clear  that  the 
prophecy  "thou  shalt  be  delivered  into  the  hand 
of  the  king  of  Babylon  "  cannot  be,  as  Graf  sup- 
poses, identical  with  that  contained  in  xxxii.  4, 
5;  xxxiv.  2-5,  i.  e.,  it  is  so  in  subject  but  not  in 
time.  Jeremiah  boldly  tells  the  king  the  truth  ; 
but  he  also  uses  the  opportunity  to  promote  his 
own  personal  interest.  He  does  this  by  giving 
expression  on  the  one  hand  to  the  consciousness 
of  his  innocence,  which  was  exhibited  with  eclat 
in  the  shaming  of  the  false  prophets  (vers.  18, 
19),  and  on  the  other  by  beseeching  earnestly  that 
he  may  not  be  taken  back  to  the  dungeon  (ver. 
20). — On  let  my  supplication,  etc.,  comp. 
xxxvi.  7. — On  court  of  the  guard,  comp.  xxxii. 
2. — Qn  piece  of  bread  and  bakers'  street, 
comp.  the  articles  ^^  Backen"  and  "Bt-nd^'  in 
Herzoq,  R.-Encycl.     [Smith,  Diet.  I,,  227]. 


2.  Jeremiah  in  the  Pit  {third  stags  of  his  imprisonment),  his  Conference  with  the  King  and  Confinement  in 

the  court  of  the  guard  {fourth  stage  of  imprisonment). 

Chap.  XXXVIII. 


Then  Shephatiah  the  son  of  Mattan,  and  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Pashur,  and  Jucal 
the  son  of  Shelemiah,  and  Pashur  the  son  of  Malchiah,  heard  the  words  that  Jere- 
miah had  spoken  unto  all  the  people,  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  :  He 
that  remaineth  in  this  city^  shall  die  by  the  sword,  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pes- 
tilence: but  he  that  goeth  forch  to  the  Chaldeans  shall  live;  for  he  shall  have  his 
life  for  a  prey,  and  shall  live.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  This  city  shall  surely  [or 
must]  be  given  into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon's  army,  which  shall  take  it. 
Therefore  the  princes  said  unto  the  king,  We  beseech  thee,  let  this  man  be  put  to 
death  f  for  thus^  he  weakeneth*  the  hands  of  the  men  of  war  that  remain  in  this 
city,  and  the  hands  of  all  the  people,  in  speaking  such  words^  unto  them  :  for  this 
man  seeketh  not  the  welfare  [lit.  peace]**  of  this  people,  but  the  hurt.  Then  Ze- 
dekiah the  king  said,  Behold,  he  is  in  your  hand  :  for  the  king  is  not  he  that  can 
do  any  thing  [the  king  can  do  nothing]''  against  you.  Then  took  they  Jeremiah, 
and  cast  him  into  the  dungeon  [pit,  or  cistern]®  of  Malchiah  the  son  of  Haramelech 
[the  king]  that  was  in  the  court  of  the  prison  :  and  they  let  down  Jeremiah  with 
cords.  And  in  the  dungeon  there  was  no  water,  but  mire  :  so  Jeremiah  sunk  in  the 
mire.     Now  when  Ebed-melech  the  Ethiopian,  one  of  the  eunuchs  which    [who] 


CHAP.  XXXVIII.  1-28.  321 

was  in  the  king's  house,  heard  that  they  had  put  Jeremiah  in  the  dungeon ;  the 

8  king  then  sitting  in  the  gate  of  Benjamin ;  Ebed-melech  went  forth  out  of  the 

9  king's  house,  and  spake  to  the  king,  saying,  My  lord  the  king,  these  men  have 
done  evil  in  all  that  they  have  done  to  Jeremiali  the  prophet,  whom  they  have  east 
into  the  dungeon :  and  he  is  like  to  [or  must ;  lit. :  is  dead]  die  for  hunger  in  the 

10  place  where  he  is^ :  for  there  is  no  more  bread  in  the  city.  Then  the  king  com- 
manded Ebed-melech  the  Ethiopian,  saying,  Take  from  hence  thirty'"  men  with 

11  thee,"  and  take  up  Jeremiah  the  prophet  out  of  the  dungeon,  before  he  die.  So 
Ebed-melech  took  the  men  with  him,  and  went  into  the  house  of  the  king  under 
the  treasury,  and  took  thence  old  cast  clouts,^^  and  old  rotten  rags  [rags  of  tattered 
and  worn  out  clothes],  and  let  them  down  by  cords  into  the  dungeon  to  Jeremiah. 

12  And  Ebed-melech  the  Ethiopian  said  unto  Jeremiah,  Put  now  i/iese  old  cast  clouts 
and  rotten  rags  under  thine  armholes"  under  the  cords.     And  Jeremiah  did  so. 

13  So  they  drew  up  Jeremiah  with  cords,  and  took  him  up  out  of  the  dungeon  :  and 

14  Jeremiah  remained  in  the  court  of  the  prison  [guard].  Then  Zedekiah  the  king 
sent,  and  took  Jeremiah  the  prophet  unto  him  into  the  third  [or  principal]  entry^* 
that  is  in  [to]  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]:  and  the  king  said  unto  Jeremiah, 

15  I  will  ask  thee  a  thing  ;^*  hide  nothing'®  from  me.  Th^  Jeremiah  said  unto  Ze- 
dekiah, If  I  declare  it  unto  thee,  wilt  thou  not  surely  put  me  to  death  ?  and  if  I 

16  give  thee  counsel  wilt  thou  not  hearken  unto  me  ?  So  Zedekiah  the  king  swore 
secretly  unto  Jeremiah,  saying,  As  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  liveth,  that"  made  us  this 
soul,  I  will  not  put  thee  to  death,  neither  will  I  give  thee  into  the  hand  of  these 
men  that  seek  thy  life. 

17  Then  said  Jeremiah  unto  Zedekiah,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  the  God  of 
hosts,  the  God  of  Israel :  If  thou  wilt  assuredly  go  forth  unto  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon's princes,  then  thy  soul  shall  live,  and  this  city  shall  not  be  burned  with  fire ; 

18  and  thou  shalt  live,  and  thine  house :  but  if  thou  wilt  not  go  forth  to  the  king  of 
Babylon's  princes,  then  shall  this  city  be  given  into  the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans, 

19  and  they  shall  burn  it  with  fire,  and  thou  shalt  not  escape  out  of  their  hand.  And 
Zedekiah  the  king  said  unto  Jeremiah,  I  am  afraid'^  of  the  Jews  that  are  fallen  to 
the  Chaldeans,  lest  they  deliver  me  into  their  hand,  and  they  mock  me.^^ 

20  But  Jeremiah  said.  They  shall  not  deliver  thee.     Obey,  I  beseech  thee,  the  voice 

21  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  which^°  I  speak  unto  thee  :  so  it  shall  be^^  well  unto  thee, 
and  thy  soul  shall  live.^^     But  if  thou  refuse  to  go  forth,  this  is  the  word  that  the 

22  Lord  [Jehovah]  hath  showed  me :  And,  behold,  all  the  women  that  are  left  in  the 
king  of  Judah's  house  shall  be  brought  forth  to  the  king  of  Babylon's  princes,  and 
those  women  [they]  shall  say.  Thy  friends  [men  of  thy  place]'^  have  set  thee 
on  [over-persuaded]  and  have  prevailed  against  thee  :^  thy  feet  are  sunk  in  the 

23  mire,'*  and  they  are  turned  away  back.  So  they'*  shall  bring  out  all  thy  wives 
and  thy  children  to  the  Chaldeans  :  and  thou  shalt  not  escape  out  of  their  hand, 
but  shalt  be  taken  by  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon :  and  thou  shalt  cause  this 
city  to  be  burned  with  fire. 

24  Then  said  Zedekiah  unto  Jeremiah,  Let  no  man  know'^®  of  these  words,  and  thou 

25  shalt  not  die.  But  if  the  princes  hear  that  I  have  talked  with  thee,  and  they  come 
unto  thee,  and  say  unto  thee,  Declare  unto  us  now  what  thou  hast  said  unto  the 
king,  hide  it  not  from  us,  and  we  will  not  put  thee  to  death  ;  also  what  the  king 

26  said  unto  thee :  then  thou  shalt  say  unto  tiiem,  I  presented  my  supplication  before 
the  king,  that  he  would  not  cause  me  to  return  to  Jonathan's  house,  to  die  there." 

27  Then  came  all  the  princes  unto  Jeremiah,  and  asked  him  :  and  he  told  them  ac- 
cording to  all  these  words  that  the  king  had  commanded.     So  they  left  off  speaking'^ 

28  with  him  [lit. :  were  silent  from  him]  ;  for  the  matter  was  not  perceived.  So  Je- 
remiah abode  in  the  court  of  the  prison  [guard]  until  the  day  that  Jerusalem  was 
taken 

TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2.— The  same  words  as  in  xxi.  9.    Only  here  Si3  J1  and  DD'S^^    D'''^yn  are  wanting,  and  instead  we  have  at  the 

close  a  repeated  "TIV    The  Chothibh  nTI'  is  here  as  in  xxi.  t»  the  more  correct  reading,  agreeing  better  with  the  order  of 

the  sentence  (nO')-    ^Pl-  'n  sense  superfluous,  but  in  accordance  with  the  verbose  style  of  the  prophet,  is  construed  llko 

Deut.  iv.  42  coll.  xix.  4 ;  Ezek.  xviii.  13  ;  xx.  11 ;  Naegllsu.  Gr.,  J  84,  i.    On  the  form  comp.  Olsh.,  S.  480,  482,  460. 
21 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


SYer.  4.— >.1  ty-xn  nX  NJ-nor.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ?  100,  2. 

3  Ver.  4.— On  |3~S^'  ""2-    Comp.  rems.  on  xxix.  28. 

♦  Ver.  4. — N3"l'0  for  riiJ'IO-    Comp.  Olsh.,  §  249,  a;  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  39  Anm. 

5  Ver.  4.— "^31^-    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  95,  e. 

6  Ver.  4. — The  construction  with  '7,  as  in  Job  x.  6 ;  Deut.  xii.  50 ;  1  Chron.  xxii.  19  ;  2  Chron.  xv.  13  ;  xvii.  4,  etc. 

7  Ver.  5. Since  DDnX  can  bo  only  the  nota  Ace.  with  suffix  (not  on  account  of  the  meaning,  but  the  form),  7JV  must 

be  taken  in  the  meaning  "  overpower  "  (comp.  Ps.  xiii.  5),  t'X  as  purely  adverbial  with  emphatic  significance  (comp.  Job 
XXXV.  15 ;  1  Sam.  xxi.  9  ;  Naegelsb.  Gr-,  g  106,  3),  '\21  as  accusative  of  more  exact  definition :  the  king  can  not  go  beyond 

you  in  anv  matter. 

8  Ver'  0.— Ou  the  article's  position  in  >-0  TUn  comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  71,  5  Anm.  1,  b. 

'  Ver.  9. — Vnnri-  The  preposition  is  to  be  taken  in  its  original  meaning  as  a  substantive,  and  as  accusative  of  place: 
in  its  uiidcrsjjace,  1.  c.  as  M-e  say,  on  the  spot.  Comp.  2  Sam.  ii.  23;  Exod.  x.  23;  xvi.  29;  Jud.  vii.  21;  1  Sam.  xiv.  9; 
2  o.l  11.  Vli.  10;   1  v'lu'ou.  xvii. ',1.  ,       . 

w  Ver.  10.— HiTZlG  (and  alter  him  Ewald,  Graf,  JIeiee)  would  read  T\li/ll^,  because  thirty  men  is  too  many  and  D'E^JX 

is  contrary  to  the  syntax,  and  also  in  2  Sam.  xxiii.  13  the  same  correction  is  made  by  the  Kori.  This  alteration  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  necessary.  Zedekiah  might  not  have  ordered  the  larger  number  for  the  sake  of  the  diawin^-  uj)  (for 
which  four  men  would  suffice,  as  UlTZio  reckons),  but  for  greater  security  and  to  hinder  any  rosistanc  •.  Tli  ■  ^,,  iit  ix  is  not 
opposed  to  tliis.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  70,  4  ;  Gesen.  g  120,  2;  2  Sam.  iii.  20  ;  2  Ki.  ii.  16  coll.  17.— In  2  Sam.  xxiii.  the 
text  is  coiriipt  in  many  places. 

II  Ver.  10.— 1T3.     Comp.  Gen.  XXX.  35;  xxxii.  17;  Numb.  xxxi.  49 ;  Jud.  ix.  29. 

i»  Ver.  11. — D'V'^S  from  *I73,  vetustate  tritum  (comp.  Josh.  ix.  4,  5),  occurs  here  only.    Comp.  Olsh.,  g  173,  9.    So  also 

nnnD  from  3nD,  to  rend,  to  tear  (xv.  3 ;  xxii.  19 ;  xlix.  20).    They  are  shreds,  tatters,  rags.    The  article,  which  the  Keri 

exscimis,  is  abnormal  and  probably  occasioned  by  niDHDn,  ver.  12.     DTl/O  also  is  not  found  elsewhere.    The  root  flbo 

is  found  only  in  Isa.  Ii.  6,  in  the  meaning  of  diffluere,  unless  we  assume  another  n /O.  synonymous  with  HTO  (Isa.  xxxviii. 

~  T  "  T 

21 ;  Lev.  xxi.  20),  to  rub,  rub  away,  and  plr3,  to  rub,  polish  (xlvi.  4 ;  Lev.  vi.  21 ;  2  Chron.  iv.  IG). 

13  Ver.  12. — From  the  connection  this  must  be  the  meaning  [not  knuckles  of  the  fingers].  Comp.  Ezek.  xli.  8,  the  only 
place  where  nS'-^X  occurs  besides.  In  Ezek.  xiii.  18  we  find  'T*  "' 7^!f  X  i"  a  related  meaning  as  to  both  words,  for  the  latter 
is  used  by  Ezekiel  also  in  the  wider  sense,  as  is  seen  from  ver.  20,  where  riij-'ITT  stands  for  it.  Comp.  Zech.  xiii.  6;  Isa. 
XXV.  11  and  the  analogous  use  of  7J1  in  the  sense  of  leg.  Isa.  vii.  20 ;  xxxvi.  12  Keri ;  Deut.  xxviii.  57. 

14  Ver.  14. — On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  73,  2  Anm.  [The  LXX.  render  :  ei?  oiiciac  'Ao-eAeio-ijA,  regard- 
ing it  as  a  proper  name,  but  this  is  no  authority  for  a  punctuation  ''ti^'' /IJ'n   XUO,  entry  of  the  TpitrToTat. — IIlTZlG.] 

16  Ver.  14. — The  sense  is  the  same  as  in  the  former  question,  xxxvii.  17.    The  Part.  ^XK'  is  to  be  taken  as  future: 

qustsiturus  sum.    Comp.  Nakgelsb.  Gr.,  g  97,  1  a. 

10  Ver.  14. — The  second  131  (observe  that  IHDn  does  not  stand  simply  with  a  suffix)  belongs  to  the  negation,  in  the 
T  T  •'  ~  : 

sense  of  ne  quid.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  82,  2. 

1'  Ver.  10. — 1i7X  nX.  If  the  Chethil>h  is  correct,  which  is  favored  by  the  greater  difficulty  of  the  reading,  these 
words  8imply=?M»i.  qui.  The  relative  freriueutly  includes  the  idea  of  tlio  demonstrative  pronoun  (comp.  vi.  IS  ;  Naegelsb. 
Gr.,  g  80, 5).    Since  now  niiT   Tl  is  in  the  accusative,  the  pronoun  relating  to  it  must  also  be  in  the  accusative ;  since, 

however,  It^X  must  at  the  same  time  be  the  nominative  to  Hii'^,  it  evidently  involves  the  double  conception  of  eum  qui, 

■.•  -:  T  r 

which  is  only  rendered  possible  by  the  flX.     In  Latin  it  would  be  impossible  to  say  qu^m  in  such  a  case. 

18  Ver.  19.— JXH-    Comp.  xvii.  S  ;  xiii.  16. 

19  Ver.  19.— '3  iSS^'jinV  Comp.  Num.  xxii.  29  ;  Jud.  xix.  25  ;  1  Sam.  xxxi.  4  coll.  Lam.  i.  22  ;  ii.  20;  iii.  51.  In  the 
Hitlip.  tli'j  iiu:iiiiiigs  of  ••  t(^  j;ratify,  indulge  one's  self"  and  "  to  mock"  appear  to  be  united,  the  LXX.  usually  rendering 
the  word  by  enirai^w,  in  this  place,  however,  by  Kara/xw/cao^ai. 

20  Ver.  20.— li^xS-    '7=in  respect  to.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  S.  227  ;  Gen.  xvii.  20;  xxvii.  8. 

21  Ver.  20. — "nn-l    3£3'''1  are  Jussives  with  the  signification  of  intended  effect.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  89,  3,  6,  2. 

22  Ver.  22.-Comp.  xx.  10;  Ps.  xli.  lo. 

23  Ver.  r2 — Comp.  xliii.  3  ;  Isa.  xxxvi.  18.    The  two  verbs  together  express  the  idea  of  successful  seduction. 

2*  Ver.  22.— v'3  Inr.  \ey.  Comp.  n-^3  Job  viii.  11 ;  xl.  21.— The  form  T7i'\_  is  indeed  irregular,  but  not  without  ana- 
logy.   Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  44,  4  Anm. 

25  Ver.  2.5.— On  the  absence  of  a  subject  comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  97,  2,  b. 

20  Ver.  24.— Comp.  (Jen.  xix.  33,  35 ;  1  Sam.  xxii.  15  ;  Job  xxxv.  15.  This  also  seems  to  be  a  jiregnant  construction,  the 
prefix  3  accordingly  being  dependent  on  the  idea  of  penetrating  latent  in_i;i\     That  it  would  be  regarded  as  partitive  I 

cannot  believe.    We  should  then  expect  VO- 

w  'Ver.  27.— This  inf.  (HID^)  depends  on  ''J3''tyn.  ''jl737,  and  7  designates  here  not  the  subjective  purpose,  but  the 

objective  result.    Comp.  Gen.  xix.  21 ;  Num.  xi.  11. 

28  Ver.  27.— On  the  construction  comp.  rems.  on  ver.  23. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  chapter  consists  of  two  parts.  In  the 
first  part  (vers.  1-1:3)  it  is  narrated  how  tlio 
princes  prevailed  on  Zedekiah  to  give  up  Jere- 
miah to  them,  on  account  of  his  continual   ex- 


hortations to  surrender,  that  they  might  render 
him  harmless  (vers.  1-5).  They  then  lower  him 
down  into  a  pit  of  mud,  from  which  however  the 
king  has  him  drawn  up,  on  the  petition  of  the 
Ciishite  Ebed-melech  (vers.  6-13).  In  the  second 
part  (14-28)  it  is  recorded  how  the  king  has  the 
propliet  brought  from  the  court  of  the  guard,  to 


CHAP.  XXXVIII.  1-28. 


32a 


which  he  had  returned  from  the  pit,  for  a  secret 
conference  (vers.  14,  15).  The  king  desires  that 
Jeremiah  disclose  the  future  to  him  without  re- 
serve, and  promises  him  with  an  oath  that  his 
life  shall  be  spared  and  protected.  Jeremiah 
has,  however,  nothing  else  to  say  to  the  king,  but 
that  surrender  is  the  only  way  of  escape  (vers. 
16-23).  Then  the  king  forbids  the  prophet  to 
communicate  the  purport  of  this  conference.  In 
accordance  with  the  king's  command,  Jeremiah 
tells  the  princes,  who  really  come  to  inquire 
from  lura  about  the  conversation,  that  he  only 
petitioned  the  king  that  he  might  not  be  taken 
back  to  the  house  of  Jonathan,  the  secretary. 
The  princes  have  to  depart  with  this  answer. 
Jeremiah,  however,  remains  in  the  court  of  the 
guard  till  the  capture  of  the  city  (vers.  24-28). 

Vers.  1-6.  Then  Shephatiah  ...  in  the 
mire.     Jeremiah,  brought  back  into  the    court 
of  the  guard,  has  further  opportunity  of  inter- 
course with  the  people,  and  uses  it  again   and 
again  to  counsel  voluntary  surrender  as  the  only 
means  of  escape. — Of  the  four  princes,  who  hear 
the  prophet's  discourse,  Shephatiah,  son  of  Mat- 
tan,  and  Gedaliah,  son  of  Pashur,  are  not  fur- 
ther  mentioned ;   Jucal,    son    of  Shelemiah,    is 
evidently  identical  with  Jehucal,  son  of  Shele- 
miah, xxxvii.  3.  Pashur  son  of  Malchiah,  has  been 
mentioned  in  xxi.  1.     Pashur  was  of  sacerdotal 
(comp.  rems.  on  xxi.  1),  Jucal  of  Levitic  descent 
(comp.    1    Chron.    xxvi.    1,    2,    9,    14).       These 
"princes"  were    thus  neither  "raised   from  a 
lower  rank,"  as  Graf  supposes  (on  xxxvii.  15), 
nor  do  their  former  relations  to  the  prophet  lead 
us  to  conclude  that  they  were  inimically  disposed 
towards  him.     We  do  not  send,  to  present  peti- 
tions, as  is  the  case  in  xxi.  1,  2;  xxxvii.  3,  per- 
sonas  ingratas.     The  intended  departure  of  Jere- 
miah (xxxvii.  12)  seems  thus  to  have  awakened 
suspicion  against  him. — On  ver.  3  comp.  xxi.  10. 
— Seeketh  not  the  ■welfare.     On  the  subject- 
matter  comp.  xxlx.  7 ;  Deut.  xxiii.  7 ;  Ezr.  ix.  12. 
— The  charge  against  the  prophet  is  unjust.    He 
has  the  true  welfare  of  the  people  in  view,  viz. 
that  which  is  in  accordance  with  the  divine  will, 
and  the  confidence  which  he  seeks  to  break,  is 
not  a  fully  satisfied  heroic  courage,  founded  on 
genuine  trust  in  God,  but  carnal  obstinacy,  which 
must  lead  to  destruction.     It   is   inconceivable 
how  any  one  can  fail  to  see  this  and  take  the 
part  of  the  prophet's  opponents.     Comp.  Dunc- 
KER,  1.   -S".   80 1.     The  king,  fearing  on  the  one 
hand  tlie  higlior  power  supporting   the  prophet, 
and  on  the  oiher  not  having  the  courage  openly 
to  oppose  the  princes  standing  in  corpvre  before 
him,  delivers  1  he  prophet  into  their  hands.     That 
he  expected  the  prophet  would  be  merely  taken 
back  to  the  house  of  Jonathan  (Graf)  I  do  not 
believe.     The  princes  had  decisively  demanded 
Jeremiah's   death   (ver.   4).     Their   not    having 
him  executed  at  once,  but  thrown  into  a  pit, 
where  his  escape  would  appear  possible  only  by 
a  miracle,  may  have  been  due  either  to  their 
wickedness  or  to  a  certain  fear  of  shedding  the 
blood  of  the  prophet.     Comp.  Gen.  xxxvii.  22-24. 
Jeremiah  is  now  thrown    into  a  cistern,  which 
bears  the  name  of  an  otherwise  unknown  prince, 
Malkiah    (comp.   rems.   on  xxxvi.  26),  probably 
because  he  had  it  dug.      The  pit  may  have  bcpu 
often  used  as  the  severest  iaskprisonment.     The 


princes  in  letting  down  Jeremiah  into  it  may  have 
intended  either  his  most  painful  death,  or  an 
evasion  on  their  part,  that  they  had  not  shed  his 
blood,  but  only  thrown  him  into  a  prison  appro- 
priate to  such  traitors.  If  he  perished  there  the 
guilt  would  not  be  theirs.  In  the  central  point 
of  the  theocracy,  opposed  to  prophets  and  priests 
wno  are  filled  with  diabolical  hatred  and  a  weak 
king  led  fey  them,  this  solitary  "servant  of  Je- 
hovah "  is  at  the  lowest  stage  of  humiliation  and 
of  suftering.  All  the  hatred  of  Jerusalem,  "that 
killest  theprophets  and  stonest  them  that  are  sent 
unto  thee"  (Matt,  xxiii.  37),  culminates  at  this 
time  in  this  behaviour  towards  Jeremiah,  by  which 
the  measure  of  guilt  was  fulfilled  and  the  sentence 
of  destruction  was  pronounced  over  the  unhappy 
city.  The  fulfilling  and  completing  antitype  of 
this  historical  event  is  certainly  not  what  hap- 
pened to  John  the  Baptist  (as  Hengstenberq 
supposes,  Christol.,  II.  S.  400  [Eng.  Tr.,  II., 
40o]),  but  what  our  Lord  Himself  sutfered,  who 
was  also  the  object  of  the  most  intense  hatred 
on  the  part  of  carnal  Israel,  as  being  the  pro- 
phet of  its  final  overthrow  (Matt,  xxiii.  and 
xxiv.). — Comp.  Ps.  Ixix. 

Vers.  7-13.  Now  when  Ebed-melech  .  .  . 
court  of  the  guard.  The  expression  "one 
of  the  eunuchs"  (comp.  lii.  25)  seems  to  inti- 
mate that  a  real  eunuch  is  here  meant.  As  the 
Mosaic  law  forbade  such  mutilation  (comp.  Deut. 
xxiii.  1)  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  impro- 
bable that  eunuchs  were  then  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  harem  (2  Ki.  xxiv.  15),  it  is  not 
very  strange  to  find  a  foreign  eunuch  in  the  ser- 
vice of  a  Jewish  king,  with  whom,  as  we  infer 
from  vers.  22,  23,  the  harem  occupied  an  import- 
ant position.  That  Ethiopians  were  preferred 
for  such  service  seems  to  be  indicated  by  some 
traces  (comp.  Dan.  xi.  43  ;  Terent.  Eun.,  I.  2, 
85),  as  at  the  present  day  most  of  these  people 
come  from  upper  Egypt.  (Comp.  Winer,  R.- 
W.-B.  s.y.,  Verschnittene.  [Smith's  Z'/c/.,  I.  590]). 
Ebed-melech    [servant  of  the   king]    (N.  B.  not 

l7^n)  is  the  proper  name  of  the  man,  chosen 

with  reference  to  his  fuuuiion.  This  name  is  so 
purely  Hebrew  and  in  accurdauce  wiih  the  man's 
position  at  the  Jewish  court,  that  it  is  not  to  be 
conceived  how  Fuerst  could  come  to  suppose 
that  it  is  a  Hebraized  from  an  Ethiopic  name. 
Comp.  H.-W.-B.,  S.  583.— This  Ebed-melech  is 
moreover  a  proof  that  the  called  are  not  always 
the  chosen,  that  on  the  contrary  the  last  are 
often  the  first.  A  stranger,  a  heathen,  a  Moor 
feels  compassion  for  the  prophet  and  horror  at 
the  crime  committed  on  him,  while  in  Israel  not 
a  hand  or  tongue  is  moved  in  his  favor.  Comp. 
Luke  iv.  25;  xix.  40;  Matt.  viii.  10. — "Who 
w^as  in  the  ki'ng's  house.  A  relative  sen- 
tence which  expresses  that  Ebed-melech  received 
the  news,  while  he  was  present  in  the  palace, 
but  the  king  was  absent,  sitting  in  the  gate  of 
Benjamin.  Comp.  xxxvii.  13. — Have  done 
evil,  ver.  9.  Comp.  xliv.  5  ;  Mic.  iii.  4  ;  2  Ki. 
xxi.  11. — rnnn  nn''l.  This  may  certainly  mean 
grammatically,  "and  he  had  died,"  etc.  But 
Ebed-melech  does  not  wish  to  blame  them,  that 
instead  of  death  by  famine,  which  he  would  have 
suffered  without  tiiis,  they  had  •inflicted  on  him 
another  death,  but  that  they  had  placed  him  ia 


824 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


H  position  in  which  he  must  die  at  any  rate,  but 
must  inevitably  before  all  succumb  to  the  famine. 
As  is  well  known  the  Imperfect  with  Vau  con- 
secutive may  represent  any  action  which  is  not 
really  past,  but  only  represented  as  such,  while 
in  reality  it  is  present  or  future,  or  even  merely 
the  wish,  command,  or  assumed  possibility  of  it. 
So  here,  that  is  related  as  an  accomplished  fact 
which  is  merely  undoubtedly  to  be  expected. 
Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  88,  5  ;  Jer.  viii.  16;  ix. 
2:  XX.  17. — Ebed-melechpre-supposestwothings, 
(1)  That  the  detention  in  the  pit  is  not  in  itself 
absolutely  fatal;  (2)  but  that  Jeremiah  must  at 
all  events  die  of  hunger  in  the  pit.  The  latter 
pre-supposition  is  evidently  founded  on  this  fact, 
that  in  the  general  scarcity  of  means  of  subsist- 
ence one  who  was  thrown  into  a  pit  might  least 
of  all  expect  to  be  provided  for. 

Vers.  14-16.  Then  Zedekiah  .  .  .  seek  thy 
life.  How  long  after  the  liberation  from  the 
pit  the  following  conference  took  place,  is  not 
stated.  HiTZio  supposes  that  Zedekiah  sent  for 
the  prophet  very  soon  after  his  liberation,  per- 
haps on  the  same  day,  since  otherwise  the  eva- 
sion in  ver.  26  would  have  lost  all  probability, 
for  '"days  or  weeks  later,  being  let  alone  in  the 
meantime,  Jeremiah  must  have  been  set  at  rest 
with  respect  to  the  king's  designs."  But  with  a 
king  of  so  weak  and  vacillating  character  Jere- 
miah could  not,  even  after  weeks,  be  safe  from 
cruel  measures  towards  his  person.  All  that 
can  be  said  is,  that  immediately  after  showing  a 
favor  a  contrary  treatment  was  less  to  be  feared 
than  some  time  afterwards.  Nothing  more  exact 
can  be  determined.  At  all  events,  in  the  inter- 
val between  the  deliverance  from  the  pit  and  the 
conference  no  remarkable  event  occurred. — 
Third  entry.  What  entrance  to  the  temple  this 
was  is  unknown.  At  any  rate,  it  must  have 
afforded  a  suitable  place  for  a  secret  conference. 
— HiTZiG,  by  the  use  of  2  Ki.  xvi.  18;  xxiii.  11; 
1  Chron.  xxvi.  18,  lias  attempted  a  clever  combi- 
nation, which  is,  however,  based  on  too  insecure 
premises  to  be  satisfactory.  [The  outer  entrance 
("the  king's  entry  without,"  1  Ki.  xvi.  18)  lead- 
ing from  the  citadel  and  after  the  time  of  Ahaz 
from  the  temple  into  the  ■jvpodareiov,  where  there 
was  the  cell  of  a  royal  eunuch,  2  Ki.  xxiii.  11. — 'S. 
R.  A.] — From  the  prophet's  answer  we  see  that  he 
neither  trusted  the  king  with  respect  to  his  own 
person,  in  spite  of  the  favors  he  had  received 
from  him,  nor  with  respect  to  the  subject  in  hand 
did  he  expect  any  receptivity  to  the  divine  com- 
munications. Proudly  and  boldly  he  at  first  de- 
clines to  answer  the  question.  But  the  king 
swears  to  him  that  he  will  neither  put  him  to 
deatli  himself  nor  surrender  him  to  his  enemies. 
— Zedekiah  swears  by  the  God  of  life  that  he 
will  preserve  the  prophet's  life.  Comp.  xvi.  14,  15. 

"Vers.  17-23.  Then  said  Jeremiah  ...  to 
be  burned  w^ith  fire.  Jeremiah  again  offers 
the  king  the  alternative  which  had  been  so  fre- 
quently presented  before,  either  voluntary  sur- 
render to  the  Chaldean  generals   (C"!'^,  comp. 

xxxix.  3,  13,  Nebuchadnezzar  himself  was  in 
Riblah,  xxxix.  5)  and  at  least  the  safety  of  his 
life  and  preservation  of  the  city,  or  continued 
resistance  and  destruction  of  the  city  and  the 
endangering  of  his  own  person.      Observe    the 


negative  expression,  "thou  shalt  not  escape,"  in 
ver.  18.  Comp.  xxxii.  4,  5;  xxxiv.  2-5.  Zede- 
kiah, however,  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to  fol- 
low the  advice  of  the  prophet.  He  alleges  that 
he  fears  ill-treatment  from  the  Jews  who  had 
already  gone  over  to  the  Chaldeans.  It  can 
scarcely  be  supposed  that  this  fear  was  seriously 
intended,  though  those  transfugse  might  represent 
a  party,  which  was  discontented  with  the  govern 
ment  of  Zedekiah  and  ascribed  all  the  calami 
ties  of  the  State  to  him.  For  even  the  quieting 
assurance  of  Jereminli,  ver.  2U,  makes  no  im 
pression,  which  would  have  been  the  case  if 
the  king  had  had  no  other  reason.  There  was 
really  no  reason  to  distrust  the  prophet's  as- 
surance.— In  case  Zedekiah,  from  fear  of  the 
insults  of  his  fugitive  subjects,  refuses  to 
follow  the  admonition  of  the  prophet,  the  pros- 
pect of  insult  to  his  wives  is  set  before  him. 
— This  is  the  word  that  Jehovah  hath 
showed  me.  This  does  not  logically  follow  as 
apodosis  to  the  protasis  if  thou  refuse,  etc.  A 
middle  clause  is  wanting  expressing  the  thought, 
thus  shalt  thou  know,  or  I  have  to  announce  to 
thee  as  follows.  Further,  T\iT\\  is  the  standing 
formula  with  which  the  subject  of  the  vision  is 
introduced,  xxiv.  1;  Am.  vii.  1,  4-7;  viii.  1. 
Accordingly  ver.  21  b  seems  to  be  contracted 
from  "hear  now  the  word  which  I  speak  in  thine 
ears,  which  Jehovah,"  etc.  (xxviii.  7).  It  is  not, 
however,  denied  that  the  expression  in  itself  is 
admissible  as  it  stands.  Comp.  Ezek.  xi.  25. — 
The  prophet's  setting  before  the  king  the  pros- 
pect of  the  deportation  of  all  his  remaining  wives, 
seems  to  intimate  that  these  were  a  specially  es- 
teemed part  of  his  household,  in  other  words, 
that  he  had  a  large  and  to  him  very  dear  harem. 
The  expression  "the  women  that  are  left  in  the 
king  of  Judah's  house,"  in  distinction  from  "thy 
wives"  in  ver.  23,  indicates  that  there  were  still 
wives  of  former  kings  as  fixtures  in  the  royal 
household  (comp.  2  Sam.  xii.  8;  Michaelis, 
Mos.  Recht.,  I.  S.  207;  Saalschuetz,  Mos.  Recht., 
S.  85),  and  that  even  the  deportation  under  Je- 
hoiachin  (2  Ki.  xxiv.  15),  had  by  no  means  ex- 
hausted the  supply  of  these  fixtures.  I  do  not 
think  that  by  the  "women  that  are  left,"  are  to 
be  understood  the  maidens,  as  distinguished  from 
the  wives,  as  Graf  supposes.  For  tlieir  being 
taken  forth  to  the  princes,  points  to  higlicr  rank 
and  estimation.  A  satirical  speech  is  placed  in 
the  mouths  of  these  women,  the  first  part  of 
which  is  found  verbatim  (with  the  exception  of 

'I^N^l^n  instead  of  ^liTDH)    in   the  prophecy  of 

Obadiah  (ver.  7j.  On  the  indications  that  .Jere- 
mialt  borrowed  from  Ubadiaii,  and  not  the  re- 
verse, comp.  Casi'ari.  O^Ku^ja,  S.  8,  anl  ili(3 
article  Ohadja  in  IIkrzog,  R.-Eiic. — Turned 
away  back.  Comp.  xlvi.  5;  Isa.  xlii.  17;  Ps. 
XXX  v.  4;  xl.  15;  cxxix.  5.  As  in  the  first  clause, 
so  also  in  the  second  two  verbs  are  employed  to 
express  the  thought,  of  which  the  second  expres- 
ses the  result  of  the  first.  The  warrior  sinking 
in  the  mire  must  fall  back.  The  words  are 
characteristic  of  Zedekiah.  They  represent  him 
distinctly  as  a  weak  man,  dependent  on  the  in- 
fluence of  others.  No  wonder  then  that  instead 
of  a  victor's  pouan,  with  which  the  women  usu- 
ally receive  a  conqueror  (1  Sam.  xviii.  7),  a  song 


CHAP.  XXXVIII.  1-28. 


32d 


of  mockery  awaits  him.  Observe  also,  that  this 
satirical  song  is  not  put  into  the  mouths  of  Zede- 
kiah's  own  wives,  for  these  (in  ver.  23)  are  evi- 
dently distinguished  from  the  oiIkm-  occupants 
of  tlie  ro^al  harem. — Taken  by  the  band.  As 
ty3P  signifies  only  "to  seize,"  the  words  can 
mean  only  :  thou  wilt  be  taken  by  the  hand,  or  into 
the  hand  of  the  king,  etc.  The  former  would  be  a 
mode  of  expression  foreign  to  the  style  of  the 
prophet  (comp.  XX.  4;  xxi.  7;  xxvii.  6;  xxix.  21 ; 
xxxii.  3,  4  ;  xxxiv.  3,  etc.  The  second  construc- 
tion  [Constr.  prsegnnns.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^ 
112,  7)  is  frequent  in  Jer.  iv.  31;  xi.  7;  xiv.  2; 
XXV.  34;  xxxii.  20;  comp.  also  infra,  vers.  24  and 
27.  The  sentence  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  con- 
traction of  two  thoughts  into  one,  according  to 
the  example  of  xxxiv.  3. — The  following  sentence 
is  also  strange.  For  Jeremiah  to  say  lo  Zede- 
kiah.  Thou  wilt  burn  the  city,  although  correct 
in  a  certain  sense,  is  contrary  to  his  usual  mode 
of  expressing  himself.  The  LXX.,  Syr.,  Chald., 
read  n"it!?.^.  The  punctuation  ^^E/r>  may  be  oc- 
casioned by  nx.  The  latter  is,  however,  not 
seldom  used  to  emphasize  an  antithetical  new  con- 
ception, for  which  we  should  say:  but  as  to,  etc. 
Comp.  EwALD,  §  277,  d,  and  especially  the  pas- 
sages Ezek.  xvii.  21;  xliv.  3;  Jer.  xxxvi.  22;  2 
Ki.  vi.  5.  ISo  EwALD,  Hitzig,  Graf,  Meier  and 
others. 

Vers.  24-28  Then  said  Zedekiah  .  .  .  was 
taken.  The  king  feared  that  if  the  import  of 
his  conversation  with  Jeremiah  were  known,  he 
would  be  regarded  as  vacillating  and  be  sus- 
pected of  inclining  to  the  view  of  the  prophet. 
Though  he  knew  that  the  fact  of  the  conversation 
could  not  remain  concealed,  he  wished,  however, 
that  it  might  be  represented  as  occasioned  by 
Jeremiah  himself,  and  as  relating  purely  to  his 
personal  interests. — And  thou  shalt  not  die, 
may  be  regarded  as  a  threat  on  the  part  of  the 
king,  but  at  the  same  time  also  as  areference  to  the 
danger  threatening  from  the  princes.  For  the 
king  would  say :  I  will  have  you  put  to  death  if 
you  betray  me,  and  the  princes  will  kill  you  if 
they  learn  that  you  have  summoned  me  again  to 
surrender.  In  the  supposed  inquiry  of  the 
princes,  ver.  2-5,  the  words  hide  it  not  from 
us,  and  we  will  not  put  thee  to  death,  are 
a  parenthesis,  the  latter  expressing  the  threat, 
which  Zedekiah  presupposes  in  case  the  prophet 
should  refuse  to  make  a  satisfactory  statement. 
— I  presented,  etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxvi.  7. 
The  pit  is  not  mentioned  here.  Zedekiah  seems 
thus  to  presuppose  that  Jeremiah  need  not  fear  a 
taking  back  to  the  pit,  from  which  he  had  been 
liberated  at  the  king's  command,  but  that  a  return 
to  the  prison  of  Jonathan  (xxxvii.  15),  to  avert 
which  he  had  already  oflfered  a  petition,  might 
be  regai'ded  as  possible.  The  latter  seems  to 
have  been  an  ordinary  place  of  confinement, 
while  the  pit  was  only  an  extraordinary  one. — 
The  princes  really  come  to  Jeremiah.  The  fact 
of  the  conference  thus  did  not  remain  concealed, 
but  concerning  the  import  of  it,  nothing  had  be- 
come known  (the  matter  w^as  not  perceived). 
They  must  have  regarded  the  declaration  of 
Jeremiah  made  in  accordance  with  tlie  king's 
command  as  probable,  for  they  do  not  urge  the 
prophet  further,  but  withdraw  in  silence.     After 


this  Jeremiah  remained  in  the  court  of  the  guard 
till  the  capture  of  the  city.  On  that  wiiich 
further  occurred  between  Jeremiah  and  Zede- 
kiah during  this  last  stage  of  his  confinement 
comp.  rems.  on  xxxii.  2-5;   xxxiv.  1-5. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xxxvii.  2,  3.  The  Lordls  words  Zede- 
kiah did  not  care  to  hear,  but  tlie  help  of  the 
Lord  lie  would  iiave  liked  to  have  This  seek- 
ing for  help  then  did  not  proceed  from  u  truly 
believing  heart.  It  was  merely  an  experiment, 
as  in  time  of  need  one  tries  everything.  Hence 
Zedekiah  did  not  venture  to  come  to  the  Lord 
himself,  but  Jeremiah  was  to  iniercede  for  him. 
"It  is,  however,  in  vain  for  intercession  to  be 
made  for  him,  and  he  himself  does  not  help  to 
pray.  Take  the  example  of  Pharaoh,  Exod.  viii. 
29;  ix.  28;  x.  17."  Cramer. 

2.  On  xxxvii.  5-10.  Nothing  is  more  bitter 
than  in  time  of  greatest  need  to  see  apparent  help 
again  disappear.  Raised  from  the  depths,  one  is 
then  cast  back  into  a  still  profounder  deep.  The 
Jews  had  invoked  the  aid  of  the  Egyptians  on 
their  own  responsibility.  It  was  a  triumph  of 
worldly  policy.  The  Lord  disappoints  their  cal- 
culations. He  is  not  to  be  so  easily  put  out. 
The  Chaldeans  withdraw,  but  only  to  defeat  the 
Egyptians,  and  then  return.  And  Jeremiah  must 
be  the  prophet  of  this  disappointed  hope.  A  few 
mortally  wounded  men,  he  must  proclaim,  would 
suSice  to  execute  the  Lord's  decree  on  Jerusalem. 
Comp.  2  Sam.  v.  6. 

3.  On  xxxvii.  10.  This  passage  is  also  adduced 
as  an  instance  of  the  so-called .^ceen^m  media  orde 
futuro  conditionato  (  Vide  BuDDE,./ns<  Dogm.,  pag. 
228),  together  with  1  Sam..xxiii.  11,  12;  Jer. 
xxxviii.  17;  Ezek.  iii.  6;  Matt.  xi.  21,22;  xxiv. 
22;  Acts  xxvii.  31.  Starke. 

4.  On  xxxvii.  11,  12.  If  Jeremiah  really  wished 
to  leave  Jerusalem,  because  in  the  city  he  no 
longer  hoped  to  secure  safety  or  any  success  to 
his  ministry  (comp.  Starke:  "It  appears  that 
the  prophet  would  betake  himself  to  the  country- 
people,  because  he  hoped  from  them  better  re- 
sults in  penitence  and  the  averting  of  the  divine 
judgments,  since  hitherto  he  had  been  mostly 
hindered  in  his  office  by  the  priests  and  the 
court "),  he  was  in  error  and  took  an  arbitrary 
step.  For  in  the  first  place  the  servant  of  God, 
who  is  at  his  post,  is  under  divine  protection, 
and  in  the  second,  he  had  to  proclaim  the  will 
of  God  again  and  again  to  the  stubborn  people. 
There  was  then  still  the  possibility  of  their  obe- 
dient submission  to  the  divine  will.  Jeremiah 
did  afterwards  repeatedly  show  that  deliverance 
was  still  possible  on  the  condition  of  submission 
(xxxviii.  2,  3,  17),  and  also,  as  he  had  to  pro- 
claim ruin  unconditionally  (xxxii.  3-5;  xxxiv. 
2-5),  tliis  testimony  wns  ncces^^ary,  partly  as  a 
proof  of  tiie  inviolability  of  the  divine  counsel, 
partly  to  cut  oif  all  excuse  for  the  Jews  after- 
wards, partly  as  a  foil  to  the  glorious  Messianic 
prophecies  (chh.  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.)  which  per- 
tain to  this  hxst  stage  before  the  destruction  of 
the  city.  If  then  Jeremiah  really  had  the  pur- 
pose at  that  time  to  leave  the  city,  it  was  an  ar- 
bitrary step,  which  was  not  to  succeed,  and  for 
which   his  arrest  and   what  followed  was  a  just 


326 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


punishment.  In  this  sense  Diedrich  also  says 
{S.  120),  "The  saints  also  err,  and  God  deals 
with  them  punctiliously,  so  they  also  must  be 
docile  under  the  divine  chastisements." 

5.  On  xxxvii.  15.  "Jeremiah's  prophecies  ap- 
plied to  the  whole  situation  (political),  and  he 
Ihus  cou'.d  not  avoid  the  appearance,  which  his 
disposition  to  recommend  to  the  king  the  sur- 
l-euder  of  the  city  occasioned.  God  be  praised  ! 
our  Lord's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  His 
servants  may  renounce  the  matters,  which  per- 
tain thereto,  with  full  freedom,  and  this  the  more 
because  the  Lord  raises  the  instruments  who  are 
to  labor  for  the  amelioration  of  the  State  and  the 
circumstances  of  mankind  also  from  this  king- 
dom, but  gives  the  prophets  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment a  complete  dispensation  therefrom;  of 
which  we  have  a  living  example  in  Jesus  and  all 
His  Apostles,  who  did  not  meddle  by  a  word  in 
any  of  the  civil  matters  of  the  authorities,  under 
whom  they  taught.  Justice  and  chastity  were 
Paul's  themes  with  the  procurator  Felix,  which 
were  matters  of  the  interior,  and  that  is  enough." 

ZiNZENUORF. 

6.  On  xxxvii.  17.  "The  king  was  commanded 
to  put  the  book  of  the  law  before  him,  and  always 
have  it  with  him,  Deut.  xvii.  19.  As  now  he  did 
not  do  this,  he  must  be  in  awe  even  of  his  own 
servants:  sometimes  he  must  look  at  his  coun- 
sellors through  his  fingers  and  let  them  do  as 
they  will,  and  though  he  might  have  been  a  mas- 
ter, he  must  be  a  servant.  For  God  poureth  con- 
tempt upon  princes  and  looseth  the  covenant  of 
the  mighty  (Job  xii.  21)."   Cramer. 

7.  On  xxxvii.  18-20.  In  the  consciousness  of 
his  official  dignity  the  prophet  proudly  appears 
before  the  king,  saying.  Although  it  has  come 
out  clearly  that  I  was  right  and  your  prophets 
wrong,  you  have  done  me  injustice.  Nevertheless 
he  applies  with  humble  and  earnest  petition  to 
the  king  in  behalf  of  his  person,  that  he  may  not 
be  taken  back  again  to  the  dreadful  prison.  "After 
Jeremiah's  example,  one  may  well  petition  tyran- 
nical magistrates  for  a  mitigation  of  persecution, 
but  not  speak  to  please  them  for  the  sake  of  the 
mitigation."  Cramer. 

8.  On  xxxviii.  1-4.  Jeremiah  is  like  a  running 
spring,  which  has  an  abundance  of  water.  The 
mouth  of  the  tube  may  be  stopped.  But  no  sooner 
is  a  sligJit  temporary  opening  afforded,  than  the 
water  breaks  forth  with  full  power.  Although 
he  knew  what  was  before  him,  he  was  not  silent. 
For  he  could  not  be  silent  (xx.  9).  Even  if  they 
had  beaten  him  to  death  on  the  spot  with  clubs, 
yet  dying  he  would  have  cried  :  he  that.goeth 
forth  shall  live.  Jeremiah  was,  however,  no 
arch-tr;iiior,  but  the  truest  patriot  in  all  Israel. 
Is  not  tliis  proved  by  the  courage,  with  which 
he  inflexibly  repeated  his  apparently  so  unpa- 
triotic counsel?  Certainly  his  opponents  re- 
gard him  as  tlie  most  dangerous  man  among  the 
people,  just  as  Ahab  accused  Elijah  of  troub- 
ling Israel  (1  Kings  xviii.  18),  Amaziah  Amos 
vvii.  lOj,  the  Jews  Paul  (Acts  xvi.  20). 

9.  On  xxxviii.  5.  Legal  right  to  carry  out 
their  will,  in  opposition  to  that  of  the  king,  the 
princes  had  none.  Zedekiah's  speech,  there- 
fore, displays  only  his  individual  weakness.  He 
iiNo  sliows  by  it  liow  little  he  was  subject  to 
God.     For  had  he  been  fuiihlul  to  God,  he  would 


have  found  means  lo  compel  the  obedience  of  his 
princes.  He  who  has  the  right,  has  also  the 
Lord  on  his  side.  If  this  was  manifest  in  the 
case  of  the  poor  priest  Jeremiah,  how  much  more 
so  in  that  of  the  king.  But  this  king  was  no 
Jeremiah. 

10.  On  xxxviii.  6.  No  prophet  was  ever  mal- 
treated so  pitiably  as  Jeremiah.  He  represents 
the  culminating  point  in  the  humiliation  of  the 
servant  of  Jehovah,  but  also  the  extreme  point 
in  the  alienation  from  God  of  the  theocracy, 
which  was  immediately  followed  as  a  merited 
punishment  by  the  deepest  outward  decline. 
Therefore  in  Jeremiah  also  must  "Christ's  re- 
surrection become  visible  (Diedrich)." 

11.  On  xxxviii.  7-13.  A  Moor,  aheathen,  must 
have  compassion  and  raise  his  voice  against  the 
enormity,  while  all  Israel  was  silent.  Thus  is 
completed  the  testimony  to  Israel's  decline,  and 
the  guilt  appears  to  be  a  common  one. 

12.  On  xxxviii.  14,  15.  This  seems  to  be  the 
manner  of  princes.  They  say:  I  wish  to  hear 
the  truth,  the  truth  only,  the  whole  truth.  And 
when  one  tells  them  the  truth,  he  draws  upon 
himself  their  highest  displeasure.  For  these 
lords,  accustomed  to  a  Homeric  life  of  the  gods 
[■&eol  ptla  (oui'Tec;).  do  not  like  to  be  disturbed  in 
this  their  bliss.  Nothing,  however,  affects  them 
more  rudely  than  the  truth.  Zedekiah  even  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  in  earnest  with  his  "  pray, 
hide  nothing  from  me,"  for  otherwise  he  would 
at  least  have  done  what  he  could  to  follow  the 
prophet's  counsel. 

13.  On  xxxviii.  19-23.  Zedekiah  gives  as  a 
pretext  his  dread  of  mocking  and  maltreatment 
from  the  fugitive  Jews.  For  these,  the  malcon- 
tents, who  attributed  all  the  blame  to  his  govern- 
ment and  had  therefore  fled,  might  possibly  have 
him  delivered  over  to  them,  and  then  take  their 
revenge  on  him.  Jeremiah  assures  him  that  he 
has  no  insult  to  fear  from  them.  But  he  will  be 
exposed  to  the  most  sensible  insults  from  a  quar- 
ter where  he  would  least  expect  it,  viz.,  from  the 
women  of  his  own  harem.  To  be  received  by  his 
own  wives  with  insulting  songs,  instead  of  songs 
of  victory — what  greater  disgrace  could  be  con- 
ceived for  a  man  and  a  prince  ?  Incidit  in  Scyllam 
qui  vult  vitare  Charybdim. 

14.  On  xxxviii.  24-27.  Did  Jeremiah  partici- 
pate in  a  prevarication,  or  not?  The  opinions 
on  this  point  are  divided.  Forster  says:  Non 
quidi'in  dincrtis  verbis  mentitus  est  Jeremias  ;  i?Uerim 
tanien  hoc  ejus  factum  speciem  quandam  meudacii  ha- 
bet,  vel  carte  est  dissiinulalio,  quse  non  omni  ex  parte 
ezcusarida.  Others  on  the  other  hand  call  atten- 
tion to  two  points:  1.  Although  in  vers.  15-17, 
no  si'ch  request  is  mentioned  as,  according  to 
ver.  20,  .Jeremiah  is  said  to  have  made,  it  is  yet 
implied,  both  in  the  words  of  the  prophet  in  ver. 
15,  and  in  the  answer  of  the  king,  ver.  10.  It 
follows  from  what  is  said  by  both  of  them,  that 
Jeremiah  wished  that  he  might  neither  be  put  to 
death  nor  brought  into  such  a  condition  as  would 
inevitably  involve  his  death.  Consequently,  he 
at  any  rate,  cherished  the  same  wish,  which  he 
expressed  to  the  king  in  xxxviii.  20.  2.  If  then 
the  declaration  of  ver.  26  does  not  contain  the 
whole  truth,  it  contains  no  untruth.  The  princes, 
however,  had  no  right  to  demand  the  whole  truth 
from  Jeremiah.     For  they  were  simply  murder- 


XXXVIII.  28  6.— CHAP.  XXXIX.  1-14. 


327 


era.  No  one,  however,  is  bountl  to  a  murderer 
to  expose  himself  to  his  knife,  by  the  confession 
of  the  truth.  This  latter  view  may  well  be  the 
correct  one.  [Comp.  Wordsworth  and  Stanley, 
Jewish  Church,  p.  524. — S.  R.  A.] 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xxxvii.  3.  To  supplicate  the  Lord  or  to 
intercede  with  the  Lord  is  indeed  right,  but  it  is 
useless  and  wrong  to  desire  the  help,  but  not  the 
Lord  Himself.  [Sinners  contradict  their  prayers, 
and  thus  render  them  unsuccessful,  by  their  lives. 
Lathrop. — S.  R.  A.] 

2.  On  xxxvii.  5-10.  Instructive  example  of  the 
difference  between  man's  help  and  God's  help. 
Man's  help  self-sought,  self-made,  shows  at  first 
indeed  a  joyous  hopeful  countenance,  but  it  is 
hollow  and  vacuous,  and  confidence  therein  is 
self-deception.  In  due  course  it  shows  itself 
perfectly  powei-less,  indeed  it  turus  to  the  con- 
trary, to  destruction.  God's  help  on  the  other 
hand  is  announced  at  first  under  gloomy  aspects 
and  hard  conditions  (surrender  to  the  Chaldeans), 
but  these  hard  conditions  are  wholesome  chastise- 
ment, from  which  proceed  life  and  salvation. 

3.  On  xxxvii.  11-13.  "It  is  the  manner  of 
God's  enemies,  that  they  shamefully  misinterpret 
the  acts  of  His  servants,  when  these  indeed  justify 
themselves,  but  when  they  find  no  hearing  they 
suffer  and  are  silent;  only  from  the  confession 
of  the  truth  they  will  not  forbear."  The  Major 
Prophets,  by  Heim  and  Hoffmann. 


4.  On  xxxviii.  4.  "Worldly  people  are  still 
disposed  to  reproach  the  preachers  of  the  Gospel 
with  the  injury  which  they  inflict  on  the  com- 
monwealth, because  they  seek  to  hinder  the  God- 
forgotten  course  of  the  commonwealth,  as  the 
worldly  people-  wish  it  to  be.  One  must  not  be 
put  out  by  this,  but  go  on."  Heim  and  Hoff- 
mann. 

5.  On  xxxviii.  4-13.  As  at  the  time  of  Chi-ist 
the  external  theocracy  was  approaching  its  final 
overthrow,  so  at  the  time  of  Jeremiah  it  was  its 
precursory  overthrow.  Christ  was  the  prophet 
of  the  former,  Jeremiah  of  the  latter.  As  Christ 
was  accused  of  beiug  an  arch-traitor  and  cor- 
rupter of  the  people  (John  xi.  48,  50),  so  also 
Jei'emiah.  The  true  ground  here,  as  tliere,  was 
diabolical  hatred  to  the  divine  truth  and  car- 
nal dependence  on  outward  supports  and  their 
own  excellence.  The  princes,  who  threw  Jere- 
miah into  the  pit,  correspond  to  the  rulers  of  the 
people  at  the  time  of  Christ,  the  weak  Zedekiah 
to  the  weak  Pontius  Pilate,  Ebed-melech  to  those 
believers  from  the  heathen  (the  ruler  of  Caper- 
naum, the  Canaanitish  woman,  the  Samaritans) 
who  put  Israel  to  shame  by  their  faith.  And  as 
Jeremiah  is  delivered  from  the  pit,  so  Christ  after 
three  days  rises  from  the  grave. 

6.  On  xxxviii.  19-23.  Our  ways  and  God"  sways. 
1.  Ourways:  (a)  preserve  us  not  from  that  which 
we  feared  (ver.  22) :  (6)  they  lead  to  destruction 
(ver.  23).  God's  ways:  (a)  preserve  us  from 
that  which  we  feared  (vers.  19,  20) :  [b)  they 
lead  to  safety  and  life  (ver.  20) 


B.  The  Events  subsequent  to  the  Capture  of  Jerusalem  (chh.  xxxix.-xliv). 
1.    Teremiah  liberated  from  the  court  of  the  guard  and  given  in  charge  to  Gedaliah. 

XXXVIII.  28  6— XXXIX.  14. 

28  h.  And  he  was  there^  [And  it  came  to  pass]  when  Jerusalem  was  taken, 
XXXIX.  1  (In  the  ninth  year  of  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah,  in  the  tenth  month,  came 
Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon  and  all  his  army  against  Jerusalem,  and  they  be- 

2  sieged  it.     And  in  the  eleventh  year  of  Zedekiah,  in  the  fourth  month,  the  ninth  day 

3  of  the  month,  the  city  was  broken  up.  And  [that]  all  the  princes  of  the  king  of 
Babylon  came  in,  and  sat  in  the  middle  gate,  even  Nergal  sharezer,  Samgar-nebo, 
Sarsechim,  Rab-saris,  [or  the  chief  of  the  eunuchs]  Nergal  sharezer,  Rab-mag  [or 
the  chief  of  the  Magi],  with  all  the  residue  of  the  princes  of  the  king  of  Babylon. 

4  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Zedekiah  the  king  of  Judah  saw  them,  and  all 
the  men-of-war  [or  and  all  the  men-of-war  saw  them],  then  they  fled  and  went  out 
of  the  city  by  night,  by  the  way  of  [to]  the  king's  garden,  by  the  gate  betwixt  the 

5  two  walls  :  and  he  went  out  the  way  of  the  plain.  But  the  Chaldeans'  array  pur- 
sued [hastened]  after  them,  and  overtook  Zedekiah  in  the  plains  of  Jericho:  and 
when  they  had  taken  him  [and  took  him]  they  [and]  brought  him  up  to  Nebu- 
chadnezzar king  of  Babylon  to  Riblah  in  the  land  of  Hamath,  where  he  gave 

6  [held]^  judgment  upon  him.  Then  the  king  of  Babylon  slew  the  sons  of  Zedekiah 
in  Riblah  before  his  eyes:  also  the  king  of  Babylon  slew  all  the  nobles  of  Judah. 

7  Moreover  he  put  out  Zedekiah's  eyes,  and  bound  him  with  chains  [a  double  chain], 

8  to  carry  [take]  him  to  Babylon.  And  the  Chaldeans  burned  the  king's  house,  and 
the  houses  of  the  people,  with  fire,  and  brake  down  the  walls  of  Jerusalem. 


328 


THE  PROPHET  JERExMIAH. 


9  Then  Nebuzar-adan  the  captain  of  the  guard  [halberdiers,  lit. :  executionersi\ 
carried  away  captive  into  Babylon  the  remnant  of  the  people  that  remained  in  the 
city,  and  those  that  fell  away,  that  fell  to  him  [the  deserters,  who  had  gone  over  to 

10  him],  with  the  rest  of  the  people  that  remained.  But  Nebuzar  adan  the  captain 
of  the  guard  left  of  the  pour  of  the  people,  which  had  nothing,  in  the  land   of  Ju 

11  dah,  and  ^ave  them  vineyards  and  fields^  at  the  same  time.  Now  Nebuchadrezzai 
king  of  Babylon  gave  charge  concerning  Jeremiah  to  N«buzar-adan  the  captain 

12  of  the  guard,  saying,  Take  him,  and  look  well  to  him,  [set  thine  eyes  upon  him] 

13  and  do  him  no  harm;  but  do  unto  him  even  as  he  shall  say  unto  ihee.  So  Ne- 
buzar-adan  the  captain  of  the  guard  sent,  and  Nebushasban,  Rab-saris  [chief  of 
the  eunuchs]  and  Nergal-sharezer,  Rab-mag  [chief  of  the  Magi],  and  all  the  king 

14  of  Babylon's  princes :  Even  they  sent,  and  took  Jeremiah  out  of  the  court  of  the 
prison  [guard],  and  committed  him  unto  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  the  son  of 
Shaphan,  that  lie  should  carry  him  home  [into  the  house]  :  so  he  dwelt  among  the 
people. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ter.  28  6. — These  words  cannot  either  logkally  or  grammatically  be  connected  with  the  previous  context.  The  Vulg. 
and  Chald.  translate  ungrammatically  :  et  factum  fxt,  lit  caperptur  Ifierosolijiiia.  The  Syr.  omits  the  words  altogether.  The 
LXX.  translate  merely  nTIl,  connecting  it  immediately  with  xxxix.  1.     On  the  other  hand,  an  entirely  appropriate  sense 

T  t: 
and  connection  is  furnished,  if  the  words  are  connected  with  ver.  3.    On  iTm,  comp.  rems.  on  xxxvii.  11.    The  Masoretes, 

T  T  : 
moreover,  objected  to  the  present  division   of  the  text,  as  may  be  seen  from  their  XplDS  J^!f  0N3  XDDD  (lacuna  in 

medio  versu).  Comp.  Gesen.  :  Lehrgeb.,  S.  124 ;  Hupfeld,  Sttul.  u.  Krit.,  1837,  S.  835.    Similar  cases  are  found  in  Gen.  xxxv. 
22  ;  Num.  xxv.  19 ;  Josh..iv.  1 ;  Ezok.  iii.  Ill,  etc.    Comp.  J-'uerst,  Propylxa  Masorte,  §  29  in  tlie  Concordance,  p.  1369. — In  ver. 

1,  C'Tn  /  "ni!/V3  is  wanting   in  our  text,  possibly  through  the  oversight  of  the  transcriber ;  X^PI  is  likewise  wanting 

before   i'7'"n~'7D1 ;  n'/^'  ^Ti'^1  is  contracted  from  the  longer  sentence  "and  pitched  against  it,  and  built  forts  against  it 

T  :  T      '.■  T  \  T  ~ 

round  about,  so  the  city  was  besieged."    Finally  T^H  nj7p3n  i^  contracted  from  "  the  famine  prevailed  (was  sore)  in  the 

city,  and  there  was  no  bread  for  the  people  of  the  land,  and  the  city  was  broken  up."    It  is  evident  that  the  author  of  this 
text  was  concerned  only  to  i)resent  tlie  main  thouglits. 

2  Ver.  5. — The  expression '■£)  r\X  D''£D3D'D  "^21  for  "to  hoUl  judgment,"  occurs  only  in  Jeremiah:  i.  IG;  iv.  12;  xii. 

••  ■  T  :   •       "  " 

1.    The  present  account  also  has  the  form  here  only,  while  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  6  we  find  C^SliTS.    Moreover  the  expression  is  not 

found  elsewhere  with  the  following  HX  and  with  the  meaning  "  Utigare,  hold  judgment,"  but  it  signities  elsewhere  (Ps. 

xxxvii.  30 ;  Isa.  xxxii.  7)  simply  "  to  speak  justice." — This  is  a  point  which  would  favor  the  Jeremian  origin  of  ch.  Iii. 
(comp.  IIaevernick,  Einl.,  II.  3,  S.  233),  if  this  grammatical  agreement  might  not  be  due  to  other  causes. 

3  Ver.  10.— D''3J''  is  an-.  Aey. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  text  of  this  chapter  is  interwoven  with 
portions  from  chap.  Iii.  (2  Ki.  xxv.).  Immedi- 
ately after  the  opening  words  an  abridged  ac- 
count is  interpolated  from  Iii.  4-7  (2  Ki.  xxv.  1- 
4),  of  the  capture  of  the  city  mentioned  in  these 
words  (vers.  1  and  2).  Then  after  ver.  3,  vers. 
4-10  a  similarly  abridged  account  of  the  flight, 
capture  and  puiiishineut  of  the  king,  and  of  the 
burning  of  the  city  and  deportation  of  the  people 
is  added  from  Iii.  7-16  (2  Ki.  xxv.  4-12).  What 
furtlior  follows  (vers.  11-14)  is  not  derived  from 
elsewhere,  but  with  xxxviii.  28  b,  and  xxxix.  3, 
forms  the  only  independent  portion  of  this  sec- 
tion, xxxix.  1-14.  The  question,  whether  the 
statements  in  vers.  11-18,  agree  with  ver.  3,  will 
be  treated  in  the  Exeg.  Reins.  Here  it  may  sim- 
ply be  observed  that  after  the  excision  thus  piade 
the  original  constituents  of  the  section  are  occu- 
pied purely  with  the  person  of  tlio  prophet,  in- 
foriiiirig  us  that  by  onler  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the 
captain  of  dragoons  Nebuzar-adan  has  the  pro- 
phet brought  out  of  the  court  of  the  guard  and 
given  in  charge  to  Gedaliah,  son  of  Ahikam,  after 
which  .Jeremiah  rem.iined   "  auuirig  tlie  people." 

XXXVIII.  28  i. — xxxix.  2.  And  it  came  to 


pass  .  .  .  broken  up.  As  the  verses  1,  2  can- 
not in  any  way  be  grammatically  connected 
with  the  preceding  and  following  context,  they 
may  be  regarded  as  a  parenthesis.  The  mention 
of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  in  xxxviii.  28  b  oc- 
casioned the  insertion  of  this  chronological  no- 
tice relating  thereto.  It  is  evident  that  this 
insertion  was  not  made  by  the  prophet  himself, 
but  proceeded  from  a  later  source.  Even  Keil 
acknowledges  that  the  account  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  which  is  contained  in  two  recen- 
sions, Jer.  Iii.  and  2  Ki.  xxiv  18 — xxv.  4,  can- 
not have  proceeded  from  the  hand  of  the  prophet 
(comp.  Commentar  zu  den  BB.  d.  KiJnitje,  18G5,  S. 
10,  11  with  which,  however,  what  is  said  in  S. 
378  Anm.,  does  not  quite  agree).  Since  now  vers, 
xxxix.  1,  2  are  taken  from  that  account  of  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  which  we  find  in  Jer. 
Hi.  and  2  Ki.  xxv.,  and  this  account  (comp.  the 
narrative  of  Jehoiachin's  end,  Jer.  Iii.  31-34), 
must  necessarily  be  of  later  date  than  Jeremiah, 
the  extract  from  that  account  cannot  have  been 
made  by  Jeremiah.  These  verses  are,  therefore, 
to  be  regarded  as  a  gloss,  which  probably  came 
into  the  text,  not  by  t.lie  will  of  the  author,  but 
by  the  fault  of  the  transcriber.  Once  having  en- 
tered the  text,  they  pressed  back  also  those  words 
at  tlie  close  uf  ije  previous  chapter,  since  the 


CHAP.  XXXVIII.  28  6.— XXXIX.  1-14. 


329 


parenthesis  was  doubtless  then  found  to  be  too 
long  and  disjointed,  and  the  connection  of  the 
words  with  ver.  3  impracticable.  What  means 
the  oldest  commentators  took  to  tit  the  words  to 
the  previous  context,  we  have  already  seen. 

Ver.  3  That  all  the  princes  .  .  king  of 
Babylon.  These  words  attach  themselves  as  we 
have  shown  lo  xxxviii.  28  b.  How  long  after 
the  capture  of  the  city  this  event  took  place,  the 
worls  themselYes  do  not  inform  us.  For  the 
connection  of  the  sentence,  xxxviii.  28  b,  may 
designate  both  an  immediate  chronological 
sequence,  or  a  longer  interval.  Let  us  first  re- 
gard more  particularly  the  place  and  object  of 
the  assembly,  and  the  persons  assembled.  The 
place  is  called  the  gate  of  the  middle.  As  is  well 
known,  David  had  first  conquered  and  fortified 
(2  Sam.  V.  7,  9)  Mount  Zion,  the  city  of  David, 
which  JosEPHUs  {Anf.iq  V.,  2,  2)  calls  the 
/fai?L'7repii^£i'  TvoTiig  in  distinction  from  the  /cdrw 
TToAtf.  The  expression  seems  to  denote  one  of 
the  gates  in  the  wall  separating  this  upper  and 
lower  city.  It  does  not  occur  elsewhere.  Per- 
haps, however,  njb'PPI  Tj;  (Keri  njij'PH  ^m) 

2  Ki.  XX.  4  is  connected  with  it.  Arnold  (Herz.  : 
R.-Enc.  XVIII.,  S.  629)  [Smith,  Diet.,  1.  1027] 
supposes  that  the  middle  gate  is  to  be  sought  in 
the  middle  of  the  north  wall  of  Mt.  Zion.  If  the 
gate  of  the  middle  is  then  to  be  sought,  not 
in  the  outer  city-wall,  but  in  the  interior  of  the 
city,  perhaps  as  the  main  entrance  to  the  upper 
city,  it  appears  to  be  a  central  point  quite  fa- 
vorable for  the  commander's  purpose.  At  the 
same  time  the  sitting  of  the  commander  in  this 
^ate,  as  the  central  point  of  the  city-life  (comp.  on 
the  significance  of  the  gate  in  this  regard,  Her- 
zog's  R.-Enc.  XIV.,  S.  721)  may  have  been  the 
signal  of  the  formal  and  solemn  taking  posses- 
sion. In  taking  their  places  where  the  rulers 
and  elders  of  Jerusalem  were  accustomed  to  dis- 
charge their  office,  the  Chaldean  princes  gave  it 
to  be  understood  that  they  were  now  masters  of 
the  city.  That  they  had  "taken  up  their  quar- 
ters "  in  the  gate,  as  Graf  supposes,  I  do  not 
think.  For  a  gate  is  no  place  for  living  in,  least 
of  all  for  princes.  As  we  perceive  from  2  Ki. 
XXV.  1  (Jer.  lii.  4),  Nebuchadnezzar  himself  be- 
gan the  siege,  but  left  its  continuation  to  his 
generals,  he  himself  being  at  the  time  of  the  cap- 
ture in  Riblah(2  Ki.  xxv.  6  ;  .Jer.  xxv.  9:  xxxix. 
5).  These  generals  are  now  enumerated.  Hitzig 
has  made  the  ingenious  conjecture,  that  the  four 
names  whicn  we  here  read,  are  to  be  reduced  to 
three,  of  which  each  is  followed  by  an  official 
title.  Thus  Nergal-sharezer  bears  the  title  Sam- 
gar,  which  in  the  Persian  signifies  "he  who  has 
the  cup,"  so  that  it  is  equivalent  to  Rabshakeh 
(Isa.  xxxvi.  2)  the  cup-bearer.  Nebo,  which  in 
compound  names  never  occurs  in  the  last  place 
(which  is  certainly  correct),  is  to  be  connected 
with  the  following  name.  Sar-sechim  is  identi- 
cal with  Rab-saris   (for  OD   from  T\DD,  or  HDiy 

^         .  •    T  Tt'  T    T 

secure,  from   which  y3^  knife,    is  equivalent  to 

eunuch).  This  idle,  sportive  accumulation  of 
designations  of  a  man  has  now  after  Nebo 
supplanted  the  second  half  of  the  real  name, 
Shasban  (ver.  13).  We  thus  obtain  three  names, 
each    with    a   title:      1.    Nergal-sharezer,    cup- 


bearer; 2.  Nebushasban,  chief-eunuch;  3.  Nergal- 
sharezer,  chicf-magian.  This  conjecture,  on 
which  Graf  has  bestowed  his  approbation,  is  very 
plausible,  especially  as  Rabsaris  is  certainly 
called  Nebushasban  in  ver.  13,  and  we  cannot 
conceive  why  the  chief-eunuch,  of  which  there 
cannot  well  have  been  more  than  one,  bears 
a  different  name  in  ver.  3,  from  that  in  ver. 
13.  According  to  Hitzig  the  last  two  names 
in  ver.  13  agree  with  the  corresponding  ones  in 
ver.  3,  the  only  difference  being  in  the  first  name, 
which  is  however  fully  explained  by  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  during  the  interval  which  had 
elapsedbetween  ver.  3  and  ver.  15,  Nebuzar-adan, 
who  was  highest  in  rank  of  all  the  princes,  had 
arrived,  and  is  therefore  named  first  in  the  latter 
passage  instead  of  the  Nergal-sharezer  of  ver.  3. 
The  sense  and  connection  are  thus  in  favor  of 
Hitzig's  conjecture,  but  it  still  lacks  a  secure 
etymological  basis.  That  Samgar  means  cup- 
bearer, and  Sar-sechim  is  equivalent  to  Rab-sa- 
ris, is  not  yet  sufficiently  proved.  On  the  name 
Nergal-sharezer  comp.  Niebuhr,  Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S. 
37,  42,  43,  Anm.  [On  the  identification  of  Ner- 
gal-sharezer with  Neriglissat,  son-in-law  of  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, see  Rawlinson,  Ancient  Monar- 
chies, III.,  232,  528,  and  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary, 
s.  v.—S.  R.  A.]     On  Nebo  also,  lb.  S.  30,  34. 

Vers.  4-10.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  at  the 
same  time.  This  passage  is,  as  already  re- 
marked, taken  with  abbreviations  from  lii.  7-16 
(2  Ki.  xxv.  4-12).  The  object  is  evidently  to 
give,  in  a  compressed  picture  of  the  general  dis- 
tress, a  background  to  the  original  representa- 
tion, relating  merely  to  the  fate  of  the  prophet. 
That  this  was  necessary,  together  with  ch.  lii., 
must  be  doubted.  For  what  author  will  unne- 
cessarily write  the  same  thing  twice  over?  Or 
would  not  the  author  of  ch.  xxxix.  expect  that  the 
reader  could  himself  derive  the  necessary  eluci- 
dation of  this  narrative  from  ch  lii.  ?  xxxix.  4- 
10  is  however  taken  from  ch.  lii.,  not  from  2  Ki. 
xxv.  For  if  we  compare  xxxix.  4  with  lii.  7; 
xxxix.  5  with  lii.  8,  9;  xxxix.  6  with  lii.  10  (N. 
B.  :  the  slaughter  of  the  princes  is  not  mentioned 
in  2  Ki.  xxv.)  and  xxxix.  7  with  lii.  11,  we  shall 
find  that  the  present  passage  contains  all  which 
distinguishes  the  narrative  of  ch.  lii.  from  that 
in  2  Ki.  xxv.,  while  in  no  point  does  it  agree  with 
2  Ki.  xxv.  in  opposition  to  ch.  lii.  In  the  verses 
xxxix.  8-10  the  narrative  in  relation  both  to  ch. 
lii.  and  2  Ki.  xxv.  is  so  much  abbreviated,  that 
any  special  relationship  with  one  of  the  two  pas- 
sages is  not  perceptible.  They  differ  in  this  sec- 
tion however  only  in  single  words,  which  have 
no  bearing  on  the  essential  import,  so  that  we 
may  say  that  the  present  text  is  related  to  ch. 
lii.,  as  well  as  to  2  Ki.  xxv.,  as  extract  and  elu- 
cidation. On  this  more  below.  If,  now,  xxxix. 
4-10  is  indisputably  of  later  date  than  ch.  Hi.,  so 
as  to  presuppose  this  chapter,  we  cannot  avoid 
regarding  the  text  as  originally  a  marginal  gloss, 
which  was  gradually  by  the  fault  of  the  tran- 
scriber incorporated  into  the  text.  As  regards 
particular  points,  the  words  "  And  it  came  to 
pass  that  when  Zedekiah,"  ver.  4,  may  be  recog- 
nized as  a  skillfully  added  connecting  gloss,  for 
1,  the  original  text  contains  nothing  of  this  ;  but 
lets  the  flight  follow  immediately  on  the  breaking 
in  of  the  Chaldeans,  lii.  7;  2-Ki.  xxv.  4;  2,  it  is 


330 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH, 


also  in  itself  improbable,  that  Zedekiah  deferred 
his  flight  till  the  Chaldean  princes  had  taken 
their  post  in  the  middle  gate.  The  flight  was 
effectuated  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  in 
which  the  enemies  from  the  North  approached, 
viz.,  by  the  exit  to  the  South  "on  the  way  to  the 
garden  of  the  king  through  the  gate  between  the 
double  wall."  This  garden  of  the  king  is  men- 
tioned only  in  Neb.  iii.  15,  where  it  borders  on 
the  pool  of  Siloah.  Comp.  Arnold  in  Herzog, 
R.-Enc.XYlll.,  S.  630  u.  635;  Leyreb  in  the 
same,  XIV.  5.  371.  [Smith,  Diet.,  I.,  653J. 
According  to  Arnold  this  garden  of  the  king  is 
probably  identical  with  the  garden  of  Uzza  (2 
Ki.  xxi.  18,  26).  The  gate  between  the  double 
walls  also  is  mentioned  only  here  and  in  the  paral- 
lel passages.  It  is  to  be  sought  for  in  the  exit  of 
the  Tyropaeon,  and  is  probably  identical  with  the 
gate  of  the  fountain  (Neh.  ii.  14 ;  iii.  15  ;  xii.  37). 
Comp.  Arnold,  S.  629  etpass.;  Thenius,  BB.  d. 
Koniye,  S.  456;  Robinson,  Pal.  II.,  5.  142.— The 
double-wall  mentioned  besides  here  (and  paral- 
lel passages)  only  in  Isa.  xxii.  11,  appears  to 
have  been  a  double  connection  between  Zion  and 
Ophel.  But  concerning  this  there  are  various 
views.  Comp.  Thenius,  The  graves  of  the  kings  of 
Judah  in  Illgru's  Zeitschr.  f.  hist.  Theol.,  1844,  I. 
S.  18  sqq. ;  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  V.  S.  157;  XIV.  S. 
374;  XVIII.  ^.  633;  Keil,  BB.  d.  Kon.,  S.  381. 
From  this  southern  exit  Zedekiah  turned  east- 
ward to  the  HDi;^.     This  is  the  general  term  for 

the  plain  or  vale  of  the  Jordan,  both  on  its  east- 
ern (comp.  Deut.  i.  1  ;  iii.  17;  iv.  49;  Josh.  xii. 
1)  and  its  western  shore  (comp.  Josh.  viii.  14; 
xi.  2,  16;  2  Sam.  ii.  29).  Yet  it  seems  as  though 
Arabah  is  not  only  to  be  taken  in  a  narrower  and 
wider  sense,  (in  the  wider  it  comprises  the  entire 
depression  of  the  lake  Gennesaret  to  the  Elami- 
tic  gulf,  of  which  the  southern  half,  from  the 
southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  is  still  called  Wady 
el  Araba)  but  to  be  generally  of  a  fluctuating 
character.  For  in  Deut.  xi.  30  for  instance  the 
region  of  Sichem,  where  Mts.  Ebal  and  Gerizim 
are  situated,  is  reckoned  to  the  Arabah.  Zedekiah 
is  overtaken  in  the  inv  m3"|j;.     This  is  a  part 

of  the  Arabah,  the  enlargement  of  the  Jordan- 
valley,  three  leagues  wide,  near  Jericho,  watered 
by  the  brook  of  Elisha. 

The  captured  king  is  taken  to  Riblah,  the 
northern  boundary  city  of  Palestine,  at  the  source 
of  tlie  Orontes,  (Numb,  xxxiv.  11)  the  point  of 
juncture  tor  the  roads  eastward  to  the  Euphrates, 
southward  to  Damascus  and  the  Jordan,  and  west- 
ward to  Phoenicia,  which  had  previously  been 
the  head-quarters  of  Pharaoh  Necho  (2  Ki.  xxiii. 
33).  Here  Nebucliadnezzar  held  judgment  over 
him.  Nebuchadnezzar  had  made  him  king  (2  Ki. 
xxiv.  17),  Zedekiah  was  thercfure  a  rebel  against 
him  (Iii.  3;   2  Ki.  xxiv.  20). 

The  punishment  which  Zedekiah  had  to  suffer 
for  his  revolt  was  a  cruel  one  :  his  children  were 
slain  before  liis  eyes,  likewise  all  the  great  men 
of  Judah  {''')y\  tor  ''^i:' Hi.  10  probably  as  a  remi- 
niscence from  xxvii.  3U) ;  lie  himself  was  blinded 
and  carried  in  chains  to  Riibylon.  From  to 
carry,  ver.  7,  onwards,  the  aliridgemeiit  is  fjreut 
and  in  so  f:ir  unfortunate  that  one  main  point  is 
omitted,  viz.,  the  circumstance  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar on  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem 


sent  the  captain  of  his  body-guard,  Nebuzar- 
adan,  to  Jerusalem,  who  arrived  there  four  weeks 
after  the  capture.  The  mention  of  this  circum- 
stance was  important,  because  without  it  the  ap- 
pearance of  Nebuzar-adan,  trom  xxxix.  9  on- 
wards, is  wholly  unaccounted  for.  One  conse- 
quence of  this  omission  is  also  that  in  ver.  8  it  is 
not  Nebuzar-adan  who  burns  the  city,  but  the 
Chaldeans.  Why  the  temple  is  not  mentioned 
among  the  objects  burned  is  not  clear  In  ver. 
4  the  obscure  and  superfluous  words  "  the  poor 
of  the  people,"  found  in  Iii.  15,  are  omitted,  and 
instead  of  "  that  fell  to  the  king  of  Babylon,"  we 
have  simply  "  that  fell  to  him,"  V^j;   (2  Ki.  xxv. 

11,  O  ^Sp  Sj;,  almost  the  only  point  in  which 
ch.  xxxix.  approaches  more  nearly  to  2  Ki.  xxv. 
than  ch.  Iii.).  Since  the  king  of  Babylon  has 
not  been  named  just  before  (comp  ver.  H  fin.) 
"  to  him  "  can  refer  only  to  the  Nebuzar  adan 
mentioned  in  the  following  verse ;  a  reference 
which  cannot  be  historically  justified,  since  by 
the  deserters  mentioned  are  to  be  understood  such 
only  as  went  over  before  the  conquest.  After 
the  deserters  our  text  mentions  besides  "  the 
remnant  of  the  people."  In  antithesis  to  the 
"remnant  of  the  people  that  remained  in  the 
city  "  can  be  understood  only  the  inhabitants  re- 
maining in  the  country.  In  the  place  of  the  se- 
cond Di?n    we   find   in   2  Ki.  xxv.  11  jbnn,  in 

Jer.  Iii.  15  JOXH.  The  former  denotes  "  tumult, 
multitude  of  people "  (comp.  Isai.  xiii.  4;  xvii. 
12)  and  our  text  takes  the  latter  doubtless  in  the 
same  sense.  Whether  correctly  is  another  ques- 
tion. Comp.  rems.  on  Hi.  15.  Nebuzar-adan,  the 
"captain  of  the  guard,"  is  here  named  for  the 
first  time.  Sent  by  the  king  to  Jerusalem  on  re- 
ceipt of  the  news  that  Jerusalem  is  taken  (comp. 
Hi.  12;  2  Ki.  xxv.  8),  he  immediately  assumes  the 
chief  command,  as  is  evident  from  this  passage, 
and  the  following  (xxxix.  10-12;  xl.  1-5).  The 
nature  of  his  ofiBce,  as  well  as  the  expression 
"  who  stood  before  the  king"  in  Hi.  12,  indicate 
that  he  took  precedence  of  all  other  princes. — 
The  tenth  verse,  in  this  differing  from  the  rest, 
contains  an  extension  of  the  original  text,  the 
expression  "the  poor  "  being  explained  by  the 
addition  "which  had  nothing,"  wanting  in  ch.  Hi. 
and  2  Ki.  xxv.  The  author  evidently  held  it  to 
be  desirable  (though  unnecessary),  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that    /T  is  not  here  to  be  taken  in 

the  sense  of  "  affliclus,  miser.''  The  brief  phrase 
"  for  vino-dressers  and  for  husbandmen  "  in  Hi. 
16;  2  Ki.  xxv.  12  (Keri)  he  extends  into  a  sen- 
tence.— The  words  "at  the  same  time  "  (in  the 
same  day)  are  to  mark  the  difference  in  time  be- 
tween what  was  last  narrated  and  what  follows. 
It  might  otherwise  have  seemed  as  if  the  events 
narrated  in  ver.  11  occurred  contemporaneously 
willi  those  in  vers.  9,  10. 

Vers  11  14.  Now  Nebuchadnezzar  .  .  . 
among  the  people.  Stkuensee,  Movers, 
Gii.\F,  Mkier,  disjjute  the  genuineness  of  vers. 
11-13,  IIiTZKi  only  of  ver.  13.  The  objections  to 
tiie  authenticity  .-ippear  to  be  the  following:  1. 
Tlie  commission  given  to  Nebuzjir-adan  is,  ac- 
cording to  xl.  1,  not  executed.  Only  in  llama 
(xl.  1)  does  Nebuzar-adan  (comp.  xl.  4)  what  ac- 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  11-14. 


S31 


cording  to  xxxix.  11, 12  he  was  commanded  to  do. 
2.  If  Nebuzar-adan,  who  according  to  lii.  12  came 
to  Jerusalem  four  weeks  after  its  capture,  first 
ordered  the  liberation  of  Jeremiah  from  the  court 
of  the  guard,  Jeremiah  had  remained  there  four 
weeks  after  the  capture,  which  is  in  contradictioa 
to  xxxviii.  28.     3.  The  three  vers,  are  wanting  in 
the  LXX.     4.  As  to  ver.  13  in  particular,  it  is  a 
mere   connecting  clause,  rendered  necessary  by 
the  insertion  of  vers.  11, 12.    For  ver.  Hcouldnot 
be  connected  directly  with  ver.  12 ;  for  the  subject 
of  "  sent  "  would  then  be  obscure.     By  the  men- 
tion of  Nebuzar-adan  the  connection  with  ver.  12 
and  the  previous  context,  and  by  the  mention  of 
the  other  princes  the  connection  with  ver.  13  is 
established.     I  do  not  think  that  these  arguments 
are  conclusive.  As  to  the  first  point,  Nebuzar-adan 
certainly  made  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
the  execution  of  his  commission.    He  liberated  the 
prophet  from  thecourtof  the  guard,  and  entrusted 
him  to  Gedaliah  for  his  further  maintenance.    But 
he  seems  not  to  have  been  in  a  condition  to  keep 
the  prophet  specially  in  view,  so  that  he  might  be 
preserved  from  any  personal  malignity.     In  the 
confusion  which  was  necessarily  connected  with 
the  destruction  of  the  city,  the  prophet,  who  vol- 
untarily or  involuntarily  had  been  included  in  the 
multitude  of  the  people,  was  treated  like  the  rest. 
He  was  bound  like  the  others.     It  was  only  in 
Ramah,  where  probably  the  first  halt  was  made, 
ajud  the  arrangement  of  the  caravan  was  defi- 
nitely adjusted,  that  the  captain  of  the  halber- 
diers remembered  his  commission  with  respect  to 
the  prophet.     There  he  liberated  him  from  the 
chains,  which  he  had  borne  "among  all  that  were 
carried  away  captive"  (xl.  1)  and  committed  him 
the  second  time  to  Gedaliah   (xl.   6).     With  re- 
gard to  the  second  point  it  should  first  of  all  be 
remarked  that  "  day,"  xxxviii.  28,  must  not  ne- 
cessarily be  understood    in    the    most  restricted 
sense.     This  word,  as  is  well  known,  frequently 
designates  the   period  of  an  historical  event  in 
general,  without  any  thought  of  a  day  of  twenty- 
four  hours.     Comp.  vii.  25;  xi.   7;  Jud.   xviii. 
30,    etc.     If  now   we  consider  that  the  princes 
who,  according  to  xxxix.  3,  sat  down  in  the  mid- 
dle gate,  thus  took  possession  of  Jerusalem  in  the 
name  of  the  Chaldean  king,  but  could  not  under- 
take further  measures  with  respect  to  the  fate  of 
the  city  till  they  had  heard  from  him,  it  cannot 
truly  be  surprising  that  for  four  weeks,  till  the 
arrival  of  Nebuzar-adan  (lii.  12)  things  remaiiieil 
vssentially   as   before,    and    that  thus  Jeremiah 
could  not  be  removed  from  the  court  of  the  guanl. 
The  absence  of  the  vex's.  11-13  in  the  LXX.  (which 
moreover  omits  the  whole  section  4-13,  while  it 
]ias  vers.  1,  2)  is  of  no    significance,  the  reasons 
for  it  being  apparent.      The  translator  wished  by 
the  omission  of  vers.  11,  12  to  avoid  an  apparent 
contradiction,  by  the  omission  of  ver.  13  a  repe- 
tition.    As   to   the  fourth    argument  it  falls  to 
pieces  of  itself,  in  so  f;ir  that  ver.  13  seems  neces- 
sary in  any  case,  whether  we  regard  vers.  11,  12  as 
genuine  or  not.     The  names  of  the  princes  might 
indeed  be  named  together  after  ^n/i^'l.     But  we 

see  that  the  author's  thoughts  (after  vers.  11,  12) 
were  so  much  occupied  with  Nebuzar-adan  that 
he  names  him  first   and   as  the  chief  personage 

(hence  n7tJ^^1  ver.  13),  adding  the  rest  only  by 


way  of  supplement.  When  now  after  the  long 
series  of  names  and  titles  he  repeated  the  prin- 
cipal verb  once  more,  and  in  the  plural,  this  ia 
evidently  done  purely  in  the  interest  of  perspi- 
cuity. We  cannot  then  regard  the  arguments 
against  the  genuineness  of  vers.  11-13  as  valid. 
On  the  other  hand  the  following  positively  favoi 
the  genuineness:  1.  lu  point  of  idiom  there  is  no- 
tiiing  which  is  foreign  to  the  prophet's  usage.  It 
is  worth  notice  that  in  ver.  11  the  name  of  the 
Chaldean  king  is  Nebuchadrezzar  (as  Jeremiah 
is  always  accustomed  to  write  it)  while  in  ver.  5 
we  read  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  expression  T? 
is  one  current  in  Jeremiah.  It  is  found  thirty- 
eight  times,  more  frequently  than  in  any  of  the 

other  prophets.  The  expression  'I''J''Jt^  Ci^  ia 
found  besides  here  and  xl.  4  only  in  Gen.  xliv. 
21.  The  phrase  "do  him  no  harm"  (on  the 
Dag.f.  in  j;'^  comp.  Olsh.  \  83,/.)  is  not  indeed 

specifically  Jeremian,  but  by  no  means  as  Graf 
asserts,  an  unnecessary  explanatory  addition. 
Could  it  have  been  unnecessary  to  enjoin  on  Ne- 
buzar-adan that  no  harm  should  be  dono  to  Jere- 
miah ?  Was  this  beyond  the  reach  of  possibility  ? 
The  actual  fate  of  the  prophet  gives  the  answer 
to  this  question.  Or  could  the  ^"^  be  omitted? 
Then  we  should  have  an  ambiguous  expression. 
For,    strictly    taken,    the   sentence   without  ^1 

would  make  it  Nebuzar-adan's  duty  to  beliave 
inditferently  towards  Jeremiah.  2.  Itisiiilavor 
of  the  authenticity  that  the  passage  (vers.  11-13) 
is  shown  to  be  neither  a  foreign  property,  bor- 
rowed from  elsewhere  (like  vers.  1,  2  ;  4-Ui),  nor 
an  interruption  of  the  connection,  but  on  the  con- 
trary as  necessary  to  furnish  a  perfectly  clear 
picture  of  the  occurrences.  That  the  passage  is 
not  borrowed  is  acknowledged  by  all.  That  the 
course  of  Nebuzar-adan,  as  it  is  related  in  xl.  1- 
G  presupposes  a  commission  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
is  involved  in  the  nature  of  the  case.  For  how 
could  Nebuzar-adan  dare  to  distinguish  a  single 
person  with  such  favors  if  he  had  not  been  sure 
of  the  approval  of  his  master?  And  is  it  then 
improbable  that  this  approval  was  assured  to  him 
by  a  positive  commission  ?  Must  an  interpolator 
have  invented  this  commission  when  Nebuchad- 
nezzar may  have  heard  a  thousand  times  from 
tlie  mouth  of  deserters  that  there  was  a  prophet 
in  Jerusalem  who  incessantly  and  with  constant 
danger  to  his  life  had  designated  Nebuchadnez- 
zar as  an  in!>irunient  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  and 
submission  to  him  as  the  only  way  of  escape? 
And  if  Nebuchadnezzar  had  heard  this,  is  there 
any  reason  for  regarding  the  commission  as  the 
idle,  unhistorical  conjecture  of  a  later  editor? 
I  believe  that  the  narrative  in  vers.  1 1-14,  in  most 
intimate  connection  with  ver.  3,  presents  us  with 
the  events  in  a  perfectly  natural  manner,  both  as 
to  form  and  contents.     It  is  not  at  all  necessary 

to  take  IV'I,  ver.  11,  as  pluperfect.  For  this 
command  was  actually  given  after  the  event  re- 
lated in  ver.  3,  which  we  have  regarded  above  as 
the  act  of  solemn  taking  possession.  After  Ne- 
buchadnezzar had  received  the  news  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Jerusalem  he  sent  Nebuzar-adan  with  his 
further  orders.  Among  these  was  one  respecting 
tiie  person  of  the  prophet.  This  alone  is  hra 
mentioned,  as  the  subject  of  the  verses  xxxix.  3, 


832 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


11-14,  is  simply  the  personal  experiences  of  Jere- 
miah. In  the  execution  of  this  commission,  the 
princes,  at  whose  head  no  longer  stood  Nergal- 
sharezer  but  Ncbuzar-adan,  had  the  prophet 
taken  out  of  the  court  of  the  guard.  This  could 
not  be  done  before,  because  till  the  arrival  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  all  had  to  remain  in  general  the 
same  as  it  had  been  at  the  capture  of  the  city. 
Jeremiah  was  now  given  in  charge  to  Gedaliah, 
the  son  of  Ahikam.  This  Ahikam,  of  a  noble 
family  (comp.  2  Ki.  xxii.  12,  14),  had  already 
favored  the  prophet  (xxvi.  24).  Gedaliah  evi- 
dently belonged  to  that  small  party,  who  having 
taken  Jeremiah's  prophecies  as  the  rule  of  their 
political  course,  had  gone  over  to  the  Chaldeans 
(xxxviii.  19).  Gedaliah  was  to  bring  the  pro- 
phet from  the  court  of  the  guard  r\'3n-7X.     By 

this  some  have  understood  the  temple  (Hitzig), 
others  the  king's  house  (Gkaf,  etal.).  But  ac- 
cording to  lii.  13  (2  Ki.  xxv.  9),  both  these  were 
burned  down  by  Nebuzar-adan,  together  with  the 
other  houses  of  Jerusalem,  directly  on  his  arri- 


val. And  assuredly  those  large  public  buildings 
were  not  the  last  to  which  the  Chaldeans  applied 
the  destroying  hand.  It  is  credible  that  some 
private  dwellings  might  be  preserved  to  the  last, 
to  afford  shell er  to  some  privileged  persons. 
"Into  the  house"  may  thus  designate  the  genus, 
private  dwelling  in  general,  in  contrast  to  "quar- 
ters at  the  public  expense,"  such  as  the  court 
afforded,  it  thus  remaining  undecided  whether 
the  private  dwelling  in  which  Jeremiah  was  taken 
were  Gedaliah's  own  house,  or  some  other.  In 
this  private  dwelling  Jeremiah  was  not  placed 
under  confinement.  He  could  freely  go  in  and 
out.  And  so  he  had  intercourse  with  the  pej3- 
ple,  doubtless  warning  and  comforting  them  with 
his  prophetic  words,  and  was  thus  in  the  vast 
confusion  of  the  destruction,  plundering  and  de- 
portation, treated  by  the  soldiers  who  had  charge 
of  the  details  like  the  mass  of  the  populace,  i.  e., 
bound  in  chains,  and  placed  in  the  trains  of  cap- 
tives. Nebuchadnezzar's  order  thus  remained 
unobeyed,  without  any  fault  of  Nebuzar-adan  and 
Gedaliah,  till  they  reached  the  station  of  Ramah. 


2.  Appendix  to  xxxix.  1-14. — The  Promise  made  to  the  Cushite  Ebed-melech. 

XXXIX.  15-18. 

15  Now  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  Jeremiah,  while  he  was  shut  up  in  the  court 

16  of  the  prison  [guard],  saying.  Go  and  speak  to  Ebed-melech  the  Ethiopian,  saying, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth],  the  God  of  Israel ;  Behold,  I  will 
bring'  my  words  upon  this  city  for  evil,  and  not  for  good ;  and  they  shall  be*  ac- 

17  comjilished  in  that  day  before  thee.     But  I  will  deliver  thee  in  that  day,  saith  the 

18  Lord  [Jehovah]  :  and  thou  shalt  not  be  given  into  the  hand  of  the  men  of  whom 
thou  art  afraid.  For  I  will  surely  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  not  fall  by  the 
sword,  but  thy  life  shall  be  for  a  prey  unto  thee :  because  thou  hast  put  thy  trust 
in  me,  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah]. 

TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  16.— On  '•DO-  Comp.  Olsh.,  S.  69,  392,  581. 

s  Ver.  16.— riTI  is  evidently  used  here  in  a  pregnant  sense^to  be  realized,  to  attain  to  a  real  existence .  Comp.  Isa.  vii. 

T  T 

7 ;  xiv.  24. 

evident  that  the  contents  are  too  trifling  in  com- 
parison with  the  importance  of  that  great  theo- 
cratic book  of  consolation,  and  that  the  historical 
connection  seems  better  preserved  in  this  place. 
After  the  prophet  had  related  his  own  experi- 
ences till  tlie  capture  of  the  city,  he  appends  this 
brief  prophecy  uttered  shortly  before  that  epoch. 
In  connection  with  ch.  xlv.  it  would  have  been 
neither  historically  nor  topically  in  the  right 
place. 

Vers.  15-18.  Now  the  •word  .  .  .  saith  Je- 
hovah. Two  tliouglits  lie  at  the  foundation  of 
ver.  16:  1.  The  fulfilment  of  my  threatonings 
against  Jerusalem  shall  take  place  before  thine 
ei/es.  Ebed-melech  is  to  see  what  he  before  be- 
lieved. This  is,  as  it  were,  the  immanent  reward 
of  faith,  its  crown  and  corroboration.  2.  Not- 
withstanding that  all  Jerusalem  with  all  the  peo- 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  Cushite  Ebed-melech,  to  whom  the  words 
of  our  Lord  may  be  applied  (Luke  xix.  40),  "if 
those  should  hold  their  peace,  the  stones  would 
cry  out,"  is  here  honored  by  a  special  consola- 
tory promise.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  this  falls 
into  the  period  after  the  occurrence  related  in 
xxxvii.  7-13.  The  expression  shut  up,  etc.,  is 
found  besides  only  in  xxxiii.  1  (comp.  xxxii.  2). 
As  we  know  from  other  grounds  that  chh.  xxxii. 
and  xxxiii.  pertain  to  the  last  stage  of  the  con- 
finement in  the  court  of  the  guard  (xxxviii.  28, 
oomp.  on  xxxvii.  17),  we  may  place  our  brief 
passage  in  the  same  period  as  that  great  consola- 
tory discourse.  This  portion  might,  therefore, 
be  attached  to  those  chapters.     It  is,  however, 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  15-18. 


331 


pie  therein  perishes  the  person  of  Ebed-melech 
shall  remain  unimperilled.  This  is  the  second 
physical  and  palpable  reward  of  faith. — As  the 
import  of  God's  word  cannot  be  conceived  of  as 
indiflferent,  admitting  of  fulfilment  either  in  a 
good  or  a  bad  sense,  "for  evil"  must  be  re- 
garded as  dependent  on  "words."  Comp.  xxi. 
10. — In  that  day,  ver.  16,  refers  necessarily  to 
the  point  of  time  in  "  I  will  bring,"  and  expresses 
that  the  moment  of  fulfilment  will  be  at  the  same 
time  the  moment  of  visible  perception.  There 
may  be  a  fulfilment  which  takes  place  invisibly. 
Compare  what  is  said  under  xxv.  11  of  the  in- 
visible reality  of  the  beginning  of  the  exile.  In 
the  same  day  Ebed-melech  is  to  experience  the 
power  and  grace  of  God  in  the  deliverance  of  his 
own  person.  For  he  is  not  to  be  given  into  the 
hand  of  the  men  of  whom  he  is  afraid  (ver.  17). 
It  might  be  asked  whether  the  Chaldeans  are 
meant,  or  the  Jews  who  were  hostile  to  him  on 
Jeremiah's  account.  The  expressions  used  in 
the  following  verse  thou  shalt  not  fall  by  the 
S'word,  and  especially  the  contrast  to  the  general 
destruction,  involved  in  thou  shalt  have  thy 
life  for  a  prey  (comp.  xxi.  9 :  xxxviii.  2 ;  xlv. 
5),  favor  the  former.  Ebed-melech  believed  and 
trusted  in  the  Lord.  He  held  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  which  Jeremiah  proclaimed,  to  be  true, 
he  dared  to  oppose  Jeremiah's  enemies;  he  con- 
sequently did  not  set  his  hope  on  the  means  of 
escape,  on  which  these  foolishly  trusted,  but  on 
the  Lord.  In  the  words  put  thy  trust,  then, 
there  is  a  double  point  of  applause  and  of  con- 
fidence. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xxxix.  11,  12.  '■^Elucet  inde  Veritas  illiiis 
Salomonis  (Prov.  xxi.  1):  Cor  regis  in  vianuDei, 
quo  vuh  illud  iyiclinat."  Forster. 

2.  On  xxxix.  11-14.  "Nebuchadnezzar  the 
king  and  Ebed-melech  the  Ethiopian  enhanced 
the  guilt  of  the  Jews.  For  thiese,  although  they 
were  heathens,  were  not  shy  of  the  prophet.  The 
Jews,  however,  who  had  grown  up  with  the  pro- 
phetic words,  paid  no  regard  to  the  divine  word, 
but  on  the  contrary  subjected  the  prophet  to 
manifold  maltreatment."  Theodoret. 

3.  On  xxxix.  11-14.  " Deus  ex  iisdem  hominibus 
diverse  singulis  disponit  prsemia,  qui  ex  iisdem  ele- 
mentis  pro  meritorum  qualitate  electis  et  reprobis 
diversas  impendit  remunerationes.  Nam  aqua  maris 
rubri,  quse  cultores  Dei  illsesos  eervabat  laraelitas, 


eadem  interfecit  ^gyptios  idololatras.  Similiter 
fiamma  cainini,  quie  regis  Babylonis  juxta  fornacem 
atroces  interfecit  ministros,  eadem  laudantes  et  bene- 
dicentes  Dominum  in  medio  ignis  conservavit  pueros, 
unde  vir  sapiens  in  laudibus  Dei  ait:  crealura  enirn 
tibi  factori  deserviens  excandescit  in  tormentum  ad- 
versus  injustos  et  lenior  fit  ad  benefaciendum pro  his, 
qui  in  te  confidunt  [Sap.  16,  24)."  Rhabanus  Mad- 
Rus  in  Ghisler. 

4.  On  xxxix.  15-18.  "Well  for  him,  whose 
help  is  the  God  of  Jacob,  whose  hope  is  in  the 
Lord  his  God  (Ps.  cxlvi.  5).  Well  for  the  people, 
whose  God  is  the  Lord  (Ps.  cxliv.  15).  For  of 
what  avail  was  it  to  Zedekiah  that  he  was  king? 
And  of  what  injury  was  it  to  Ebed-melech  that 
he  was  a  servant?  For  the  former  had  to  endure 
all  on  account  of  his  ungodliness,  while  the  latter 
on  account  of  his  piety  sutfered  no  evil."  Theo- 
doret. 

5.  On  xxxix.  15-18.  "  Uece  principes,  qui  Jere- 
miam  expetivei'unt  ad  carceris  poenam,  Chaldaicae 
captivitatis  perpessi  sunt  vindictam.  Hie  autem 
Eunuchus,  qui  prophetam  liber av it  de  carcere.  Domi- 
no remunerante  perfecta  potitus  est  libertate."  Rha- 
banus Maurus  in  Ghisler. 

6.  On  xxxix.  15-18.  "This  pious  courtier  had 
interceded  for  the  prophet  with  the  king,  but  the 
prophet  had  again  interceded  for  him  with  God 
the  Lord.  Ebed-melech  had  drawn  him  out  of 
the  pit,  but  Jeremiah  draws  him  by  his  prayer 
from  the  jaws  of  all  Chaldean  war-vortices. 
Those  who  receive  a  prophet  shall  receive  a  pro- 
phet's reward  (Matt.  X.  41).  Preachers  do  their 
patrons  more  good  than  they  get  from  them." 
Cramer, 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xxxix.  11-14.  Jeremiah's  deliverance  an 
example  of  how  wonderfully  the  Lord  helps  His  own. 
1.  While  in  Jerusalem  his  fellow  believers  hate 
and  persecute  him,  the  heathen  king  in  Riblah 
thinks  of  him,  and  commands  to  liberate  him.  2. 
While  the  city  of  Jerusalem  with  all  its  popula- 
tion perishes,  he  is  protected  and  brought  into 
safety. 

2.  On  xxxix.  15-18.  What  can  we  learn  from 
the  example  of  the  believing  Ebed-melech?  1.  That 
faith  is  not  connected  with  limits  of  any  external 
communion;  2,  that  assent  and  confidence  per- 
tain to  its  nature  (ver.  18) ;  3,  that  there  is  an 
internal  (ver.  16)  and  external  (ver.  17)  reward 
of  faith. 


184 


THE  rPtOPIlET  JEREMIAH. 


3.  Jeremiah  liberated  in  Ramah  and  committed  the  second  time  to  Gedaliah. 

XL.  1-6. 

1  The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord,  after  that  Nebuzar-adan  the 
captain  of  the  guard  had  let  him  go  from  Ramah,  when'  he  had  taken  him  being 
bound  in  chains''  among  all  that  were  carried  away  captive  of  Jerusalem  and  Ju- 

2  dah,  which  were  carried  away  captive  unto  Babylon.  Ami  the  captain  of  the 
guard  took^  Jeremiah,  and  said  unto  him.  The  Lord  [Jehovah]  thy  God  hath  pro- 

3  nounced  this  evil  upon  this  place.  Now  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  hath  brought  it,*  and 
done  according  as  he  hath  said:  because  ye  have  [had]  sinned  against  the  Lord 
[Jehovah],  and  have  not  obeyed  his  voice,  therefore  this  thing  is  come  upon  you. 

4  And  now,  behold,  I  loose  thee  this  day  from  the  chains  which  were  upon  thine 
hand.^  If  it  seem  good  unto  thee  to  come  with  me  into  Babylon,  come ;  and  I 
will  look  well  unto  thee :  but  if  it  seem  ill  unto  thee  to  come  with  me  into  Babylon, 
forbear:  behold,  all  the  land  is  before  thee :  whither  it  seemeth  good  and  convenient 

5  [right]  for  thee  to  go,  thither  go.  Now  while  he  was  not  yet  gone  back  [answered],® 
he  laid,  Go  back  also  to  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  the  son  of  Shaphan,  whom 
the  king  of  B  ^'nvlon  hath  made  governor  over  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  dwell  with 
him  among  the  people:  or  go  wheresoever  it  seemeth  convenient  unto  thee  to  go. 
So  the  captain  of  the  guard  gave  him  victuals  and  a  reward  [present],  and  let  him 

6  go.  Then  went  Jeremiah  unto  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  to  Mizpah ;  and  dwelt 
with  him  among  the  people  that  were  left  in  the  land. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— 3  is  hero  causal.    Comp.  2  Chron.  xvi.  7 ;  xxviii.  6. 

2  Ver.  1.— O'DIX-  The  form  with  X  only  here  and  in  ver.  4.  Besides  D''pT  in  Job  xxxvi.  8;  Isa.  x1t.14;  Nah.  iii.lO. 
From  ^^"bj?,  ver.  4,  we  see  that  hauo-fetters  are  meant. 

a  Vei\  3.— The  construction  of  np"^  with  S  is  an  Aramaism.  Comp.  Ewald,  §277,  e. 

*  Ver.  3.— The  pronominal  ol>j«c't  of  X^"!  is  to  be  supplied  from  the  foregoing  context.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ?  78,  2, 
Anm.    The  absence  of  the  articli?  before  "131  to  which  the  Masoretes  object,  is  no  rare  occurrence.    Comp.  xxxii.  14; 

T  T 

3txxviii.lt:  1.  16:  NvEGELSn.  (7r,  TJ,  •_',  >lwni.  ,  ,.  ,, 

6  \  er.  4.— IT,  ver.  4,  mny  ba  taken  both  grammatically  (comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §44, 4,  Anm,.),a,nd  according  to  thesense 

'"."  T  1 

either  as  singular  or  plural.    On  3£0-7X.  Comi).  Ewald,  ?  33.5,  a. 

6  Ver.  5.— [Naeqelsb.;  Since,  however,  he  had  not  yet  answered.  See  Exeq.  and  Cbit.  "So  .1.  D.  Michaelis,  Dahler, 
Umbreit,  Neumann.  But  J«?emiih  never  uses  the  verb  2W  in  tiiis  sense,  but  always  in  the  sense  of  returning."  Words- 
worth. — S.  R.  A.J 

one  recurs  only  in  xliv.  1.     Since  the  formula, 

"the  word  that  ciiiik-,"  elc,  appears  constantly  as 
the  superscription  to  the  longer  sections  (comp. 
vii.  1;  xi.  1  [xiv.  1];  xviii.  1;  xxi.  1,  etc.),  it 
has  gradually  assumed  a  double  character.  It 
is  primarily,  according  to  the  meaning  of  the 
words,  the  announcement  of  a  word  of  God  spoken 
to  the  prophet.  Since,  however,  these  words 
represent  at  the  same  time  the  main  sections  of 
the  prophetic  book,  historical  narrative  being 
annexed  only  as  introductory  or  supplementary 
commentary,  the  formula  has  gradiaiUy  become 
the  superscription  of  a  main  section,  even  where 
historical  narrative  predominates.  This  is  cer 
tainlj'  nowhere  to  so  great  an  extent  the  case  as 
here.  In  a  less  degree  it  is  found  also  in  xxi. 
1-3  (comp.  "And  .Jeremiah  said,"  ver.  3).  The 
formula  is  certainly  never  found  as  a  superscrip- 
tion of  a  purely  historical  section.  Nor  are  chh. 
xl.-xliii.  such.     For  in  xlii.  7-22  we  have  an  ac- 


EXEGET3CAL   AND   CRITICAI* 

In  the  unavoidable  confusion  Jeremiah,  con- 
trary to  the  command  of  the  king  (xxxix.  11-14), 
is  included  among  the  captives,  and  bound  with 
chains.  This  error  is  first  remarked  in  Ramah. 
The  captain  of  the  halberdiers  has  him  immedi- 
ately liberated,  and  gives  him  the  choice  to  go 
with  them  to  Babylon  or  i*emain  in  the  country. 
As  .Jeremiah,  as  it  appears,  liesitated  in  answer- 
ing, the  captain  of  halberdiers,  guessing  the  wish 
of  the  propliet,  decides  himself  that  he  is  to  re- 
main. Provided  with  a  supply  of  food  and 
presents,  Jeremiah  hereupon  betakes  himself  to 
(iedaliah,  who  was  appointed  by  Nebuchadnezzar 
j;(ivf'rnor  ovim-  the  cniintry,  in  Mizpali 


1.    The   word 


unto    Babylon. 


Tlie  suyxirscriplion  is  of  the  larger  kind.      It  ex- 
tenJs  jver  the  four  chh.  xl.-iliii.,  for  a  similar 


CHAP.  XL.  1-6 


935 


count  of  a  revelation  made  to  the  prophet,  to 
which  all  the  previous  and  subsequent  coDlext  is 
related  as  historical  background.  In  xliii.  8-13 
is  a  second  oracle,  from  which  it  again  follows, 
that  we  are  tc  regard  the  formula  in  this  verse 
as  a  comprehensive  title  of  a  section,  which  may 
refer  not  only  to  other  matter  besides  a  revela- 
tion, but  also  to  more  than  one  revelation.  More- 
over the  superscription  here  is  related  also  to  i. 
8.  For  there  the  narrative  ■of  the  events  till  the 
deportation  in  the  fifth  month  of  the  eleventh 
year  of  Zedekiah  is  announced.  Our  section, 
being  written  at  a  later  date,  records  the  events 
immediately  after  this  date,  and  till  the  arrival 
in  Egypt. — When  he  had  taken  him.  This 
is  to  explain  why  a  liberation  of  Jeremiah  can  be 
spoken  of,  after  what  is  narrated  in  xxxix.  11- 
14.  Nebuzar-adan  had  to  liberate  the  prophet 
in  Ramah,  because  he  had  taken  him  captive  (by 
a  misunderstanding.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxxix.  11- 
13),  and  bound  Mm  with  chains. — Being 
bound,  etc.,  more  particularly  describes  in  what 
condition  .Jeremiah  was  in  consequence  of  being 
taken,  and  when  he  was  liberated  by  Nebuzar- 
adan. — Among  all,  etc.  This  addition  also  is 
evidently  to  contribute  to  the  explanation  of 
Jeremiah's  being  bound.  Jeremiah  standing 
alone  would  not  have  suffered  this  indignity.  It 
was  only  in  consequence  of  his  remaining 
"among  the  people"  (xxxix.  14),  and  was  con- 
trary to  the  purpose  of  the  general.  It  has  been 
already  remarked  above  that  Ramah,  being  the 
first  station  after  .lerusalem,  served  as  the  place 
of  assembly  and  final  arrangement  of  the  caravan, 
(in  reference  to  its  position.  Comp.  rems.  on 
xxxi.  15). 

Vers.  2-4.  And  the  captain  .  .  .  thither 
go.  What  Nebuzar-adan  here  says  to  Jeremiah 
presupposes  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  purport  of  his  prophecies,  and  that  he  ac- 
knowledged their  fulfilment  as  a  manifestation 
of  the  power  of  the  God  in  whose  name  they  had 
been  pronounced.  It  could  not  be  difficult  for  a 
heathen  to  admit  that  the  national  deity  of  the 
Jews,  enraged  because  this  people  preferred 
other  deities  to  Him,  had  given  them  up  to  their 
enemies.  Nebuzar-adan  may  also  have  spoken 
Hebrew,  though  the  mode  of  expression  betrays 
that  Jeremiah  gives  only  the  sense,  not  the  pre- 
cise words  of  his  speech.  Comp.  xvi.  10;  xix. 
15;  xxxii.  42;  xxxvi.  81  ;  xxxix    16;  xliv.  2. 

Vers.   5,  6.  Novy  ■while  ...  in  the  land. 

The  words  2W^  kS  \l'^\^]}^  mock  at  every  attempt 
to  explain  them  according  to  the  grammar  and 
lexicon.  For  1.  It  is  contrary  to  rule  to  take 
Uni;?  as  simply  equivalent  to  Hi;?,  since  it  is  a 


complete  sentence  (and  he  is  still),  and  either 
requires  no  predicate  or  it  can  have  one  only  in 
the  form  of  a  participle  or  adjective.    It  must  be 

3itr.  nS  ni;;],  or  2W'  xb  xin  ni;;i,  or  ^n);n 

DB'  K^,  or  y'd"^,  or  something  like  this.  2. 
The  connection  with  the  following  7\2V  by  the 
mere  )  is  likewise  abnormal.  We  should  expect, 
since  in  sense  T\'2W\  cannot  simply  continue  tha 

speech  interrupted  by  a  parenthesis — as  a  con- 
tradiction would  thus  be  produced — some  con- 
nective formula  like  "ipj^'lj  3.  The  meaning  of 
2W^  is  enigmatical.     For  whomsoever  we  take 

as  the  subject,  Jeremiah  or  the  king  of  Judah 
or  Gedaliah,  or  (with  Seb.  Schmidt)  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  place  of  residence  selected  by  Jere- 
miah, or  an  indefinite  "  they,"  no  satisfactory 
meaning  is  obtained.  The  ancient  translators 
therefore  rendered  with  arbitrary  freedom, 
LXX.  £(  fJe  fif/,  aTTorpexe,  avdcrpeipov  wpbg  tov  Todo- 
Aiav.  Vulg.:  et  mecum  noli  venire,  sed  habita  apud 
GodoljCim.  Syr.:  dixit  etiam  ad  eum  :  si  maneas, 
commorarein  medio  populi  apud  Gedaljam.  Chald.: 
et  si  tu  nan  vis  reverti,  revertere  ad  Gedaljam.  I 
consider  the  text  corrupt.  Since  in  ver.  4  Ne- 
buzar-adan leaves  it  to  Jeremiah  to  go  wherever 
he  wishes,  but  ver.  4  says  distinctly  that  he  must 
return  to  Gedaliah,  there  must  have  stood  be- 
tween the  two  a  sentence  reporting  the  pre- 
ference, which  Jeremiah  somehow  intimated,  to 
remain  in  the  country.  How  this  sentence  read 
is  no  longer  to  be  ascertained.  Since  from 
Jeremiah's  not  returning  it  could  not  be  con- 
cluded that  he  wished  to  return,  while  from 
his  not  answering  this  conclusion  might  easily 
be  drawn,  since  morer  honor  would  be  done  to  the 
Chaldeans  if  Jeremiah  preferred  a  residence  in 
their  country  to  one  in  his  desolated  home,  I  am 
of  opinion,  that  originally  some  form  of  2W 
stood  here,  involving  the  idea  of  answering. — 
Nebuzar-adan  now  dismisses  the  prophet  with  a 
supply  of  food  (nrr^X,  comp.  lii.  34 ;  Prov.  xv. 
17)  and  presents  (nxi^D,  literally  load,  what  is 
carried  away,  i.  e.  presents.  Comp.  Esth.  ii.  18 ; 
Am.  V.  11).  Jeremiah,  following  the  advice 
given  him,  betakes  himself  to  Gedaliah  in  Miz- 
pah,  doubtless  that  city  among  the  five  of  this 
name  which  was  situated  in  Benjamin,  and  is 
named  together  with  Gibeon  and  Ramah  in  Josh, 
xviii.  25,  2G ;  comp.  1  Sam.  vii.  Iti ;  x.  17  ;  1  Ki. 
XV.  22;  1  Mace.  iii.  46;  Raumer,  Paldst.,  S. 
213.  [This  Ramah  is  supposed  to  have  been 
about  six  miles  north  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  road 
to  Bethel.     Comp.  Smith,  Diet. — S.  R.  A.] 


«86  TEE  PKUPHET  JEREMIAH, 


4.   The  gathering  of  the  peovle  under  Gedaliah. 
XL.  7-16. 

7  Now  when  all  the  captains  of  the  forces*  which  were  in  the  fields,  even  they  and 
their  men,  heard  that  the  king  of  Babylon  had  made  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam 
governor  in  the  land,  and  had  committed  unto^  him  men,  and  women,  and  children, 
and  of  the  poor*  of  the  land,  of  them  that  were  not  carried  away  captive  to  Baby- 

8  Ion ;  then  they  came  to  Gedaliah  to  Mizpah,  even*  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniah, 
and  Johanan  and  Jonathan^  the  sons  of  Kareah,  and  Seraiah  the  son  of  Tanhumeth, 
and  the  sons  of  Ephai  the  Netophathite,  and  Jezaniah  the  son  of  a  [the]  Maacha- 

9  thite,  they  and  their  men.  And  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  the  son  of  Shaphan 
sware  unto  them  and  to  their  men,  saying,  Fear  not  to  serve  the  Chaldeans:  dwell 

10  in  the  land,  and  serve  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  it  shall  be  well  with  you.  As  for 
me,  behold,  I  will  dwell  at  Mizpah,  to  serve  the  Chaldeans,®  which  will  come  unto 
us :  but  ye,  gather  ye  wine,  and  summer  fruits,  and  oil,  and  put  them  in   your 

11  vessels,  and  dwell  in  your  cities  that  ye  have  taken.  Likewise  when  all  the  Jews 
that  were  in  Moab,  and  among  the  Ammonites,  and  in  Edom,  and  that  %vere  in  all 
countries,  heard  that  the  king  of  Babylon  had  left  a  remnant'  of  Judah,  and  that 

12  he  had  set  over  them  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  the  son  of  Shaphan  ;  Even  all 
the  Jews  returned  out  of  all  the  places  whither  they  were  driven,  and  came  to  the 
land  of  Judah,  to  Gedaliah,  unto  Mizpah,  and  gathered  wine  and  summer  fruits 

13  very  much.     Moreover  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah,  and  all  the  captains  of  the 

14  forces  that  were  in  the  fields,  came  to  Gedaliah  to  Mizpah,  and  said  unto  him, 
Dost  thou  certainly  know  that  Baalis  the  king  of  the  Ammonites  hath  sent  Ish- 
mael the  son  of  Nethaniah  to  slay  thee?^     But  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  be- 

15  lieved  them  not.  Then  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah  spake  to  Gedaliah  in  Mizpah 
secretly,  saying.  Let  me  go,  I  pray  thee,  and  I  will  slay  Ishmael  the  son  of  Netha- 
niah, and  no  man  shall  know  it;  wherefore  should  he  slay  thee,  that  all  the  Jews 
which  are  gathered  unto  thee  should  be  scattered  and   the  remnant  in  Judah 

16  perish?  But  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  said  unto  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah, 
Thou  shalt  not  do  this  thing :'  for  thou  speakest  falsely  of  Ishmael. 

TEXTUAL    AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  7. — D'' /'H-  The  word  is  found  in  the  senae  of  "riches  "'  in  Isa.  xxx.  6.  In  the  sense  of  "forces,  bands,"'  it  oc- 
curs only  in  Jeremiah  (xl.  13  ;  xli.  11, 13,  16;  xlil.  1,  8;  xliii.  4,  5),  and  in  later  books  (1  Ki.  xv.  20  ;  2  Ki.  xxv.  23,  26  ;  Eccl. 
X.  10 ;  1  Chron.  vii.  5-7 ;  Dan.  xi.  10).    By  the  addition  of  miyS   "ItyX  these  bands  are  distinguished  from  the  main  forces 

of  the  regular  army  in  the  capital. 

*  Ver.  7. — int<  TpDn.     This  Iliphil  denotes  not  only  inspicientem,  but  also  inspiciendum  /acere :  xli.  10 ;  xxxvi.  20 ; 

xxxvii.  21 ;  Ps.  xxxi.  G ;  Isa.  x.  28  ;  2  Chron.  xii.  10,  in  which  case  he  to  whom  the  inspeciio  is  committed  is  designated  in 
various  ways  by  j,  by  fiX,  by  T'3  or  T^  7J,'. 

*  Ver.  7.— nb'IDV    Comp.  xx.\ix.  10;  2  Ki.  xxv.  12.    The  partitive  JD  expresses  that  not  all  the  "poor  of  the  land" 

were  left  behind,  which  also  follows  from  lii.  15  coll.  16.    In  the  following  JO  before  "It^X  there  is  a  sort  of  attraction,  and 

it  is  tlierefore  not  to.be  emphasized,  as  it  would  then  signify  that  Gedaliah  was  not  set  as  inspector  over  all  the  remaining 
people. 

•*  Ver.  8.— The  Van  is  cxiilicative^and  indeed.     Comp.  Naeoelsd.  Or.,  ?  Ill,  1. 

'  Ver.  8. — 'A  Ki.  xxv.  'Z'-i  lias  <mly  "  .Icilianaii  scm  of  K;ireali."  'I'lic  words  "  and  thi'  sons  of  Ejdiai  "  are  also  omitted,  so 
that  "  the  Netophathito "  is  referred  to  Tanhumeth.    Instead  of  n'JP  limiHy  we  read  there  ri'JlN''.     From  these  altera- 

t:-:  t:  —  :- 

tions  it  follows  that  the  present  text  is  the  original.  For  the  similarity  of  the  names  Johanan  and  Jonathan,  which  appears 
more  in  wrilint;  tliaii  in  speaking,  lus  well  as  tlie  obscurity  of  the  name  '£3_y  (wliich  according  to  the  Chethibh  is  to  be 
epoken  '31^*,  according   to   the  Keri  'D'W.     Comp.  HD'^,  Oen.  xxv.  4;  Isa.  lx.6;  1  Chron.  ii.  46,  47)  well  exjilains  the 

omission  of  these  words,  while  their  irisfrtion  in  tli(^  text  appears  in  the  highest  degree  improbable. 

6  Ver.  10.— ['•  Literally,  tn  stand  lit  the  fare  of  the  ChaMeans:  to  be  their  representative,  and  to  do  ^heir  will,  and  alM 
to  mediate  with  tlieiii  in  your  belialf  (UlTziu)."     Wordswokth. — S.  11.  A.] 

»  Ver.  11.— n'^NK^  THJ.    Comp.  xliv.  7  ;  Gen.  xlv.  7  ;  2  Sam.  xiv.  7. 


CHAP.  XLI.   1-18. 


337 


8  Ver.  14.— lybj    nniinS-    Comp.  Gen.  xxxvii.  21 ;  Deut.  xix.  6,  11 ;  xxvii.  25  ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  J  70,/. 
»  Ver.  16.— tyj^n-Sx.    The  Keri  would  read  TW}}r\  (comp.  on  this  form  Olsh.,  §  240,  a  Anm.),  unnecessarily.    Conip* 
xzxiz.  12 ;  Qen.  xxii.  12 ;  Job  xiii.  20. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

The  leaders  of  the  scattered  bands  roving 
through  the  country,  who  bad  managed  to  escape 
the  Chaldean  forces,  assembled  to  Gedaliah  in 
Mizpah  on  the  news  that  he  had  been  set  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  over  the  country  (vers.  7,  8). 
Gedaliah,  after  promising  them  on  oath  on  his 
part  protection  and  support,  urges  them  to  col- 
lect whatever  the  land  contains  of  the  necessaries 
of  life  and  willingly  to  serve  the  Chaldeans 
(vers.  9,  10).  The  dispersed  Jews  from  the 
neighboring  countries  also  gathered  about  Geda- 
liah (vers.  11,  12).  It  however  came  to  be  ru- 
mored that  one  of  those  band-leaders,  Ishmael, 
the  son  of  Nethaniah,  of  the  royal  stock,  had 
been  incited  by  Baalis,  king  of  the  Ammonites, 
to  murder  Gedaliah.  The  rest  of  the  band- 
leaders, therefore,  warned  Gedaliah  of  Ishmael, 
but  Gedaliah  believed  them  not  (vers.  13,  14). 
One  of  the  leaders,  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah, 
even  offered  to  murder  Ishmael  secretly.  Geda- 
liah, however,  would  not  permit  it,  declaring  the 
suspicion  prevailing  against  Ishmael  to  be  based 
on  a  lie  (vers.  15,  16). 

Vers.  7,  8.  Novr  \when  all  .  .  .  their  men. 
These  two  verses  are  also  found  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  23 
in  an  abridged  form. — This  Ishmael  was,  accord- 
ing to  xli.  1,  of  royal  lineage,  which  partly  ex- 
plains his  enmity  to  Gedaliah.  The  other  per- 
sons named  are  otherwise  altogether  unknown. — 
Who  the  sons  of  the  Netophathitewere  (the  place 
belonged  to  Bethlehem,  comp.  1  Chron.  ii.  54; 
ix.  16;  Neb.  vii.  26;  Ezr.  ii.  22)  is  as  little  known 
as  what  the  proper  name  of  the  Maachathite 
was  (Maachah  a  province  of  Syria  on  the  north- 
eastern borders  of  Palestine,  Deut.  iii.  14;  Josh. 
xli.  5  coll.  2  Sam.  x.  6,  8  ;  Raumer,  Paldst.,  S. 
226,  7).     Comp.  rems.  on  xlii.  1. 

Vers.  9-12.  And  Gedaliah  .  .  .  fruits  very 
much.  Ver.  9  is  also  found  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  24, 
reproduced  with  the  noteworthy  alteration,  "to 
be  the  servants  of  the  Chaldeans  "  instead  of 
"  to  serve  the  Chaldeans."  The  former  expres- 
siou  however  (we  should  expect  at  least  "  ser- 


vants of  the  king  of  the  Chaldeans")  corres- 
ponds neither  to  the  usage  of  the  prophets,  nor 
the  co-inection  of  the  passage.  Remarkably  also 
the  LXX.  translate  here :  fj.?}  (poliijdt'/TE  drro  npoa- 
uTTov  Tuv  Tnui5u)v  TO)U  'X.aTiSatcjv,  while  in  2  Ki.  xxv. 
24  they  have  /ui/  ^ojielai^e  izapodov  rwi' XaAf^a/ur. — 
What  Gedaliah  has  sworn  to  them  is,  according 
to  ver.  10  a,  that  he  would  stand  in  Mizpah  be- 
fore the  Chaldeans,  who  would  come  to  them. 
He  means  by  this  that  he  would  be  the  medium 
of  intercourse  with  the  Chaldean  ambassadors, 
ofiScers,  soldiers,  etc.,  and  would  represent  the 
interest  of  the  country  with  them  (comp.  xv. 
1).  The  Jews  on  their  part  are  to  care  for  their 
sustenance  by  collecting  the  fruits  still  to  be 
found  in  the  country  (it  was  now  autumn,  comp. 
Iii.  12;  xli.  1).  In  the  desolated  and  plundered 
land  this  was  naturally  a  matter  of  the  highest 
importance.  Tne  collected  supplies  they  were 
to  preserve  in  the  cities  which,  according  to  their 
own  choice,  they  had  taken  into  their  possession. 
On  the  news  that  Nebuchadnezzar  had  left  of  the 
Jewish  people,  as  it  were  a  remnant  of  root  in 
their  land,  and  over  this  feeble  remnant  had  ap- 
pointed Gedaliah  overseer,  the  dispersed  Jews 
also  returned  from  the  neighboring  lands,  in 
order  to  gather  around  Gedaliah  in  Mizpah,  who 
must  thus  have  been  a  persona  grata. 

Vers.  13-16.  Moreover  Johanan  ...  of 
Ishmael.  Whether  Baalis,  king  of  the  Ammon- 
ites, had  any  special  hatred  towards  the  person 
of  Gedaliah,  or  whether  he  wished  to  destroy 
the  Jews'  last  point  of  cohesion  and  erystaliza- 
tion,  is  uncertain.  His  making  use  of  Ishmael 
may  have  been  due  to  the  personal  jealousy  of 
this  man,  who  as  a  prince  royal  (xli.  1)  regarded 
Gedaliah's  post  of  honor  as  properly  belonging 
to  him.  The  plan  became  known  The  captains 
came  to  Mizpah  (in  the  fields  is  not  a  thought- 
less repetition  from  ver.  7,  but  indicates  that  the 
bands  were  still  essentially  the  same,  namely, 
free  corps  roving  through  the  country)  to  warn 
Gedaliah.  He,  however,  did  not  believe  them. 
And  when  Johanan  alone  in  secret  conference 
offered  to  kill  Ishmael,  he  directly  forbade  him, 
declaring  the  accusation  to  be  a  lie. 


5.  The  murder  of  Gedaliah  and  its  conseqtiences. 
Chap.  XLI. 

Now  it  came  to  pass  in  the  seventh  month,  that  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniah 
the  son  of  Elishama,  of  the  seed  royal,  and  the  princes  of  the  king,  even  ten  men 
with  him,  came  unto  Gedaliah,  the  son  of  Ahikam  to  Mizpah ;  and  there  they  did 
eat  bread  together  in  Mizpah.  Then  arose  Ishtnael  the  son  of  Nethaniah,  and  th(/ 
ten  men  that  were  with  him,  and  smote  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  the  son  of 
Shaphan  with  the  sword,  and  slew  him,  whom  the  king  of  Babylon  had  made 
governor  over  the  land.  Ishmael  also  slew  all  the  Jews  that  were  with  him,  even 
with  Gedaliah,  at  Mizpah,  and  the  Chaldeans  that  were  found  there,  the  men  of  war. 

22 


i<38 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


4  And  it  came  to  pass  the  second  day  after  he  had  slain  Gedaliah,  and  no  man 

5  knew  it,  that  there  came  certain  [men]  from  Shechem,  from  Shiloh,  and  from 
Samaria,  even  fourscore  [eighty]  men,  having  their  beards  shaven  and  their  clothes 
rent,  and  having  cut  themselves  [their  bodies],  with  offerings  and  incense  in  their 

6  hand,  to  bring  them  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah].  And  Ishmael  the  son  of 
Nethaniah  went  forth  from  Mizpah  to  meet  them,  weeping  all  along  as  he  went ; 
And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  met  them,  he  said  unto  them.  Come  to  Gedaliah  the  son 

7  of  Ahikam.  And  it  was  so,  when  they  came  into  the  midst  of  the  city,  that 
Ishmael  the  s^n  of  Nethaniah  slew  them  and  cast  them  into  the  midst  of  the  pit 

8  [slew  them  into  the  cistern],^  he,  and  the  men  that  were  with  him.  But  ten  men 
were  found  among  them  that  said  unto  Ishmael.  Slay  us  not :  for  we  have  treasures 
in  the  field,  of  wheat,  and  of  barley,  and  of  oil,  and  of  honey.     So  hj  lorbare,  and 

9  slew  them  not  among  their  brethren.  Now  the  pit  [cistern]  wherein  Ishmael  had 
cast  all  the  dead  bodies  of  the  men,  whom  he  had  slain  because  [by  the  hand]  of* 
Gedaliah,  xvas  it  [that]  which  Asa  the  king  had  made  for  fear*  of  Baasha  king  of 
Israel :  and  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniah  filled  it  with  them  that  were  [the]  slain. 

10  Then  Ishmael  carried  away  captive  all  the  residue  of  the  people  that  were  in 
Mizpah,  even  the  king's  daughters,  and  all  the  people  that  remained  in  Mizpah, 
whom  Nebuzar-adan  the  captain  of  the  guard  [halberdiers]  had  committed  to 
Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  :  aud  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniab  carried  them 
away  captive,  and  departed  to  go  over  to  the  Ammonites. 

11  But  when  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah,  aud  all  the  captains  of  the  forces  that 
were  with  him,  heard  of  all  the  evil  that  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniah  had  done, 

12  then  they  took  all  the  men,  and  went  to  fight  with  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniah, 

13  and  found  him  by  the  waters  that  are  in  Gibeon.  Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  when 
all  the  people  which  were  with  Ishmael  saw  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah,  and  all 

14  the  captains  of  the  forces  that  were  with  him,  then  they  were  glad.  So  all  the 
people  that  Ishmael  had  carried  away  captive  from  Mizpah  cast  about  and  returned, 

15  and  went  unto  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah.  But  Ishmael  the  son  of  Nethaniah 
escaped  from  Johanan  with  eight  men,  and  went  to  the  Ammonites. 

16  Then  took  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah,  and  all  the  captains  of  the  forces  that 
were  with  him,  all  the  remnant  of  the  people  whom  he  had  recovered  from  Ishmael 
the  son  of  Nethaniah,  from  Mizpah,  after  that  he  had  slain  Gedaliah  the  son  of 
Ahikam,  even  mighty  men  of  war,*  and  the  women,  and  the  children,  and  the 

17  eunuchs,  whom  he  had  brought  again  from  Gibeon :  and  they  departed,  and  dwelt 
in  the  habitation  of  Chimham,*  which  is  by  Beth-lehem,  to  go  to  enter  into  Egypt, 

18  because  of  the  Chaldeans :  for  they  were  afraid  of  them,  because  Ishmael  the  son 
of  Nethaniah  had  slain  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam,  whom  the  king  of  Babylon 
made  governor  in  the  land. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  7. — Pregnant  construction.    Corap.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  ^  112,  7  ;  2  Ki.  x.  14  ;  1  Mace.  vii.  19. 

2  Ver.  9. — Q  T3.    J.  D.  MlCHAtus  conjectures  T3  (comp.  vi  7  KeriJ,  which  reading  is  said  to  be  found  in  one  Codex 

of  De  Rossi  (comp.  liosENMtTELLEB  arf /.).    The  LXX.  translate   i^peap  ^leyaToOTo  ecmi',  as  if  they  had  read  XID  Vnjn  113, 

T  - 

which  reading  i.s  adopted  by  Dahler,  Movers,  Hitzio,  Graf.    It  would  afford  a  good  meaning.    But  the  reading  is  not  to  be 
altered  unnecessarily. 

*  Ver.  9.— ''J£3?D,  before,  properly  "on  account  of,"  but  used  here  in  the  sense  of  "against."    Comp.  Jud.  ix.  21 ;  1 

Chron.  xii.  1.  , 

♦  Ver.  16. — non/^n  'tyjX  is  in  apposition  to  D'13J  aud  is  to  e.xpress  that  the  latter  ia  not  to  be  taken  in  the  sense 

T  T  :■-■■:  -  -T  : 

of  marcs  generally,  in  which  even  the  children  might  be  included,  but  in  the  sense  of  "  fighting  men." 

5  Ver.  17.— Dri03     flOJ   (Keri).    The  Chethibh  seems  to  require  the  pronunciation  Dni33.    The  meaning  of  the 

word  is  not  apparent.     The  old  translators  all  express,  though  with  great  want  of  clearness  and  agreement  among  tliem- 
Belves,  a  propnr  name.     Only  Josephus  {Antiq.  X.,  9,  g  5)  says  :  eis  riVa  roiroy  ixa.i'Spav  Keyoiievov.     lie  evidently  read  Hnj 

(wall,  protection,  hurdle.  Comp.  Zepb.  ii.  6). — r\nj  is  oiTr.  \ey.,  but  from  its  etymology  must  mean  hospitium,  diversorium. 


EXEOETICAL    AND   CRITICAL. 

The  suspicion  again.st  Islimael  was  only  too 
well-foumled.  He  really  nmnlers  Gedaliah  and 
his  retinue,  consisting  of  Jews  and  Clialdeans 


(vers.  1  -3)  also  seventy  Israelites  who  were  bring- 
ing oflFerings  to  the  destroyed  sanctuary  (vers.  4- 
9).  The  rust  of  the  people  he  leads  away  cap- 
tive from  Mizpah,  but  is  overtaken  by  Johanan 
and  tlie  other  band-leaders.  The  captives  im- 
mediately leave  him,  and  he  escapes  with  eight 


CHAP.  XLl.  1-18. 


339 


men  to  the  Ammonites  (vers.  10-15).  Thereupon 
the  leaders  assemble  the  whole  people  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Bethlehem,  to  prepare  for  re- 
moval to  Egypt,  for  in  consequence  of  the  mur- 
der of  Gedaliah  they  think  that  they  will  be  lia- 
ble to  the  extreme  vengeance  of  the  Chaldeans  if 
they  remain  longer  in  the  country. 

Vers.  1-3.  Now  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  men 
of  war.  There  is  a  brief  extract  from  these 
verses  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  25.  The  event  took  place  in 
the  seventh  month,  therefore  three  months  after 
the  capture  of  the  city  (xxxix.  2),  and  two  after 
the  destruction  and  deportation  by  Nebuzar-adan 
(lii.  12;  2  Ki.  xxv.  8).  Ishmael  was  of  the  roy- 
al, therefore  David's  seed.  Neither  he  nor  his 
father  Nethaniah  (1  Chron.  xxvi.  2,  12 ;  2  Chron. 
xvii.  8,  Levites  are  thus  named)  are  mentioned 
elsewhere.  Nethaniah  is  called  the  son  of  Eli- 
shama.  Whether  this  person  is  identical  with 
the  -'scribe"  mentioned  in  xxxvi.  12,  20,  21,  or 
the  Elishama  named  in  2  Sam.  v.  16 ;  1  Chron. 
iii.  6  (8);  xiv.  7  as  a  son  of  David  is  meant,  is 
not  apparent.  Both  cases  are  possible.  In  the 
latter  Elishama  would  be  the  ancestor  of  the  fa- 
mily, ••son"  being  used  according  to  a  well 
known  idiom,  in  the  wider  sense.  Ishmael  would 
then  belong  to  a  collateral  branch  of  the  royal 
family. — Princes  of  the  king.  It  is  clear 
that  the  king  of  .Judah  is  meant.  Not  so  clear 
the  grammatical  connection.  It  may  be  referred 
to  "royal  seed."  Hitzig  in  opposition  to  this  cor- 
rectly remarks  that  the  "  princes  "  did  not  form 
an  hereditary  caste.  It  is  therefore,  according 
to  some,  governed  by  "of."  Is  it  not  nowever 
a  matter  of  course  that  Ishmael  as  a  prince  be- 
longed to  the  t)'3T,   especially  as  this  word  by 

no  means  desiguates  a  definite  category  of  great- 
ness ?  Further,  is  it  probable  that  Ishmael  with 
ten  men  could  overpower  the  entire  Jewish  re- 
tinue of  Gedaliah,  together  with  the  Chaldean 
soldiers  (ver.  3),  eighty  men  (ver.  7),  who  if  not 
provided  with  arms  were  with  legs,  and  then 
lead  away  captive  against  their  will  the  whole 
population  of  Mizpah  (ver.  14)  ?  We  are  thus 
recommended   to    take   '3']  as  a   nominative  = 

and  great  men  of  the  king.  It  would  then  be  de- 
clared that  Ishmael  and  other  Jewish  nobles 
(doubtless  each  with  his  own  retinue),  and  ten 
men  who  formed  the  personal  retinue  of  the  for- 
mer, accomplished  the  deed.  The  passage  hi. 
10  would  not  contradict  this.  For  since  even  the 
Chaldeans  could  not  kill  any  one  whom  they  did 
not  have,  that  passage  states  only  that  the  Chal- 
deans took  the  life  of  all  the  princes  who  fell  into 
their  power.  Now  besides  here  3"}  never  oc- 
curs in  Jeremiah  of  the  great  men  of  the  He- 
brews, but  only  of  the  Chaldean  grandees  in  gene- 
ral (xxxix.  13),  and  of  the  principal  court-officers 
in  particular.  Comp.  Rab-Mag.,  etc.,  xxxix. 
3,  13,  etc. — It  is  then  natural  to  suppose  that  the 
words  "  and  the  princes  of  the  king  "  are  a  gloss, 
occasioned  by  the  difficulty  of  crediting  such 
deeds  to  a  little  band  of  eleven  men. 

Slew  him.  These  words  expressly  set  forth 
that  though  several  smote  Gedaliah  with  their 
swords,  Ishmael  was  the  real  murderer,  upon 
whom  rested  the  immense  responsibility  of  having 
killed  the  Chaldean  king's  chief  officer  in  the 
country.     I  therefore  do  not  think  that,  as  Hit- 


zig and  Gr.\f  propose,  we  must  read  "  smote  '* 
also  in  the  singular  (13_'1).  That  by  "all  the 
Jews  that  were  with  Gedaliah  at  Mizpah"  we 
are  not  to  understand  the  wiiole  population  of  the 
city,  is  apparent  from  ver.  10.  It  is  rather  the 
armed  men,  who  were  at  the  disposal  of  Gedaliah 
as  governor,  who  are  intended  and  who,  whether 
permanently  or  temporarily,  were  strengthened 
by  Chaldean  soldiers. 

Vers.  4-9.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  ^<rith 
the  slain.  Ishmael  knew  how  to  guaid  against 
the  murder  of  Gedaliah  being  known  immedi- 
ately outside  the  city.  He  evidently  intended  to 
use  iMizpah  as  a  trap.  So  it  happened  ths^t  on 
the  second  day  the  approach  of  a  troop  of  men 
was  announced,  who  from  a  distance  presented 
the  appearance  of  a  peaceful  caravan,  and  from 
the  burdens  they  bore  one  promising  booty. 
They  came  from  Shechem,  Shiloh  and  Samaria. 
The  LXX.  read  2«/l//«,  and  Hitzig,  as  well  as 
Graf,  is  disposed  to  give  this  reading  the  pre- 
ference, since  thus  a  more  correct  order  (accord- 
ing to  geographical  position  we  should  have  Shi- 
loh, Shechem,  Samaria)  and  vicinage  of  the  cities 
is  obtained.  Salem  would  then  be  the  place  men- 
tioned in  Gen.  xxxiii.  18,  19  as  near  Shechem 
(comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  XIII.  S.  326).  But  the 
authority  of  the  LXX.  is,  as  is  well  known,  un- 
reliable. Shiloh  also  lies  so  near  the  road  that 
Travellers  proceeding  from  it  might  meet  with 
those  coming  from  Samaria  and  Shechem.  As  to 
the  order,  as  this  in  itself  was  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference, a  more  external  circumstance  may  well 
have  suggested  it :  the  word  of  one  syllable  is 
placed  first,  then  that  of  two  syllables,  and  of 
these  again  that  of  five  consonants  after  that  of 
three. 

From  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  9  it  is  apparent,  that  at 
the  time  of  Josiah  there  was  still  in  the  cities  of 
the  ten  tribes  a  "  remnant  of  Israel,"  which  con- 
tributed to  the  house  of  the  Lord  in  Jerusalem, 
which  appears  as  a  resumption  and  continuance 
of  the  co-operation,  which  even  in  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah  the  pious  Israelites  had  afforded  in  es- 
tablishing the  worship  of  Jehovah  in  Jerusalem 
(2  Chron.  xxx.  and  xxxi.)  These  men  came  as 
mourners  over  the  destruction  of  the  sanctuary 
(comp.  on  xvi.  6  ;  xlvii.  5;  xlviii.  37)  with  gifts 
of  meat  and  incense  offerings,  as  the  beasts  ne- 
cessary for  burnt  offerings  could  not  well  be 
brought  from  so  great  a  distance.  Doubtless  the 
feast  of  Tabernacles,  occurring  in  the  Seventh 
month  (Lev.  xxiii.  34;  Numb.  xxix.  12;  Deut. 
xvi.  13)  was  the  occasion  of  their  coming.  Al- 
though they  could  not  hope  to  find  altar  and 
priests  in  the  holy  place,  they  would  still  depo- 
sit their  gifts  there  in  order  at  least  to  manifest 
their  devotion.  Grotius  calls  attention  here  to 
the  expression  of  Papinian  [Instit.  de  reruni  divi- 
■lione,  ^  Sacrm)  •  '■'■Locus,  in  quo  sedes  sacrse  sunt 
pedijicatse  etiam  diruto  sedijicio   sacer  adhuc  manet." 

What  was  the  motive  of  Ishmael's  act?  It  is 
supposed  by  some  that  he  feared  to  be  betrayed, 
and  therefore  killed  those  strangers  whom  he 
could  not  drag  away  with  him.  But  he  only 
needed  then  not  to  admit  them  into  Mizpah. 
Graf  sees  in  the  deed  an  act  of  revenge  which 
Ishmael  took  on  these  Israelites  for  the  murder 
of  his  relatives  and  associates  in  rank  (Hi.  10), 


840 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


because  these,  living  with  heathens,  had  for  a 
long  time  been  Assyrian  and  Chaldean  subjects. 
But  these  Israelites,  coming  with  all  the  tokens 
of  deepest  sorrow,  had  shown  themselves  to  be 
well-disposed  towards  the  Jews,  and  it  is  incon- 
ceivable how  Ishmael  could  have  chosen  them  for 
the  objects  of  his  vengeance.  I  think  he  had  sim- 
ple robbery  in  view.  For  after  this  Ishmael,  who 
was  evidently  a  rough  and  wild  man,  had  from 
personal  jealousy,  to  the  disadvantage  of  his  peo- 
ple and  in  the  political  interest  of  his  Ammoni- 
tish  protection,  assassinated  the  noble  Gedaliah, 
he  must  either  attempt  to  maintain  himself  in  the 
latter's  position  or  flee.  When  he  quickly,  be- 
fore, the  matter  has  become  known,  murders  a 
peaceful  caravan  of  temple  pilgrims,  and  spares 
only  a  few  of  them,  who  offer  him  treasures,  and 
at  last  drags  with  him  as  captives  the  whole 
turba  imbell.is  from  Mizpah  into  slavery,  he  shows 
himself  to  be  simply  a  robber. 

Ver.  6.  Weeping  all  along  as  he  went 
[lit.:  in  going  and  weeping].  LXX.  :  ahroi  eko- 
pEvovrn  Kal  in?.aiov.  They  then  refer  the  words 
to  the  eighty.  Hitziq  and  Graf  find  this  refe- 
rence quite  in  order.  Why  should  Ishmael  weep? 
We  might  suppose  it  to  be  perfectly  clear  that 
Ishmael  wept  to  deceive  those  people,  in  order  to 
present  the  appearance  of  a  person  who  from  in- 
ternal grief  was  not  thinking  of  worldly  things 
at  all,  much  less  of  robbery  and  murder.  Hit- 
tiQ  and  Graf  however  deny  that  Ishmael  wept 
at  all,  because  he  had  no  ostensible  reason  for 
doing  so.  HiTZiG  says  be  would  not  weep  for 
the  fate  of  the  temple,  since  he  did  not  in  them 
meet  again  old  friends  for  the  first  time  since  its 
destruction,  he  did  not  go  to  meet  them  in  cere- 
mony as  notorious  temple-pilgrims,  nor  was  he 
himself  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem.  Graf  says  if 
he  had  wept  like  the  pilgrims  over  Jerusalem, 
this  would  have  been  unnatural  behaviour  for 
one  who  was  sojourning  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
city.  But  are  these  reasons?  It  is  scarcely 
credible  that  they  can  be  intended  seriously.  If 
in  those  days  of  the  most  tremendous  national  ca- 
lamity a  train  of  Jewish  pilgrims,  bearing  them- 
selves all  the  signs  of  grief,  meet  another  Jew 
weeping,  about  what  will  they  suppose  that  he 
is  weeping  ?  Will  they  not  most  naturally  sup- 
pose that  he  accords  with  the  general  mourning 
of  the  country  ?  There  can  be  no  doubt  this  was 
the  supposition  which  Ishmael  wished  to  produce 
in  the  pilgrims'  minds.  There  may  have  been 
one  and  another  among  them  who  regarded  the 
weeping  comer  as  not  a  partaker  in  the  general 
grief,  it  sufficed  for  Ishmael  that  he  was  gene- 
rally regarded  as  such.  Murder  and  robbery  are 
not  expected  from  such  a  person.  Ishmael  tried 
in  this  way  to  deceive  them.  If  they  had  mis- 
trusted him  his  project  must  have  failed  or  he 
must  have  tried  other  expedients.  Hitziq  and 
Graf  fail  to  convince  us  that  they  would  have 
more  readily  believed  a  person  who  was  not 
mourning,  but  who  invited  them  to  Gedaliah  in  a 
tone  usual  at  other  times.  Graf  also  urges  that 
it  was  not  necessary  for  Ishmael  to  shed  tears 
the  whole  way,  even  though  it  was  a  short  one, 
which  however  is  implied  in  the  grammatical  con- 
Btruction  (comp.  on  this  point  Naegelsb  Gr..  § 
93,  6,  Anm.)  To  this  it  may  be  replied  that  Ish- 
mael could  act  knovv  how  sharp-sighted  any  one 


of  the  eighty  might  be,  so  that  he  would  rathel 
begin  to  weep  too  early  than  too  late,  and  conse- 
quently traversed  the  greatest  part  of  the  dis- 
tance, perhaps  the  whole  way  from  the  gate, 
weeping. 

Come  to  Gedaliah.  Why  Gedaliah  invites 
them  he  does  not  say.  Many  reasons  might  be 
imagined :  Gedaliah  might  wish  to  show  them 
hospitality,  or  to  accompany  them,  or  to  impart 
some  injunction  or  warning  in  his  gubernatorial 
capacity.  At  any  rate  he  was  a  powerful  man, 
whose  requisition  was  not  to  be  ignored.  They 
therefore  followed.  But  in  the  midst  of  the  city, 
at  any  rate  in  a  place  where  eleven  men  sufficed 
to  close  up  both  their  advance  and  their  retreat, 
in  some  narrow  lane,  Ishmael  fell  upon  them. 
Ten  of  them  evidently  perceived  at  once  why  this 
was  done.  They  saw  that  it  was  robbery  on 
which  he  was  intent.  They  therefore  promise 
him  D'JOI^O,  i.  e.,  promtuaria  siibterratiea  (from 
tOtO  ahscondidit),  such  being  used  from  the  ear- 
liest times  in  many  countries  of  Asia  and  Africa 
for  the  concealment  and  preservation  of  the  fruits 
of  the  earth.  Comp.  Rosenmuelleu  ar/.  /.,  and 
Gesenius  Thfsauriis,  s.  v.  ;  Winer,  B-  ]V.-B.,  s. 
V.  Ernte. — By  the  hand  of  Gedaliah.  The 
words  are  difficult.  The  explanations:  by  the 
fault  of  Gedaliah,  on  Gedaliah's  account,  {i.  e., 
as  friends  of  Gedaliah);  coram  Gedalja,  i.  e.,  to- 
gether with  Gedaliah,  una  cum  Gedalja,  in  potes- 
tate  Gedalja  (i.  e.,  as  imperio  G.  subjeclos)  are  all 
ungrammatical.  The  normal  significance  of  the 
words  seems  to  me  to  afford  an  appropriate  mean- 
ing. Ishmael  had  made  use  of  Gedaliah's  name, 
to  allure  them  to  destruction.  He  had  called  to 
them:  Come  to  Gedaliah  (ver.  6),  and  on  the 
authority  of  this  name  they  had  followed  him. 
Thus  we  may  well  say  that  Ishmael  killed  them 
by  means  of  Gedaliah.  Of  course  the  person  of 
Gedaliah  was  not  the  instrument  of  execution, 
but  his  name  was  the  means  by  which  their  wills 
were  determined  in  the  intended  direction. — 
Was  that  which  Asa,  etc.  We  read  in  1  Ki. 
XV.  22  that  king  Asa,  with  the  material  of  which 
Baasha  had  fortified  Ramah  built  Geba-Benjamin 
and  Mizpah.  This  pit  appears  to  have  been  part 
of  these  works  of  fortification,  but  as  to  its  des- 
tination we  are  not  informed.  Was  it  a  cistern, 
a  ditch,  or  a  mere  pit,  which  might  defend  a  nar- 
row approach,  and  in  ordinary  times  was  bridged 
over?  HiTZiG  assumes  the  latter.  But  as  Graf 
remarks,  the  pit  appears  according  to  ver.  7  to 
have  been  situated  in  the  interior  of  the  city.  It 
cannot    have    been    a    ditch,    such    never   being 

called  "Its.  It  was  then  probably  a  large  and 
deep  cistern  (Comp.  Rosenmueller  on  ver.  7), 
which  was  built  to  afford  water  to  the  fort,  and 
which  accordingly  might  be  reckoned  among  the 
means  of  defence,  with  which  Asa  provided  the 
city  for  fear  of  Baasha.  AVhether  the  pit,  which 
is  here  spoken  of,  is  identical  with  the  great 
hore  that  is  in  Sechu,  1  Sam  xix.  21,  and  with 
the  (jfi/)f'a/j  jiiya  1  Mace.  vii.  19,  must  be  left  un- 
decided. 

Vers.  10-1.5.  Then  Ishmael.  .  to  the  Am- 
monites. Tiie  intimidated,  and  probably  in 
addition  unarmed  people,  among  them  the  king's 
daughters  (probably  in  the  wider  sense  of  prin- 
cesses, as  "king's  son,"  xzzvi.  26;  xxxviii.  6), 


CHAP.  XLII.  1-6. 


341 


Ishmael  carried  away  captive,  either  to  use  them 
as  slaves  or  to  sell  them.  Meanwhile  however 
the  Jewish  band-captains  had  received  intelli- 
gence of  the  events  in  Mizpah.  They  hasten 
thither  with  their  people,  and  encounter  Ishmael 
by  the  "great  water"  near  Gibeon.  Gibeon  is 
only  half  a  league  distant  from  Mizpah  in  a  nortli- 
easterly  direction.  Till  Ishmael  had  done  with 
the  eighty  pilgrims  and  the  gathering  of  the  rest 
of  the  population  prior  to  their  departure,  so 
much  time  might  pass  that  the  captains  could 
huiry  up  and  almost  reach  him  in  Mizpah.  The 
"great  waters  "  of  Gibeon  are  a  pond.  Comp.  2 
Sam.  ii.  13.  Robinson  (II.  351,  2)  recognizes 
Gibeon  in  the  village  El-Jib.  [Comp.  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  II.,  p.  546. — S.  R.  A.] 
At  the  east  of  the  village  he  found  a  beautiful 
fountain  and  the  remains  of  a  large  water-tank. 
All  Ishmael's  prisoners  left,  him  at  once  to  attach 
themselves  to  Johanan.  Ishmael  escaped  with 
eight  men.  It  seems  then  that  there  was  a  fight, 
in  which  he  lost  two  of  his  ten  men. 

Vers.  16-18.  Then  took  Johanan  ...  in 
the  land.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is 
some  difficulty  in  the  relative  sentence  from 
'vrhom  he  had  recovered  to  son  of  Ahikam. 
Especially  troublesome  is  from  Mizpah.     Also 

the  singular  J'K'n  as  well  as  the  sentence  after 

he  had  slain,  etc.  (we  should  expect:  after  they 
had  driven  Ishmael  off)  are  striking;  so  too  the 
relative  sentences  vrhom  he  had  recovered 
from  Ishmael  and  °whom  he  had  brought 
again  from  Gibeon,  as  they  both  state  the 
same  fact.  Hitziq  supposes  that  "  whom  Ish- 
mael carried  away  captive  "  should  be  read  after 


ver.  14.  Certainly  the  connection  thus  becomea 
clear  and  intelligible.  And  as  the  sentence 
whom   he   had    recovered   from   Ishmael 

siands  directly  between  whom  Ishmael  car- 
ried away  captive  from  Mizpah,  ver.  14, 
and  whom  he  had  brought  again  from  Gi. 
heon,  fill.  ver.  16,  it  is  quite  conceivable  that 
an  exchange  may  have  taken  place. — Mighty 
men  of  war.  It  is  evident  from  these  woi'ds 
thai  the  great  mass  of  the  Jewish  people  still  left 
were  assembled  in  Mizpah,  comp.  xl.  7-11. — It  ia 
the  more  strange  that  Ishmael  could  take  all 
these  captive  with  ten  men.  Were  they  unarmed? 
Were  they  surprised?  Did  Ishmael  terrify  them 
with  threats,  by  making  a  false  show  of  Ammo- 
nitish  help  at  hand? — However  this  may  be,  Jo- 
hanan betakes  himself  with  all  these  to  a  more 
southern  rendezvous  on  the  road  to  Egypt.  This 
according  to  the  Keri  is  called  the  "  habitation 
(hospice,  caravanserai)  of  Chimham  [Kimhani]," 
who  according  to  2  Sam.  xix.  37-40  was  the  son 
of  the.Barzillai  who  purveyed  so  well  for  David 
iind  his  army  on  their  flight.  Why  did  an  inn  or 
.caravanserai  in  the  vicinity  of  Bethlehem  bear 
tlie  name  of  Chimham  ?  We  do  not  know. — This 
point  was  to  serve  as  a  meeting-place.  There 
were  still  single  bands  or  individuals  scattered 
through  the  country.  Preparations  had  also  to 
be  made  for  the  march  through  the  desert.  Tho 
vengeance  of  the  Chaldeans,  in  spite  of  the  surely 
provable  innocence  of  the  Jews,  appeared  how- 
ever so  certain,  and  the  fear  of  it  was  so  great, 
that  the  resolution  to  flee  to  Egypt  was  already 
fixed,  before  they  asked  the  prophet's  advice. 
Hence  this  act  was  a  mere  farce. 


6.  The  hypocritical  inquiry. 
XLII.  1-6. 

1  Then  all  the  captains  of  the  forces,  and^  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah,  and  Jeza- 
niah  the  son  of  Hoshaiah,  and  all  the  people  from  the  least  unto  the  greatest,  came 

2  near,  and  said  unto  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  Let,  we  beseech  thee,  our  supplication  be 
accepted  before  thee,  and  pray  for  us  unto  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  thy  God,  even  for 
all  tli's  remnant ;  (for  we  are  left  hut  a  few  of  many,"  as  thine  eyes  do  behold  us)  : 

3  that  the  Lord  [.lehovah]  thy  God  may  shew  us  the  way  wherein  we  may  walk,  and 
the  thing  that  we  may  do. 

4  Then  Jeremiah  the  prophet  said  unto  them,  I  have  heard^  i/ow;  behold,  I  will 
pray  unto  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  your  God  according  to  your  v/ords ;  and  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  that  whatever  thing  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  shall  answer  you,  I  will  de- 

5  clare  it  unto  you  ;  I  will  keep  nothing  back  from  you.  Then  they  said  to  Jeremiah, 
The  Lord  be  a  true*  and  faithful  witness  between  us,  if  we  do  not  even  according  to 

6  all  things  for  the  which  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  send^  thee  to  us.  Whether  it  he 
good,  or  whether  it  he  eviP  we  will  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God,  to  whom  we'' 
send  thee ;  that  it  may  be  well  with  us,  when®  we  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God* 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 


»  Ver.  1.— The  1  before  prtV  aa  in  xl.  8  [=even]. 
a  Ver.  2.— On  713171  comp.  OLsn.,  S.  358  and  583. 


842 


THE  riiui'iiEi  ji:.;i:,MiAH. 


•  Ver.  4. — T\VD^  involves  the  sense  of  hearing  and  granting,  and  is  at  the  same  time  tlie  token  of  the  acceptance  and 

approval  of  the  potitiim.     It  torresponds  nearly  to  the  German  "  Gutr  [Eng. :  good  !] 

*  Ver.  5. — The  expression  JlOX  "[^  is  found  besides  only  in  Prov.  xiv.  2o  coll.  ver.  o.     JOXJ  HW  Ps.  Ixxxix.  38; 

Tsai.  Tiii.  2.  . 

5  Ver.  5.— On  X\l]^  with  a  double  accusative,  couip.  Nabgelsb.  Gy.,  ^  G  ',  2,  e. 

"  T 

«  Ver.  6.— To  V'\  QXI  2M2  DX  we  are  not  to  supply  13171  for  then  we  must  have  J<^n  after  yi.     Much  rather  is  the 

,     .  TT    -  T 

whole  sentence  in  apposition  to  the  foUowiug  7lp,  as  in  Eccles.  xii.  14  to  the  preceding  ni7>  0. 

'  Ver.  6. — ^3X.    The  form  occurs  only  here  in  the  Old  Testament.     Comp.  Olsh.,  §  95,  6,  5.    It  is  indeed  possible  that 

It  was  not  incorrectly  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  people,  for  the  form  usual  in  post-biblicaj  Hebrew  may  have  been  a  popular 
expression  even  at  tliat  time. 

8  Ver.  (3. — '3  is  here  necessarily  because,  not  if.    For  there  is  no  question  about  their  obeying.    They  will  obey,  but 

expect  prosperity  from  this  obedience  as  such,  apart  from  the  immediate  result  of  the  step  commanded   them.    Comp 
xxiv.  7. 


EXEQETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  people  request  the  prophet  to  inquire  of 
the  Lord  what  is  to  be  done  (vers.  1-3);  Jere- 
miah promises  to  do  so  (ver.  4).  The  people 
therefore  solemnly  promise  punctual  obedience 
to  all  that  the  prophet  shall  disclose  to  them  as 
the  commands  of  their  God  (vers.  5,  6). 

Vers.  1-3.  Then  all  .  .  .  that  we  may  do. 
Jezaniah  is  here  called  the  son  of  Hoshaiah  ;  in 
xl.  8  he  is  called  the  son  of  the  Maachathite,  in 
xliii.  2  Azariah  is  named  as  the  son  of  Hoshaiah. 
There  must  then  have  either  been  two  Jezaniahs 
and  two  Hoshaiahs,  or  there  is  an  error  in  the 
text.  The  LXX.  has  in  xlii.  1  and  xliii.  2  'ACa- 
piog  VLOi;  Maaaaiov.  There  is  thus  the  possibility 
that  here  Jezaniah  is  written  by  mistake  for  Aza- 
riah.— These  leaders  and  the  whole  people  with 


them  address  to  the  prophet  the  humble  petition 
(comp.  rems.  on  xxxvi.  7 ;  xxxvii.  201,  that  he 
will  address  to  Jehovah  in  their  behalf,  the  small 
remnant  of  the  great  nation,  a  prayer  for  in- 
struction concerning  the  path  to  be  taken. 

Vers.  4-6.  Then  Jeremiah  .  .  .  our  God. 
When  the  people  express  their  readiness  to  sub- 
mit to  the  direction  of  Jehovah,  however  this 
may  turn  out,  but  afterwards  (xliii.  2-7)  rebel 
so  decidedly  against  this  direction,  their  declara- 
tion here  must  be  explained  either  as  hypocrisy 
or  on  the  supposition  that  the  question  was  not 
of  remaining  in  the  country,  but  there  was  doubt 
only  as  to  the  direction  of  their  flight.  They  ap- 
peal to  the  Lord  to  appear  as  a  true  and  faithful 
witness  against  them,  if  they  do  not  submit  to 
the  divine  indication  expected  through  the  pro- 
phet. The  Lord  however  is,  as  is  presupposed  in 
every  oath,  at  the  same  time  Witness  and  Judge- 


7.   2%e  unwelcome  answer, 
XLIL  7-22. 

7  And  it  came  to  pass  after  ten  days,  that  [or  that  after  ten  days]  the  word  of  the 

8  Lord  [Jehovah]  came  unto  Jeremiah.    Then  called  he  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah, 
and  all  the  captains  of  the  forces  [band-leaders]  which  were  with  him,  and  all  the 

9  people  from  the  least  even  to  the  greatest,  and  said  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the 
Lokd  [Jehovah]  the  God  of  Israel,  unto  whom  ye  sent  me  to  present  your  suppli- 

10  cation  before  him;  If  ye  will  still  abide'  in  this  land,  then  will  I  build  you,  and 
not  pull  you  down  ;  and  I  will  plant  you,  and  not  pluck  you  up  :  for  I  repent  me 

11  of  the  evil  that  I  have  done  unto  you.  Be  not  afraid  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  of 
whom  ye  are  afraid  ;  be  not  afraid  of  him,  saith  the  Lord  :  for  I  am  with  you  to 

12  save  you,  and  to  deliver  you  from  his  hand.  And  I  will  shew  mercies  unto  [pre- 
pare pity  for]''  you,  that  he  may  have  mercy  upon  you,  and  cause  you  to  return^ 

13  to  your  own  laud      But  if  ye  say,  We  will  not  dwell  in  this  land,  neither  obey  the 

14  voice  of  the  Lord  your  God,  Saying,  No ;  but  we  will  go  into  the  land  of  Egypt, 
where  [that]*  we  shall  see  no  war,  nor  hear  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  nor  have 

15  hunger  of  [for]*  bread ;  and  there  will  we  dwell :  and  now^  therefore  hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  ye  remnant  of  Judah ;  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jeho- 
vti.h  Zebaoth]  the  God  of  Israel  ;  If  ye  wholly  set  your  faces  to  enter  into  Egypt, 

16  and  go  to  sojourn  there ;  then  it  shall  come  to  pass''  that  the  sword,  which  ye  feared, 
shall  overtake  you  there  in  the  land  of  Egypt, ;  and  the  famine,  whereof  ye  were 

17  afraid,  shall  follow  close  after  you  therein  Egypt ;  and  there  ye  shall  die.  80  shall 
it  be  with  ail  the  men  that  set  their  faces  to  go  into  Egypt  to  sojourn  there  ;  they 
shall  die  by  the  sword,  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pestilence  :  and  none  of  them 


CHAP.  XLII.  7-22.  343 


18  shall  remain  or  escape  from  the  evil  that  I  will  bring  upon  them.  For  thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth]  the  God  of  Israel ;  As  mine  anger  and  my 
fury  hath  been  poured  forth  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem ;  so  shall  my  fury 
be  poured  forth  upon  you,  when  ye  shall  enter  into  Egypt ;  and  ye  shall  be  an  ex- 
ecration, and  an  astonishment  [horror]  and  a  curse,  and  a  reproach ;  and  ye  shaK 

19  see  this  place  no  more.  The  Lord  hath  said  concerning  you  [Jehovah  hath  spoken 
to  you]  O  ye  remnant  of  Judah ;  Go  ye  not  into  Egypt :  know  certainly  that  I 

20  have  admonished  [warned]®  you  this  day.  For  ye  dissembled  in  your  hearts  [de- 
ceived yourselves],^  when^"  ye  sent  me  unto  the  Lord  your  God,  saying,  Pray  for 
us  unto  the  Lord  our  God ;  and  according  unto  all  that  the  Lord  our  God  shall 

21  say,  so  declare  unto  us  and  we  will  do  it.  And  now  I  have  this  day  declared  it 
to  you ;  but  ye  have  not  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord  your  God,  nor  any  thing^' 

22  for  the  which  he  hath  sent  me  unto  you.  Now  therefore  know  certainly  that  ye 
shall  die  by  the  sword,  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pestilence,  in  the  place  whither 
ye  desire  to  go  and  to  sojourn. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  10. — 31tJ/  is  evidently  abbreviated  from  3i{J^%  since  the  sense  renders  the  derivation  from  '2W  impossible.  Che. 

T 

B.  MiCHAELis  and  Rosenmtteiier  indeed  translate,  sirevertendo  tlluc  ma?iseritis  in  hac  terra.  But  then  the  Inf.  dbf.  would 
be  placed  after  the  finite  verb.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §  93,  «. — This  apocopation  of  ^  is  certainly  unexampled  in  this  form, 
but  most  readily  assumed  in  a  verb  >■'£)  according  to  the  analogy  of  the  Inf.  constr.  and  Imperfect  Comp.  besides  Olsh., 
g  89 ;  170,  a,  Anm.  ;  245,  h,  Anm. 

*  Ver.  12. — From  the  following  sentence  it  is  evident  that  '"^  tr\J  here  does  not  mean  "to  show  compassion,"  but  "  to 

prepare  pity,  to  procure  it  on  the  part  of  another."    Comp.  Gen.  xliii.  14. 

3  Ver.  12.— l^JJ^nV    LXX.,  Vulg.,  Syr.,  J.  D.  Mich.\elis,  Hitzig,  Ewald,  Graf,  would  read,  S'tyir?,  but  this  wouldnot 

agree  with  the  following  '7X.    Comp.  also  Exeg.  and  Crit.  rems.  [Blaynet:  would  settle  you  in,  etc.—?,.  R.  A.J 

*  Ver.  14.— "lE/X  =  that.    Comp.  Gen.  xi.  7  ;  Exod.  xx.  23 ;  Deut.  iv.  40  ;  vi.  3. 

6  Ver.  14. — on 7  7.    From  Am.  viii.  11  we  perceive  that  the  meaning  of  the  expression  is,  to  hunger  for  or  after 
bread. 

6  Ver.  15. — With  Pinj^l  begins  the  apodosis  (paratactically  introduced.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.   Gr.,  g  110,  2)  to  QKI  in 

ver.  13. 

'  Ver.  10. — njTTII  has  this  form  by  attraction,  as  well  as  VXV^  ver.  17.    Comp.  Ewald,  g  345,  6. 

8  Ver.  19. — TJ^ri)  literally  to  bring  in  witnesses,  then  to  adduce  testimony  (according  to  the  directly  causative  mode 

of  speaking,  on  which  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  18,  3).  From  the  idea  of  giving  testimony  is  developed  that  of  earnest  solemn 
addreiS,  admonition,  warning.     Comp.  Ps.  1.  7  ;  Dent.  viii.  19  ;  .Ter.  xi.  7. 

*  Ver.  20. — nynn  is  also  to  be  regarded  as  directly  causative  =  errationein  fecit  (Gesen.J    Comp.  Prov.  x.  17.    It  is 

therefore  doubtful  whether  3  indicates  the  object  or  the  place.    The  word  is  at  least  not  found  elsewhere  with  3  of  the 

person.  The  prophet  might  woU  say,  ye  have  erred  in  your  souls,  i.  e.,  in  your  volition  and  thought,  and  have  thus  taken  a 
false  direction,  while  ye  suppusud  ye  were  on  the  right  track.     The  ChetliiOh  DTl^nPI  is  evidently  a  mistake.     The  Keri 

is  correct  Dn''l?nn.    [Noyes  strangely  renders,  "ye  err  to  your  ruin." — S.  R.  A.] 

M  Ver.  20.— 'b  =  when.    Comp.  Jud.  ii.  18 ;  Ps.  xxxii.  3  ;  Ezek.  iii.  19. 

'1  Ver.  21. — 7371  may  mean,  and  indeed  with  respect  to  all,  etc.     Since,  however,  only  one  point  is  treated  of,  the  em- 
phatic expression  of  a  multiplicity  of  points  is  remarkable.     1  therefore  think  that  the  word  stands  in  simple  parallelism  to 

the  first  clause,  while  ^Ot!?  is  construed  only  with  '7  instead  of  with  3,  a  construction  which  (apart  from    7lp7    ^Dt^i 

Gen.  iii.  17 ;  Jtid.  ii.  20 ;  Ps.  Iviii.  G)  is  peculiar  to  the  later  idiom  :  Ncli.  ix.  20  ;  xiii.  27  ;  2  Chron.  x.  16  ;  Dan.  i.  14 ;  Lev. 
xxvi.  21.    A  double  disobedience  is  thus  declared  against  Jehovah  and  against  the  prophet. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

After  ten  days  the  prophet  receives  answer 
from  the  Lord,  which  he  immediately  communi- 
cates to  the  leaders,  and  to  the  whole  people 
(vers.  7,  8).  If  they  remain  in  the  country  they 
shall  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Chaldeans, 
but  the  Lord  will  so  direct  the  heart  of  the  king 
that  he  will  aid  in  their  restoration  (vers.  9-12). 
If,  however,  they  do  not  remain  in  the  country, 
but  from  fear  of  the  Chaldeans  flee  to  Egypt, 
they  shall  perisli  there  by  the  snme  calamities, 
which  they  thought  to  escape  by  flight  (vers.  13- 
18).  Finally  the  prophet  urgently  admonishes 
them  not  to  despise  this  warning,  although  he 
knows  only  too  well,  that  it  was  pure  self-decep- 
tion when  they  inquired  of  the   Lord  by   Kim, 


since  they  had  already  resolved  not  to  obey  the 
Lords  command.  Well,  they  shall  also  know, 
that  they  will  come  to  their  ruin  in  the  place, 
whither  tlieii- desires  lead  them  (vers.  19-22.) 

Vers.  7-12.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  your 
own  land.  The  opinion  of  Hitzig  and  Gkaf, 
that  .Jeremiah  used  the  ten  days  in  procuring  in- 
formation and  arriving  at  a  clear  and  firm  con- 
viction, is  in  accordance  with  modern. science  but 
not  with  history.  The  prophet  really  received 
tlie  answer  to  his  prayer  for  divine  direction 
(comp.  ver.  4  :  xxxii.  IG)  not  until  after  ten  days. 
It  is  significant  that  he  received  it  on  the  tenth 
day  (comp.  Ezek.  iii.  16),  although  we  cannot 
stop  here  to  investigate  the  ground  of  this  signifi- 
cance (comp.  [on  symbolical  numbers]  Herzog. 
Real-Enc,  XVIII.,  S.  381).  On  to  present,  etc 
comp.  xxxviii.  2(3. — On  for  I  repent,  etc.  comp 


ir 


844 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


xxvi.  3. — Cause  you  to  return.  When  we 
consider,  that  the  prophet  has  iu  view  not  only 
the  return  of  those  who  had  been  already  carried 
away  into  exile,  but  may  also  with  perfect  cor- 
rectness regard  those  as  such  who  have  assem- 
bled at  Bethlehem  and  prepared  to  leave  their 
home,  turning  their  back  upon  it,  the  alteration 
[cause  to  dwell]  proposed  in  the  text  seems  un- 
necessary. It  was  not  unpatriotic  policy,  nor 
indolence,  nor  selfishness,  nor  any  view  based  on 
human  foresight,  which  caused  the  prophet  to 
speak  thus.  For,  humanly  considered,  there  was 
nothing  left  for  the  Jews  but  flight.  The  hope 
for  further  indulgence  on  the  part  of  the  Chal- 
dean king  must  seem  like  madness.  The  pro- 
phet, however,  does  not  reckon  alone  with  hu- 
man factors.  He  is  the  organ  of  God,  to  whom 
nothing  is  impossible  (xxxii.  26  sqq.),  and  who 
especially  has  the  hearts  of  kings  in  His  hand, 
and  turns  them  whithersoever  He  will  (Prov. 
xxi.  1). 

Vers.  13-18.  But  if  ye  say  .  .  .  this  place 
no  more.  The  words  from  neither  obey,  ver. 
13,  to  dwell,  ver.  14,  are  a  parenthesis. — 
Sound  of  the  trumpet.  Comp.  iv.  19,  21. — 
Remnant,  etc.  Comp.  xli.  16;  xlii.  2,  19;  xliii. 
6. — Wholly  set  your  faces.  Comp.  ver.  17; 
xliv.  12;  2  Kings  xii.  18. — By  sword,  famine 
and  pestilence  (comp.  xiv.  12;  xxi.  9;  xxvii.  8, 
13;  xxix.  18;  xxxii.  Si;  xxxviii.  2;  xliv.  13), 
will  the  disobedient  perish  in  Egypt,  and  not  a 
single  individual  will  escape  (comp.  xliv.  14 ; 
Lam.  ii.  22 ;  Josh.  viii.  22).  As  on  Jerusalem, 
so  also  on  them  will  the  fury  of  the  Lord  be 


poured  out  (vii.  20:  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  21);  they 
shall  become  an  object  of  cursing,  horror  and 
derision  (comp.  xxiv.  9;  xxv.  18;  xliv.  22,  etc.), 
and  never  return  to  their  native  land  (comp. 
rems.  on  vii.  3). 

Vers.  19-22.  Jehovah  hath  ...  to  sojourn. 
In  a  very  earnest  closing  speech  the  prophet 
sets  forth  that  the  Lord  Himself  has  spoken  to 
the  people.  Then  he  reminds  them  that  they 
have  been  warned.  They  cannot  then  have  the 
excuse  of  ignorance.  In  the  third  place  the  pro- 
phet discovers  to  them  their  self  delusion.  They 
perhaps  imagined  that  they  honestly  desired  the 
right,  when  they  commissioned  him  to  present 
their  petition  before  God.  What,  however,  is 
opposed  to  this  honest  intention  easily  appears 
to  them  to  be  incorrect,  and  therefore  justifying 
them  in  resistance.  The  prophet  therefore  de- 
sires to  convince  them  that  they  did  not.  honestly 
wish  to  do  the  right.  It  was  self-deception,  when 
they  declared  themselves  ready  to  obey  uncon- 
ditionally the  divine  command. — In  the  fourth 
place,  the  prophet  tells  them  before  they  had 
opened  their  mouth  to  reply,  what  was  now  pass- 
ing in  their  minds,  viz.,  that  they  had  formed 
the  fixed  resolution  not  to  obey  the  faithfully  re- 
ported direction  of  Jehovah,  in  spite  of  their 
solemn  declaration  given  in  vers.  5,  6. — In  the 
fifth  place,  finally,  he  proclaims  to  them,  that  the 
very  place,  to  which  an  irresistible  longing  at- 
tracts them,  will  be  their  destruction.  He  an- 
nounces this  apodictically,  because  he  knows  that 
they  will  inevitably  do  what  will  bring  them  to 
this. 


8.  The  Flight  to  Egypt. 
XLIII.  1-7. 


And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Jeremiah  had  made  an  end^  of  speaking  unto  all 
the  people  all  the  words  of  the  Lord  their  God,  for  which  the  Lord  their  God  had 
sent  him  to  them,  even  all  these  words,  Then  spake  Azariah  the  son  of  Hoshaiah, 
and  Johanan  the  son  of  Kareah,  and  all  the  proud'^  men,  saying'  unto  Jeremiah, 
Thou  speakest  falsely :  the  Lord  our  God  hath  not  sent  thee  to  say.  Go  not  into 
Egypt  to  sojourn  there:  but  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  setteth  thee  on  [has  excited 
thee]*  against  us,  for  to  deliver  us  into  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  that  they  might 
put  us  to  death,  and  carry  us  away  captives  into  Babylon.  So  Johanan  the  son  of 
Kareah,  and  all  the  captains  of  the  forces  [band-leaders],  and  all  the  people, 
obeyed  not  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  to  dwell  in  the  land  of  Judah.  But  Johanan 
the  son  of  Kareah,  and  all  the  captains  of  the  forces,  took  all  the  remnant  of  Judah, 
that  were  returned  from  all  nations,  whither  they  had  been  driven,  to  dwell  in  the 
land  of  Judah ;  even  men,  and  women,  and  children,  and  the  king's  daughters, 
and  every  person  that  Nebuzar-adan  the  captain  of  the  guard  [halberdiers]  had 
left  with  Gedaliah  the  son  of  Ahikam  the  son  of  Shaphan,  and  Jeremiah  the  pro- 
phet, and  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah.  So  they  came  into  the  land  of  Egypt :  for 
they  obeyed  not  the  voice  of  the  Lord  :  thus  came  they  even  to  Tahpanhes. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 


1  Ver.  1.— nibD3 


as  in  x.wi.  8. 


*  Ver.  2. — p^^T^•    The   word  occurs  here   only  in  .Teremiah.     The  LXX.  omits  it,  and  reads  instead  koI.  vavm  o( 
aXAoyf J'fis,  xlii.  17,  reading  D^"^T  tor  D'lT.    The  reverse  in  xviii.  14;  li.  2. 


CHAP.  XLIII.  8-13. 


345 


»  Ver.  2.— D''TbX-  Instead  of  "ibN  7,  because  the  words  spoken  do  not  follow  immediately.    Comp.  xiv.  15;  xxiii.  17. 
*  Yer.  3. — H^DD-    Comp.  xxxviii.  22 ;  Isa.  xxxvi.  18. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

On  the  communication,  which  Jeremiah  made 
in  the  name  of  Jehovah  to  the  Jews,  these  de- 
clared, that  they  regard  it,  not  as  a  message  from 
their  God,  but  as  the  result  of  incitement  by 
Baruch,  who  is  friendly  to  the  Chaldeans  (vers. 
1-3).  Thereupon  they,  with  the  whole  mass  of 
the  remaining  population,  including  Jeremiah 
and  Baruch,  commence  their  journey  to  Egypt, 
where,  on  their  arrival,  they  settle  first  in  Tah- 
panhes  (vers.  4-7). 

Vers.  1-3.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  into 
Babylon.  The  phrase  all  these  "words  in- 
dicates that  the  words  written  in  ch.  xlii.  are  an 
exact  rendering  of  the  prophet's  verbal  communi- 
cation. Comp.  li.  60. — On  Azariah,  the  son  of 
Hoshaiah.  Comp.  rems.  on  xlii.  1. — On  what  facts 
this  charge  against  Baruch  was  supported,  it  is 
difficult  to  perceive.  From  this  book  we  learn 
only  that  Baruch  was  a  faithful  adherent  and 
servant  of  the  prophet.  It  was  doubtless  merely 
the  circumstance  that  Baruch,  to  the  envy  of 
many,  was  the  most  intimate  of  all  the  Jews 


with  Jeremiah,  which  gave  a  handle  to  the  accu- 
sation. 

Vers.  4-7.  So  Johanan  .  .  .  Tahpanhes. — 
All  the  remnant  of  Judah.  Those  who  had 
returned  from  the  dispersion  are  mentioned 
first,  probably  because  among  them  there  were 
few  or  none  of  the  "  poor  of  the  land  "  (xl.  7). 
It  seems  surprising  that  in  ver.  6  a  specification 
follows  which,  on  account  of  the  mention  of  the 
king's  daughter,  does  not  correspond  to  the 
general  statement  in  ver.  5  b.  But  the  specifica- 
tion concludes  with  children,  and  with  king's 
daughters  commences  the  description  of  the 
second  division  of  the  remnant  of  Judah.  Be- 
sides, those  who  had  returned,  viz.,  the  king's 
daughters  and  all  the  other  souls  are  mentioned. 
If  we  consider  that  in  ver.  5  a,  the  heads  of  those 
who  had  remained  in  the  country  are  named  as  the 
subjects  of  the  deportation,  it  is  intelligible  that 
besides  these  the  princesses  were  the  most  eminent 
personages  in  this  category  (comp.  xli.  10). — 
Every  person.  Comp.  Josh.  x.  28.  The  expres- 
sion is  so  general  that  it  comprehends  all  the  other 
members  of  the  remnant  of  Judah  (comp.  xli.  16). 
— On  Tahpanhes  comp.  rems.  on  ver.  8. 


9.  Jeremiah  in  Tahpanhei, 
XLIII.  8-13. 

8,  9  Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  Jeremiah  in  Tahpanhes,  saying,  Take 
great  stones  in  thine  hand,  and  hide  them  in  the  clay  [mortar]'  in  the  brick-kiln, 
which  is  at  the  entry  of  Pharaoh's  house  in  Tahpanhes,  in  the  sight  of  the  men  of 

10  Judah ;  and  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth],  the 
God  of  Israel ;  Behold,  I  will  send  and  take  Nebuchadrezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon, 
my  servant,  and  will  set  his  throne  upon  these  stones  that  I  have  hid  ;  and  he  shall 

11  spread  his  royal  pavilion^  over  them.  And  when  he  cometh,^  he  shall  [he  shall 
come  and]  unite  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  deliver  such  as  are  for  death  to  death  ;  and 
such  as  are  for  captivity  to  captivity :  and  such  as  are  for  the  sword  to  the  sword. 

12  And  I  will  kindle  a  fire  in  the  houses  of  the  gods  of  Egypt;  and  he  shall  burn 
them,  and  carry  them  away  captives :  and  he  shall  array  himself  with  the  land  of 
Egypt,  as  a  shepherd  putteth  on  his  garment ;  and  he  shall  go  forth  from  thence 

13  in  peace.  He  shall  break  also  the  images  [statues]  of  Bethshemesh  [the  house  of 
the  sun],  that  is  in  the  land  of  Egypt ;  and  the  houses  of  the  gods  of  the  Egyptians 
shall  be  burned  with  fire. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  9. — t3^p  is  an-.  Aey.    The  analogies  milat,  moUo  (Syr.),  ij.d.\da,  malta,  aie  vouchers  for  the  meaning  of  "  mortar, 

'"?ment,  clay." 

2  Ver.  10.— The  meaning  of  "I^S^^  is  doubtful.  The  word  occurs  here  only.  HiTZia,  with  J.  D.  Michaelis,  refers  to  suphra 

(Arab,  for  corium  nrhiculare,  quod  soln  insteniitur).  which  agrees  with  nat'  (Arab,  the  leathern  veil  of  the  judge  of  life  and 
death).  According  to  the  text  the  throne  is  to  he  first  placed  on  the  stones,  and  then  tho  ~15'>£3tj;  stretched  above  it.  Is  a  vail 
spread  over  a  throne  ?  And  is  not  n £3 3  the  tucliuical  term  for  the  spreading  of  a  tent  ?  The  meaning  "  pavilion,"  seems  then 
most  suitable,  it  being,  however,  still  doubtful  whether  it  be  so  named  a  splendore  021!/,  nituit,  13K;,  ni£3U',  splendor, 
9ulchritudo),  or  a  cavitate  (comp.  131t:^,  tuba,  n"13iy,  Pi-   Job  xxvi.  13  ?)  ["  The  Keri  proposes  T'ljitS?  as  the  proper  form 


846 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


which  is,  indeed,  that  in  which  nouns,  with  the  third  radical  germinated,  most  frequently  appear.    Comp.  T'lJD,  Pror 

xxvii.  15."  Hevderson. — S.  R.  A.] 

8  Ver.  11.— nN3V    Chethibh  ^X3^    The  Keri  would  unnecessarily  strike  out  the  sufiSx.  Comp.  rems.  on  xi.  15  ;  xxvii. 

T  T 

8;  zxxi.  2;  xli.  3;  xlviii.  44. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  Tahpanhes  Jeremiah  receives  the  command 
to  hide  great  stones  in  the  clay  of  a  brick-kiln, 
opposite  the  royal  palace  in  the  sight  of  the  Jews, 
and  to  tell  theui  that  the  Lord  will  bring  king 
Nebuchadnezzar  to  Egypt,  and  that  he  will  erect 
his  throne  and  stretch  his  tent  on  these  stones 
(vers.  8-10).  Then  will  Nebuchadnezzar  visit 
the  land  of  Egypt  with  all  the  terrors  of  war, 
burn  the  idol-temples,  subjugate  the  land  com- 
pletely to  his  sway,  and  depart  in  peace  (vers.  11 
and  12).  It  is  especially  emphasized  at  the  close 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  will  break  in  pieces  the 
statues  of  Beth-shemesh  and  burn  up  the  idol- 
temples  (ver.  13). 

Vers.  8,  9.  Then  came  .  .  .  men  of  Judah. 
When  we  compare  the  larger  superscriptions, 
xl.  1  ami  xliv.  1,  it  is  evident  that  the  first  intro- 
duces the  events  after  the  deportation,  the  secotid 
the  occurrences  in  Egypt.  Hence  it  might  seem 
as  if  this  passage  were  not  in  place,  or  as  if  the 
superscription,  which  stands  in  xliv.  1,  belonged 
in  this  place,  xliii.  8.  But  it  is  evident  from 
xliv.  1  that  the  passage,  which  begins  with  this 
superscription,  is  to  narrate  what  happened  to 
the  Jews  already  established  in  Egypt  (vyho 
d^velt  in  the  land),  while  the  event  related 
here  is,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  the  journey.  For 
Tahpanhes  (comp.  ii.  16)  is  the  eastern  boundary 
city  of  Egypt,  situated  on  the  Pelusian  branch 
of  the  Nile.  Here  Jeremiah,  by  a  symbolical 
act,  was  to  set  before  the  eyes  of  the  Jews,  how 
impossible  it  is  to  escape  from  the  Lord  (comp. 
the  propQet  Jonah),  and  that  by  their  removal 
from  Egypt  they  had  only  come  from  bad  to 
worse.  Thus  clear  as  is  the  meaning  of  the  sym- 
bolical act  in  general,  the  definition  of  the  del  ails 

is  still  difficult.     The  word  brick-kiln  (f^bp) 

occurs,  besides  here,  only  twice  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment: 2  Sam.  xii.  31,  and  Nah.  iii.  14.  In  the 
first  passage  it  is  related  that  David  caused  them 
to  pass  under  saws,  harrows  and  axes  of  iron. 
It  then  continues,  "and  made  them  pass  through 
the  brick-kiln"  (the  Chethibh  has,  doubtless  in- 
correctly, t.3^0,  which  is  no  word).  When  we 
recall  the  frequently  occurring  phrase  "made  his 
son  to  pass  through  the  tire"  (comp.  2  Ki.  xvi. 
3;  xxi.  6,  etc.),  we  cannot  doubt  that  a  similar 
cruel  mode  of  death  is  spoken  of  here  also.  As 
such  also  appears  the  putting  into  heated  brick- 
ovens  (HJI]^,  brick,  from  which  the  denomina- 
tive verb  |37.  to  make  bricks,  Exod.  v.  7,  14). 
In  the  second  passage,  Nah.  iii.  14,  the  Assyrians 
are  ironically  called  upon  to  "repair  the  fortifi- 
cations, go  into  the  mud  and  tread  the  mortar, 
and  repair  the  brick-kiln."  EiciinouN,  FIitziq 
and  Graf  think  it  incredible  that  a  brick-kiln 
can  have  stood  immediately  opposite  the  royal 
palace.  Hence  Flixzto  takes  the  word  in  the  sense 
of  a  projection  of  tiles  or  brick-work  under  the 


threshold,  a  stone-floor  probably  cemented  over. 
Besides  the  analogies  in  Arabic,  the  meanings  of 

JS/O  in  later  Hebrew  [area,  massa,  tabula,  quad- 

rata.  Comp.  Buxtokf,  Zex.  Chald.,^.  1120)  favor 
this  rendering.  On  the  other  hand,  as  Graf 
himself  correctly  remarks,  it  is  equally  incredi- 
ble that  Jeremiah  could  have  torn  up  the  pave- 
ment before  the  gate  of  the  king's  palace,  and 
inserted  large  stones.  I  am  now  quite  of  Neu- 
mann's opinion  that  we  are  to  regard  this  brick- 
kiln not  as  permanently,  but  only  temporarily, 
present. 

The  brick-yard  need  not  have  been  in  the  court 
of  the  royal  palace  and  directly  before  the  doors 
of  the  building.  It  may  have  been  situated 
opposite  the  gate  of  the  outer  court  or  avenue  to 
the  palace.  The  place  may  have  been  designated 
to  the  prophet  on  account  of  this  position,  and 
perhaps  also  because  it  was  the  pl;>.ce,  from 
which  the  material  was  taken  for  the  extension 
of  the  palace  now  building,  as  Neumann  [comp. 
also  Henderson]  supposes.  In  this  case  the 
thought  would  be  expressed  that  Egypt,  to  whose 
protection  the  Jews  had  fled,  was  only  weak, 
fragile  clay.  Since  the  prophet  was  to  hide  the 
stones  in  the  clay,  it  is  evident,  that  he  did  not 
place  them  visibly  on  the  surface,  and  therefore^ 
set  them  up  on  the  walls  of  the  brick-kiln. 
Brick-kiln  must  be,   therefore,  understood  as 

pars  pro  toto.  The  whole  place  is  called  p7D, 
not  merely  the  oven.  Jeremiah  is  to  hide  the 
large  stones  in  clay  belonging  to  this  kiln.  He  is 
to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  future  ideal  building. 
In  place  of  the  weak  clay,  which  signifies  Egypt, 
the  Lord  lays  the  foundation  stones  of  a  power, 
which  He  intends  to  found,  the  bearer  of  which 
will  be  His  servant  (ver.  10),  or  the  organ  of  His 
will.  It  is  a  fact,  still  hidden  in  the  womb  of  the 
future,  that  Egypt  will  groan  under  the  foot  of 
the  Babylonian  conqueror;  but  the  stones  guaran- 
tee this  fact.  Men  of  Judah  were  present  as 
witnesses  (ver.  9),  when  they  were  laid.  The 
significance  of  the  stones  is  disclosed  to  these 
witnesses.  The  memory  remained ;  the  word 
of  the  Lord  was  pledged.  On  the  fulfilment 
comp.  the  remarks  on  xliv.  29,  30. 

Vers.  10-13.  And  say  unto  them  .  .  .  burn 
•with  fire.  On  Behold.  I  •will  send,  etc.,. 
comp.  XXV.  9. — The  Lord  Himself  has  hidden  the 
stones,  and  in  so  far  the  prophet  was  only  an 
instrument.  On  these  stones  Nebuchadnezzar 
shall  one  day  erect  his  throne  and  stretch  his 
tent.  —  HiTzio  thinks  that  the  erection  of  a  tent 
would  not  be  threatening,  or  dangerous;  on  the 
contrary,  it  would  be  only  a  matter  of  curiosity. 
It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  Nebuchadnezzar's 
tent,  erected  before  the  royal  palace  in  Tah- 
panhes, is  dangerous  enough,  signifying  neither- 
more  nor  less  than  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by 
Nebuchadnezzar.  —  Such  as  are  for  death. 
Comp.  rems.  on  xv.  2.  The  sense  of  the  expres- 
sion is.  that  not  only  one  kind  of  destruction  will 
come  upon  Egypt,  but  many,  and  that  each  one; 


CHAP.  XLin.  8-13. 


347 


will  also  really  devour  the  victims  apportioned  to 
it. — Away  captives,  viz.,  the    idols.     Comp. 
rems.   on  xlviii.  7. — And  he  shall  array,  etc. 
Commentators  have  frequently,  and  as   it  seems 
to    me,  quite  unnecessarily,  stumbled  over  this 
expression.      How  does   a   shepherd  put  on  his 
garment?     In  general  like  any  other  person,  but 
there  is  this  difference,  that  in  doing  so  the  shep- 
herd has  regard  to  no  one,  because  no   one  sees 
him.     He  therefore  puts  on  his  garment  entirely 
at  his  own  whim  and  convenience.     So  according 
to  his  own  pleasure,  without  the  slightest  regard 
to  others,  will  Nebuchadnezzar   deal    with   con- 
quered Egypt.     After  he  has  thus  made  Egypt 
his  own  property,  he  will  depart  in  peace,  with- 
out any  one   being  able  to  detain  or  harass  him 
or  rob  him  of  his  booty. — Ver.  13   is  surprising. 
The  discourse    seemed    to  have  concluded  with 
ver.  12.     For  what  is  there  to  report  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's doings  in  Egypt,  when  his  departure 
is    already   announced  ?      Further,    the    second 
clause  of  the  verse  is  tautological.   Comp.  burn 
them,  ver.  12.     Finally  the  addition  that  is  in 
the  land   of  Egypt  is  very  surprising,  for  did 
Jeremiah,  writing   in  Egypt,  need  to  say  this  ? 
Hence  not  merely  three  words  (in  the  original 
text),  but  the  whole  verse,  might  be  suspected. 
If,  however,  these  words  originated  with  the  rest, 
then  by  Beth-shemesh   must  be   meant  not   the 
temple  of  the  sun  at  Heliopolis,  but  this  city  itself. 
The   images  of  Beth-shemesh  are  above  all  the 
obelisks,  of  which  there  was  an  unlimited  num- 
ber in  the   city.     Of  the  oldest,  which   however 
were  not  the  largest  (comp.  Herod  II.,  Ill),  one 
still  remains  in  its  place.  Comp.  Herzoq,  R.-Enc, 
X.,  S.  610  sqq. 

[The  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  is  confirmed 
by  JosEPHUS  [Ant.  X.,  9,  7).  "  It  is  also  proba- 
ble, that  during  the  thirteen  years  in  which  some 
of  Nebuchadnezzar's  forces  were  engaged  in  the 
blockade  of  Tyre,  he  extended  his  campaign  into 
Egypt ;  and  there  is  a  confirmation  of  this  opinion 
in  the  narrative  of  Meqasthknes  in  Strabo, 
XVI..  687.  Joseph.  Ant.  X.,  11,  1;  c.  Apion.  I., 
20.  Abulfeda,  i?«s<.  jlwie-wZam,  p.  102."  Words- 
worth.— S.  R.  A.] 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xl.  1-3.  "Although  the  calamity,  which 
has  come  upon  Jerusalem,  is  great  and  terrible, 
God  does  not  allow  such  evil  to  befal  it  that  good 
will  not  result  from  it,  as  the  Chaldean  captain 
not  obscurely  intimates,  that  he  has  made  a  fair 
beginning  in  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God. 
For  he  confesses,  first,  that  the  God  of  the  pro- 
phet is  a  lord  ;  secondly,  that  He  knows  future 
things;  thirdly,  that  He  causes  His  servants  to 
proclaim  these  beforehand ;  fourthly,  that  God 
has  conducted  the  war  and  done  everything ; 
fifthly,  that  He  was  displeased  with  the  sinful 
manners  of  the  people  (among  which  idolatry 
was  the  worst) ;  sixthly,  that  He  has  punished 
their  disobedience  to  His  word."    Cramer. 

2.  On  xl.  4.  "  The  friendliness,  shown  to  the 
prophet,  appears  to  proceed  from  men,  but  it 
comes  from  God.  For  God's  works  are  all  made 
so  that  they  are  hidden  among  the  creatures;  for 
as  He  conceals  His  wisdom  in  the  creation 
of  heaven  and  earth,  as  He  hides  His  kindness 


in  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  so  also  He  disguises 
His  help  in  the  king  of  Babylon.  For  God  exe- 
cutes His  works  now  by  rational  and  anon  by 
irraiional  creatures.  As  when  He  fed  Elijah  by 
the  widow  and  by  the  ravens  and  by  the  angels 
(1  Ki.  xvii.  8  sqq.;  14  sqq.  and  xix.  5).  For  all 
are  His  instruments."    Cramer. 

3.  On  xl.  2,  3.  '■'■  Nebusaradan  altestatione  sua 
comprobat  et  confirmat  veritatejn  ac  certitudinem 
prsedictionum  prophetse.  Unde  hand  inscite  coliigi 
conjtcique  potest,  quod  Satrapa  illc  Babylonicus 
prxditus  fuerit  agnilione  veri  Dei  cdque  salvatus. 
Et  sic  Dcus  subinde  aliquos  ex  Magnalibus  ad  sui 
aynitionem  et  seternam  salutem  tr admit  (Ps.  Ixviii.). 
Potest  istiid  exemplum  kleyariKu^  obverti  absoluto 
Caloinianoruiii  decreto."    Forster. 

4.  On  xl.  5.  "In  this,  that  Jeremiah  preferred 
remaining  in  the  country  to  going  to  Babylon,  it 
strikes  me  further — that  'a  discreet  man,  who 
knows  the  world  and  his  heart  and  the  true  in- 
terest of  God's  cause — is  as  much  as  possible 
contented,  and  does  not  think  to  better  himself 
by  going  further.  He  is  willing  to  remain  at 
court  unknown,  and  at  any  rate  he  would  rather 
be  taken  away  than  go  away. — The  advice,  which 
Solomon  gives,  is  verified,  'Stand  not  in  the 
place  of  gi-eat  men.'  We  are  a  generation  of  the 
cross,  and  our  symbol  is  'an  evil  name  and  little 
understood.'  "   Zinzendorf. 

5.  On  xl.  5.  In  Babylonia  honor  and  a  com- 
fortable life  invited  the  prophet,  in  Judea  danger, 
dishonor  and  need  in  the  desolated  country.  In 
Babylonia  a  respectable  field  of  labor  was  opened 
to  him  among  the  great  mass  of  his  people,  in 
Judea  he  had  only  rabble  and  condottieri  about 
him.  Jeremiah,  however,  was  not  a  bad  patriot, 
as  many  accused  him  of  being.  By  remaining 
in  Judea  he  showed  that  the  import  of  his  pro- 
phecies, apparently  friendly  to  the  Chaldeans 
and  hostile  to  the  Jews,  had  proceeded  from  the 
purest  love  to  his  people  and  his  fatherland. 
Thus  he  imitated  Moses,  of  whom  it  is  written 
in  Heb.  xi.  25,  that  he  chose  rather  to  suffer 
affliction  with  the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season.  The  holy  ground 
of  the  fatherland  bound  him  to  it,  and  in  addi- 
tion— if  he  went,  who  was  to  take  spiritual  over- 
sight of  the  poor  forsaken  remnant,  to  proclaim 
the  word  of  God  and  bestow  on  them  consolation 
and  admonition?  Those  who  were  in  Babylon 
had  Ezekiel.  And  could  not  the  Lord  raise  up 
other  prophets  for  them?  So  he  remained  with 
the  sheep,  who  had  no  shepherd.  Jeremiah  had 
not  sought  his  own  through  his  whole  life,  nor 
did  he  here. 

6.  On  xl.  7  sqq.  "  Human  reason,  and  indeed 
nature  shows,  that  in  worldly  government  men 
cannot  be  without  a  head.  For  as  the  bees  can- 
not be  without  a  queen,  or  the  sheep  without  a 
shepherd,  so  no  large  number  of  people  can  exist 
wiihout  a  head  and  government.  God  has  wisely 
ordered  it,  and  we  should  be  thankful  for  the 
authorities."    Cramer. 

7.  On  xl.  11  sqq.  We  may  well  perceive  in  this 
"remnant  of  Judah  "  a  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
phecy in  Isa.  vi.  11  sqq.:  "Then  said  I,  Lord, 
how  long  ?  And  he  answered.  Until  the  cities 
be  wasted  without  inhabitant,  and  the  houses 
without  man,  and  the  land  be  utterly  desnbte, 
and  Jehovah  have  removed  men  far  away,  and 


348 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


great  is  the  forsaking  in  the  midst  of  the  land. 
And  if  a  tenth  remains  in  it,  this  again  must  be 
removed.  Yet  as  the  terebinth  and  the  oak,  in 
which  when  they  are  felled,  a  ground-stock  still 
remains,  so  is  its  stock  a  holy  scion." 

8.  On  xl.  13  sqq.  Gedaliah,  in  whom  not  only 
Nebuchadnezzar,  but  also  his  people,  had  confi- 
dence, must  have  been  a  noble  man,  to  whom  it 
was  diflficult  to  think  evil  of  his  neighbor. 
'•  Those  who  are  of  a  pious  disposition,  cannot 
believe  so  much  evil,  as  is  told  of  people.  But 
we  must  not  trust  too  much,  for  the  world  is  full 
of  falseness  (Wisd.  xxxvii.  3).  He  who  believes 
too  easily,  will  be  often  deceived,  and  he  who 
believes  no  one  is  also  deceived.  Therefore  is 
he  indeed  a  happy  man,  who  can  preserve  the 
golden  mean."    Cramer 

9.  On  xl.  13  sqq.  "  Misfortune  is  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea;  when  one  is  broken  another 
follows,  and  the  end  of  one  trouble  is  the  begin- 
ning of  others."    Cramer. 

10.  On  xli.  1-3.  "Judas's  kiss  and  Jacob's 
brethren  are  very  common  in  the  world  and  take 
after  their  grandfather  Cain,  who  spake  kindly 
to  Abel  and  yet  had  blood-thirsty  thoughts  (Gen. 
iv.  8).  Yea,  they  take  after  their  father,  the 
devil,  who  is  a  murderous  spirit  (John  viii.  44), 
and  disguises  himself  as  an  angel  of  light  (2  Cor. 
xi.  14j."   Cramer. 

11.  On  xli.  1  sqq.  ^^  Similia  perfidise  exempla 
[aimulatse  fraternitatis) :  2  Sam.  xiii.  24 ;  xx.  9 
sq.  Quadrat  etiam  hue  historia  nuptiarum  Parisi- 
ensium  celebralum  1572  mense  Au^usto."  Forster. 

12.  On  xli.  4  sqq. 

"  Murder  and  avarice  love  to  go  with  eacli  other. 
And  one  crime  is  often  a  prolific  mother." — Cramer. 

13.  On  xli.  16  sqq.  It  is  very  remarkable  that 
even  this  last  centre  and  rendezvous  of  the  un- 
fortunate people  must  be  destroyed.  It  might 
be  supposed  that  with  the  destruction  of  the 
city  and  deportation  of  the  people  the  judgments 
would  have  terminated.  It  seems  as  if  the 
deed  of  Ishmael  and  the  removal  of  the  remnant 
to  Egypt  transcended  the  measure  of  punish- 
ment fixed  by  Jehovah,  for  the  Lord  did  not  send 
Islimael,  and  the  removal  to  Egypt  He  directly 
forbade.  And  yet  it  seems  that  only  by  Ishmael's 
act  and  the  flight  to  Egypt  could  the  land  obtain 
its  Sabbath  rest,  which  is  spoken  of  in  Lev. 
xxvi.  34,  35. 

14.  Ou  xlii.  1-6.  "  Had  not  Johanan  and  his 
people  asked  for  advice,  but  gone  directly  to 
Egypt,  their  sin  would  not  have  been  so  great. 
They  feigned,  however,  submission  to  the  will 
of  God,  while  they  yet  adhered  to  their  own  will. 
It  is  a  common  fault  for  people  to  ask  advice 
while  they  are  firmly  resolved  what  they  will  do. 
For  they  inquire  not  to  learn  what  is  right,  but 
only  to  receive  encouragement  to  do  what  they 
wish.  If  we  advise  them  according  to  their  in- 
clination they  take  our  advice,  if  not,  they  reject 
it. — We  must  be  on  our  guard  when  we  appeal 
to  God's  decision,  that  we  do  not  previously  de- 
cide for  ourselves.  For  thus  we  fall  into  hypoc- 
risy, which  is  the  most  fatal  intoxication  and 
blindness."  Hei.h  and  Hoffman,  The  Major  Pro- 
■p'tets.  ["  Those  will  justly  lose  their  comfort  in 
real  fenrs,  that  excuse  themselves  in  sin  with 
pre. ended  fears."  Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 


15.  On  xlii.  7.  After  the  murder  of  Gedaliah 
the  anger  of  Nebuchadnezzar  seemed  inevitable. 
But  the  Lord,  to  whom  nothing  is  impossible 
(xxxii.  17),  promises  to  perform  a  miracle,  and 
restore  Israel  to  new  prosperity  in  their  land  if 
they  will  give  Him  the  honor  and  trust  in  Him. 
Nebuchadnezzar's  heart  is  indeed  in  His  hand. 
If  this  is  not  acknowledged  and  Nebuchadnezzar 
more  feared  than  the  Lord,  their  sin  is  then 
against  the  first  commandment. 

16.  On  xlii.  13  sqq.  "  God  reminds  His  people 
of  the  favor  with  which  He  adopted  them  as  His 
people,  which  was  the  most  sacred  obligation  to 
obedience;  that  Egypt  was  to  them  a  land  of  de- 
struction, a  forbidden  land,  as  indeed  all  confi- 
dence in  human  aid  is  forbidden  to  those  who 
would  live  by  faith,  which  was  known  to  them 
from  the  history  of  their  fathers  and  all  the 
prophets.  It  is  a  great  sin  to  deem  one's  self 
safer  under  the  protection  of  man  than  under 
that  of  God.  It  is  incomprehensible,  how  blind 
unbelief  makes  people,  so  that  the  Jews  have 
not  yet  learned  the  truth  in  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  temple  of  God."  Heim  and 
Hoffman.  '■'■  Fides  futurorum  certa  est  ex  prsece- 
dentibus."  Tertull.  "  Venient  hsec  quoque  sicut 
ista  venerunt."   Augustin, — Forster. 

17.  On  xliii.  2  sqq.  "Hypocrites  forsooth  do 
not  wish  to  be  regarded  as  rejecting  and  setting 
themselves  in  opposition  to  God's  word,  or  ac- 
cusing lod  of  falsehood.  For  then  is  all  the 
world  pious,  and  no  one  refuses  to  be  submissive 
to  the  dear  Lord.  God  is  truly  God  and  remains 
so.  It  is  only  against  this  parson  Jeremiah  that 
they  must  act*  he  lies,  he  is  not  sent,  his  ruling 
and  preaching  cannot  be  endured."    Cramer. 

18.  On  xliii.  3.  "Observe  the  old  diabolical 
trick:  when  preachers  practice  God's  word  and 
their  office  with  zeal,  the  world  understands  how 
to  baptize  it  with  another  name  and  call  it  per- 
sonal interest,  as  even  here  Baruch  must  bear  the 
blame,  as  if  he  only  wished  to  vent  his  anger  on 
them  and  be  contrary."    Cramer. 

19.  On  xliii.  6.  The  ancients  here  examine  the 
question  why  Jeremiah  accompanied  the  people 
to  Egypt  and  take  occasion  to  discuss  the  1 
Comm.  de  fuga  viijiistrorum  with  reference  to 
AuousTiN.  Epist.  150  ad  Honorar.  With  respect 
to  Jeremiah,  it  is  clear  that  he  did  all  in  his 
power  to  avert  the  journey  to  Egypt.  After  the 
whole  people,  however,  were  once  on  their  way 
it  was  impossible  for  him  and  Baruch  to  remain 
alone  in  the  deserted  country.  They  were 
obliged  to  go  with  their  flock.  The  more  these 
were  wandering,  the  more  need  they  had  of  the 
shepherds.  Thus,  even  if  they  were  not  com- 
pelled, they  had  to  go  with  them.  It  seems, 
however,  to  follow  from  the  expression  np'V  ver. 

5,  that  no  choice  was  given  them.  The  people 
wished  to  have  the  prophet  with  them.  In  no 
case  can  we  say  that  Jeremiah  fled,  for  accord- 
ing to  his  own  prophecy,  he  knew  that  he  was 
going  to  meet  ruin  in  Egypt. 

20.  On  xliii.  8-13.  At  the  present  day  when 
we  wish  to  convey  to  posterity  the  account  of 
some  accomplished  fact,  or  the  prediction  of 
some  fact  to  be  accomplished  [ex.  gr.  a  last  testa- 
ment), we  take  paper  and  ink,  write  it  down, 
seal  it,  have  it  subscribed  by  witnesses  and  pre- 
serve it  in  the  registrar's  or  recorder's   office 


CHAP.  XLIV.  1-14. 


349 


In  accient  times  they  took  a  simpler  and  surer 
way.  Jacob  and  Laban  simply  erected  a  heap 
of  stones  (Gen.  xxxi.),  the  two  and  a  half  tribes 
(Josh,  xxii.)  built  an  altar  on  the  bank  of  the 
Jordan.  As  long  as  the  heap  and  the  altar  were 
standing,  the  record  was  transmitted  from  gene- 
ration to  generation  for  what  object  these  stone 
witnesses  were  set  up,  and  thus,  that  which  it 
was  desired  to  convey  to  posterity  lived  in  the 
memory  of  men.  Jeremiaii  also  knows  how  to 
use  ink  and  pen  (ch.  xxxii.),  but  here  he  returns 
once  more  to  the  old  manner  of  preserving  ar- 
chives. He  simply  places  great  stones  in  the 
clay,  declaring  what  they  signify,  wiz.,  that  here, 
on  this  spot,  Nebuchadnezzar's  tent  shall  stand. 
Whether  the  Egyptians  and  Jews  then  believed 
him  or  not,  is  of  no  consequence.  The  record 
of  these  stones  and  their  meaning  at  any  rate 
remained  alive,  and  the  Lord's  word  was  thus 
safely  preserved  till  the  day  of  its  fulfilment. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  ch.  xl.  1-12  ;  xli.  1-3 ;  xlii.  1-16.  Israel, 
the  chosen  nation,  is  in  its  destinies  a  type  of 
human  life  in  general.  Consider  only  the  exodus 
from  Egypt.  So  also  the  destinies  of  the  people 
of  Israel,  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by 
JVebuchadnezzar,  are  pretypical.  For  1.  The 
deportation  of  the  whole  people  in  chains 
and  fetters  is  a  type  of  our  universal  human 
misery,  from  which  no  one  (not  even  Jeremiah) 
is  free.  '1.  The  fate  of  Gedaliah  and  the  journey 
to  Egypt  is  a  type  of  the  insufficiency  of  all 
mere  human  help.  3.  As  the  Jews  after  Geda- 
liah's  murder,  somen  at  all  times,  find  protection 
and  deliverance  in  the  Lord  alone. 

2.  On  xl.  1-6.  The  Christian  in  the  tumult  of 
the  world.  1.  He  is  regarded  externally  like 
others.  2.  The  eye  of  the  Lord  watches  with 
special  care  over  him,  so  that  (a)  not  a  hair  of 
his  head  is  bent,  (b)  all  his  wants  are  provided 
for.  3.  He,  however,  on  his  part  directs  all  his 
efforts  to  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness, and  will  not  be  turned  aside  from  this 


either  by  the  violence  or  the  friendliness  of  the 
world. 

3.  On  xl.  7-xli.  3.  Gedaliah's  fate  an  exampl« 
of  what  befals  even  the  most  noble  in  times  of 
deep  corruption.  1.  They  enjoy  general  confi- 
dence. 2.  They  are  incapable  of  attributing  ex- 
treme wickedness  to  men.  3.  They  become  a 
sacrifice  to  their  confidence.  4.  They  are  there- 
fore not  in  a  condition  to  stay  the  divine  judg- 
menis. 

4.  On  xlii.  1-16.  What  is  the  surest  way  of 
coming  to  the  right  conclusion  in  difficult  cases? 
1.  To  inquire  of  the  Lord.  2.  To  obey  uncondi- 
tionally the  direction  which  the  Lord  communi- 
cates. ["  We  must  still  in  faith  pray  to  be 
guided  by  a  spirit  of  tvisdom  in  our  hearts,  and 
the  hints  of  Providence."   Henry. — S.  R.  A.] 

5.  On  xliii.  1-7.  Characteristic  example  of  the 
.HTtfulness  of  the  human  heart:  the  Jews  inquire 
of  the  Lord  and  promise  to  obey  His  direction 
(xlii.  20).  But  when  the  direction  does  not  ac- 
cord with  their  wish,  they  at  once  declare  it  to 
be  supposititious,  not  from  the  Lord.  The  pro- 
phet must  be  a  liar,  an  alleged  enemy  has  incited 
him.  But  what  was  long  previously  determined 
in  the  heart  is  obstinately  brought  to  execution. 
["Those  that  are  resolved  to  contradict  the 
great  ends  of  the  ministry,  are  industrious  to 
bring  a  bad  name  upon  it.  It  is  well  for  persons 
who  are  thus  misrepresented  that  their  witness 
is  in  heaven,  and  their  record  on  high,"  Henry. 
— S.  R.  A.] 

6.  On  xliii.  8-13.  The  ways  of  the  Lord  are 
wonderful.  Israel  flees  before  Nebuchadnezzar 
far  away  to  Egypt.  But  there  they  are  not  safe. 
The  Lord  causes  it-to  be  proclaimed  to  them  that 
at  the  entrance  of  the  king's  palace  at  Tahpanhes 
Nebuchadnezzar's  tent  shall  stand.  Now  indeed 
there  is  a  brick-kiln  there,  in  the  clay  of  which 
Jeremiah  is  to  place  stones,  the  foundation  stones, 
as  it  were,  for  the  Chaldean  king's  pavilion. 
Thus  the  Lord  lays  the  germs  of  future  events, 
and  whatever  He  prepares  in  secret  He  reveals 
in  His  own  time  to  the  glory  of  His  wisdom,  om- 
niscience and  omnipotence. 


10.  Jeremiah  at  the  Festival  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven  in  Pathros.    The  Last  Act  of  his  Prophetic  Ministry. 

a.  The  charge  against  the  stubbornly  idolatrous  people. 

XLIV.    1-14. 

1  The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah  concerning  [for,  to]  all  the  Jews  which  dwell 
[who  dwelt]  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  which  dwell  at  Migdol,  and  at  Tahpanhes,  and 

2  at  Noph,  and  in  the  country  of  Pathros,  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the 
God  of  Israel:  Ye  have  seen  all  the  evil  that  I  have  brought  upon  Jerusalem,  and 
upon  all  the  cities  of  Julah  ;  and,  behold,  this  day  they  are  a  desolation,  and  no 

3  man  dwelleth  therein ;  because  of  their  wickedness  which  they  have  committed 
to^  provoke  me  to  anger,  in  that  they  went  to  burn  incense,  and  to  serve  other 

4  gods,  whom  they  knew  not,  neither  they,^  ye,  nor  your  fathers.  Howbeit  I  s^^nt 
unto  you  all  my  servants  the  prophets,  rising  early  and  sending  them,  saying,  On. 


860  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


5  do  not  this  abominable  thingf  that  I  hate.     But  they  hearkened  not,  nor  inclined 

6  their  ear  to  turn  from  their  wickedness,  to  burn  no  incense  unto  other  gods  Where- 
fore ray  fury  and  mine  anger  was  poured  forth,  and  was  kindled  in  the  cities  of 
Judah  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem :  and  they  are  wasted  and  desolate,  as  at 

7  this  day.  Therefore  now  thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel: 
Wherefore  commit  ye  this  great  evil  against  your  souls,*  to  cut  off  from  you  man 

8  and  woman,  child  and  suckling,  out  of  Judah,  to  leave  you  none  to  remain :  In 
that  ye  provoke  me  unto  wrath  with  the  works  of  your  hands,  burning  incense* 
unto  other  gods  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  whither  ye  be  gone  to  dwell,  that  ye  might 
cut  yourselves^  off,  and   that   ye  might  be  a   curse   and  a  reproach  among  all 

9  the  nations  of  the  earth?  Have  you  forgotten  the  wickedness  [evilj'  of 
your  fathers,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  kings  of  Judah,  and  the  wickedness  of 
their  [his]*  wives,  and  your  own  wickedness,  and  the  wickedness  of  your  wives, 
which  they''  have  committed  in  the  land  of  Judah,  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem? 

10  They  are  not  humbled  even  unto  this  day,  neither  have  they  feared,  nor  walked  in 

11  my  law,  nor  in  my  statutes,  that  I  set  before  you  and  before  your  fathers.  There- 
fore thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel :  Behold,  I  will  set  my  face 

12  against  you  for  evil,  and  to  cut  off  all  Judah.  And  I  will  take  the  remnant  of 
Judah,  that  have  set  their  faces  to  go  into  the  land  of  Egypt  to  sojourn  there,  and 
they  shall  all'"  be  consumed,  and  fall  in  the  land  of  Egypt ;  they  shall  eve)i  be  con- 
sumed by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine:  they  shall  die,  from  the  least  even  unto 
the  greatest,  by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine :  and  they  shall  be  an  execration,  and 

13  an  astonishment,  and  a  curse,  and  a  reproach.  For  I  will  punish  them  that  dwell 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  as  I  have  punished  Jerusalem,  by  the  sword,  by  the  famine, 

14  and  by  the  pestilence :  So  that  none  [there  shall  be  none  escaped  or  remaining]  of 
the  remnant  of  Judah,  which  are  gone  into  the  land  of  Egypt  to  sojourn  there, 
shall  escape  or  remain,  that  they  should  return  [and  then  to  return]  into  the  land 
of  Judah,  to  the  which  they  have  a  desire  to  return  to  dwell  there  :  for  none  shall 
return  but  such  as  shall  escape." 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  3.— In  'JOJ^^hS  and  H^SS  the  S  is  the  gerundial  (comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  ?  95,  e),  in  l5_|^7    Tt3p7  it  is  the 

Bupinal  (lb.,  ?  95,/.).     Comp.  xi.  17  ;  xxxii.  32. 

i  Ver.  3.— nbn  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  accusative,  since  this  has  been  already  expressed  by  the  sufBx  in  D^^T)  hut 

as  nominative.  The  third  person  stands  in  close  connection  with  the  preceding,  the  (ISH  with  the  sudden  change  of  per- 
son (comp.  infra  veri.  5  and  10  and  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  101  Anm.)  is  however  explained  by  *^1  DnN,  with  which  a  return  is 

made  to  the  second  person  used  in  the  beginning  of  the  sentence  (ver.  2). 

3  Ver.  4. — T31  as  in  Jud.  xix.  24. 

4  Ver.  7. T\v''\  must  here  have  the  same  sense  as  ril^l,  ver.  9.    For  the  connection  is:  the  HJ^I  that  ye  now  do 

can  only  be  explained,  by  your  having  forgotten  the  jl'lJ^T  of  the  past.    Since  now  fllj^l  niust  necessarily  be  taken  in  a 

double  sense,  so  must  also  T\V'\  in  this  passage.    M  jTIDPlS  is  a  gerundial  infinitive.    On  r\1K^£3J  comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr., 

"tt  ■  :  -  : 

g  81,  1  C.  ,  L 

6  Ver.  8.— 'JD'tonv  and  T£3p7  are  also  gerundial  infinitives  (comp.  ver.  3). 

8  Ver.  8.— In  ver.  7  fl'IDH  ii^s  a  definitely  expressed  object.  Many  would  supply  this  here.  Others  take  'Ojl  for 
D!)">y.  according  to  the  analo"y  of  xl.  2.  jT'lDn  may,  however,  also  bo  taken  in  a  directly  causative  seuse=prepare  ex- 
tti.iiination,  so  that  the  dative  would  have  nothing  abnormal  in  it.  Comp.  T'ilin  Jer.  1.  34;  noiil  Isa.  ii.  4;  p'^IVH 
Isa.  li.  11  with  S  ;  N.\egelsb.  Gr.,  J  G9, 1  Anm.  2. 

7  Ver.  9. From  ^\^V  Tij/X  it  would  follow  that  ril^'l  is  to  be  taken  in  a  moral  sense.    But  can  it  be  said  of  those  who 

are  censured  on  account  of  their  persistence  in  these  sins :  (Tave  you  forgotten  your  sins  ?  J.  D.  Michaelis  is  therefore  dis- 
posed to  read  DPnSiyn,  with  a  marginal  reading  of  a  Kduigsberg  Codex:  majus  peccando  memoriam  peccatorum  ante 
cammiisorum,  obliterastis.     But  this  reading  is  not  sufficiently  authenticated.    Wo  must  therefore  take  pi)^"),  as  in  ver.  7, 

in  a  double  sense,  so  as  to  designate  at  the  same  time  tho  mala  pomx  and  the  mala  culpx  (comp.  Gen.  1. 15).  Their  forget- 
fulness  of  the  sufferings  which  they  had  drawn  on  them  by  tlieir  sins  is  the  cause  of  their  obstinate  persistence  in  the 
latter. 

8  Ver.  9.— VK^J  r\iyi.     Both  the  introduction  of  the  "  wives  "  and  the  singular  suffix  are  surprising.    The  LXX.  read 

Til/  apxovTiov  v/jioiv.     DD'"lti'  or  D3''6<''tyj  would  certainly  correspond  better  to  the  connection,  as  well  as  to  the  usage  of 

the  prophet  elsewhere  (comp.  vers.  17,  21 ;  i.  18 ;  ii.  26 ;  xxiv.  8;  xxv.  18;  xxxii.  32;  xxxiv. '21).  But  the  more  difficult 
reading  is  to  be  preferred.  The  singular  suffix  is  not  to  bo  referred  to  .ludah,  since  the  expression  "  wives  of  Judah  "  is 
neither  used  elsewhere  nor  suitable  to  the  connection,  but  te  tho  king  of  the  time.  Comp.  Hos.  iv.  8  ;  Zech.  xiv.  12 ;  Nas- 
BBL3=    Cr  ,  »  105  7,  'tnm.  'i. 


CHAP.  XLIV.  1-U. 


S61 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  word  of  the  Lord  is  communicated  through 
Jeremiah  to  the  Israelites  dwelling  in  Egypt ;  ye 
have  seen  how  I  have  punished  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem for  their  idolatry  (vers.  1-6).  Why  then 
do  you  continually  commit  the  same  wickedness  ? 
Have  ye  forgotten  the  lecture?  It  appears  so, 
for  they  have  not  humbled  themselves,  nor  en- 
deavored to  keep  the  law  of  God  (vers.  7-10). 
Therefore  shall  the  remnant  of  Judah  in  Egypt, 
even  like  unto  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  be  destroyed 
by  sword,  famine  and  pestilence,  and  at  most  sin- 
gle fugitives  shall  return  home  (vers.  11-14). 

Ver.  1.  The  -word  .  .  .  saying.  We  have 
here  the  last  document  of  Jeremiah's  prophetic 
ministry.  Far  from  home,  after  terrible  judg- 
ments, he  has  still  the  same  thing  to  say  to  the 
Jews  as  at  first.  They  have  not  become  wiser  or 
better.  From  Tahpanhes  they  had  spread  abroad 
in  the  land.  What  occasion  had  brought  them 
together  in  so  large  an  assembly,  is  not  indeed 
stated  in  the  superscription,  which  is  of  the 
greater  sort  (comp.  xl.  1  ;  xxxvi.  1 ;  xxxv.  1 ; 
xxxiv.  1,  etc.),  but  is  evident  enough  from  what 
follows. — Dwelt.  The  fugitives  have  already 
established  themselves  in  fixed  abodes.  Comp. 
rems.  on  xliii.  8. — Migdol  (comp.  xlvi.  14 ; 
Ezek.  xxix.  10;  xxx.  6  coll.  Exod.  xiv.  2;  Num. 
xxxiii.  7)  was  one  of  the  north-eastern  boundary 
points  of  Egypt  [near  Syene].  In  Herodotus 
(II.  159)  and  the  LXX.  the  place  is  called  Udy- 
diSkov  ;  according  to  the  Itiner.  Anton,  (p.  171) 
it  was  twelve  Roman  miles  from  Pelusium. — On 
Tahpanhes  comp.  rems.  on  xliii.  8. — Noph 
is  Memphis,  the  ancient  capital  of  lower  Egypt. 
Comp.  rems.  on  ii.  16. — Pathros  (comp.  ver.  1.5; 
Isa.  xi.  11;  Ezek.  xxix.  14;  xxx.  14)  is  upper 
Egypt.  Comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  I.  S.  149.  The 
assembly  was  held,  according  to  ver.  15,  in  Pa- 
thros. A  considerable  time  must  have  elapsed 
since  the  migration,  because  we  find  the  colony 
already  dispersed  and  settled  in  different  places. 
On  the  other  hand  the  meeting  cannot  have  oc- 
curred so  long  after  the  migration  that  those  who 
are  addressed  by  Jeremiah  can  belong  to  the  se- 
cond generation.  They  were  the  Jews  who  had 
come  into  the  country  (ver.  8),  and  the  longing 
for  home  was  still  strong  in  them.  Comp.  rems. 
on  vers.  29,  30 

Vers.  2-6.  Thus  saith  ...  as  at  this  day. 
The  pr.iphet  pi-esents  before  the  Jews  first  the 
great  catastrophe,  portraying  its  genesis  in  the 
order  of  its  elements. — Whom  they  know^ 
not.  Comp.  xix.  4. — I  sent,  etc.  Comp.  vii. 
13,  25;  xxix.  19. — This  abominable   thing. 


«  Ver.  ^.—W^  "ItyX.     Change  of  person  as  in  vers.  3,  5.    Comp.    Naeoelsb.    Gr.,  g  101, 2,  Anm. 

10  Ver.  12. '~I2  ibiil-    According  to  the  accents  the  sentence  is  to  be  construed  as  in  the  translation.    On  73  comp. 

Isa.  x.\x.  5 ;  Ew.\LD,  280,  e. 

u  Ver.  ll. — D'to'^S  DN  '3-  Strictly  taken  these  words  form  a  direct  contradiction  to  the  beginning  of  the  verse, 
which  declares  that  there  shall  be  a  t3'Si3  or  T'^Ii'.and  the  words  O^C'''  N7  '3  are  no  other  than  the  confirmation  of 

■  T  •    T  T  ■ 

this  statement.  It  is  therefore  natural  to  regard  the  words  as  a  later  addition,  a.s  IIiTzirj  docs.  The  brevity  of  the  previous 
sentence,  and  its  apparent  contradiction  of  ver.  28  seemed  to  require  this  suppiemenuuiuii.  in  ver.  28  it  is  expressly  stated 
that  some,  having  escaped,  will  return,  and  it  is  hence  evident  that  the  declaration  here,  ver.  11,  id  not  to  be  taken  with  ab- 
Bolute  literalness. 

Comp.  xxxii.  35. — Was  poured  forth.  Comp. 
xlii.  18. — In  the  cities  of  Judah.  Comp. 
vers.  9,  17,  21  ;  vii.  17;  xi.  6;  xxxiii.  10. — As 
at  this  day.     Comp.  vers.  2,  22,  23  ;  xi.  5. 

Vers.  7-10.  Therefore  now  thus  .  .  .  be- 
fore your  fathers.  After  the  Jews  had  just 
learned  in  a  ditferent  manner  how  fearfully  .Je- 
hovah avenges  apostasy  from  Him,  how  can  they 
now  again,  to  their  unendurable  shame  and  ruin, 
commit  the  same  sins?  It  appears  as  if  they 
had  forgotten  the  lesson  and  not  yet  learned  to 
bow  in  obedience  to  the  divine  law. — Man  and 
w^oman.  Comp.  1  Sara.  xv.  8;  xxii.  19;  Lam. 
ii.  11. — The  w^orks  of  your  hands.  From  i. 
16  coll.  XXV.  14  it  is  evident  that  the  prophet 
wishes  the  expression  to  be  under.-^tood  in  a  phy- 
sical sense  of  the  idol  images. — Burning  in- 
cense in  the  wider  sense.  Comp.  rems.  on  i. 
16. — That  ye  might  be,  etc.  Comp.  xlii.  18; 
Zech.  viii.  13. — Have  ye  forgotten,  etc.  The 
present  unlawful  conduct  of  the  people  is  ex- 
plained only  by  their  forgetfulness  of  the  former 
calamities  occasioned  by  their  idolatry. — Hitzig 
well  calls  attention  to  the  fact,  that  the  royal 
wives  played  an  important  part  in  the  history  of 
Jewish  idolatry.  Comp.  the  wives  of  Solomon 
(1  Ki.  xi.  1  sqq.)  Maachah,  the  mother  of  Asa 
(xv.  13)  and  Athaliah  (xi.  1). 

Ver.  10.  They  are  not  humbled.  Comp. 
Isa.  Ivii.  15.  How  unwillingly  does  the  prophet 
turn  away  and  address  his  discourse  concerning 
these,  to  whom  he  has  hitherto  spoken,  to  others 
Comp.  Mic.  i.  2;  Jer.  1.  8. — Nor  walked.  Comp. 
ix.  12 ;  xxvi.  4. 

Vers.  11-14.  Therefore  .  .  .  shall  escape. 
Because  the  Jews,  notwithstanding  they  had  ex- 
perienced the  fearful  severity  of  God's  punitive 
justice,  again  committed  the  same  sins,  therefore 

(p7  ver.  11)  will   the  Lord  set  his  face  against 

them,  the  last  remnant  of  Judah,  and  by  the  de- 
struction of  this  utterly  exterminate  the  nation. 
Comp.  ver.  7. — And  I  will  take.  The  expres- 
sion involves  an  antithesis  to  set  their  faces  to 
go.  They  thought  in  their  own  power  to  take  a 
path  which  would  lead  them  away  from  the  pu- 
nitive hand.  But  the  Lord  seizes  them  as  He 
once  did  the  prophet  Jonah. — Shall  be  an  exe- 
cration. Comp.  rems.  on  xlii.  18. — Them  that 
dw^ell.  Comp.  ix.  24,  25  ;  xlvi.  2-'). — None  es- 
caped. The  Jews  had  gone  to  Egypt  to  remain 
there  temporarily,  and  then  return  home.  On 
which  are  gone  then  depends  not  only  to  so- 
journ there  but  also  and  to  return  with  the 
following  relatrve  sentence. — To  the  w^hich. 
Comp.  xxii.  27. — But  such  as  shall  escape 
Comp.  Textual  Note. 


352 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


6,  The  Replication  of  the  People. 
XLIV.  15-19. 

16  Then  all  the  men  which  knew  that  their  wives  had  burned  incense  unto  other 
gods,  and  all  the  women  that  stood  by  a  [there  in  the]  great  multitude  [assembly], 
even  all  the  people  that  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  in  Pathros  answered  Jere- 

16  miah,  saying.  As  for  the  word  ^  that  thou  hast  spoken  unto  us  in  the  name  of  the 

17  Lord,  we  will  not  hearken  unto  thee.  But  we  will  certainly  do  whatsoever  thing 
[word]  goeth  forth  [has  gone  forth]  out  of  our  own  mouth,  to  burn  incense  unto  the 
queen  of  heaven,  and  to  pour  out  drink  offerings  unto  her,  as  we  have  done,  we, 
and  our  fathers,  our  kings,  and  our  princes,  in  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  in  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem  :  for  theti  had  we  plenty  of  victuals,  and  were  well,'^  and  saw 

18  no  evil.  But  since  we  left  off  to  buru  incense  to  the  queen  of  heaven,  and  to  pour 
out  drink  offerings  unto  her,  we  have  wanted  all  things,  and  have  been  consumed* 

19  by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine.  And  when  we  burned  incense  to  the  queen  of 
heaven,  and  poured  out  drink  offerings  unto  her,  did  we  make  her  cakes  to  wor- 
ship her,*  and  pour  out  drink  offerings  unto  her,  without  our  men  ? 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  16. — "UTH  Is  to  be  regarded  as  accusative  of  restriction.    Not  generally,  but  only  with  reipect  to  this  particular 

T  T  ~ 

word,  do  they  declare  that  they  will  not  obey  the  prophet.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  70,/. 

2  Ver.  17. — □''31£0  /dices.    Comp.  Isa.  iii.  10,  and  Delitzsch  ad  loc. 

3  Ver.  18. — Ou  tjie  form  !|JOr\>  which  is  found  only  in  the  root  D'Dn,  comp.  Olsh.,  S.  483,/. 

*  Ver.  19. — nj'Vj^n 7.    The  Hiph.  here  only.    The  Piel  only  in  Job  x.  8  decidedly  in  the  meaning  of  "  to  form,  shape." 
Compare  further  J2f^,  CS^fJ?  (Jer.  xxii.  28),  so  the  meaning  of  the  Hiph.  in  this  place  cannot  be  other  than  "to  form, 

copy,"  with  reference  to  the  moon-shaped  form  of  the  cakes.  Comp.  rems.  on  vii  18.  The  circumstance  that  the  T\  is 
written  without  Mappik  (which  however  is  found  in  some  MSS.)  does  not  stand  in  the  way  of  this.  (Comp.  Olsh.,  §  96,  e  ; 
Isai.  xxi.  2 ;  xxiii.  17,  18).    [We  must  then  render :  make  her  cakes  to  copy  her. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

From  the  purport  of  this  passage  it  is  manifest 
that  the  people  had  come  together  to  celebrate  a 
festival  in  honor  of  the  queen  of  heaven,  and  to 
perform  the  vows  they  had  made.  The  assembly 
consisted  principally  of  women.  Hence  they 
were  the  chief  speakers.  They  now  declare  to 
the  prophet  that  they  will  not  obey  his  jvords 
(ver.  16),  but  perform  their  vows,  and  make  their 
offerings  to  the  queen  of  heaven,  as  they  had  also 
done  at  home.  It  was  then  well  with  tliem  (ver. 
17),  only  since  they  neglected  her  worship,  has 
it  gone  b.idly  with  them  (ver.  18).  In  addition, 
they  (the  women)  had  devoted  themselves  to  the 
service  of  this  goddess  only  with  the  concurrence 
of  their  husbands. 

Ver.  l-j.  Then  all  .  .  .  saying.  The  assem- 
bly consisted  (I)  of  men.  who  well  knew  that 
their  wives  offered  incense  to  other  gods  (comp. 
rems.  on  ver.  3);  (2)  of  women,  who  were  a 
great  multitude.  From  the  circumstance  that 
the  "  great  assembly  "  is  designated  as  consist- 
ing of  women,  it  has  been  rightly  concluded  that 
they  formed  the  majority,  wliich  explains  the 
emphasis  laid  on  the  women  in  vers.  24,  25. — 
The  .Jewish  women  thus  appear  to  have  come  to- 
gether from  all  parts  of  Egypt  to  a  festival  of 
the  queen  of  heaven,  which  was   held   in  a  place 


of  upper  Egypt  (Pathros),  not  more  particularly 
designated,  in  order  there  to  perform  their  vows 
made  to  this  goddess.  The  men  seem  to  have 
been  both  those  who  lived  in  the  neighborhood 
and  those  who  had  come  from  a  distance  as  hus- 
bands of  a  part  of  the  women  mentioned.  The 
assembly  consisted  (.3)  of  representatives  of  all 
the  people,  who  were  settled  in  Egypt,  among 
whom  we  must  suppose  individuals,  who  were 
neither  husbands  nor  wives — In  Pathros  ac- 
cordingly designates  the  place  of  meeting,  and  is 
not  to  be  connected  with  lived  but  with  an- 
swered. The  prophet  had  endeavored  by  his 
discourse,  vers.  2-14,  to  hinder  the  observance 
of  this  idolatrous  festival,  but  was  not  successful. 
Vers.  16-19.  As  for  the  word  .  .  .  w^ithout 
our  men. — "We  w^ill  not  hearken.  Comp. 
vii  16. — ^The  expression  whatsoever  word 
has  gone  forth  out  of  our  mouth  indicates 
vows  tliat  had  been  made  (comp.  Num.  xxx.  3, 
13;  x.'.xii.  24;  Jud.  xi.  36).  On  the  queen  of 
heaven  comp.  rems.  on  vii  18.— And  when  we 
burned.  According  to  the  apodosis  this  ought 
properly  tobein  the  feminine  instead  of  t  lie  mascu- 
line, as  in  ver.  15  (PnopO).    The  masculine  form 

has  not  only  a  general  justification,  as  being  the 
chief  form,  and  frequently  occurring  for  the  femi- 
nine (comp.  Naeoblsb.  Or.,  §  60,  5,  4),  but  also 
a  special,  since  the  speakers  had  in  view  the  en- 


CHAP.  XLIV.  20-23. 


SOS 


tire  number  who  took  part  in  the  offering.  Ac- 
cording to  Num.  XXX.  7  sqq.,  the  women  were  re- 
Bponsible  for  the  observance  of  their  vows  only 
when  approved  by  their  husbands  (or  fathers, 
comp.  ver.  4).  Hence  they  now  declare,  that  in 
consequence  of  having  obtained  the  concurrence 


of  their  husbands  they  are  at  any  rate  free  from 
all  personal  responsibility.  On  cakes  comp. 
rems.  on  vii.  18.  It  is  evident  from  the  latter 
passage,  that  this  cult  was  not  first  adopted  ia 
Egypt,  but  imported  from  home. 


c.  The  Rejoinder  of  the  Prophet  (xliv.  20-30). 

a.  Refutation  of  the  Popular  Assertions. 

XLIV.  20-23. 

20  Then  Jeremiah  said  unto*  all  the  people,  to  the  men,  and  to  the  women,  and  to 

21  all  the  people  which  had  given  him  that  answer,  saying,  Is  it  not  so  ?  The  in- 
cense^ that  ye  burned  in  the  cities  of  Judah,  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  ye, 
and  your  fathers,  your  kings,  and  your  princes,  and  the  people  of  the  land,  did  not 
the  Lord  remember  them,  and  came  it  not  into  his  mind?  [Jehovah  remembered 

22  it,^  and  it  came  into  his  mind].*  So  that  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  could  no  longer  bear* 
because  of  the  evil  of  your  doings,®  and  because  of  the  abominations  which  ye  have 
committed ;  therefore  is  your  land  a  desolation,'  and  an  astonishment  [a  waste]  and 

23  a  curse,  without  an  inhabitant,®  as  at  this  day.  Because  ye  have  burned  incense, 
and  because  ye  have  sinned  against  the  Lord,  and  have  not  obeyed  the  voice  of 
the  Lord,  nor  walked  in  his  law,  nor  in  his  statutes,  nor  in  his  testimonies ;  there- 
fore this  evil  is  happened®  unto  you,  as  at  this  day. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  20.— On  the  interchange  of  7J^  and  7X  comp.  rems.  on  x.  1. 

2  Ver.  21.— The  Piel  form  TDp,  which  occurs  here  only  (comp.  Olsh.  §  182,  e)  corresponds  to  the  German  "  Geraiicher  " 
[fumigating,  incensing].    Observe  also  the  emphatic  position  of  the  word  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence  [the  incensing 

that  ye  did].  .  ,   .      ,      .  .      ^  ^  , 

»  Ver.  21.— The  plural  suffix  in  DfllX  refers  to  the  plural  idea  contained  xn  the  intensive  form.    Compare  remarlu 

on  xi.  4. 

*  Ver.  21. — Comp.  rems.  on  iii.  16. 

B  Ver.  22.— SdV  xSi.  The  imperf.  is  evidently  used  here  in  an  aoristic  sense,  but  since  the  fact  in  question  is  removed 
from  all  objective  human  perception,  it  is  consequently  founded,  notwithstanding  its  undoubted  correctness,  on  a  subjec- 
tive conception.    Comp.  Isa.  xxxvii.  4  ;  1  Ki.  viii.  5. 

6  Ver.  22.— nSitS'S.    With  ''J30  following,  here  only.    It  seems  to  be  used  in  the  absolute  sense  of  "endure,  hold 

»ut,"  also  in  Isa.  i.    ' ;  Prov.  xxx.'21— 0J1  J^T.    Comp.  iv.  4;  xxi.  12;  xxiii.  2,  22;  xxiv.2sqq.;  xxvi.  3. 

1  Ver.  22.— n3"inS.    Comp.  vers.  6,  12. 

8  Ver.  22.— nti/r  TNO-    Comp.  rems.  on  ii.  15. 

»  Ver.  23.— nXlp-    Comp.  Olsh.,  S.  449,  478.— Ges.,  g  74,  Anm.  1 ;  Ewald,  ?  194,  6. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

To  the  assertion  of  the  people  that  it  had  gone 
well  with  them  so  long  as  they  had  served  the 
queen  of  heaven,  and  that  their  misfortunes  dated 
from  their  cessation  of  this  service,   the  prophet 


answers  with  a  non  post  hoc  sed  propter  hoc.  It 
was  precisely  on  account  of  this  idolatrous  cult 
(ver.  21)  which  Jehovah  could  no  longer  suffer, 
that  their  misfortunes  had  come  upon  them  (ver. 
22).  And  for  the  sake  of  emphasis  Jeremiah  re 
peats  this  bitter  truth  once  more  (ver.  23). 


28 


854 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH, 


/?.  The  Positive  Announcement  of  Severest  Punishment. 

XLIV.  24-30. 

24  Moreover  Jeremiali  said  unto  all  the  people,  and  to  all  the  women,  Hear  the 

25  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah's  word]  all  Judah  that  are  in  the  land  of  Egypt.  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  [Jehovah  Zebaoth]  the  God  of  Israel,  saying :  Ye  and 
your  wives  have  both^  spoken  with  your  mouths,  and  fulfilled  with  your  hand,  say- 
ing, We  will  surely  perform  our  vows  that  we  have  vowed,  to  burn  incense  to  the 
queen  of  heaven,  and  to  pour  out  drink  offerings  unto  her;  ye  will  surely  accom- 

26  plish^  your  vows,  and  surely  perform  your  vows.  Therefore  hear  ye  the  word  of 
the  Lord  [Jehovah's  word]  all  Judah  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  Egypt;  Behold,  I 
have  sworn  by  my  great  name,  saith  the  Lord,  that  my  name  shall  no  more  be 
named  in  the  mouth  of  any  man  of  Judah  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  saying.  The 

27  Lord  God  [Adonai  Jehovah]  liveth.  Behold,  I  will  watch  over  them  for  evil,  and 
not  for  good  ;  and  all  the  men  of  Judah  that  are  in  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  be  cou- 

28  suraed  by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine,  until  there  be  an  end  of  them.  Yet  a 
small  number  that  escape'  the  sword  shall  return  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  into 
the  land  of  Judah,  and  all  the  remnant  of  Judah,  that  are  gone  into  the  land  of 

29  Egypt  to  sojourn  there,  shall  know  whose  words  shall  stand,  mine,  or  theirs.*  And 
this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  punish^  you  in  this  place, 

30  that  ye  may  know  that  my  words  shall  surely  stand  against  you  for  evil :  Thus 
saith  the  Lord:  Behold,  I  will  give  Pharaoh-hophra,  king  of  Egypt,  into  the  hand 
of  his  enemies,  and  into  the  hand  of  them  that  seek  his  life ;  as  I  gave  Zedekiah, 
king  of  Judah,  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  his  enemy,  and 
that  sought  his  life. 


TEXTUAL  and  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  25. — On  the  Vau  consecutive  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  ^  88,  7,  and  Jer.  iii.  9  ;  vi.  19;  xxxiii.  24. 

2  Ver.  25.— On  the  form  njO^pn  comp.  Olsh.,  S  579;  Ewald,  g  190,  c;  Ges.,  §  72,  5,  Anm. 

I  T  :     I-  T 

3  Ver.  28.— 3"in  '£3  w3  comp.  Ezek.  vi.  8  :  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  64,  5,  c. 

*  Ver.  28. — The  construction  DDOI  'J^O  (comp.  analogies  in  Graf)  is  found  in  this  form  here  only.  The  two  pro- 
nouns analyze  the  idea  ^.J'Jt;/.  Since,  however,  both  members  of  the  disjunctive  question  were  to  be  distinctly  expressed, 
the  only  way  was  either  to  say  03^31  DN1  'TJT  DX  (comp.  Joel  i.  2),  or  as  there  are  no  independent  possessive  pro- 
nouns, to  use  the  personal  pronouns,  which,  however,  could  be  employed  only  in  the  form  of  sufBxes  to  the  partitive  prepo- 
sitions. . 

6  Ver.  29.— 1pi3  with  1^  as  in  ver.  13. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

As  that  which  the  land  and  people  of  Judah 
had  experienced  from  the  Chaldeans,  was  a  pu- 
nishment for  their  previous  wickedness,  so  in  the 
future  also  new  calamities  will  be  the  recom- 
pense of  their  newly-repeated  offences.  The 
Jews  persist  in  performing  their  idolatrous  vows. 
Well,  they  sliall  do  so  (ver.  26).  But  they  shall 
also  hear,  that  there  will  soon  be  no  longer  a  Jew 
in  Egypt,  who  may  even  take  the  name  of  Jeho- 
vah into  his  mouth  (ver.  20).  For  they  shall  be 
exterminated  by  sword  and  famine  (ver.  27),  and 
only  a  few  shall  return  into  the  land  of  Judah, 
that  this  stubborn  people  may  learn  who  is  in  a 
position  to  execute  his  will,  Jehovah  or  they? 
(ver.  28).  And  this  may  serve  for  a  token,  that 
the  Lord  will  make  good  His  word,  that  Hophra, 
king  of  Egypt,  will  be  given  into  the  hand  of  his 


mortal  enemies,  just  as  Zedekiah  was  given  into 
the  hand  of  his  enemy,  the  king  of  Babylon 
(vers.  29,  30). 

Vers.  24,  25.  Moreover  Jeremiah  .  .  your 
vows.  The  women  are  here  also  expressly  men- 
tioned (see  rems.  on  ver.  15).  In  ver.  25  even 
tile  predicate  to  ye  and  your  wives,  as  well  as 
the  predicates  in  the  concluding  sentence  of  the 
verse  has  the  feminine  form. — The  sentence  and 
fulfilled  with  your  hand  is  to  be  regarded  as 
a  parenthesis,  occasioned  by  the  circumstance, 
that  the  discharge  of  the  vows  was  already  in 
progress  at  the  very  moment  the  prophet  was 
speaking.  We  may  conclude  from  this,  that 
the  words  in  vers.  24  sqq.  were  spoken  later 
than  the  preceding  context,  viz.,  towards  the  close 
of  the  meeting. 

Vers.  2G-28.  Therefore  hear  ...  or  theirs. 
As  you  obstinately  cari-y  out  your  will,  hear 
what  the   Lord   will  do  to  effect  His.     He  has 


CHAP.  XLIV.  24-30. 


355 


sworn  by  His  great  Name  (comp.  xxii.  5;  xlix. 
18;  li.  14),  that  a  time  will  yet  come,  when  no 
Jew  in  Egypt  will  any  more  take  the  name  of 
Jehovah  into  his  mouth  as  an  oath  (comp.  iv.  2; 
V.  2;  xii.  16),  simply  for  this  reason,  that  there 
will  be  none  there  (ver.  27).  "In  the  form  of 
asseveration  the  name  of  Jehovah  would  be  still 
retained,  although  tlicy  had  long  since  become 
devoted  to  the  service  of  other  gods.  But  Je- 
hovah, who  is  an  XJp  7X  [jealous  God],  rejects 
honor  and  acknowledgment  which  He  must  share 
with  others;  and  so  it  is  name  shall  no  longer  be 
heard  from  the  mouth  of  any  Jews  in  Egypt." 
HiTziG. — In  Behold,  I  will  watch,  there  is 
evidently  a  reminiscence  of  i.  12,  so  that  the 
close  of  the  prophecies  is  thus  connected  with  the 
beginning. — Only  a  few  individuals  will  escape 
the  sword  and  return  home  (comp.  rems.  on  ver. 
14). — A  small  number.  Comp.  Gen.  xxxiv.  80; 
Deut.  iv.  27;  Ps.  cv.  12. — And  thus  Israel  shall 

learn  by  this  fact,    whose  word  will   stand   ('0 

*15"1.     Comp.    viii.   9;  Gen.    xxiv.   28;  D^p\  Isa. 

xiv.  24;  vii.  7;  xlvi.  10),  theirs  (vers.  17,  18) 
or  .Jehovah's. 


Vei 


li),  30.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign 


sought  his  life.  The  Jews  might  think  that  in 
Egypt  they  were  out  of  sight  of  their  God,  whose 
throne  was  in  Jerusalem.  To  expel  this  delu- 
sion the  prophet  announces  to  them  a  sign,  that 
the  Lord  has  them  well  in  view.  When  they  see 
this  sign  it  will  be  a  pledge  that  the  punishments 
threatened  in  vers.  26-28  will  really  overtake 
them.  The  sign  will  consist  in  this,  that 
Hophra,  the  Egyptian  king,  will  be  given  into 
the  hiinds  of  his  enemies,  as  Zedekiah  was  into 
the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Now  Herodotus 
certainly  relates  (II.,  161  sqq.)  that  Apries 
[Manetho,  Obd(!)pcg,  LXX.,  Oiaifif)//^,  ('•  e.,  Hophra) 
whom  he  calls  after  Psammetichus  the  most 
fortunate  of  the  earlier  kings,  in  consequence  of 
an  unsuccessful  battle  with  the  Cyrenians,  had 
to  experience  a  revolt  of  the  Egyptians.  Amasis, 
who  was  sent  to  treat  with  them,  himself  went 
over  to  the  rebels,  and  Apries  was  compelled  to 
figtit  the  Egyptians  under  Amasis  with  an  army 
consisting  only  of  foreign  auxiliaries.  He  was 
so  presumptuous  as  to  think,  says  Herodotus, 
that  no  God  could  cast  him  from  his  throne,  so 
firmly  was  he  seated  upon  it.  He  was,  however, 
vanquished  and  taken  captive.  Amasis  now  in- 
deed treated  him  very  well  in  the  palace,  but  the 
Egyptians  took  it  ill  that  he  was  so  indulgent  to 
his  and  their  greatest  enemy.  Therefore  Amasis 
delivered  Apries  up  to  the  Egyptians,  who 
strangled  him  (II.,  169).  If  we  compare  this 
narrative  with  the  passage  under  consideration, 
we  find  that  they  agree  perfectly,  not  only  in 
speaking  of  a  "surrender  of  Hophra  into  the 
bauds  of  those  who  sought  his  life "  (comp. 
VTX  and  ^J  '^p??,  ver.  80  a,  with  the  singular 
in  hemistich  b)  but  also  in  this,  that  the  circum- 
Dtance  of  tlie  surreiuler  of  the  king  being  pre- 
dicted as  a  sign,  appears  to  be  thus  well  ac- 
counted for,  in  Apries  having  by  his  obstinate 
arrogance  challenged  the  divine  Nemesis.  But 
how  about  the  chronology  ?  It  has  been  assumed 
that  the  surrender  of  Apries  occurred  at  too  late 
a  date  for  it  to  have  served  as  a   sign,  or  that 


Jeremiah  could  have  lived  to  any  proximate 
period.  The  death  of  Apries  must  certainly  be 
placed  in  B.  C,  570  (comp.  DuScker,  S.  930; 
iM.  NiEBUHR,  Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  217).  We  have  re- 
marked above  on  ver.  1,  that  the  Jews  are  still 
designated  as  having  come  into  the  country  (vers. 
8,  12,  14),  and  therefore  not  as  born  in  it,  and  a 
strong  longing  for  the  land  of  their  fathers  is 
still  ascribed  to  them  (ver.  14).  But  does  this 
prevent  us  Irom  supposing  that  they  have  been 
.'ilready  about  sixteen  years  in  the  country? 
There  is  nothing  opposed  to  this  in  the  text. 
This  simply  records  -that  they  had  settled  down 
at  different  places,  and  were  now  assembled  for  a 
festival  in  Upper  Egypt.  This  might  happen  as 
well  after  sixteen  years  as  after  two,  but  better 
then,  than  in  the  first  year.  A  longing  for  home 
is  not  yet  altogether  extinguished  in  the  Jews 
even  at  the  present  day.  Comp.  Ps.  cxxxvii. — As 
to  the  age  of  Jeremiah — if  he  vvas  a  I^J,  about 
twenty,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  Josiah  (comp. 
i.  2,  6),  he  must  have  been  about  seveuty-six  or 
seventy-seven  in  the  year  B.  C,  570.  Tliis  is 
not  impossible.  What  object  could  the  subse- 
quent insertion  of  this  verse  as  a  vaticiiiium  post 
rventinn,  alleged  by  Hitzig  and  Graf,  have  had? 
There  was  no  need   for  it  (as  there  perhaps  was 

for  D'ifl'Sa  DX  '3,  ver.  14),  and  if  it  was   not 

Jeremiah's  custom  to  offer  tokens,  this  would 
all  the  more  have  deterred  from  such  an  interpo- 
lation. Even  if  we  grant  that  there  are  no  other 
tokens  of  this  kind  to  be  found  in  Jeremiah,  this 
does  not  involve  the  impossibility  of  his  ever 
having  given  such  a  one.  He  might  have  a  special 
reason  for  doing  so  here.  I  think  I  can  perceive 
such  a  reason  in  the  presumptuous  declaration 
on  the  part  of  the  king,  recorded  by  Herodotus. 
This  prediction  of  the  fate  impending  over  the 
king  was  the  answer  of  the  true  God  to  this  pro- 
vocation. The  point  of  the  prediction  is  evi- 
dently directed  against  this  latter.  That  which 
Jeremiah  loudly  proclaimed  in  an  open  assembly 
of  the  Jewish  people  could  not  remain  hid.  The 
king  could  and  should  hear  it,  even  though  he 
held  the  old  Jewish  soothsayer  in  disdain.  Only 
thus  is  it  explained  why  Jeremiah  gave  a  token 
just  now,  and  why  he  gave  just  this.  He  was 
obliged  to  predict  his  fate  to  the  king,  in  order 
that  when  this  came,  the  hand  of  God  might  be 
recognized  in  it,  and  at  the  same  time  this  pre- 
diction was  to  be  a  pledge  to  the  Jewish  people 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  judgment  threatened  by 
him.  Let  us  remember  how  the  mighty  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  once  displayed  through  Moses  on 
Egypt  and  its  king,  in  order  that  they  might  per- 
ceive that  He  was  the  Lord,  and  His  the  earth 
(Exod.  vii.  5,  17;  viii.  22;  ix.  14,  29;  x.  2). 
After  the  lapse  of  a  thousand  years  the  last  rem 
nant  of  the  theocratic  nation  return  as  fugitives 
to  the  same  Egypt,  from  which  the  Lord  had  so 
gloriously  conducted  them.  Israel  had  failed  of 
the  high  goal,  appointed  for  it — but  the  Lord  had 
remained  the  same,  and  His  last  prophet  like  His 
first  was  commissioned  to  be  the  medium  of  an- 
nouncement to  the  proud  empires  of  the  jusl, 
judgments  of  the  only  true  God,  who  does  not 
allow  Himself  to  be  despised  with  impunity. 

How  now  was  the  threatening  fulfilled  that  the 
remnant  of  Judah    in  Egypt  should  perish   by 


856 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Bword  and  famine,  except  a  few  who  shoulil  re- 
turn home  (ver.  28),  and  none  should  be  left  in 
Egypt  who  could  take  the  name  of  Jehovah  for 
an  oath  on  his  lips  (ver.  26)  ?  In  the  first  place 
it  may  here  be  mentioned,  that  it  is  a  matter  of 
indifference  to  this  question,  whether  Nebuchad- 
nezzar really  came  to  Egypt  and  fulfilled  the  pro- 
phecy in  xliii.  8-14,  or  not.  I  leave  entirely  out 
of  account  the  fabulous  record  of  Megasthenes 
(in  Strabo,  XVI.,  p.  687,  a;  Joseph.,  Antiqq., 
X..  11,  1;  c.  Ap.,  I.,  20),  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
subjugated  not  only  Egypt,  but  also  Lybia  and 
Iberia,  and  came  to  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  yea 
even  to  Thrace  and  the  Pontus  (comp.  Haever- 
NiCK,  Comm.  on  Ezek.,  S.  496  sqq.,  and  the  nar- 
ratives confirming  the  conquest  of  Egypt  in  Ara- 
bian authors:  Abulfeda,  Hist.  ante-Islam,  p.  102. 
Fleischer,  Ahdollatif,  Rel.  de  V Eijijp.,  p.  184, 
247;  ed.  ue  Sacy).  But  Josephus,  as  is  well 
known,  relates  also  f^Antiqq.,%.,  9,  71  that  Nebu- 
chadnezzar in  the  fifth  year  after  the  capture  of 
Jerusalem  himself  led  an  army  to  Coelo-Syria, 
and  after  the  conquest)of  this  country,  made  war 
also  on  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites,  and  inva- 
ded Egypt.  On  this  occasion  he  killed  the  king 
then  reigning  in  Egypt,  set  up  another  in  his 
stead,  and  again  led  Jews  away  captive  to  Baby- 
lonia. Now  if  whatever  in  this  account  relates 
to  the  Egyptian  king  be  decidedly  erroneous 
(Comp.  M.  NiEBUHR,  Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  215,  Anm. 
3),  it  is,  however,  still  possible  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, during  the  thirteen  years  siege  or  block- 
ade of  Tyre,  which  began  directly  after  the  con- 
quest of  Jerusalem,  had  the  desire  and  the  leisure 
to  make  an  expedition  through  Coelo-Syria  and 
the  East-Jordanic  countries  to  Egypt.  It  would 
make  no  essential  difference  if  he  entrusted  this 
expedition  to  one  of  his  generals.  The  prophecy 
in  xliii.  8-14,  may  then  have  been  fulfilled. 
Captive  Jews  and  Egyptians  may  also  have  been 
really  carried  away  on  this  occasion.  Comp.  lii. 
30;  M.  NiEBUHR,  S.  215,  el  passim.  But,  as  we 
have  said,  the  question,  what  happened  to  the 
Jews  still  living  in  Egypt  B.  C,  570,  is  not  affected 
by  an  expedition  of  the  Chaldeans  to  Egypt  ten 
or  twalve  years  earlier. 

It  is  surprising  that  in  oh.  xliv.  the  extermina- 
tion of  the  Jews  living  in  Egypt  is  so  definitely 
prophesied,  while  some  centuries  later  we  find 
the  Jew,s  in  Egypt  very  numerous,  and  Egypt  a 
centre  of  the  Jewish  diaspora  (comp.  Herzog, 
R.-Enc,  XVII.  5.  285.)  Alexander  the  Greatfinds 
so  many  Jews  in  Egypt,  that  he  peoples  the  city 
founded  by  him,  and  named  after  him,  chiefly 
with  them  (comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  I.,  S.  235). 
How  did  these  Jews  come  into  Egypt?  Till  the 
time  of  Nehcmiah  (about  B.C.,  444),  Judea  was 
so  tliinly  populated,  tluit  it  certainly  could  not 
afford  to  send  out  colonists.  Tlie  many  Persian 
expeditions  to  Egypt  (B.  C,  525,  484, '460,  458, 
873),  may  indeed  have  carried  many  single  Jews 
Y?ith  them.  The  same  may  also  be  said  of  the 
brief  occupation  of  Palestine  by  Taches,  king  of 
Egypt  (B.  C,  .361).  It  is  related  of  Oohus,  that 
in  liis  "xpedition,  undertaken  B.  C,  o50  for  tlie 
reconqu'-st  of  Egypt,  he  dragged  many  Jews  with 
him  to  Egypt.  It  is,  however,  added  that  he 
afterwards  took  part  of  them  back  to  Babylon, 
and  part  of  them  he  banished  to  Ilyrcania. 
Comp.  Herzfkld,  Gesch.  d.  V.  Isr.,  etc.,  [History 


of  the  Israelitish  nation  from  the  completion  of 
the  Second  Temple  to  Simon  Maccabeus],  I.,  S. 
118.  It  is  recorded  of  Alexander  the  Great 
himself  that  on  his  expedition  to  Egypt  he  incor- 
porated many  Jews  and  Samaritans  in  his  army 
(comp.  Herzfeld,  S.  120,  el  pass.),  but  it  is 
scarcely  probable  that  he  left  all  these  warriors 
behind  in  Egypt.  When  in  Babylon,  he  wished 
to  rebuild  the  temple  of  Belus,  he  had  Jews  in 
his  army,  as  is  related  by  Hecatteus  in  Joseph., 
c.  Ap.,  I.,  22  (p.  1186  sqq.,  ed.  Obertuuer). 
Whence  then  the  great  number  of  Jews  that 
Alexander  found  ali'eady  in  Egypt  ?  I  believe 
we  must  seek  them  for  the  most  part  in  the  de- 
scendants of  those  who  immigrated  with  Jere- 
miah. But  then  the  prophecy  was  not  fulfilled. 
May  we  not  assume  that  the  idolatrous  practices 
ceased  among  the  exiled  Jews  in  Egypt,  as  well 
as  among  those  in  Babylon?  And  if  this  was  the 
case,  how  can  it  be  a  question,  what  turning- 
point  we  must  suppose  between  the  idolatrous 
period,  in  which  we  still  see  them  in  Jer.  xliv., 
and  the  later  one  of  fidelity  to  Jehovah?  May 
not  the  powerful  words  of  tlie  aged  and  venerable 
Jeremiah,  and  the  literal  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
phecy uttered  by  him  respecting  the  king  (xliv. 
29,  30)  have  produced  an  overpowering  impres- 
sion on  their  minds?  According  to  tradition 
(HiERON.,  adv.  Jovin.,  2,  37  ;  Tertullian,  Scorp. 
8;  Epiphan.  -Kepi  tuv  Trpo(pT/T(i)P,  0pp.,  II.,  p. 
239)  Jeremiah  was  stoned  by  his  countrymen  in 
Tahpanhes.  But  this  legend  is  surely  without 
foundation.  If  they  stoned  him,  they  must  have 
done  it  after  the  discourse  in  ch.  xliv.,  which 
was  not  delivered  in  Tahpanhes  (xliv.  15).  It  is, 
however,  also  possible  that  the  idolatrous  inclina- 
tion in  them,  as  in  their  countrymen  in  Baby- 
lonia, was  now  exhausted,  and  that  the  Lord  in 
view  of  their  repentance,  repented  Him  of  the  evil, 
which  He  had  spoken  against  them  (xxvi.  13,  18). 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  "  Obfirment  animum  suum  ministri  ecclesise 
hujus  capitis  meditatione,  ne  pertinacia  auditorum  te 
territuri  patiantur,  sed  ut  potius  dehorlando,  ob- 
jurgando,  comminando  intrepide  instenl  ex  prsecepto 
apostoli  2  Tim.  iv.  2."  Forster. 

2.  On  xliv.  2-13.  A  mirror  of  the  stubborn 
heart  of  man  !  For  centuries  unceasingly  warned 
by  the  prophets — and  how  warned!  Not  by 
sentimental  talk,  but  by  words  of  thunder  and 
strokes  of  po\ver, — think  only  of  Elijah,  Elisha, 
Hosea,  Isaiah,  etc.! — yet  Judah  bowed  not  his 
stubborn  neck.  Then  at  last  when  long-suffer- 
ing love  was  exhausted,  the  judgment  of  just  love 
was  executed.  And  yet  in  the  wretched  remnant 
flie  old  root  of  unbelief  and  disobedience  remains 
still  unbroken. 

3.  On  xliv.  9.  "Though  thou  shouldest  bray  a 
fool  in  a  mortar  with  a  pestle  as  vetches,  yet 
will  his  foolishness  not  depart  from  him  (Prov. 
xxvii.  22).  And  he  that  sings  songs  to  a  heavy 
lieart,  it  is  like  a  torn  garment  in  winter,  and 
vinegar  on  nitre  (Prov.  xxv.  20)."  Cramer. 

4.  On  xliv.  15.  '■'■  Hoc  loco  imaginnn  quandam 
conipicere  licet  seditionis,  de  qua  Elhnicus :  hv  r^ 
arnaei  iraaa  Jrfea  kukov  Eveariv, — itemque  con/usionis 
plus  quam  cyclopicse,  de  qua  notum  est  illud  tritum: 
oix'ieiQ  ovSevbc  ovdev  aKovec."   Forster. 


CHAP.  XLIV.  24-30. 


351 


5.  Onxliv.  16.  "Ungodliness continually  extends 
and  even  goes  beyond  itself.  In  the  foregoing 
chapter  they  wish  it  to  be  considered  as  having  to 
do  only  with  Jeremiah's  private  person,  but  now 
they  are  become  bolder  so  that  they  contradict  him 
oflBcially  and  thus  God  Himself,  not  considering 
that  they  know  what  he  says  to  be  spoken  not  on 
his  own,  but  on  God's  account,  which  is  a  great 
blasphemy  of  God."  Cramer. 

6.  On  xliv.  17.  "  The  ungodly  are  blind.  For 
they  ascribe  all  their  good  fortune  to  their  idola- 
try. When,  however,  a  misfortune  comes  God 
and  His  word  must  be  to  blame,  and  they  say  :  It 
is  vain  to  serve  God  (Mai.  iii.  14).  The  charge 
of  the  Papists  is  used  again  now-a-days.  when 
times  are  dear  and  the  country  suffers  such  like 
chastisements,  that  it  is  the  fault  of  the  Gospel: 
since  on  the  other  liand  their  mass  is  regarded 
as  a  regular  Egyptian  Meleket,  by  whicli  they 
think  to  obtain  temporal  and  eternal  blessings 
both  for  the  living  and  the  dead."  Cramer. 

7.  Onxliv.  17.  "  iVbra  ovum  ovo  tarn  simile  est 
atque  huic  Judseorum  orationi  nostrorum  hominum 
vox  contendentium,  sub  papatu  aureum  fuisse  ssecii- 
lum,  cum  (amen  contrarium  testentur  historiie  de 
hellis,  peste  et  fame  in  papatu, prsesertimea,  quse  in- 
cidit  in  annum  Christi  1815,  quo  tempore , fere  tertia 
pars  Germanise  partim  fame,  partim  peste  eztincta. 
Hinc  versus :    Ut  lateat  nullum  tempus  famis,  ecce 

CUCUllum."    FORSTER. 

8.  On  xliv.  17.  "Hon  mirum,  quod  urbes  peste 
vexentur,  cum  ^sculapius  et  Dii  ab  lis  procul  ab- 
sint,  nam  ex  quo  Jesus  colitur,  nihil  jam  utiUtatis  a 
Diis  consequimur .  Porphyrius."  MS.  note  in  my 
copy  of  Cramer's  Bible. 

9.  On  xliv.  19.  "There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
inconstant,  frivolous  women  were  the  first  to  be 
seduced  into  idolatry,  as  Eve  (2  Cor.  xi.  3). 
Wlien  these  are  taken  captive,  he  then  proceeds 
farther,  and  knows  how  to  bring  in  the  Adam 
also.  Therefore  keep  the  doors  of  thy  mouth 
from  her  that  lieth  in  thy  bosom  (Mic.  vii.  5)." 
Cramer. 

10.  On  xliv.  19.  "  The  harmony  and  com- 
plaisance of  married  people  is  never  more  easily 
secured  than  when  it  is  against  the  Lord,  and  it 
is  nothing  unusual  for  domestic  peace  to  be  ad- 
duced as  the  cause  of  a  lack  of  zeal  in  religion. 
It  is  an  ancient  custom ;  Ahab,  Ahaziah  and  Solo- 
mon only  followed  Adam.  The  wife  had  to  be 
deceived  by  a  subtle  serpent ;  the  man  was  bound 
to  keep  peace  in  the  family ;  she  gave  him  and  he 
ate."  Zinzendorf. 

11.  On  xliv.  20.  "God  remembers  the  good 
and  the  evil;  the  good  that  He  may  reward  it, 


the  evil  that  He  may  punish  it."  Cramer.  ["God 
will  have  the  last  word.  The  prophets  may  be 
run  down,  but  God  cannot."   Henry. — S.  R.  A  ] 

12.  On  xliv.  26.  "This  is  the  severest  punish- 
ment of  all,  that  God  takes  away  His  holy  name 
and  word,  as  He  says  in  Deut.  xxxii.  20:  I  will 
hide  my  face  from  them,  I  will  see  what  their  end 
shall  be.  And  this  is  the  famine,  not  of  bread, 
but  of  the  word  of  God  which  they  seek  and  yet 
do  not  find  (Am.  viii.  11)."  Cr.\mer. 

13.  On  xliv.  29,  30.  Between  Moses  and  Jere- 
miah, between  the  exodus  from  Egypt  and  the 
return  thither  of  the  remnant,  there  lies  a  period 
of  almost  a  thousand  years,  and  what  a  history  ! 
But  the  Pharaoh,  under  whom  Israel  made  the 
exodus,  Menephthes  (comp.  Lepsius  in  Herz., 
R.-Enc  ,  I.,  S.  146)  is  described  by  Herodotus  as 
an  arrogant  and  ungodly  man  (II.,  Ill),  just 
like  Hophra.  And  at  both  times  Israel  was  a 
poor  despised  heap  in  the  land  of  Egypt.  But 
the  heathen  were  to  know  that  the  God  of  this 
despised  heap  is  the  only  true  God,  and  that  their 
idols  were  naught,  as  also  Nebuchadnezzar,  Bel- 
shazzar  and  Darius  the  Mede  had  also  to  leara 
(Dan.  ii.-vi.). 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xliv.  1-14.  The  holy  love  of  God:  1. 
long-suffering;  2.  just. 

2.  On  xliv.  9-14.  How  ruinous  aicourse  it  is  to 
forget  the  chastisements  -of  the  Lord.  This  will 
be  shown,  if  we  ponder  that  this   forgetfulness 

1.  implies  chastisement  already  suffered,  2.  proves 
its  want  of  good  results,  3.  calls  forth  severer 
chastisements  from  God. 

3.  On  xliv.  15-18.  The  utmost  alienation  of  a 
people  from  their  God,  shown  in  the  example  of 
the  Jews  in  Egypt.  1.  They  place  the  benefits 
received  to  the  account  of  their  idols.  2.  The 
evils  suffered  they  place  to  the  account  of  the 
Lord.  3.  They  renounce  their  obedience  to  the 
Lord.    4.  They  vow  their  service  to  their  idols. 

4.  On  xliv.  26,  27.  The  severest  punishment 
which  the  Lord  can  bring  upon  a  people,  who 
have  hitherto  served  Him.  1.  It  consists  in  this, 
that  the  Lord  removes  the  candlestick  of  His 
word  from  among  this  people,  i.  e.  that  by  de- 
priving them  of  the  means  of  grace.  He  brings 
Himself  into   forgetfulness    among   the  people. 

2.  It  is  founded  in  this,  that  this  people  on  their 
part  have  striven  to  forget  the  Lord.  3.  It  has 
the  effect,  that  this  people  is  given  up  to  the 
powers  of  evil  to  their  .complete  destruction. 


868 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Appendix  to  the  Prophecies  Relating  to  the  Entire  Theocracy. 

THE  PBOMISE  GIVEN  TO  BARUCH  (CHAP.  XLV). 

While  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  according  to  ch.  xxxvi.,  Jeremiah  was  dictating  to  his  true  friend 
and  servant,  Baruch,  the  revelations  hitherto  received,  the  latter  appears  to  have  been  quite  overpow- 
ered by  a  feeling  of  derp  sorrow  -and miguish.  Then  Jeremiah  receives  a  commission  to  address  to  him 
some  ivords  of  consolation.  This  brief  uddress  doubtless  formed  the  conclusion  of  the  whole,  of  the 
original  writing  of  which  an  account  is  given  in  ch.  xxxvi.  For  it  is  incredible  that  Baruch  was 
overcome  with  grief  when  he  hadivritten  the  prophecies  against  the  heathen,  so  far  as  these  were  extant 
in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  in  their  original  position  after  cli.  xxv.  and  before  cb.  xxvii.  [comp. 
rems.  o«  xxv.  12-14  and  the  Introd.  to  chh.  xlvi.-li.)  ;  these  being  of  relatively  consolatory  import 
to  the  Israelites  [comp.  especially  xlix.  1  sqq.).  But  when  he  could  survey  at  a  glance  the  entirety 
of  the  threatening  words  pronounced  against  the  theocracy,  this  may  have  been   the   moment  when   he 

broke  outnnto  the  utterance  .recorded  in  xlv.  3,     The  word  )2r}22,  ver.  1,  is  not  opposed  to  this.     For 

it  is  not  necessary  to  take  the  prefix  in  the  sense  of  "  whilst."  It  merely  expresses  that  Baruch  received 
the  revelation  at  a  time  -when  he  was  at  loork  as  an  amanuensis,  neither  before  nor  after  ;  but  does  not 
determine  tvhether  he  received  k  at  the  beginning,  in  the  midst,  or  at  the  end  of  this  time.  Even  when 
the  prophet  had  dictated  to  him  his  last  words  his  work  was  not  done  :  he  had  still  to  look  over  and 
revise  what  he  had  written.  It  is  therefore  not  credible,  that  the  great  main  work  was  interrupted  by 
this  perso7tal  communication.  The  present  chapter  is  thus  an  appendix  to  the  entire  collection  of  Jere- 
miah''s  prophecies.  Its  position  at  the  close  corresponds  to  the  dignity  and  importance  of  Baruch,  who 
as  the  faithful  friend  and  amanuensis  of  the  prophet  was  closely  connected  with  the  book  as  a  whole, 
while  Ebed-melech,  for  whom  a  similar  word  of  promise  is  found  in  xxxix.  15-18,  came  into  contact 
with  Jeremiah  only  at  a  single  epoch.  The  revelation  concerning  him  was  therefore  inserted  at  the 
corresponding  place  in  the  narrative. 

XLV.  1-5. 

1  The  word  that  Jeremiah  the  prophet  spake  unto  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah, 
when  he  had  written  [was  writing]  these  words  in  a  book  at  the  mouth  of  Jere- 
miah, in.  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  the  son  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  saying, 

2,  3  Thus  saith  the  Lord  [Jehovah],  the  God  of  Israel,  unto  thee,'  O  Baruch :  Thou 
didst  say,  Woe  is  me  now !  for  the  Lord  hath  added  grief  to  my  sorrow ;  I  fainted 

4  [am  weary]'  in  my  sighing,  and  I  find  no  rest  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  him. 
The  Lord  saith  thus  :  Behold,  that  which  I  have  built  will  I  break  down,  and  that 

5  which  I  have  planted  I  will  pluck  up,  even  this  whole  land.'  And  seekest  thou 
great  things  for  thyself?  seek  them  not :  for,  behold,  I  will  bring  evil  upon  all  flesh, 
saith  the  Lord  ;  but  thy  life  will  I  give  unto  thee  for  a  prey  in  all  places  whither 
thou  goest. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2.— On  bv  in  'ViV  comp.  rems.  on  x.  1. 

'   ■.•  T 
*  Ver.  3. — The  verb  ^y  is  found  besides  in  Jeremiah  only  in  li.  58. 

"T 

3  Ver.  4. — As  to  the  construction  liere,  many  are  of  opinion  that  the  article  is  wanting  before  X'Tl.  *8  ex.  gr.  Gen.  xxxii. 
23.  But  we  should  then  have  nXt-  Others  would  take  r\X  in  the  emasculated  sense,  in  which  it  "  approaches  to  "  7=in 
respect  to,  as  to  (Ewald,  g  277,  d).  But  in  the  connection  of  this  passage  nX  appears  plainly  as  the  sign  of  the  accusative, 
governed  by  the  preceding  transitive  verb.  I  therefore  think  that  KTI  is  used  here  simply  with  an  emphatic  significance, 
which  we  may  express  by  inserting  the  word  "  even :"  even  the  whole  land,  even  this !  Comp.  Num.  xviii.  23  ;  Isa.  vii.  14. 
This  is  also  the  case  with  N^n  after  a  personal  pronoun :  NIPI  '3JX  ^3JX,  Isa.  xliii.  25  ;  Jer.  xlix.  12,  etc. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  when  Baruch, 
the  son  of  Neriah,  was  writing  out  the  prophe- 
cies of  Jeremiah  at  his  tlictation  (vers.  1  and  2), 
the  proclamation  is  made  to  him,  in   answer  to 


his  expression  of  sorrow  (ver.  3)  :  that  the  Lord 
is  intending  to  desolate  the  whole  land  (ver.  4), 
but  he,  Baruch,  without  laying  claim  to  greater 
things,  should  accept,  as  a  reward  of  distin- 
guished grace,  that  whither.><oever  lie  might  be 
cast,  he  should  everywhere  escape  with  his  life 
(ver.  6). 


CHAP.  XLV.   1-&. 


359 


Vers.  1-3.    The  word  .  .  .  find   no   rest. 

After  Baruch  (comp.  rems.  on  xxxii.  12)  had 
finished  writing  what  was  dictated  to  him,  Jere- 
miah receives  the  command  to  address  a  pro- 
phecy to  him,  concerning  only  his  own  person. 
— Baruch  was  evidently  powerfully  affected  by 
the  total  impression  made  by  the  prophecies 
upon  him  (comp.  rems.  on  xxxvi.  1,  16).  In  ad- 
dition to  the  sorrow,  which  he  must  have  felt 
with  every  other  Israelite,  at  the  present  dis- 
turbed condition  of  his  native  land,  was  the 
anxiety  for  the  future,  which  had  been  awakened 
by  the  minatory  predictions  he  had  heard. — 
Grief  Comp.  viii.  18  ;  xx.  18  ;  xxxi.  18. — I 
faint.     The  same  thought  as  in  Lam.  v.  5. 

Vers.  4,  5.  Thus  shalt  thou  .  .  .  thou 
goesL  Two  things  are  involved  in  these  words  : 
1.  Although  the  theocracy  is  the  Lord's  creation, 
it  is  yet  His  fixed  determination  to  destroy  His 
work.  With  respect  to  the  expression,  comp. 
i.  10 ;  xviii.  7,  9  ;  xxxi.  28. — Even  this  whole 
land.  If  we  compare  xxv.  15-26,  we  shall  per- 
ceive that  this  determination  to  destroy  is  to  be 
understood  in  a  twofold  degree,  and  accordingly 
I'lX  is  to  be  taken  in  the  double  sense  of  land 
and  earth.  The  whole  earth  and  the  existence 
of  all  nations  upon  it  is  the  Lord's  work,  but  the 
Lord  will  cause  His  judgment  to  issue  on  all 
this,  His  work.  But  Israel's  land  and  people  is 
especially  His  sanctuary,  the  first  fruits  of  His 
increase  (ii.  3),  His  precious  inheritance  (iii.  19; 
Ezek.  XX.  6,  15),  and  of  course  Baruch's  sorrow 
relates  above  all  to  the  ruin  threatening  his  own, 
the  chosen  nation.  It  is  thus  declared  by  the 
words,  "this  whole  land,"  that  it  is  not  a  partial 
visitation,  but  a  total  devastation  of  the  country, 
which  is  impending. — 2.  If  now  the  whole  (comp. 
xii.  12  ;  xxv.  31)  is  under  sentence  of  total  de- 
struction, no  single  individual  can  claim  a  high 
degree  of  positive  earthly  prosperity.  Even  the 
best  must  be  content,  if  only  mere  earthly  ex- 
istence, bare  life,  is  guaranteed  him.  This  is 
done  here  with  respect  to  Baruch.  Thus  a  mea- 
sure is  given  of  the  degree  and  extent  of  the 
calamity  relating  to  the  whole.  Comp.  xxi.  9  ; 
xxxviii.  2,  17. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  Baruch  did  not  act  as  secretary  for  hire  but 
for  love.  He  esteemed  it  an  honor  and  a  happi- 
ness, that  by  his  skill  he  could  serve  the  Lord, 
to  whom  he  owed  it.  Therefore  a  glorious  re- 
ward is  imparted  to  him  unsought,  so  that  his 
name  and  remembrance  are  immortalized  in  the 
sacred  record  by  an  oracle  addressed  specially 
to  him.  This  honor  is  to  be  esteemed  still  higher 
than  the  assurance,  that  this  wretched  mortal 
life  should  not  be  taken  by  violence  before  its 
time. 


2.  On  xlv.  3.  "  Non  Sloicos  nosesse  eonvenit,  qui 
aTvd&ELav  commendare  atque  asserere  soliti,  qualis 
etiam  fuit  Munzerus  ejusque progenies  Anabaptistse." 

FORSTER. 

3  On  xlv.  4.  Compare  the  remarks  on  vii.  4. 
There  is  no  delusion  more  ruinous  than  to  sup- 
pose that  the  Lord  cannot  destroy  His  own  work 
again.  The  destruction  will  certainly  only  come 
upon  the  bad.  But  it  is  the  bad  on  the  earth, 
among  the  chosen  people,  in  the  church  and  on 
the  throne,  who  imagine  themselves  to  be  secure, 
in  spite  of  their  badness,  by  the  fact  of  the 
divine-  appointment  or  choice,  whereby  tiiey  raake 
God  the  servant  of  sin.  God  has  created  the 
earth.  He  will  destroy  it  by  fire.  But  a  new 
earth  and  a  new  heaven  will  proceed  from  the 
conflagration.  He  has  thrown  down  the  holy 
city  and  temple  and  scattered  the  people  of  Is- 
rael. But  the  'lapayX  Kara  TrvevfiatatiU.  lives  and 
will  one  day  permeate  the  'lapatj'A  Kara'CapKa  with 
new  life  again  (Rom.  xi.).  The  Christian  Church 
in  the  East  has  been  devastated  by  Islam,  and 
what  guarantee  then  have  Rome,  Geneva  and 
Wittenberg  that  it  will  not  be  with  them  as  with 
.Jerusalem?  Princes  too  are  not  to  understand 
the  divine  right  of  legitimacy  as  that  God  cm 
appoint  princes  but  cannot_  depose  them.  Yet 
even  if  all  present  Christian  chuicheswere  to  be 
destroyed  and  all  thrones  overthrown,  neither 
the  Church  of  the  Lord  would  cease  to  be,  nor 
the  magistracy,  which  is  ordained  of  God -(Matt, 
xvi.;   Rom.  xiii.). 

4.  On  xlv.  5.  ^'■Felices  frustra  nobis  promittimus 
nnnos  semper  enim  curse  trislitiseque premunt."  Quo- 
tation by  FoRSTER. 

5.  On  xlv.  5.  Endeavor  not  after  high  things. 
Is  it  then  not  a  great  thing  in  this  world,  laden 
as  it  is  with  a  curse  (Gen.  iii.  17-19),  if  one  has 
sustenance  and  clothing?  (1  Tim.  vi.  8).  And  is 
it  not  the  greatest  thing  of  all,  if  one  knows  that 
his  soul  is  saved  in  heaven,  even  if  he  must  take 
the  place  there,  with  which  the  prodigal  son 
would  have  been  content  in  his  father's  house  ? 
(Luke  XV.). 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1,  On  xlv.  2-5.  A  word  of  consolation  and  ex- 
hortation for  all  the  tried  children  of  God.  1. 
Let  no  one  be  surprised  at  the  heat,  which  he 
encounters,  as  though  something  strange  had 
happened  to  him.  2.  Let  every  one  be  satisfied 
with  the  one  thing  needful:  (a)  for  his  body, 
(6)  for  his  spirit. 

2.  On  xlv.  4.  God's  own  institutions.  We  must 
distinguish  in  these:  1.  the  temporary  form 
(not  secured  against  decay  and  outward  ruin); 
2.  the  everlasting  kernel  (this  is  indestructible 
and  bears  in  itself  the  guarantee  of  eternal  du- 
ration and  ever  more  glorious  development). 


860  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


ni.  SECOND   MAIN   DIVISION. 

The  Prophecies  Against  Foreign  Nations. 
(Chapp.  XLVL— LI.) 

The  propheis  of  j.srael  could  not  avoid  bringing  the  heathen  nations  also  within  the  sphere  of  their  predic- 
tions. They  were  compelled  to  this,  partly  even  from  tk.ir  theocratic  and  particularistic  point  of  view, 
in  so  far  as  the  interests  of  the  theocracy  were  essentially  affected  by  the  standing  or  falling  of  their 
heathen  neighbors,  and  partly  in  a  general  view,  as  they  represented  the  idea  of  the  all-embracing  divine 
love  and providenee.  Hence  loe  find  declarations  concerning  heathen  nations  in  most  of  the  prophetic 
books.  We  find  these  prophecies  relating  to  heathen  nations,  comprising  larger  groups,  in  Isaiah, 
cbh.  xiii.-xxiii.,  in  Ezekiel  chh.  xxv.-xxxii.,  and  here  also  in  Jeremiah  xlvi.-li. 

The  main  trunk  of  these  prophecies  is  formed  by  a  Sepher,  which  according  to  its  principal  part,  owes  its 
origin  to  the  period  immediately  before  the  battle  of  Carchemish  [comp.  rems.  on  xlvi.  2).  As  Amos 
makes  his  way  through  a  cycle  of  seven  tiations  toJiis  main  goal,  the  kingdom  of  Israel  (i.  3 — ii.  5), 
and\ps  Ezekiel  predicts  a  judgment  onsevennadons,  so  our  Sepher  also  contains  declarations  against  seven 
jnations:  Egypt,  Philistia,  3Ioab,  Amman,  Edom,  Damascus,  and  Elam.  This  arrangement  is  evi- 
dently intentional ;  proceeding  from  Egypt  the  prophet  advances  to  the  Philistines ;  from  these  he 
springs  across  to  their  eastern  neighboTS  and  concludes  with  Elam,  as  representing  the  distant  East  and 
North.  It  is  evident  that  these  seven  utterances  form  the  main  trunktof  the  Sepher  against  the  nations, 
from  two  circumstances.  First,  that  in  none  of  them  is  Nebuchadnezzar  or  the  Chaldeans  mentioned. 
This  is  the  certain  and  constantly  observed  sign  of  composition  before  llie  battle  of  Carchemish.  Sec- 
ondly, that  five  of  them  (or  six,  comp.  infra,  rems.  on  xlix.  34-39)  have  a  similar  commencement,  viz. 

W'ViTjl,  3N1D  7,  etc.  This  grammatical  form  is  closely  connected  with  the  common  superscription. 
The  Tvord  of  Jehovah  vyhich  came  to  Jeremiah  against  the  nations,  xlvi.  1. 
The  prefix  i,  viz.  expresses  the  comprehension  of  the  following  special  prophecies  under  this  general 
title  [comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  112,  5,  b).     On  this  point,  however,  two  things  are  to  be  remarked, 

1.  The  prophecy  against  the  Philistines  (ch.  xlvii.)  bears  a  superscriptio7i  according  to  a  different  for- 
mula, and  provided  with  a  special  date.  We  shall  show,  on  xlvii.  1,  that  this  prophecy  is  older  than 
the  six  others  of  the  Sepher  against  the  Nations,  that  it  is  indeed  the  oldest  of  all  the  prophecies  of 
Jeremiah  against  heathen  nations.  It  was  therefore  already  extant,  when  the  Sepher  was  formed,  and 
was  therefore  included  in  it,  fust  as  it  was.  2.  The  prophecy  against  Elam  (xlix.  34-38)  likewise 
bears  a  title  differing  both  inform  and  purport,  by  tvhich  the  utterance  is  assigned  to  the  fourth  gear 
of  Zedekiah.  With  this  superscription  the  case  is  quite  peculiar.  In  the  LXX.,  viz.  ch.  xxv.  con- 
tinues after  ver.  13:  "A  tnpo<p>jTEvaev  'lepEjuiag  em  to.  E't^vTf  tci  AIMju.  Hereupon  follows  the  pro- 
phecg  which  we  read  in  the  Hebrew  text  xlix.  35-38.  At  the  close  of  this,  however,  we  find  the 
words  :  'Ev  apxv  paaikehovToq  "LedeKLOV  jiaaiMug  kyevero  6  ?i6yog  ovrog  Tiepl  AlXdp.  The  prophecy 
against  Elam  in  tlie  LXX.  thus  has  a  superscription  and  a  postscript,  which  is   unexampled  in  Jere- 

*miah.  Now,  however,  the  double  circumstance  comes  in,  that  in  t/ie  LXX.  the  superscription  of  ch. 
xxvii.  is  wanting,  the  same  which  in  the  Hebrew  text  contains  the  evidently  and  admittedly  false  name 
Jehoiakim,  and  that  in  the  Hebrew  text  the  prophecy  against  Elam  is  in  xlix.  34  assigned  to  the  fourth 
year  of  Zedekiah,  though  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  Chaldeans  are  not  mentioned,  as  they  usually  are 
in  prophecies  subsequent  to  the  battle  of  Carchemish.     From  this  stale  of  the  case  I  draw  the  following 

conclusions:  1.  The  prophecy  against  Elam  must  originally  have  had  the  superscription  D ''J^./,  in  con- 
formity lo  the  superscriptions  of  the  prophecies  against  Egypt  I.,  Moab,  Ammon,  Edom  and  Damascus. 
For  only  thus  is  the  abrupt  to.  A'M/i  in  the  superscription  of  the  prophecy  in  the  LXX.  explicable. 
The  article  to.  proceeds  from  the  circumstance  that  they  connected  Al/Mp  grammatically  with  ra  Mw/, 
to  which  neither  grammar  nor  criticism  give  any  justification,  for  they  arbitrarily  separated  "lEfX 

CUri'Sj?  n"'  N3J.  xxv.  13,  from  the  previous  context,  and  made  it  the  superscription,  then  arbitra- 
rily placed  oV^S  as  if  in  apposition  to  D'ijn,  and  finally,  with  equal  arbitrariness,  transposed  the 
whole  prophecy  hither,  for  it  stood  originally  in  another  place.      From  the  postscript,  viz.  we  see  that 

2.  the  prophecy  must  originally  have  stood,  as  it  still  does  in  the  Hebrew  text,  at  the  close  of  the 
Sepher  against. the  nations,  hut  immediately  before  ch.  xxvii.,  this  postscript  being  evidently  no  other 
than  the  first  verse  of  ch.  xxvii.  [modified  according  to  circumstances),  which  is  entirely  wanting  in  the 
LXX.,  and  in  the  Hebrew  contains  the  wrong  name  of  a  king.  How  did  this  prophecy  come  by  a  post- 
icript,  since  no  other  prophecy  in  Jeremiah  has  such  an  one  ?  Whence  came  it  that  xxvii.  1  is  entirely 
wanting  in  the  LXX.?  To  say  nothing  of  the  circumstance,  that  the  date  iv  apxv  jiaailevovTog  "LeSeKiov 
in  the  prophecy  against  Elam  is  as  incorrect  as  xxvii.  1  is  undoubtedly  alone  correct  [comp.  rems.  on' 
xxvii.  1  ami  xlix.  34).      But   how  now  does  verse  1  of  ch.  .xxvii.   come   to   be  the  postscript,  in  the 


CHAP.  XLVI.  2-12.  '661 


Hebreiu  the  superscription  to  the  prophecy  against  Elam  ?  Eoidentli/  the  prophecies  against  the  nations 
must  once  have  had  their  place  after  ch.  xxv.  and  before  ch.  xxvii.  1.  Theg  were,  however,  taken 
away  from  this  place,  and  xxvii.  1  went  ivith  them,  whether  it  was  that  it  was  really  taken  for  the 
postscript  of  the  prophecy,  or  by  an  unintentional  error.  If  this  view  is  correct  it  is  thus  determined 
that  the  Sepher  against  the  nations  then  concluded  with  the  prophecy  against  Elam.  Whether  the  sub- 
sequently added  prophecies  against  Egypt  If.,  against  the  Arabians  and  against  Babylon  were  then 
incorporated  in  the  Sepher  cannot  be  ascertained.  Where,  however,  did  the  Sepher  begin,  or  rather  on 
what  portion  of  our  book  did  it  follow?  Chapter  xxv.  cannot  have  preceded  it,  for  it  is  quite  out  of 
the  question,  that  it  can  ever  have  had  place  between  chh.  xxvi.  and  xxvii.  Since  that  detached  verse 
(xxvii.  1)  is  found  at  the  close,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  prophecy  against  Elam,  and  not  at  the  close 
of  the  passage  xxv.  15-38,  it  necessarily  follows  that  this  passage  did  not  follow,  but  preceded  the 
Sepher  against  the  nations.  Thus  the  Sepher  cannot  have  been  attached  to  xxv.  14,  13  or  12.  It 
can,  therefore,  have  had  its  place  only  between  xxvii.  1  and  xxv.  38.  Both  the  present  form  of  the 
text  in  the  LXX.,  and  the  purport  of  xxv.  13  b,  show  that  it  must  have  been  placed  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  this  verse.  For  what  reason?  The  verses  12,  13  and  14  of  ch.  xxv.,  are  directed 
against  Babylon.  They  treat  of  the  ruin  of  Babylon  with  an  emphasis  and  a  detail,  which  do  not  cor- 
respond at  all  to  the  historical  fact  to  which  ch.  xxv.  owes  ils  origin.  The  first  half  o/xxv.  1^ 
decidedly  presupposes  the  prophecy  against  Babylon,  pertaining  to  the  fourth  year  of  Zedekiah  (comp. 
li.  59).  From  this  it  follows,  that  the  Sepher  against  the  nations  can  have  been  transposed  from  its  ori- 
ginal place  between  xxv.  38  and  xxvii.  1  to  that  before  xxv.  15,  07ily  with  the  prophecy  against  Baby- 
lon, therefore  after  its  becoming  kno wn.  We  shall  not  err  if  ice  suppose  that  the  ivords  in  xxv.  11,  "  and 
these  nations  shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  seventy  years,"  gave  occasion  both  to  the  more  extended 
portrayal  of  the  visitation  of  Babylon  only  implicitly,  intimated  as  zve  have  it  in  the  verses  xxv.  12-14, 
and  also  the  transposition  hither  of  the  Sepher  against  the  nations  now  extended  by  the  prophecy  against 
Babylon.  The  LXX.  version  flowed  from  a  recension  affording  this  form  of  the  text.  For  omitting 
ver.  14,  it  is  connected  with  ver.  13,  and  then  gives,  though  in  a  different  order  from  the  Masoretic 
text,  the  prophecies  against  the  nations  and  as  a  comprehensive  conclusion  follows  the  passage  xxv.  15- 
38  in  ch.  xxxii.  From  ch.  xxxiii.  onward  the  remaining  chapters  follow  in  the  same  order  as  in 
the  Masoretic  text,  only  that  a  chapter  is  not  devoted  to  the  prophecy  for  Baruch,  this  appearing  in  the 
LXX.  merely  as  the  conclusion  of  ch..  li.  Another  diaskenast  (who  it  was  it  would  be  impossible  to  de- 
termine) now  found  it  more  to  the  purpose  to  separate  the  prophecies  against  the  nations  from  the  pas- 
sages relating  to  the  theocracy.  And  thus  they  2vere  then,  tvithout  making  any  alteration  in  vers.  xxv. 
12-14,  transposed  to  the  place,  where  we  now  find  them  in  the  Masoretic  text. — The  prophecy  against 
Babylon  was,  however,  the  only  addition  to  the  original  Sepher  against  the  nations.  Two  neiv  portions 
were  inserted  at  appropriate  places  between  the  original  ones,  viz.:  1,  a  second  prophecy  against 
Egypt  (xlvi.  13-26)  which  expressly  mentions  the  name  Nebuchadnezzar,  xlvi.  13-26;  2.  a  prophecy 
against  the  northern  Arabian  kingdom  (xlix.  28-33),  in  which  at  any  rate  Nebuchadnezzar^ s  name  is 
mentioned  in  vers.  28  and  30.  The  insertion  of  the  second  prophecy  against  Egypt  after  the  first,  and 
that  against  the  Arabians  after  that  against  Damascus,  and  before  that  against  Elam,  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  other  than  appropriate. 

1.    THE  SUPERSCRIPTION. 

XLVI.  1. 

1  The  word  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  which  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet  against 
the  Gentiles  [The  Nations]. 

This  superscription  extends  over  the  whole  of  the  prophecies  here  brought  together  and  forming  a  *13D. 
It  thus  forms  the  heading  to  chh.  xlvi.-li.,  and  introduces  the  second  main  division  of  the  Book.  The  form 
is  the  same  as  in  xiv.  1  ;   xlvii.  1  ;   xlix.  34.      On  the  grammar,  comp.  rems.  on  xiv.  1 

2.    THE  FIRST  PROPHECY  AGAINST  EGYPT 

XLVL  2-12. 

2  Against  [concerning]  Egypt,  against  the  army  of  Pharaoh-necho  king  of  Egypt, 
which  was  by  the  river  Euphrates  in  Carchemish,  which  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of 
Babylon  smote  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim  the  son  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah. 

3  Prepare  ye  the  buckler  and  the  shield, 
And  move  ye  on  to  the  battle. 

4  Harness  the  horses,  and  mount  ye  horsemen, 
And  stand  forth  with  your  helmets. 
Furbish^  the  spears,  put  on  coats  of  mail.'' 

5  Why,  (as)  I  see,  are  they  dismayed — retreat? 
And  their  heroes  are  dashed  to  pieces ; 
They  flee  in  haste,  and  turn  not  again  ?* 
Fear  round  about  !*  saith  Jehovah. 


862  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH 


6  Let  not  the  swift  flee  away  ;* 
Nor  let  the  mighty  escape ! 

Northwards,  by  the  margin  of  the  river  Euphrates,  they  totter,  they  fall, 

7  Who  is  he  who  riseth  up  like  the  Nile, 
His  waters  roll  along  like  the  streams  ?® 

8  Egypt  riseth  up  like  the  Nile, 

His  watery  roll  along  lijie  the  streams ; 
And  he  said,  I  will  up,  cover  the  land, 
Destroy''  the  city  and  them  that  dwell  therein. 

9  Mount  ye^  the  horses,  and  rage,  ye  chariots; 
And  let  the  mighty  warriors  go  forth  : 
Cush  and  Phut,  who  handle  the  shield. 

And  Lydians,  that  handle  and  tread  the  bow.* 

10  And  that  d^y  is  a  day  of  vengeance  for  the  Lord,  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 
That  he  may  avenge  himself  on  his  enemies  ; 

And  the  sword  shall  devour'"  and  be  satiate," 
And  be  drunken  with  their  blood  : 
For  a  slain  offering  has  the  Lord,  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 
In  the  land  of  the  North  by  the  river  Euphrates. 

11  Go  up  towards  Gilead  and  fetch  balm.  Virgin  daugnter  of  Egypt!" 
In  vain  takest  thou  many  medicines ; 

There  is  no  plaster''  for  thee. 

12  Nations  hear  of  thy  shame, 

And  with  thy  crying  the  earth  is  filled , 
For  one  warrior  threw  down  another. 
They  are  both  of  them  fallen  together' 


u 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  ver.  4.— pID-    Comp.  Lev.  vi.  21 ;  2  Chron.  iv.  16.    The  meaning  is  to  clean,  polish  by  rubbing. 

2  Ver.  4.— I'VID  only  here  and  in  li.  3,  for  iV^^'d■ 

s  Ver.  5.— in3\  Comp.  Mic.  i.  7;  Job  iv.  20  ;  Olsh.,  ?  261.— ID  J  D1JD.  Comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  36;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  93,  d. 
jinm,.—)}2n  Hiph.  in  direct  causative  signification— make  a  turn.  Comp.  ver.  21 ;  xlvii.  3 ;  xlix.  24 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g 
18  3 

'   *  Ver.  5.— J'^Dn  "lUO-     Comp.  vi.  25;  xx.  3,  10  ;  xlix.  29. 

6  Ver.  6. — Diy  "bX-  If  it  were  not  the  unabbreviated  form,  the  words  might  be  taken  as  the  divine  command.  As  it  is 
Sx  must  be  taken  in  the  feebler  sense  x'?.     Comp.  2  Kings  vi.  27  ;  Ps.  xxxiv.  6  ;  xli.  3  ;  Job  v.  22,  etc. 

6  Ver.  7. — "liX^,  a  word  of  Egyptian  origin,  signifies  as  an  appellative  "  ditch,  canal,"  Isa.  xxxiii.  21 ;  Job  xxviii.  10,  as 

a  proper  name  the  Nile  only,  Am.  viii.  8  ;  ix.  5  :  Isa.  xix.  8 ;  xxiii.  10,  e<c.— J^nnj  is  also  an  Egyptian  reminiscence,  in  so 

far  as  it  is  >ised  of  the  arms  or  canals  of  the  Nile,  Exod.  vii.  19  ;  viii.  1 ;  Ezek.  xxxii.  2,  14. 

'  Ver.  8.— nTDX,  comp.  Gesen.,  ^  US,  2,  Anm.  1  :  Olstl,  ^  2.37  b.—')  T'j;.    Comp.  viii.  16;  xlvii.  2. 

8  Ver.  9. — 3inn,  vocative.    Comj).  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  71,  5,  Anm.  4. 

9  Yer.  9.— On'ntyp  "'Dl'l  ''ti^3h.   Comp.  nir^p  "'D'II   "'ptl/j,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  9;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  63,  4,  e. 

10  Ver.  10. ^1 J1  ri/DXI.     As  was  remarked  on  ver.  1,  these  perfects  with  the  Van  conversive  can  be  taken  in  a  future 

sense  only.     Notliing  in  tlie  context  transposes  us  into  the  past.     All  previous  verbs  relate  to  the  future,  and  if  the  day  were 

to  be  designated  as  past  this  would  have  to  be  done  either  disertis  verbis,  or  by  IDXHI-     Except  on  a  false  interpretation 

of  ver.  2,  we  obtain  the  impression  from  vers.  7-9  that  it  is  the  future  which  is  being  described,  and  if  the  day  (ver.  10)  is  re- 
cognized as  future,  the  following  verbs  can  only  bcs  so  rendered.     Comj).  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  84,  o. 

"  Ver.  10.— qjl    n^Ot^l-     Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  5  sqa. 

12  Ver.  11.— On  ^0  n3  nS^H^.     Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  64,  4. 

i«  Ver.  11. nSt'ri-  Comp.  xxx.  13.    The  word  occurs  onlyin  these  two  passages  in  Jeremiah,  and  in  these  onlywith  the 

meaning  of  '•  something  laid  on,  bamlage,  jilaster." 

u  Ver.  12. T13JU  "113J.  Tbe  preli.x  3  is  to  bo  taken  in  its  jiroper,  instrumental  signification :  One  stumbles  by  an- 
other, because  one  throws  another  over  the  heap.    Comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  37. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

After  the  double,  viz.,  general  and  special  title 
(vers.  ],  2),  two  fjicturei  are  presented  before  us. 
The  first  (vers.  3-6)  is  the  more  general  and  in- 
definite ;  warriors  are  admonished  to  equip  them- 
selves  for  battle  (vers.  3,  4).     Then,  however, 


directly  follows  a  description  of  the  defeat  and 
terrible  fliglit,  with  a  statement  as  to  the  place  of 
the  battle  (vers.  6,  6).  In  tlie  second  picture  not; 
only  is  Egyjit  mentioned  as  tlie  army  addressed 
by  the  prophet,  but  it  is  also  portrayed  in  colors 
tiilvcn  iVom  specially  Egyptian  relations.  Tliat 
we  have,  moreover,  two  pictures  before  us,  is 
seen  from  the  circumstance,  that  in  vers.  7-12 


CHAP.  XLVI.  2-12. 


368 


the  whole  course  of  the  struggle  from  beginning 
to  end  is  described  in  its  main  features  :  the  pro- 
phet sees  the  Egyptian  host  approaching  like  the 
overflow  of  the  Nile  (vers.  7,  8) ;  he  then  sum- 
mons horses,  chariots  and  all  warriors  (among 
them  the  neighboring  nations,  forming  part  of 
the  host),  to  the  fight  (ver.  9).  But  the  fight  does 
not  end  well  for  Egypt:  it  is  a  day  of  the  ven- 
geance of  Jehovah  on  Egypt,  a  sacrificial  feast, 
in  which  Egypt  is  the  slaughtered  victim  (ver. 
10).  The  consequences  of  the  lost  battle  are  so 
fatal  to  Egypt,  that  it  cannot  recover,  and  the 
report  of  its  overthrow  fills  the  world  (vers.  11, 
12). — Does  this  passage  contain  a  prophecy  of 
the  battle,  or  does  it  presuppose  the  battle  as  al- 
ready fought?     I  think  the  former.     Foraccord- 

ing  to  ver.  10  (^U1  n*73X1),  the  battle  is  evidently 

still  future.  But  the  prophet  felt  himself  moved 
to  this  prophecy,  not  during  the  advance  of  the 
Egyptian  host  from  its  country,  but  when  it  had 
already  taken  up  a  position  on  the  Euphrates 
and  the  decisive  conflict  was  there  to  be  ex- 
pected. This  follows  clearly  from  ver.  2  in  con- 
nection with  ver.  6  b,  and  ver.  10  6,  as  will  be 
further  seen  in  the  exposition  of  these  passages. 
The  prophetic  and  poetical  prediction  of  the  ap- 
proaching battle  comes  into  the  foreground,  but 
this  does  not  exclude  brief  significant  hints  with 
respect  to  the  consequences  of  the  battle  for  the 
whole  future  of  Egypt. 

Ver.  2.  Against  Egypt  ...  of  Judah. 
D'"12fD'7,  comp.  xxiii.  9;  xlviii.  1;  xlix.  1,  7,  23, 
28.  The  prefix  7  restricts  the  general  idea  ex- 
pressed in  the  main  superscription  to  a  special 
part.  Comp.  xix.  1^ ;  Ezek.  xliv.  9;  Lev.  xii.  (5,  7. 

Pharaoh-necho  (HJJ,  2  Ki.  xxiii.  29-35)  was  the 
sixth  king  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty.  He 
reigned  after  his  father,  the  great  Psammetichus, 
from  B.  C,  610-595.  Comp.  Duncker,  I.,  S.  817, 
925;  Herzog,  R.-Enc.  X.,  S.  257. — He  came  from 
Egypt  by  sea,  landed  to  the  north  of  Carmel  in 
the  bay  of  Acco,  and  defeated  Josiah  at  Megiddo 
(01)8).  .Jehoiakim  was  his  creature  (comp.  2  Ki. 
xxiii.  34).  He  was  thus  at  the  time  de  facto  ruler 
of  Judah.  After  the  battle  at  Megiddo,  it  must 
have  been  easy  for  him  to  subjugate  Phoenicia  and 
Syria,  for  who  was  there  to  offer  him  any  re- 
sistance? The  power  of  the  Assyrians,  Medes 
and  Babylonians,  was  concentrated  in  and  around 
Nineveh.  Nineveh  fell  B.  C,  606.  Now  first  did 
the  Babylonian  army  advance  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Nebucliadnezzar.  It  met  the  Egyptians 
at  Carchemish.  The  city  was  situated  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Chaboras  [Chebar  or  Khaboor], 
and  the  Euphrates,  on  a  peninsula  formed  by  the 
two  rivers.  Here  was  the  principal  passage 
across  the  Euphrates  (comp.  Nikbuhr,  5.  205, 
369;  Herzog,  Real-Enc.  VII.,  5'.  379),  and  here 
as  "the  extreme  line  of  defence  of  his  new  pro- 
vince" (NiEBUHR,  S.  36'.»),  Necho  took  up  his 
position.  He  must  have  lain  here  for  some  time, 
whether  because  the  siege  of  the  city  occupied 
much  time,  or  because  it  was  a  part  of  his  plan 
not  to  advance  farther,  but  here  in  a  favorable 
position  to  await  the  enemy.  Observe  in  the 
text  the  double  relative  sentence  ■which  ■was, 
etc.,  and  ■which  Nebuchadnezzar,  etc.  It  is 
doubtless  not  by  accident  that  by  the  first  of  the 


two,  the  first, mentioned  s<ay  of  Necho  at  Carche- 
mish is  especially  set  forth.  If  the  chief  em- 
phasis lay  on  the  battle,  that  first  sentence  would 
have  been  quite  superfluous.  It  would  have  been 
enough  to  say :  "which  Nebuchadnezzar  smote 
by  the  Euphrates  in  Carchemish."  From  the 
emphasis  on  the  stay  by  the  Euphrates  it  is 
clear  to  me  that  this,  and  not  the  battle,  was  the 
occasion  of  the  prophecy.  When  Jeremiah  learned 
that  the  Egyptian  army  had  taken  up  a  position 
at  Carcliemith,  he  recognized  at  once  the  impor- 
tance of  the  situation.  He  knew,  that  now  a 
collision  between  the  southern  and  northern  em- 
pires was  inevitable,  that  there  on  the  Euphrates 
the  destinies  of  the  world  would  be  decided  for 
the  proximate  future.  Egypt  on  the  Euphrates  ! 
This  was  the  fatal  juncture  which  summoned  him 
to  prophetic  utterance.  Observe,  also,  that  ia 
the  prophecy  itself  he  does  not  yet  mention  Nebu- 
chadnezzar (he  names  him,  as  I  have  frequently 
shown,  only  after  the  battle),  but  ho  twice  men- 
tions in  a  significant  manner  the  position  on  the 
Euphrates  (ver.  6  and  ver.  7) ;  an  evident  proof 
that  it  was  this,  which  led  him  to  speak.  He 
foresees  that  it  would  eventuate  in  a  battle.  And 
with  equal  definiteness,  ho  sees  what  the  result 
will  be  (vers.  5,  6;  ver.  10  sqq.).  The  entire 
superscription  (ver.  2)  was  adJoJ  subsequently 
by  the  prophet  on  the  writing  of  the  prophecy. 
In  the  first  relative  sentence  he  indicates  the  oc- 
casion, in  the  second  he-declares  that  the  fulfil- 
ment followed  very  speedily  in  the  fourth  year 
of  Jehoiakim  (B.  C.  605-4)  The  date  refers 
primarily  to  "smote,"  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  prophecy  may  not  have  been  made  the  same- 
year,  or  sooner.  The  particulars  here  are  not  to 
be  determined,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  news 
of  the  establishment  of  the  Egyptians  on  the 
Euphrates,  did  not  reach  Jerusalem  before  the 
fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  NiebuhrIs  of  opinion 
that  the  battle  had  already  taken  place  in  the 
third  year  of  Jehoiakim  [Ass.  u.  Bah.,  S.  50,  86, 
370),  and  that  hence  the  date  here  refers  to  the 
composition  of  the  poem,  not  to  the  historical 
event  of  the  battle.  The  chronological  relations 
are  not  to  be  investigated  here,  but  exegetically 
it  seems  to  me  as  impossible  to  put  a  point  after 
smote  (NiEBUHR,  S.  86,  An?n.),  as  to  refer  in  the 
fourth  year  to  the  -word,  etc.,  ver.  1,  as  Grap 
proposes.  Apart  from  their  being  so  far  re- 
moved from  each  other,  ver.  1  is  a  general  title 
referring  to  all  the  following  chapters,  including 
ch.  li.  The  construction  too,  would  then  be  ob- 
scure and  forced.     We  should  then  hav;'  to  take 

D''/}^iP7  as  a  more  particular  definition:  with 
respect  to  Egypt,  however,  in  the  fourth  year; 
which  would  give  the  sense  that  only  this  pro- 
phecy was  uttered  against  Egypt,  in  the  fourtli 
year  of  Jehoiakim,  which  is  incorrect. 

Vers.  3-6.  Prepare  ye  .  .  .  the  fall. 
The  first  battie-picture  commences  with  the 
call  to  the  warriors  to  prepare  buckler  and 
shield  (the  Egyptian  monuments  show  two  kinds 
of  shields,  a  larger  [H^Y]  anc^  a  smaller.  Comp. 
Neumann,  II.,  S.  383),  to  harness  the  horses  (to 
thechariots)  andtomoLint.   Cty"^!)  designates  the 

horses  for  riding  in  distinction  from  carriage- 
horses  in  2  Sara.  i.  6;   1  Kings  v.  6;  Joel  ii.  4,- 


864 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Ezek.  xxvii.  14.  This  usage  being  established, 
and  the  parallelism  favoringthe  meaning  "ejMt," 
I  believe  that  D'ty^i^n    is  to  be  translated  not  in 

■     T  T  ~ 

the  vocative,  but  as  in  the  text:  and  mount  ye 
riders.  Of  the  other  expressions  in  ver.  4,  the 
tirst,  after  horses  and  riders,  must  refer  to  the 
footmen,  the  rest,  as  in  ver.  3,  to  all  species  of 
arms. — In  the  second  act  of  the  first  picture,  the 
prophet  sees  the  army  defeated:  Why,  I  see, 
are  they  dismayed?  Comp.  xxx.  6.  As 
n^n  (they)  is  the  nominative  and  HKl  requires 

th  J  accMsaiive  after  it  in  a  still  higher  degree 
than  riin,  our  passage  cannot,  as  Graf  supposes, 

be  explained  by  Ezek.  xxxvii.  19  coll.  Gen.  vi.  17, 
but  I  see  must  be  taken  as  a  parenthetical  sen- 
tence.— The  description  closes  significantly  with 
two  perfects,  the  prophet  sees  the  tottering  and 
falling  as  accomplished  facts.    Comp.  ver.  12. 

Vers.  7-12.  Who  is  he  .  .  .  fallen  toge- 
ther. The  second  battle  picture  is  more  in  de- 
tail, more  concrete,  and  as  it  were  painted  with 
specifically  Egyptian  colors.  The  prophet  sees 
the  Egyptian  army  approaching  like  the  over- 
flowing Nile.  The  immediate  preparations  for 
the  battle  are  described  in  ver.  9,  as  in  ver.  4, 
only  still  more  concretely.  Cavalry,  chariots  and 
footmen  are  equally  distinguished.  I  am  there- 
fore of  opinion  that  we  must  render  *^1  'i>i?  here 
as  in  ver.  4  "mount  the  horses." — The  chariots 
are  to  rage  (comp.  Nah.  ii.  5),  the  mighty  war- 
riors to  go  forth  on  foot.  Egypt's  neighboring 
nations  accompany  the  expedition,  and  the  Ethi- 
opians and  Lybiana  are  described  as  shield-bear-y 


ers,  and  therefore  masters  of  close  combat  (eo- 
minus),  the  Lybians  (comp.  Gen.  x.  13  coll.  22; 
Isa.  Ixvi.  19;  Ezek.  xxvii.  10)  as  archers.  The 
three  nations  stand  together,  as  here,  as  Egyp- 
tian auxiliaries  in  Ezek.  xxx.  5  coll.  Nah.  iii.  9. 
On  Lydians  1^*7,  comp.  Arnold  in  Herzoq, 
Real.-Enc,  VUI.,  S.  ulO. 

All  these  preparations,  however,  do  not  en- 
sure the  victory,  it  being  ordained  that  the  day 
of  battle  shall  be  a  day  of  vengeance  for  Jeho- 
vah, and  a  bloody  sacrificial  festival.  Egypt 
both  in  ancient  and  more  recent  times  has  in- 
jured the  theocracy,  and  now  stands  opposed  to 
the  chosen  instrument  of  the  Lord,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and  must  therefore  be  subdued. — Day 
of  vengeance.  Comp.  li.  6;  Isa.  xxxiv.  8; 
Ixi.  2;  Isiii.  4. — Sacrifice.  A  slain  offering, 
where  the  original  meaning  of  the  verb  (comp. 
Numb.  xxii.  40;  1  Ki.  i.  19)  comes  into  the  fore- 
ground, but  the  word  must  not  be  taken  in  its 
literal  signification.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  6  ;  Zeph. 
i.  7.  In  the  last  two  verses  the  consequences  of 
the  lost  battle  are  described.  Egypt  is  ironically 
called  upon  to  fetch  balm  from  Gilead  (comp. 
rems.  on  viii.  22).  But  the  blow  was  fatal. 
Therefore  remedies  are  of  no  avail,  to  however 
great  extent  applied.  The  fearful  defeat  cannot 
of  course  remain  hidden.  The  nations  must 
learn  the  shame  of  Egypt,  since  the  cry  of  the 
stricken  ones  fills  the  world  (xiv.  2  coll.  Isa.  xlii. 
11).  Ver.  12  b  contains  a  step  backwards,  an 
additional  statement  of  reason.  This  is  occa- 
sioned by  the  evident  endeavor  to  close  the  se- 
cond picture  in  correspondence  to  the  first. 


3.    THE  SECOND  PROPHECY  AGAINST  BQTPT. 


XLVI.  13-26. 
With  an  Appendix,  xlvi.  27,  28. 

13  The  word  that  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  spake  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  how  [con- 
cerning the  coming  of]  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  should  come  and  [to] 
smite  the  land  of  Egypt. 

14  Proclaim  ye  it  in  Egypt  and  publish  it  in  Migdol, 
Publish  it  also  in  Noph  and  Tahpanhes. 

Say  ye,  Stand  fast'  and  prepare  thyself  i'^ 
For  the  sword  hath  devoured  thy  neighbors. 

15  Wherefore  is  thy  bulP  dragged  away  ? 

He  stood  not,  for  Jehovah  thrust  him  away 

16  He  causeth  many  to  totter  ; 
One  also  falleth  upon  another: 

And  they -say.  Up!  let  us  return  to  our  own  people, 
And  to  the  land  of  our  birth,  from  the  murderous  sword. 

17  There  they  cry:*  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  is  lost;* 
He  hath  lost  the  time  through  neglect ! 

18  As  truly  as  I  live,  saith  the  king, 
Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  his  Name ; 


CHAP.  XLVI.  13-26.  S66 


As  Tabor  among  the  mountains, 

And  as  Carmel  by  the  sea,  shall  he  come. 

Make  thyself  preparations  [apparatus]  for  journeying, 

Thou  inhabitant,  daughter  of  Egypt ; 

19  For  Noph  shall  become  £».  wilderness, 
And  destroyed  without  an  inhabitant. 

20  A  finely  formed  heifer  is  Egypt ; 

A  gad-fly^  from  the  north  is  coming,  is  coming.'' 

21  Her  hirelings  also  in  her  midst  are  like  fatted  calves 
For  they  also  turn  and  flee  away  together. 

They  stand  not,  for  the  day  of  their  destruction  is  come  upon  them^ — 
The  time  of  their  visitation. 

22  Her  sound®  goeth  like  the  sound  of  serpents; 
For  with  power  they  advance, 

And  are  come  to  her  with  axes  as  hewers  of  wood. 

23  They  have  cut  down  her  forest,,  saith  Jehovah. 
For  it  is  not  to  be  searched  ; 

For  they  are  many,  more  than  thelocusts, 
And  of  them  there  is  no  number. 

24  The  daughter  of  Egypt  has  been  put  to  shame. 
Delivered  into  the  hand  of  a  people  from  the  North. 

25  Saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel, 
Behold,  I  visit  the  Amon  of  No, 

And  Pharaoh  and  Egypt,  and  its  gods  and  its.  kings. 
And  Pharaoh  and  those  that  trust  in  him. 

26  And  I  give  them  into  the  hand  of  those  that  seek  their  lives, 
And  into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of  Babylon, 
And  into  the  hand  of  his  servants  : 

And  afterwards  it  shall  be  inhabited® 
As  in  the  days  of  old,  saith  Jehovah. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  14. — 33f'nn  comp.  ver.  4. 

2  Ver.  14. — "[7  j^HV    Comp.  Ezek.  xxxviii.  7.    It  is  a  direct  causative  Hiphil :  make  preparation,  equipment  for  thy 

self.    Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  69,  1,  Anm.  2. 

8  Ver.  15. — Jeremiah  uses  the  plural  D'^^SX  elsewhere  only  in  the  meaning  of  "  strong  horses  "  (viii.  16 ;  xlvii.  3 ;  L 

11).    But  neither  this  meaning  nor  that  of  "  strong  men,  heroes"  D^mSJ  suits  the  connection.    For  apart  from  ^npl 

(besides  here  in  Prov.  xxviii.  3  only)  which  as  a  foregoing  predicate  may  certainly  stand  in  the  singular,  the  singulars  '^^p 

~     T 

and  i3in  show  that  H'T^X  is  to  be  taken  as  singular.    Then,  however,  nothing  is  more  natural  than,  with  the  LXX., 

T-:  I  ..   .   - 

to  think  of  the  Apis.  This  is  the  LXX.  translation :  Siari  e<l>vyev  ano  crov  a  'Airi?;  6  ftoaxoi  6  eKAexTo?  <rov  ovfc  fij.eivev. 
T3X  both  iu  the  singular  and  plural  is  frequently  used  for  bulls  :  Isa.  xxxiv.  7  ;  Ps.  xxii.  13  ;  1.  13  ;  Ixviii.  31.     But  who 

but  Apis  is  the  bull  of  Egypt?    The  plural  suffix  has  been  explained  as  an  abnormal  pausal  pronunciation  fcomp.  ^'^711^ 

'  V  T  :   • 
Ps.  ix.  15;  TriXJtJ^  Ezek.  xxxv.  11— TJ'3  [Gen.  xvi.  5 ;  1  Ki.  xv.  19]  which  Qkaf  adduces,  does  not  belong  here),  comp. 

OLSH.,g  39,  c,  i«m.;  §131,  A;,  but  this  is  unnecessary.  T3X  (observe  that  Jehovah  also  is  called  7N1ty'  T3X  or  ^pjf^  'X, 
Isa.  i.  24  ;  xlix.  26,  etc.)  stands  in  the  plural  as  a  name  of  God,  according  to  the  analogy  of  jnX,  7j73j  O'lJ^D,  D'ty^p> 
which  again  themselves  follow  the  analogy  of  DTlSX-  Comp.  N.iegelsb.  Gr.,  g  61,  2,  Anm.;  Olsh.,  g  122,  g;  Gesen.,  g 
\(iS,2,  Anm.,h. 

*Ver.  17.— DK'  1X"lp-  LXX.,  Vulg.,  Syr.,  and  after  them  many  modern  commentators  read  these  words  U^  ^X"^p 
(comp.  XX.  3  ;  Isa.  viii.  3;  xx.  7),  but,  as  it  appears  to  me,  unnecessarily.  The  nominative  of  IX'^p  is  not  the  auxiliaries, 
and  OtJ?  need  not  be  referred  to  their  home.    It  may  very  well  be  referred  to  the  place  where  Apis  was  maltreated,  and  the 

T  ■ 

warriors  were  killed,  thus  generally  to  the  place  of  the  previously  described  defeat.  It  might  even  be  referred  to  the  time, 
for  Du   bas  also  a  temporal  signification.     Comp.  Ps.  xiv.  6  ;  liii.  5  ;  Job  xxxv.  12;  Hos.  ii.  17;  Jer.  1.  9.    The  subject  of 

T 

^X"^p  may  be  an  indefinite  number  -.—they  call.    Comp.  iii.  16, 17  ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  101,  2,  a. 

5  Ver.  17.— The  meaning  of  jlXK'  is  strepitus,  tumultus  (Isa.  v.  14  ;  xiii.  14 ;  Jer.  xxv.  31 ;  xlviii.  45 ;  li.  55,  etc.).    With 

the  idea  of  tumult  and  confusion  is  connected  that  of  destruction  and  ruin  (comp.   jiXtJ'  ^13,  Ps.  xl.  3).    The  word  would 

1         T 
then  be  u.sed  as  nbstr.  pro  concreto :  Pliaraoh  is  ruin,  i.  e..  ruined,  (Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  59,  1)  and  there  is  no  need  tc 

read  J^XK'  with  MAURtK.    We  know  not  why  the  prophet  chose  this  particular  word,  but  there  is  probably  an  allusion  iu 

T 


S66 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


It  to  some  Egyptian  word  unknown  to  us.     Whj-  Pharaoh  is  ruined  the  prophet  proceeds  to  tell  us.    lj/'10  is  the  appointed 
season  (Gen.  i.  14 ;  xvii.  21 ;  xxi.  2,  etc.)    1D^'  of  passing  over  a  time  is  quite  usual  (comp.  ex.  gr.,  viii.  20 ;  Job  xxx.  15). 

6  Vlt.  20.— 1*1  p.     The  word  occurs  here  only.    The  root  V'lp  signifies  "  to  pinch,  press  together"  (of  the  eyes  Proy 
vi.  13 ;  X.  11 ;  xxxv.  19,  of  the  lips  Prov.  xvi.  30)  then  "  to  pinch  off  "  (Job  xxxiii.  0).  VI p  is  then  pinching,  pinching  oft 

or  that  which  pinches.    The  old  translations  are  vacillating:  LXX.  airoo-iracTMa ;  Chald.  I'lDp  t'OOJ.' popwK  inter/ecto- 

res;  Syr.  fTfrcihix  ;  \ulg.  stimulator.  Attaching  himself  to  the  last  Rosenmuei.ler  tninslatt-s  .„nau,la6  ;  CocCElus,  ScHUL- 
TENS  EicHHDR.N,  lIiTZiii,  (iRAF,  Mkier,  gad-fly  |  Bremse\  coJiiparing  tlie  A  rabic  quarasa,  ])n)>uyit  i  pulexj,  quaris,  insectum  cimici 
simile,  or  qiiirs,  a  kind  ul  suuiU  fly.  Much  mure  uii.7iiitaljly  Ewald  adduces  qu.usii,  aiul  uuJiToia.idj  uy  it  a,  great,  Jearful 
monster.  The  meaning  txctW turn.,  which  the  Kabbis,  Gesenius,  Umbreit  and  others  attribute  to  the  word,  does  not  corres- 
pond very  exactly  to  the  specific  radical  signification.  Following  this  and  the  Arabic  analogies  I  regard  the  meaning  gfod- 
%  as  correct,  which  suits  the  connection  admirably.  Comp.  Exod.  xxiii. -28;  Deut.  i. -W ;  vii.  2U  ;  Isa.  vii.  IS;  Ps.  cxviii. 
12.  fBLATNEY  translates  "  breeze"  though  be  admits  the  radical  meaning  and  the  Arabic  analogies:  Notes  has  "destruc- 
tion" as  the  A.  V.,  Neumann,  Fuerst,  efc— S.  R.  A.] 

1  Ver.  20.— The  reading  r\2  X3  in  the  LXX.,  Chald.,  Syr.,  Arab.,  and  many  codd.  of  Kennicott  and  De  Rossi  is  only  a 

T         T 

weak  correction.  i  . 

8  Ver.  2J. I  do  not  approve  of  the  reading  Dvlp  followed  by  the  ancient  translators  and  by  IIitzw.     n71p  refers  to 

T    I  I  T    I 

Egypt.    The  feminine  suffix  (comp.  n31p3  TTI'Diy  ver.21)  is  to  be  referred,  if  not  to  H  ;JJ^,  yet  to  D'^l^ifO  r\3  (ver. 
191.    The  construction  of  the  sentence  is  as  1.  9;  Nah.  ii.  5.    Comp.  Naeqeisb.  Gr.,  §  65,  3,  Anm.  There  is,  it  is  true,  no  pas- 
sage m  which  :nn  is  used  expressly  of  the  voice  ;  but  why  may  not  the  voice  be  described  as   going?     'n_nr>    DJ1l^7 
I-  T  .  ;  '  T         : 

Ps.  Ixxiii.  9  is  at  least  related.    If  we  take  ^7'  as  a  relative  sentence  (like  a  serpent,  which  goes)  the  expression  is  very 

feeble,  and  the  meaning  "  creeps,"  which  Graf  substitutes,  either  declares  nothing,  or  must  have  an  artificial  meaning 
to  it. 

9  Ver.  26.— {3ty  is  used  here  in  the  neutral  sense,  as  in  Isa.  xiii.  20 ;  Jer.  xvii.  (5,  25 ;  xxx.  18 ;  1. 13,  39. 

I  -T 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  prophecy  cannot  be  regarded  as  an  imme- 
diate contemporaneous  continuation  of  the  pre- 
vious one.  1.  The  title  announces  it  as  an  in- 
dependent passage.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
ground  for  regarding  this  as  a  later  addition,  for 
it  contains  nothing  which  Jeremiah  could  not 
himself  have  written.  2.  In  ver.  26  Nebuchad- 
nezzar is  mentioned  by  name.  Jeremiah  never 
does  this  before  the  battle  of  Carchemish.  As 
now  we  must  assign  the  passage  xlvi.  1-12  to  the 
period  immediately  before  that  battle,  it  follows 
that  the  present  passage  must  have  originated  at 
a  later  period.  3.  If  the  superscription  in  ver. 
13  expresses  nothing  with  regard  to  the  time  of 
composition,  but  only  states  the  main  purport  of 
the  passage,  it  is  yet  clear  that  a  prophecy  con- 
cerning the  coming  of  Nebuchadnezzar  more  pro- 
bably originated  at  a  time  in  which  Jeremiah  de- 
monstrably expected  this  coming  than  at  a  time 
of  which  we  have  no  trace  that  the  prophet  che- 
rished this  expectation.  The  prophet  does  not 
express  the  definite  expectation  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar will  come  to  Egypt,  before  xliii.  8-13. 
Previously,  indeed,  we  have  a  general  declara- 
tion, that  Egypt  will  succumb  to  him  (xxv.  19; 
xlvi.  11,  12).  but  none  purporting  that  he  will 
himself  enter  the  country.  It  is  therefore  much 
more  probable  that  this  passage  is  contempora- 
neous with  xliii.  8-13  than  that  it  belongs  to  the 
time  of  xlvi.  3-12.  The  reason,  which  Graf 
urges  against  this  hypothesis,  that  Jeremiah  there 
prophesies  the  conquest  of  Moab,  Edom,  Ammon, 
etc.,  in  consequence  of  the  battle  of  Carchemish, 
but  with  respect  to  Egypt,  had  contented  himself 
with  a  song  of  triumph  over  its  defeat,  is  not  of 
weight ;  for  evidently  Egypt  is  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  the  countries,  against  which  chh.  xlvi.- 
xlix.  contain  prophecies.  It  is  hence  no  matter 
nl'  surprise,  if  we  have  two  prophecies  against  it, 
01  which  the  first  (xlvi.  3-12)  treats  of  the  defeat 
and  destruction  of  Egypt /«  general  (xlvi.  11,  12), 
the  second  specially  of  the  latter. 


This  prophecy,  like  the  preceding  one,  evi- 
dently consists  of  two  halves.  In  the  first  the 
Egyptian  cities  are  summoned  to  equip  them- 
selves against  the  approaching  enemy  (ver.  14) ; 
then  the  thought  is  expressed,  that  all,  which  is 
great  in  Egypt,  Apis  (ver.  15)  the  foreign  auxil- 
iaries (ver.  16),  Pharaoh  (ver.  17)  must  bow  be- 
fore the  greatness  of  the  Chaldean  prince,  who 
approaches  like  Tabor  among  the  mountains  and 
Carmel  in  the  sea,  in  order  to  carry  away  the 
Egyptians  into  captivity  (vers.  18,  19).  In  the 
second  half  the  quantitative  conception  seems  to 
prevail.  Egypt  is  a  fair,  fat  cow,  but  a  gad-fly 
*from  the  North  brings  destruction  to  it  (ver.  20). 
Their  mercenaries  also,  who  are  here  compared 
to  fatted  calves,  flee  (ver.  21).  Egypt  is  further 
compared  to  a  forest,  in  which  stand  innumerable 
trees.  Yet  there  is  only  a  hissing  like  a  snake 
in  a  thicket,  while  the  enemies  proceed  to  cut 
down  the  trees  (vers.  22,  23).  Finally  it  is  pro- 
claimed in  blunt  words,  without  a  figure,  that 
Egypt  with  its  gods,  its  kings,  and  all  who  trust 
in  them,  must  be  given  into  the  haiid  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, but  that  a  time  will  come,  in  which 
Egypt  will  be  inhabited  as  quietly  and  undis- 
turbed as  of  old  (vers.  24-26).  The  two  halves 
are  distinguished  thus:  1.  I'he  Egyptian  power 
is  described  from  its  intensive  and  qualitative,  in 
the  second  from  its  intensive  or  quantitative  side. 
2.  The  first  half  closes  with  the  prospect  of  exile, 
the  second  with  a  consolatory  outlook  into  a  dis- 
tant but  happy  future. 

Ver.  13.  The  word  .  .  .  Egypt.  The  su- 
perscription is  of  the  larger  kind,  but  in  the  form 
which  occurs  besides  only  in  xlv.  1  and  1.  1.  It 
is  indubitable  that  such  a  superscription  intro- 
duces a  specifically  new  passage.  The  only  ques- 
tion is.  Who  composed  this,  the  prophet  himself 
or  a  later  writer,  who  had  no  right  to  do  it?  No 
reasons  can  be  urged  against  its  composition  by 
the    prophet,    either    general    or    special.     The 

form  Xn?,  both  alone  and  with  a  second  infini- 

T 

tive  depending  on  it,  is  very  common  in  Jere- 
miah ;  it  is  found  more  frequently  in  him  than 


CHAP.  XLVI.  13-26. 


367 


in  any  other  book  of  the  Old  Testament.  (Comp. 
xxxvi.  5;  xl.  4;  xli.  17;  xlii.   15,  17,  22;  xliv 

12;  xlviii.  16).      7  a.\so  after  &  verb,  dicendiia  J e- 
remian.     Comp.  xxviii.  8,  9. 
Ver.   14.    Proclaim  .   .   .   thy   neighbors. 

Egypt  is  alarmed,  before  all  the  boundary-cities. 
On  Migdol,  Noph  and  Tahpanhes,  comp.  rems.  on 
ii.  16  ;  xliv.  1. — Immediate  preparations  are  ne- 
cessary, since  the  surroumling  countries,  the 
neighbors,  have  already  been  devastated  by  the 
hostile  sword.  Comp.  xxi.  14;  xlviii.  17,  39; 
xlix.  5. 

Vers.  15-19.  Wherefore  .  .  .  without  an 
inhabitant.  The  three  heads  of  Egypt  are 
Apis,  the  army  consisting  of  foreigners,  and  the 
king.  •The  overthrow  of  this  triad  is  here  de- 
scribed. With  respect  to  the  form  it  is  note- 
worthy that  the  transition  is  made  with  the  same 
turn  from  the  summons  to  prepare  and  the  de- 
scription of  the  defeat  as  in  ver.  5. — The  Apis, 
which  had  hitherto  in  divine  majesty  enjoyed 
most  undisturbed  existence  in  his  temple,  is  now 
dragged  away  like  a  common  ox  to  the  slaughter, 
and  can  make  no  resistance,  for  it  is  Jehovah 
who  thrusts  him  on,  as  it  were,  from  behind. 
Numb.  XXXV.  20;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  21.  It  is  Jeho- 
vah, likewise,  who  causes  great  defeat  among 
those  upon  whom  the  power  of  Egypt  in  war  de- 
pended. Since  the  time  of  Psammelichus  foreign 
mercenaries  (3^;,'  xxv.  20;  Ezek.  xxx.  5)  com- 
posed the  main  strength  of  the  Egyptian  forces. 
(Comp.  DuNCKER,  I.,  S.  922);  but  they  are  un- 
able to,resist  the  enemy  whom  God  sends  against 
them.  They  therefore  flee  to  their  homes. — 
Palleth  upon  another.  Comp.  xxix.  9,  26. — 
Murderous  swrord.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxv.  88. 
— The  king  himself  finally,  whom  the  Egyptians 
adored  as  an  incarnation  of  the  deity  (comp. 
DuNCKER,  I.,  S.  150,  "The  Egyptians  went  fur- 
ther in  their  exaltation  of  their  rulers  than  any 
other  nation,  even  according  divine  \w)rship  to 
their  despots")  becomes  an  object  of  ridicule. — 
Lost  the  time.  These  words  signify  that  he 
has  allowed  the  time  to  pass  by.  What  time? 
The  gracious  respite  appointed  by  Jehovah  ? 
Not  impossibly.  The  prophet  then  places  the 
confession  in  the  mouth  of  the  Egyptians,  'that 
Ihey  have  not  followed  the  advice  given  them 
in  xxv.  15  coll.  xxvii.  8.  In  contrast  to  this 
humiliation  of  the  Egyptian  king  the  prophet 
exalts  (verse  18)  the  greatness  of  the  true  king, 
the  King  of  all  kings,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  .Jeho- 
vah, and  that  of  His  chosen  servant  and  instru- 
ment (xxv.  9;  xxvii.  6),  the  king  of  Babylon. 
Jehovah,  who  is  called  king  also  in  xWiii.  15; 
Ii.  57,  swears  solemnly  by  Himself  (xxii.  5,  24; 
xliv.  2H),  that  he,  who  is  not  indeed  here  men- 
tioned by  name,  but  i<  plainly  recognized  from 
the  connection,  viz.  the  king  of  Babylon,  will  on 
his  expedition  to  the  other  kings  be  as  Tabor  to 
the  mountains  rising  to  the  north  of  it  (comp. 
Raumer,  Pol.  S.  37)  and  will  present  himself 
as  Carmel  seen  from  the  sea,  for  tliis  "looks  like 
a  watch-tower  westward  overtlie  Mediterranean" 
(R.\UMER,  S'.  45).  In  such  circumstances  should 
it  fare  better  with  Egypt  than  with  Judah  ?  No, 
the  former  also  cannot  escape  captivity.  He  is 
therefore  called  upon  to  prepare  himself  for  this. 


— nlM  '72   (comp.  Ezek.  xii.  3  sqq.)  are  a  very 

necessary  equipment,  such  as  exiles  are  allowed 
to  take  with  them.  As  the  capital  of  Judah  was 
not  spared,  so  the  capital  of  Egypt,  Memphis, 
shall  be  destroyed  (comp.  ii.  15). 

Vers.  20-23.  A  finely  formed  heifer  .  .  . 
no  number.  In  a  new  double  picture  Egypt's 
destruction  is  here  portrayed.  These  pictures 
refer,  as  already  remarked,  more  to  the  extent 
and  quantity  of  the  Egyptian  forces,  the  first 
settingaforth  their  volume,  the  second  their  nu- 
merical strength.  Accordingly  Egypt  is  first 
compared  to  a  state-cow,  which  is  of  course  to 
be  regarded  as  well  kept.  We  are  involuntarily 
reminded  of  Pharaoh's  fat  kine  in  Gen.  xli.  18. 

ri/JJ^  is  moreover  a  young  cow,  but  one  which 
has  attained  its  full  vigor,  for  it  may  be  three 
years  old  (xlviii.  34;  Isa.  xv.  5;  Gen.  xv.  9), 
give  milk  (Isa.  vii.  21,  22),  be  already  trained 
(Hos.  X.  11),  draw  the  plough  (Jud.  xiv.  18),  but 
also  may  still  rejoice  in  the  untamed  wildness  of 
its  life  (xxxi.  18). — This  cow  is  to  be  attacked 
by  a  gad-fly  coming  from  the  north,  from  whence 
Jeremiah  is  accustomed  to  see  the  Chaldeans 
coming  (comp.  i.  14,  etc).  [Blayney  and  Words- 
WORTH  find  here  a  probable  allusion  to  the  legend 
of  lo,  who  was  transformed  into  a  heifer,  and 
driven  by  a  gad-fly  into  Egypt,  where  she  was 
worshipped  as  Isis.  Comp  Virg.  Georg.,  III., 
147;  Ovid,  Melam.  Lib.,  I. — S.  R.  A.] 

The  double  is  coming  portrays  the  vehe- 
mence of  the  assault.  Comp.  Ezek.  vii.  6  ;  Ps. 
xcvi.  13.  The  same  fulness  and  breadth  are 
seen  in  the  well-kept  mercenaries  as  in  Egypt 
itself.  (Comp.  Herod.,  II.  158;  Duncker,  I., 
(S.  922).  They  are  fatted  calves,  and  conse- 
quently lazy,  as  is  seen  in  their  fleeing  instead 
of  fighting. — Turn.  Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  5. — 
Day  of  destruction.  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  35; 
Jer.  xviii.  17. — Time  of  visitation.  Comp. 
X.  15  ;  1.  27. — In  a  second  picture  it  is- described 
how  the  forces  of  the  Egyptians,  though  so 
great  in  number,  are  overcome.  Egypt  is  in 
this  behalf  compared  to  a  forest,  which  serves 
for  the  abode  of  a  serpent.  The  serpent  has 
retired  into  a  thicket.  It  is  only  heard  to  hiss. 
Thus  the  ancient  power  of  Egypt,  which  led 
Ezekiel  to  compare  it  to  a  crocodile  (xxix.  3; 
xxxii.  2),  is  come  to  an  end.  It  is  only  a  ser- 
pent hissing  with  impotent  rage  in  a  thicket. 
It  no  longer  attacks  nor  bites,  for  it  is  afraid. 
There  is  also  reason  for  this.     For  the  enemies 

rush  upon  it  with  power  (Tn3,  comp.  Zech.  iv. 
6) ;  they  come  upon  it  with  axes  (comp.  xlix.  9) 
as  hewers  of  wood.  Whether  this  figure  is  oc- 
casioned by  the  circumstance  that  the  Persians, 
Massagetes,  and  Scythians  made  use  of  battle- 
axes,  as  Graf  supposes,  or  whether  it  has  no 
connection  with  this,  must  be  left  undecided. — 
Ver.  23.  With  their  axes  the  enemies  hew  down 
tiie  forest,  /.  e.  they  kill  the  warriors,  destroy 
the  fortifications  and  supplies.  This  forest  is 
not  to  be  otherwise  come  at,  for  it  is  unsearch- 
able, impenetrable.  A  thin  forest  may  be  taken 
possession  of  by  going  through  it,  but  a  thick, 
impenetriible  one  nuist  be  cut  down  tree  by  tree. 
The  enemies  can  do  this,  for  they  are  more  nu- 
merous than  the  locusts. — Not  to  be  searched 


368 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


I  would  not  refer  to  the  enemies,  1.  on 
account   of  the    sing,  number ;  2.  because  then 


np.n\) 


the  same  thought  would  be  expressed  three  times. 
—In  the  following  context  the  thought  of  Egypt's 
subjugation  is  expressed  without  a  figure. 

Vers.  24-26.  The  daughter  .  .  .  saith  Je- 
hovah.— Put  to  shame.  Comp.  ii.  26  ;  vi.  15  ; 
xlviii.  1 ;  1.  2,  etc. — The  God  of  Israel,  who  is 
more  powerful  than  the  gods  of  the  Egyptians, 
declares  that  He  will  visit  the  Amon  of  No  (the 
highest  deity  of  the  Egyptians,  comp.  Herzog, 
R?-Enc.  I.,  -S.  286,  which  had  its  seat  in  Thebes, 
hence  called  |iON  XJ,  Nah.  pii.  8;  comp.  lb.  X., 
S.  392),  Pharaoh  and  the  land  itself,  and  further 
all  the  other  kings  {i.  e.  those  entitled  to  be  so) 
and  gods,  and  finally  Pharaoh  and  the  entire 


mass  of  those  who  trust  in  him  as  a  god.  (Comp. 
reins,  on  ver.  17).  The  style  is  here  very  broad 
and  verbose,  in  order  to  express  the  complete- 
ness of  the  destruction.  All  these  shall  fall  into 
the  hands  of  those  who  seek  their  life  (comp. 
reras.  on  xliv.  30),  and  be  given  into  the  hand  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  servants. — And  after- 
■wards,  etc.  If  've  compare  on  the  one  hand 
ver.  19,  and  on  the  other  passages  like  xlviii. 
47  ;  xlix.  6 ;  xlix.  39,  it  appears  in  the  highest 
degree  probable,  that  here  at  the  close  a  favora- 
ble prospect  is  to  be  opened  up  to  the  Egyptians. 
In  the  days  of  old,  ancient  Thebes,  of  which  no 
one  knows  when  it  was  built,  was  peaceful,  un- 
assailed  and  prosperous.  A  remembrancer  of 
this  condition  can  be  understood  only  as  a  word 
of  blessed  promise. 


Appendix  to  the  Prophecies  against  Egypt ;  a  Consolatory  Declaration  to  Israel. 

XLVI.  27,  28, 

27  But  fear  thou  not,  my  servant  Jacob, 
And  be  thou  not  dismayed,  O  Israel ; 
For  behold,  I  will  save  thee  from  afar 

And  thy  seed  from  the  land  of  their  captivity, 
And  Jacob  shall  return  and  be  at  rest. 
And  quiet,  and  none  shall  make  him  afraid. 

28  Fear  thou  not,  my  servant  Jacob, 
Saith  Jehovah,  for  I  am  with  thee. 

For  I  will  make  a  full  end  of  the  nations, 

Whither  I  have  dispersed  thee : 

But  I  will  not  make  a  full  end  of  thee, 

I  will  correct  thee  in  measure  and  not  leave  thee  unpunished, 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

This  brief  consolatory  passage  is  reproduced  here  from  xxx.  10,  11.  Tlie  discrepancies  are  slight.  In  ver  27  r^  QXJ  ie 
wanting  after  3py^  "'H^y-  In  ver.  28  the  initial  words  of  ver.  27  are  repeated  to  Jpj;''_with  f  QKJ  appended,  whicii  is 
not  the  case  in  xxx.  11.  Further,  in  xxx.  11  ■^)^^mrh  '■"'  DXJ  stand  after  ''JX  '"ji^X  ^2  ;  instead  of  '"|'J7I^^^  we  find 
in  xxx.  11  -Tni^^'fln  ;  finally,  in  the  latter  place  tjnX  IjX  staiids  for  '"jriNI. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

It  is  acknowledged  that  these  words  stand  in 
the  original  and  suitable  connection  in  ch.  xxx., 
as  well  as  that  they  are  not  necessary  to  ch. 
xlvi.,  and  would  not  be  missed  if  they  were 
omitted.  Still  it  may  be  said  that  every  injury 
befalling  the  enemies  of  tlie  theocracy  is  a  cor- 
roboration of  the  latter,  and  that  it  cannot  be 
unsuitable  also  to  express  in  words  this  mutual 
relation  founded  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  tlio 
two  going  constantly  hand  in  hand  in  chh.  1.,  li. 
(Comp.  1.  4-6,  17-19,  28,  3:J ;  li.  5,  6,  10,  35,  45, 
50).  But  tlie  overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  king- 
dom by  Cyrus  bore  the  deliverance  of  Judah  im- 
mediately in  its  womb.     This  can  be  said  of  the 


conquest  of  Egypt  no  more  than  of  that  of  the 
other  small  nations  against  which  chh.  xlvii.- 
xlix.  are  directed.  Hen«e  in  these  three  chap- 
ters there  is  no  trace  of  that  mutual  relation. 
Why  then  just  here?  And  how  does  it  agree 
with  the  fact  that  elsewhere  in  Egypt  Jeremiah 
pronounces  only  the  severest  threatenings  against 
the  Israelites  (chh.  xlii.-xliv.)  ?  There  is  much 
then  that  is  opposed  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
passage,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  is  easy  to 
suppose  tliat  a  later  seer  saw  fit  to  oppose  this 
light  to  the  former  shadow.  Moreover,  as  we 
have  said,  the  words  are  not  absolutely  unsuit- 
able here,  and  we  cannot  therefore  deny  tlie  pos- 
sibility, that  Jeremiah,  who,  as  is  well  known, 
is  very  fond  of  quoting  himself,  himself  felt  the 
need   of  causing   the  light   of  Israel    to   shine 


CHAP.  XLVH.   1-7. 


369 


brightly  on  the  dark  background  of  their  ancient 
enemy,  Egypt. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  FoRSTER  states  four  reasons  why  the  prophets 
had  to  proclaim  judgment  on  the  heathen  nations 
also.  The  first  is  diSaoKa^uKoc :  it  is  to  be  known 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  heathen  is  not  lasting, 
but  that  heathendom  has  no  basis  of  true  pros- 
perity. The  second  reason  is  Trapr/yoptKoc :  the 
pious  are  not  to  fear  that  the  heathen  will  get 
the  upper  hand  and  suppress  the  church.  The 
third  is  enavnpi^uriKoq:  God's  people  are  to  guard 
against  forming  alliances  with  the  heathen  and 
trusting  in  their  help.  The  fourth  is  eXeyKTiKog: 
a  conclusion  is  to  be  drawn  a  minori  ad  majus :  if 
God  does  not  spare  the  heathen  who  are  deprived 
of  His  light,  how  much  less  will  He  spare  His 
people,  if  they  despise  the  light  of  His    word. 

2.  "  .Jeremiah's  God  is  also  the  Lord  of  all  the 
heathen  and  makes  their  destinies.  They  find 
it  so  according  to  their  words  and  especially 
their  posture  towards  the  chosen  people  Israel. 
They  haste  to  their  destruction,  for  one  nation 
only  is  eternal ;  this,  however,  is  the  nation 
which  has  been  passed  through  a  thousand  sieves 
and  in  comparison  with  others  is  no  nation. 
That  which  is  in  Israel,  as  in  other  nations, 
passes  away,  and  only  that  which  it  has  above 
other  nations  remains  eternal.  Jeremiah  pro- 
phesies most  against  Egypt,  Moab  and  Babylon, 
in  which  the  wealth,  the  jealous,  scoffing  manner 
of  the  mean  world,  and   the  cavalier  spirit  of 

great   states   is   rebuked He  who  rightly 

understands  this  sees  here  not  sermons  addressed 
to  generations  long  since  passed  away,  but  to  t-he 
natural  humanity  streaming  through  this  world, 
as  it  is  continually  presented  with  new  names 
and  yet  always  with  the  same  carnal  impulses 
and  based  on  the  same  unreason.  To  him,  who 
thus  understands  Jeremiah,  he  is  again  alive, 
and  the  Jewish  legend  is  fulfilled,  that  Jeremiah 
must  come  again  before  the  Messianic  kingdom 
can  bloom  up  again  in  glory.     Yea,  let  Jeremiah  i 


rise  truly  for  thee  to  mourn,  and  Christ,  with  the 
hosannas  of  His  eternal  hosts  of  disciples,  will 
not  longer  be  hidden  from  thee,  and  in  Him 
thou  wilt,  have  all  things."  Dieurioh. 

3.  On  xlvi.  6.  "  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift. 
Eccles.  ix.  11.  Therefore  let  not  the  strong 
man  glory  in  his  i^trength.  Jer.  ix.  22  Also 
are  horses  and  chariots  and  such  like  things  of 
no  avail :  for  to  those  who  have  not  God  on  their 
side,  all  is  lost."  Cramer. 

4.  On  xlvi.  10.  "  God  may  long  delay  His 
reckoning.  This  Pharaoh-necho  had  killed  the 
pious  Josiah,  conquered  his  son  Jehoahaz  and 
laid  the  land  of  Judah  under  tribute.  But  guilt 
rusts  not,  however  old,  and  though  God  comes 
slowly  He  comes  surely."  Cramer. 

5.  On  xlvi.  10.  "Although  the  ungodly  go  free 
for  a  long  time  and  rejoice  with  timbrel  and 
harp  and  are  glad  with  pipes  and  spend  their 
days  in  wealth  (Job  xxi.  12),  yet  he  lets  them 
go  free  like  sheep  for  the  slaughter,  and  spares 
them  for  the  day  of  slaughter  (Jer.  xii.  3)." 
Cramer. 

6.  On  xlvi.  25.  "  Bonum  confidere  in  Domino  et 
nan  in  principibus  (Ps.  cxlvi.).  When  their  help 
is  most  needed  they  lie  down  and  die."   Forster. 

7.  On  vers.  27,  28.  "When  God  turns  things 
upside  down  and  takes  care  that  neither  root 
nor  branch  remains,  His  little  flock  must  be  pre- 
served. The  punishments  which  redound  to  the 
destruction  of  the  ungodly  redound  to  the  ame- 
lioration of  the  godly.  For  from  these  He  takes 
the  eternal  punishment,  and  the  temporal  must 
also  redound  to  their  advantage,  but  the  ungodly 
drink  it  to  the  dregs."  Cramer. 

HOMILETICAL    AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xlvi.  1-12.  The  power  of  God  in  contrast 
to  human  power.  1.  Human  power  confides  in 
its  strength  ;  (a)  in  a  qualitative  (vers.  3,  4,  7) ; 
(6)  in  a  quantitative  respect  (ver.  8).  2.  The 
divine  power  strikes  it  down,  whereby  {a)  arro- 
gance is  chastised  (vers.  5,  6,  11) ;  (6)  the  right- 
eousness of  God  is  satisfied  (ver.  10). 


4.  prophecy  against  the  philistines. 
Chap.  XLVII. 

The  word  of  Jehovah,  which  came  to  Jeremiah,  the  prophet,  against  the  Philis- 
tines, before  Pharaoh  had  smitten  Gaza. 
Thus  saith  Jehovah  : 
Behold,  waters  rise  out  of  the  North, 
And  become  an  overflowing  torrent. 
And  overflow  the  land  and  whatever  is  therein, 
The  city  and  those  that  dwell  therein ; 
And  the  men  shall  cry  aloud,^ 
And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  shall  howl, 
Before  the  thundering  hoof-beat^  of  his  horses,' 
Before  the  rattling  of  his  chariots,*  the  rutnbling  of  his  wheels. 
Fathers,  for  feebleness*  of  hands,  turn  not  for  their  children, 

24 


370 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


4  Because  of  the  day  that  eometh  to  extirpate  all  the  Philistines, 

To  exterminate  from  Tyre  and  Sidon  every  escaped  one  that  might  help; 
For  Jehovah  extirpates  the  Philistines, 
The  remnant  of  the  coasts  of  Caphtor. 

5  Baldness  is  come  upon  Gaza, 

Ashkelon  is  struck  dumb,^  the  remnant  of  their  valley. 
How  long  wilt  thou  still  wound  thyself  by  cutting  ? 

6  Alas !  sword  of  Jehovah,  how  long  ere  thou  wilt  rest? 
Back®  into  thy  sheath,  rest  and  be  still ! 

7  How  canst  thou  rest  ?     Jehovah  has  given  it  a  charge 
Against  Ashkelon  and  against  the  sea-shore — 
Thither^  has  he  appointed  it. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2.— In  regard  to  the  construction,  there  are  only  two  principal  verbs  from  2  6  to  4  a; — IpJ^TI  and  ^JBH-  Evi- 
dently whatever  comes  before  the  latter  depends  on  the  former,  and  what  follows  on  the  latter. 

2  Ver.  ■i.-T\!2j}p  an.  Aey.  From  analogies  like  y^h  and  I^^S,  D-II]  and  0^2,  D-ID  and  Qj^p  (Samar.),  S?3  and  ^^2 
(comp.  FuERST,  H.-iv.-B.,  s.  n.  /-"IB)  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  radix  is  identical  with  £J-1tJ?,  which  appears  to  me,  ac- 
cording to  lQi\^,flagelhim,  D'O^  (Ezek.  xxvii.  8,  remiges,  remigare^remis  percutere),  £3^^  (strike  out,  discurrere),  to  have 

•    T 

the  radical  signification  of  "  beating." 

s  Ver.  3.— VT'JX.     Comp.  rems.  on  xlvi.  15. 

*  Ver.  3.— I^JI*?  I^J^T.    The  construction  with  7  seems  to  proceed  here  from  a  striving  after  change.     Otherwise  in 

ver.  6.    Comp.  Naegei.sb.  ffr.,  §  07,  2. 
6  Ver.  3. — {ViJT  is  <Ltt.  Aey. 

6  Ver.  4.— n^'IDnV    Comp.  xliv.  7.    We  should  expect  Tlt^  11^^    l2-    But  the  radical  meaning  of  TTtJ' is  not  re- 

liquus,  but  elapsus.     Hence  the  meaning  of  the  expression  is  not  "every  helper  remaining,"  but  "  every  escaped  one  that 
might  help,"  i.  e.  even  the  weakest,  separated,  inelfective  helper. 

7  Ver.  5. — If  we  should  take  ^^D^J  'u  the  sense  of  "  being  destroyed,"  the  prophet  must  have  suddenly  dropped  his 

T  :    : 
figure.    I  therefore  take  HO'n,  with  Graf,  in  its  original  meaning=D01  (comp.  Ps.  xlix.  13),  and  regard  this  being  made 

T    T  ~    T 

dumb  as  a  lower  grade,  or  preliminary,  of  destruction,  for  Philistia  still  supplicates  and  according  to  ver.  7  0  the  enemy 
has  t^till  to  take  Ashkelon  and  the  sea-coast. 

8  Ver.  ti. — '3DXn,  put  up  thyself.     Comp.  Ezek.  xxi.  35. 

9  Ver.  7. — The  emphatic  repetition  of  the  object  by  Dtj/  is  tbe  reverse  of  the  anticipatory   construction,  which  occurs 

T 

more  frequently  in  Jeremiah.    Comp.  ix.  14 ;  xi.  15  ;  xli.  3 ;  li.  56,  etc. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

From  the  North  the  prophet  sees  the  hostile 
hosts  approaching  like  groat  water-floods  against 
the  Philistines.  Terror  will  seize  these  to  such 
a  degree,  that  fathers  will  not  once  look  round 
after  their  children.  Then  will  the  Philistines 
be  extirpated  even  to  the  last  remnant,  and  the 
last  helper  be  taken  from  the  Phoenicians  (vers. 
2-4).  Gaza  and  Ashkelon  will  fall,  for  the  con- 
sideration that  the  sword  of  the  Lord  has  already 
had  enough  bloody  work,  and  will  now  stand  still 
before  the  last  of  these  cities,  does  not  hold  good 
(vers.  5-7). 

Ver.  1.  The  word  .  .  .  smitten  Gaza. 
According  to  history  .Jeremiah  lived  to  see  one, 
and  possibly  two  conqifsts  of  Gaza  by  Pharaoh, 
for  Herodotus  relates  (If.,  159):  'LvpoLai  TreCfi  6 
"NiKur  Gvu3a?MV  iv  Maj'fS'iAcj  iviia/rrE'  /lEra  (U  rf/v 
l-iaxyv  Kdi^vTi/v  noViv  Ttjr  ^uf/ij^r  hihnav  /iryn'^r/v  elAF. 
Thus  after  the  liattle  of  Mogiddo  (for  tliis  is  ad- 
mitted to  be  MdyiSo/lof)  Pharaoli-necho  conquered 
Gaza.  That  Knihrtg  ia  Gaza  (according  to  the 
Egyptian  Kalnhi;  comp.  Di'\(;kf.r,  I.,  i?.  342, 
818)  is  now  generally  acknowledged.  Comp.  M. 
NiKBUUR,  Ass.  u.  Huh.,  S.  ?M)\  Akxomi  in  Hku- 
zoo,  It. -Erie.  IV.,  S.  (')72  ;  (iR.\F  ail  h.  loc,  S.  523; 
Du.NCKER,  etc. — Possibly  Gaza  had  also  been  con- 
quered by  Psaminetichus.  He  took  Ashdod,  ac- 
cording to  Herodotus  (II.,  157),  after  a  twenty 


years'  siege.  Duncker  is  correctly  of  opinion 
"that  the  siege  of  Ashdod  could  not  well  be  un- 
dertaken, before  Gaza  and  Ashkelon  had  been 
captured"  [S.  SIQ,  Anni.).  Jeremiah  must  have 
survived  the  capture  of  Ashdod,  for  he  speaks  in 
XXV.  20  of  the  remnant  of  Ashdod.  This 
must  also  have  occurred  in  the  second  decennium 
of  his  prophetic  labors,  since  Psammetichus  can- 
not have  commenced  his  expeditions  against  the 
Philistines  before  B.  C,  64U  (comp.  Duncker, 
S.  81G).  If  then  .Jeremiah  did  witness  a  con- 
quest of  Gaza  in  consequence  of  the  undertaking 
against  Ashdod,  it  was  yet  an  event  of  relatively 
small  importance.  Gaza  appears  by  no  means 
to  have  been  destroyed,  for  in  the  same  passage, 
where  Jeremiah  speaks  of  the  remnant  of  Ash- 
dod (xxv.  2i>),  he  speaks  of  Ashkelon,  Gaza  and 
Ekron,  as  cities  still  intact.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  this  capture  of  Gaza,  which  if  it  took  place, 
was  of  secondary  importance,  could  be  the  occa- 
sion of  this  prophecy,  since  the  words  "before 
Pharaoh  smote  Gaza,"  can  be  understood  only  of 
a  celebrated,  well-known  conquest  of  Gaza.  Any 
oflier  must  have  required  a  more  particular 
designation.  Add  to  this,  that  when  Jeremiah 
proiiliesies  the  visitation  of  Philistia,  and  men- 
tions the  cities  to  he  destroyed  by  name,  hecould 
not  have  left  Ashdod  unmuntioned,  if  the  great 
and  celebrated  siege  of  this  city  was  then  in  pro- 
gress. From  his  not  mentioning  it,  we  may 
with  safety  conclude  that  the  capture  of  this  city 


CHAP.  XLVII.  1-7. 


371 


was  already  a  fact  in  the  past.  From  all  which 
it  follows  that  the  superscription  mnst  refer  to 
the  capture  of  Gaza  by  Pharaoh-necho,  which, 
Herodotus  says,  took  place  after  the  battle  of 
Magdolos  or  Megiddo.  Two  points  are  now  to  be 
observed  : — 

1.  This  capture  took  place  before  the  fourth 
year  of  Jehoiakim,  the  battle  of  Megiddo  oc- 
curring in  B.  C,  BOS  (comp.  Duncker.  5'.  817). 
It  is  perfectly  intelligible  that  Necho,  wlio,  as  we 
have  seen  above,  lauded  with  his  army  in  the 
bay  of  Acco,  sought  to  keep  his  retreat  open  by 
subjugating  the  large  fortified  cities  of  Philistia, 
especially  Gaza,  the  key  of  the  road  to  Egypt. 
He  would  have  been  lost  after  the  battle  of  Car- 
chemish,  if  he  had  not  t<vken  these  precautionary 
measures.  Accordingly  the  present  prophecy 
belongs  not  to  those  which  Jeremiah  published 
in  the  year  604,  after  the  battle  of  Carcheniish, 
but  is  older.  It  agrees  with  this,  that  in  this 
chapter  the  Chaldeans  and  Nebuchadnezzar  are 
not  mentioned,  but  an  enemy  from  the  north  is 
spoken  of  generally. 

2.  If  now  the  waters  rising  from  the  north 
(ver.  2)  are  the  Chaldeans,  as  according  to  Jere- 
miah's constant  usage  they  must  be,  this  super- 
scription has  not  the  sense  that  it  asserts  the 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  by  the  conquest  of 
Gaza  which  soon  followed  on  the  part  of  Necho, 
but  on  the  contrary  it  is  to  declare,  that  Jere- 
miah prophesied  destruction  to  the  Philistines  by 
an  enemy  from  the  north,  at  a  time  when  con- 
quest by  an  enemy  from  the  south  was  impending. 
It  might  indeed  be  alleged  that  .Jeremiah  under- 
stood by  the  "waters  from  the  north"  the 
Egyptians,  because  they  were  then  making  their 
attack  on  Philistia  from  the  north.  This,  how- 
ever, was  only  an  accidental  circumstance  which 
Jeremiah  would  certainly  have  designated  as 
such.  It  was  natural  that  at  a  time  when  the 
Egyptian  forces,  after  the  battle  of  Megiddo,  were 
turned  against  Philistia,  Jeremiah  should  find 
occasion  for  a  prophecy  against  this  country,  but 
that  at  this  time  he  should  designate  its  destruction 
as  the  work  of  a  northern  enemy,  corresponds 
perfectly  to  the  character  of  that  prophet  who 
buys  laud  which  is  in  possession  of  the  enemy 
(ch.  xxxii.),  and  proclaims  to  the  Jews  in  Tah- 
panhes.  that  the  throne  of  the  Chaldean  king  will 
stand  before  the  gates  of  the  royal  palace  (ch. 
xliii.)  I  do  not  think  that  the  capture  of  Gaza 
was  made  by  the  army  of  the  Egyptians  returning 
defeated  from  Carchemish.  I  lay  no  great  weight 
on  Heroiloius'  placing  it  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  Magdolos,  yet  it  is  in  itself  improbable 
that  Necho  could  have  deferred  the  capture  of 
"the  key  lo  Egypt"  so  long,  or  have  accom- 
plished it  with  his  defeated  army. 

Vers.  2-4.  Thus  saith  .  .  .  coasts  of 
Caphtor.  The  figure  of  an  overflowing  stream 
is  frequently  used  of  armies.  Comp.  ez.  gr.,  Isa. 
viii.  7 ;  Jer.  xlvi.  7. — From  the  north.  Comp. 
i.  18-17. — And  overflov7.  Comp.  viii.  16. — The 
city,  etc.  Comp.  xlvi.  8. — On  turn  not.  Comp. 
xlvi.  5.  The  exhaustion  caused  by  the  terror  of 
that  day  will  hinder  even  parents  from  going  to 
the  help  of  their  children.  A  similar  expression, 
but  in  a  dilferent  sense,  is  found  in  Mai.  iii.  24; 
Luke  i.  17. — The  prediction  of  ver.  4  was  soon 
afterwards  fulfilled.     The  Phoenicians  in  the  dis- 


tress caused  by  the  Chaldeans  which  followed 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  must  have  grievously 
missed  the  aid  of  their  Philistine  neighbors. — • 
The  remnant,  e^c.  Comp.  Am.  ix.  7;  Gen.  x.  14; 
Ueut.  ii.  23;  Ezek.  xxv.  1  ti ;  Zeph.  ii.  5.  It  is 
certain  that  a  part  of  the  Philistines  originated 
from  Caphtor,  but  not  whether  by  Caphtor  we 
are  to  understand  Creta  or  the  coast  of  the  Egyp- 
tian delta  (so  Stauke,  Gaza,  S.  76).  Comp. 
Herz.  It.-Enc.  the  articles  "Philistia,"  "Creta," 
and  "Caphtor." 

Vers.  5-7.  Baldness  .  .  .  appointed  It. 
While  in  the  previous  context  the  catastrophe  ia 
designated  as  still  future,  it  appears  here  in  great 
part  to  have  occurred.  The  prophet  in  spirit 
sees  the  country  already  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Gaza,  the  strong  southern  fortification, 
the  key  of  the  country  is,  as  it  were,  a  head 
shaven  bare  (comp.  ii.  16)  ;  Ashkelon,  the  sea- 
port, the  mouth  of  the  stream  of  traffic,  is  a 
mouth  struck  dumb.  It  is  not  yet,  indeed,  de- 
stroyed like  Gaza,  but  its  gates  are  closed.  No 
one  any  more  goes  in  or  out,  for  the  enemy  is 
before  them. — Remnant  of  their  valley.  In 
the  topography  of  Philistia  a  hilly  country  (in 
the  east),  and  alow  country  maybe  distinguished. 
Comp.  Vaiiiinger's  art.,  Philistia  in  Herz.  ^.- 
Enc.  XI.,  S.  553.     Although  the  proper  name  of 

this  low  land  is  Vn^'^,  it  is  yet  possible  that  pD-^'^ 
also  may  be  put  for  it  (comp.  1  Sam.  xxxi.  7). 
It  must  further  be  admitted  that  Ashkelon  and 
Gaza  are  not  inappropriately  termed  the  rem- 
nant of  the  valley,  for  they  were  the  strongest 
cities:  the  enemy  coming  from  the  north  through 

Judea,  has  beset  the  hill  region  (nnC'X,  Josh.  x. 

40;  xii.  8.  Comp.  Vaihinger,  ut  sup.):  in  the 
low  country  Gaza  and  Ashkelon  resist  the  longest; 
when  these  are  fallen,  the  last  remnant  of  the 
low  lands,  consequently  the  whole  land,  is  in  the 
power  of  the  enemy. — Their  and  the  following 
sentence  hew  long,  etc.,  refer  to  the  whole 
Philistia.  These  self-woundings  were  a  heathen 
custom  in  conjunction  with  earnest  supplication 
of  their  deities  (comp.  1  Ki.  xviii.  28  ;  Herz. 
R.-Enc,  Art.  Baal).  The  prophet  then  repre- 
sents the  Philistines  here  as  humbling  them- 
selves. They  perceive  that  it  is  the  God  of  Israel, 
who  is  bringing  this  judgment  upon  them  (comp. 
1  Sam.  v.),  they  therefore  appeal  to  Him  after 
their  manner  for  grace.  The  prophet  tells  them, 
however,  that  this  can  no  longer  help  them,  the 
judgment  having  already  begun  with  the  facts 
intimated  in  ver.  5,  a.  This  explanation  appears 
satisfactory.  I  cannot,  therefore,  conclude  to 
read   with  Gesenius  [Thes.  s.  v.,  pD^),   HiTzia 

and  Graf  after  the  LXX.,  DpJJ^  (Anakim),  much 
as  this  reading  has  in  its  favor,  affording,  as  it 
does,  a  suitable  supplementation  to  "remnant 
of  the  coasts  of  Caphtor,"  ver.  4,  and  an  appro- 
priate allusion  to  Gath,  the  chief  residence  of 
the  last  of  these  giants  (1  Sam.  xvii.  4;  1  Chron. 
XX.  5-8).  Alterations  of  the  reading  are  to  be 
permitted  only  in  cases  of  extreme  necessity. 
The  words  of  ver.  6  contain  the  import  of  the 
supplications  accompanying  the  self-woundings. 
There  seems  to  me  to  be  an  intimation  that  these 
were  tiie  words  of  the  Pl;ilistines  in  the  expres- 
sion of  Jehovah  (niri"''?),    tor  though  not  bad 


872 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Hebrew,  it  has  a  foreign  sound  and  makes  the 
impression  that  the  speakers  attribute  the  sword 
raging  against  them  only  unwillingly  and  hesita- 
tingly to  Jehovah.  In  vi.  25;  xii.  12,  the  con- 
struction is  different. — In  ver.  7  the  prophet 
answers  the  petition  of  ver.  6.  In  the  first  clause 
attaching  himself  closely  to  the  question,  a  change 
of  person  is  thus  occasioned,  as  so  often  in  Jere- 
miah. Comp.  V.  14;  xii.  13;  xvii.  13;  xxi.  12 
(Chethibh),  xxxvi.  29,  30;  xlvi.  3,  9.— The  sea- 
shore is  used  in  Ezek.  xxv.  16  also  of  Philistia, 
but  it  is  not  impossible  that,  as  Graf  supposes, 
it  may  refer  also  to  J  lie  Phenicians  of  ver.  4.  It 
also  intimates  that  the  enemy  will  advance  from 
the  East.  Comp.  xxiii.  19,  20;  xlviii.  10;  Isa. 
Iv.  10. 


DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

Among  all  the  neighboring  nations  the  Philis- 
tines were  those  who  showed  enmity  to  the 
Israelites  longest  and  with  most  success.  For 
from  the  times  of  Shamgar  (Jud.  iii.  31)  down 
to  Hezekiah  (2  Ki.  xviii.  8j,  they  were  both  hostile 

(comp.  Dnp  H^'X,  Ezek.  xxv.  15),  and  danger- 
ous neighbors.  Even  Israel's  great  heroic  and 
victorious  period,  the  time  of  Samuel,  Saul  and 
David,  did  not  result  in  rendering  these  oppo- 
nents perfectly  innoxious  (comp.  1  Ki.  xv.  27 ; 
xvi.  15;  2  Chron.  xxi.  16,  17;  xxviii.  18).  Ezekiel 
even  mentions  them  among  those  who  delighted 


with  malicious  joy  in  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 
Since  now  it  is  perfectly  natural  that  the  theo- 
cratic prophecy  should  include  the  Philistines 
and  reckon  the  destruction  of  these  old  enemies 
among  the  bright  points  in  Israel's  future  (comp. 
Isa.  xi.  14;  xiv.  28,  29:  Obad.  19;  Am.  i.  6; 
Zeph.  ii.  4;  Ezek.  xxv.  15),  our  prophecy  is  pro- 
bably the  earliest  of  Jeremiah's  predictions 
against  foreign  nations.  As,  however,  Jeremiah 
in  ver.  6  predicts  a  humbling  of  the  Philistines, 
so  Zechariah  their  complete  conversion  lo  the 
Lord  and  their  reception  into  Israel  (ix.  7). 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  xlvii.  1.  The  inviolable  majesty  of  the 
divine  word  has  nothing  to  tear  from  an  apparent 
momentary  violation.  Jereminh  predicts  too  the 
Philistines'  destruction  by  an  enemy  from  the 
north,  at  the  moment  when  an  enemy  from  the 
south  was  about  successfully  to  assail  them. 

2.  On  xlvii.  3.  A  noble  picture  of  extreme  de- 
spair! Comp.  Isa.  xlix.  15.  Yet  it  has  occurred 
that,  women  have  killed  and  eaten  their  children: 
2  Kings  vi.  28,29.  Comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  53-57; 
Lam.  ii.  20;  iv.  10. 

3.  On  xlvii.  6.  "The  terribly  pathetic  dis- 
course which  the  prophet  here  holds  with  God's 
sword,  should  remind  us;  1,  that  no  calamity 
comes,  but  by  the  Lord's  will ;  2,  that  it  goes  no 
further  than  God  will;  3,  that  it  will  not  ceas* 
before  God  wilL"   Ceamer. 


5.    PROPHECY  AGAINST  MOAB  (CHAP.  XLVIIl). 

Although  Israel  had  received  the  command  by  Moses,  not  to  oppress  or  make  war  on  the  Moabites  (Deut. 
ii.  9),  the  Moabites  on  their  part  acted  in  a  most  hostile  manner  towards  Israel,  and  according  to 
Balaam's  counsel  (Num.  xxxi.  17),  did  them  greater  injury  by  seducing  them  to  idolatry,  than  they 
could  have  done  with  weapons  of  war.  In  consequence  of  the  command  given  by  Moses,  the  Israelites 
took  possession  of  none  of  the  country  of  the  Moabites,  but  the  Arrion.  which  had  formed  the  boundary 
line  between  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites  (Num.  xxi.  13;  Jud.  xi.  18),  now  formed  that  between 
Moab  and  Reuben  (Deut.  ii.  36;  Josh.  xiii.  9).  From  this  time  the  history  of  the  relations  between 
Israel  and  Moab  falls  into  two  periods.  The  first  extends  from  the  OQCupatiofi  of  the  transjordanie 
country  to  the  subjugation  of  the  Moabites  by  David  (2  Sam.  viii.  2).  During  this  period  many 
struggles  took  place  between  the  two  iiations  with  varying  success  (Jud.  iii.  12  sqq.  ;  28  sqq.  ;  1  Sam. 
xiv.  47).  The  second  period  embraces  the  subjection  of  the  Moabites  under  Davidand  his  successors  {after 
the  division  under  the  kings  of  Israel)  to  their  revolt  after  the  death  of  Ahab  (2  Ki.  i.  1 ;  iii.  4,  5).  The 
third  period  again  is  one  of  hostility  with  varying  success  (2  Ki.  iii.  6-27;  xiii.  20),  biit  closes  with 
the  occupation  of  the  region  to  the  north  of  the  Arnon  by  the  Moabites  in  consequence  of  the  deportation 
of  the  East-jordanic  Israelites  by  Tiglath  Pileser  (2  Ki.  xv.  29;  1  Chron.  v.  6,  26).  The  fourth 
period  embraces  their  entire  subsequent  history.  In  this  the  only  account  we  have  of  wars  between  the 
two  nations  is,  that  Moabitish  troops  were  sent  against  Jehoiakim  after  his  revolt  from  the  Chaldeans 
(2  Ki.  xxiv.  2).  Under  Zedekiah  we  see  the  Moabites  in  league  with  Israel  against  the  common  enemy, 
the  Chaldeans  (Jer.  xxvii.  1-3),  of  which  Josephus  (Ant.  X.,  9,  7)  records  that  Nebuchadnezzar  in 
the  fifth  year  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  subjugated  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites.  In  this 
fourth  period  fall  the  other  prophecies  against  Moab,  with  the  exception  of  the  brief  oracle.  Am.  ii.  1- 
S,viz.,  those  of  Isaiah  (chh.  xv.  and  xvi.  coll.  xxv.  16-19)  Zephaniah  (ii.  8-11),  Jeremiah  (ch. 
xlviii.),  Ezekiel  (xxv.  8-11). 

No" proof  is  needed  that  Jeremiah  had  occasion  to  direct  a  prophecy  against  this  old  hereditary  foe.  The 
account  in  2  K.\.  xx'w.  2  shows  that  even  .specially  at  that  time  the  disposition  of  the  Moabites  was 
hostile  to  Judah ;  for  this  prophecy  certainly  belongs  to  the  time  of  Jehoiakim  and  before  the  fourth 
year,  the  Chaldeans  and  Nebuchadnezzar  not  being  mentioned.  The  form  of  the  superscription  favor* 
its  contemporaneousness  with  the  first  prophecy  against  Egypt  (xlvi.  1.  2).      Comp.  rem*,  on  that  pa^- 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  1-5.  873 


sage. — Jeremiah's  object  in  this  prophecy  ivas  evidently  to  reanimate,  as  it  were,  the  former  declara- 
tions of  similar  purport,  and  comprise  them  togeiher  for  the  sake  of  a  powerful  total  effect.  From  ver. 
29  onwards,  there  is  a  constant,  more  or  less  free,  use  of  older  utterances.  Of  special  importance  ap- 
peared to  our  prophet  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  itself  reproducing  an  older  oracle  (Isa.  xvi.  13).  He 
makes  very  extensive  use  of  it,  particularly  o/vers.  29-38.  Amos  also  (comp.  pNty-'JS,  ver.  45,  and 
r\1'Tpn,  vers.  24  and  41,  with  Am.  ii.  2).  Zcphaniah  (comp.  /'^JH,  vers.  26  and  42,  with  Zeph. 
ii.  8,  10)  and  even  older  utterances  of  the  Pentateuch  (comp.  vers.  45,  46  with  Num.  xxi.  28,  29; 
xxiv.  17)  have  not  been  left  unemployed.  Thus  the  prophecy  has  not  only  become  very  long,  but 
many  unevennesses  have  been  produced  by  the  inlroduclion  of  foreign  matters.  Movers  and  Hitzig 
have  thus  been  misled  to  assume  various  interpolations.  Graf,  however,  has  satisfactorily  rebutted 
these  attack's  on  the  integrihf  of  our  text.  As  regards  the  structure  of  the  discourse,  it  consists,  ac- 
cording to  the  peculiarity  of  Jeremiah's  style,  in  pictures  of  various  extent,  of  which  we  number  eleven. 
The  first  five  are  predominantly  occupied  ivith  the  description  of  the  punitive  judgment  breaking  in  upon 
Moab  (vers.  1-25),  while  the  four  following  (vers.  26-42)  have  the  reasons  of  this  judgment  for  their 
subject.  The  last  two  pictures  (vers.  43,  44,  and  vers.  45,  46)  are  related  to  the  two  main  divisio7is 
as  supplements,  in  so  far  as  they  contain  nothing  new,  but  draw  only  on  two  older  sources,  viz. :  1,  a 
drastic  passage  by  Isaiah,  which  moreover  has  nothing  to  do  with  Moab  ;  2,  some  declarations  of  the 
book  of  Numbers  referring  to  Moab.  The  last  verse  is  a  consolatory  glance  forming  a  conclusion  to  the 
■whole. 

1.  The  Description  of  the  Punitive  Judgment  (xlviii.  1-25.) 

1.   The  Devastation  Proceeding  from  City  to  City. 

XLVIII.   1-5. 

1  Against  Moab. 

Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel: 

AVoe  unto  Nebo,  for  it  is  laid  waste ! 

Confounded  and  taken  is  Kiriathaim ! 

Confounded  and  broken  to  pieces  is  the  citadel  [Misgab], 

2  The  glory  of  Moab  is  departed. 

In  Heshhon  they  have  spun  evil  against  ner. 
"  Up  !  and  let  us  cut  her  off  from  being  a  nation  !"^ 
Thou  also,  0  Madmen,  art  made  mad  [feeble]  :* 
Behind  thee  cometh  the  sword. 

3  Hark!  Crying  from  Choronaim — 
Desolation  and  great  ruin. 

4  Broken  in  pieces  is  Moab ! 
They  cry  aloud  towards  Zoar.' 

5  For  the  ascent  of  Luhith  is  ascended  with  weeping,  with  weeping.* 

For  on  the  descent  of  Choronaim  are  heard  the  oppressors^  of  the  cry  of  woe. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  2.— "'UO.     Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  1 106,  6. 

*  Ver.  2. — Whether  '3^n  is  Kal  or  Niphal,  is  doubtful.  Both  are  possible.  The  Niphal  meaning  would  correspond 
best  to  the  connection.    Comp.  Olsh.,  §  2-1.3  d,  with  Ewald,  g  140  6. 

3  Ver.  3.— I  concur  with  Graf  in  reading  myii*,  following  the  LXX.,  instead  of  n'''lH'^.     In  Isa.  xv.  5,  which  pas- 

T-:  TV. 

sage  the  prophet  had  in  view  here,  the  fugitives  of  Moab  flee  1_yi*  l_j;,  and  in  ver.  34  of  this  chapter.  IJ^jf  is  mentioned 

with  Choronaim.  The  readin;;  ni>''i*  which  appears  also  to  have  led  the  LXX.  astray,  so  that  they  write  Zoydpa  instead 
of  2»)7uip,  as  they  elsewhere  i  euder  l^i*  (Gen.  xiv.  2 ;  six.  22  sqq.  ;  Isa.  xv.  5)  seems  to  have  arisen  in  a  similar  manner 

with  ^'^W,  iri'K'IX',  etc.    Comp.  rems.  on  xvii.  23.    The  analogy  of  xiv.  3  finally  produced  the  alteration  into  iT^IJ^}? . 

♦  Ver.  5. — n  7_I^'  is  a  paronomasia  with  H  7j?rD  ;  grammatically  it  is  the  third  person  singular  impersonal.  Comp. 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  101,  2  6.  Instead  of  the  second  '' J3,  we  have  U  iu  the  passage  in  Isaiah.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
here  "33  arose  from  a  blending  of  the  following  ^2  with  the  preceding  3,  in  consequence  of  indistinct  or  defective  writing 

Df  the  vowel.  Delitzsch  also  {Jes.,  S.  207)  attributes  the  reading  to  a  mistake.  It  is  not,  however,  to  be  denied  that  .Tere- 
piiah  may  possibly  have  written  OS-  Then  it  would  be  more  advisable  to  take  the  second  as  an  empiiatic  rhetorical  repe- 
tition of  the  first  with  omission  of  the  preposition  (comp.  Naeoeisb.  Gr..  §  112,  8),  than  to  give  it  the  part  of  the  subject. 
For,  when  we  compare  cases  like  n  J  L^3  twd,   Vl'Z    I'Vi  we  must  not  forget  that  here  the  immediate  juxtaposition  of  the 

two  assonant  words  is  essential. 

5  Ver.  CI. — Comp.  ~\^i  with  accus.,  and  following  7J7  as  a  designation  of  the  term,  ad  quern  ;  .lud.  ix.  31 ;  Isa.  xxix.  3, 

and  on  the  construct  itate,  aa  a  substitute  for  the  preposition,  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  04,  5  c.    In  accordance  with  the  exegesis  of 


374 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


this  passage,  as  given  below,  we  are  neither  to  take  D''"1V  as  an  abstraction=an5rus<i«,  nor  with  IIitzig  to  read  '"l^f  (X"iy), 
»nd  regard  this  as  the  literal  name,  and  connect  it  as  a  gloss  with  ')2'y,  meaning  the  same,  nor  with  Geaf  to  take  •""^if 


(which  does  not  once  occur  in  old  Hebrew)  in  connection  with  * 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  proclaims  destruction  to  Moab  by, 
as  it  were,  sketching  a  great  picture,  in  which 
we  not  only  perceive  the  abomination  of  desola- 
tion embracing  and,  as  it  were,  enveloping  the 
whole  country,  but  also  distinguish  particular 
points  marked  by  glaring  colors.  In  the  enume- 
ration of  the  cities  there  is  a  general  progress 
from  north  to  south. 

Against  Moab.  The  superscription  leans 
for  support  on  xlvi.  2.  Comp.  the  introduction  to 
chh.  xlvi.-li. 

Ver.  1.  Thus  saith  .  .  .  citadel.  That  the 
mountain  Nebo  is  not  meant,  is  seen  from  the 
verb,  both  in  its  sense  and  form  (fem.).  The 
city  of  Nebo  (comp.  ver.  22;  Num.  xxxii.  3,  3B) 
was  situated,  according  to  the  Onomasticon  of 
Jerome,  eight  Roman  miles  south  of  Heshbon, 
while  Mt.  Nebo  was  six  miles  west  of  this  city. 
Comp.  Raumer,  Paldst.,  S.  265.  —  Kiriathaim 
(comp.  ver.  23;  Gen.  xiv.  5;  Num.  xxxii.  37; 
Josh.  xiii.  19  ;  Ezek.  xxv.  9)  is  one  of  the  oldest 
cities  of  the  East-Jordanic  district.  Burkhardt 
[Travels  in  Syria,  II.,  S.  626)  found  ruins  of  a 
place  called  Et-Taim,  half  an  hour  west  of  Me- 
daba,  which,  however,  does  not  well  harmonize 
with  the  statement  of  Jerome,  who  places  Ka- 
ptd^a  (Koroiatha,  Kiriathaim),  ten  Roman  miles 
west  of  Medaba.  Comp.  Raumer,  S.  263,  4  et 
pass. ;   Herz.  R.-Enc,  VII.,  S.  710. 

The  citadel  [Misgab].  It  is  very  probable 
from  the  context  that  a  definite  locality  is  meant, 
for  otherwise  either  the  citadel  of  the  last  men- 
tioned city  must  be  intended,  or  the  citadels  of 
Moab  generally.  In  both  cases,  however,  we 
should  expect  the  word  to  have  a  sufSx.  Hence 
the  chief  fortress  of  the  Moabites,  Kir-Moab,  or 
Kir-heres  (comp.  vers.  31  and  36  ;  Isa.  xv.  1 ; 
xvi.  7,  11 ;  2  Ki.  iii.  25)  has  been  correctly  under- 
stood. No  appeal  can  be  made  in  behalf  of  this 
view  to  Isa.  xxv.  12,  since  it  is  extremely  ques- 
tionable whether  a  definite  locality  is  there  in- 
tended. Comp.  Drhch^lur  on  Isa.  xxv.  12.  On 
Kir-Moab,  coaip.  Heuz.  R.-Enc.  VII.,  S.  558  sqq. 

Ver.  2.  The  glory  .  .  .  the  sword.  From 
vers.  29,  30,  we  see  that  the  Moabites  were  in- 
clined to  proud  self-praise,  but  we  cannot  here 
take  the  word  translated  glory  in  flio  subjective 
sense,  as  the  whole  stroplie  has  for  its  sulyectfhe 
destruction  of  real  objects.  It  is,  therefore,  here 
as  in  Deut.  xxvi.  19  ;  Jer.  xiii.  11 ;  li.  4,  the  sub- 
ject of  their  glory. — The  name  of  the  city  Hesh- 
bon gives  occasion  for  a  play  upon  words.  We 
translate  "spun"  after  the  example  of  Meier. 
Heslibon  was  then  in  the  possession  of  the  Am- 
monites (xlix.  3).  On  arriving  at  the  boundary 
tiie  enemy  projects  his  plan  of  attack.  Comp. 
rems  on  ver.  45.  After  the  deportation  of  tlie 
East-Jordanic  tribes  by  Tiglatli-Piloser  (2  Ki. 
XV.  29  ;  1  Chron.  v.  26),  the  Moabites  appear  to 
have  taken  possession  of  their  territory.  Hence 
Isaiah  ( xv.  4  ;  xvi.  8,  9)  mentions  Heslibon  among 
the  Moubitish  cities.     The  Ammonites  must  have 


=cry  of  murder. 


come  subsequently  into  possession  of  the  city. 
Comp.  Graf,  S.  654  ;  Von  Raumer,  S.  262  and 
269,  270. — A  place  called  Madmen,  im  Moab,  is 
not  expressly  mentioned  elsewhere,  but  there 
seems  to  be  a  trace  of  it  in  the  figure  of  the 
dung-pit  (Isa.  xxv.  10),  to  the  choice  of  which 
Isaiah  may  have  been  occasioned  by  the  existence 
of  such  a  place,  as  Joseph  Kimchi  supposed. 
Besides  a  HJOIO  is  mentioned  in  Benjamin,  Isa. 
X.  31  ;  a  n30nb  in  Judah,  Josh.  xv.  31;  a  njDl 
in  Zebulon,  Josh.  xxi.  35.  Hence  JOID  here 
also  is  not  to  be  taken  as  an  appellative,  as  some 
modern  commentators  would  do,  following  the 
LXX.,  Vulg.  and  Syr.,  but  as  a  proper  noun. 

Vers.  3-5.  Hark  .  .  .  cry  of  woe.  From 
Choronaim  (comp.  Isa.  xv.  5)  a  loud  cry  is  heard, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  noise  of  the  city  falling 
into  ruins.  Comp.  iv.  6  ;  vi.  1  ;  1.  22  ;  Is.  lix.  7  ; 
Ix.  18. — Graf  has  made  it  very  probable  that  by 
Moab  in  ver.  14  is  to  be  understood,  not  the 
country,  but  the  city  (Num.  xxi.  28;  Isa.  xv.  1  ; 
Num.  xxii.  36).  The  mention  of  several  cities  in 
connection,  and  the  feminine  gender  of  the  verb 
(comp.,  however,  the  masculine  in  ver.  11)  favor 
this.  I  refer  also  to  Num.  xxi.  16,  where  "^p 
alone  seems  to  be  given  as  the  name  of  the  city. 
—  The  first  hemistich  of  ver.  5  is  taken  almost 
verbatim  from  Isa.  xv.  6,  there  being  a  difference 
only  in  the  last  words.  As  we  have  Luhith  in 
Isaiah,  without  any  difference  in  reading,  we  are 
justified  in  following  the  Keri,  which  has  the  same 

here.  From  the  other  reading  (mn^'7=tables, 
boards)  a  suitable  sense  can  be  wrung  only  with 
difficulty.  ^^Est  usque  hodie  vicus  inter  Areopolin 
{i.  e.,Ar-3foab)  et  Zoarum  7iomine  Lidtha,"  says  Je- 
rome in  the  Onomasticon.  By  For  the  declaration 
of  the  preceding  verse,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Ar- 
Moab  cry  towards  Zoar,  is  explained,  viz.,  the 
ascent  of  Luhith,  which  is  on  the  road  designated, 
they  are  seen  to  ascend  weeping. — In  the  second 
half  of  the  verse  we  find  a  much  altered  copy  of 
the  second  half  of  the  verse  in  Isa.  xv.  5.  Instead 
of  "  in  the  way  of  Horonaim"  it  is  inJeremiah, 
"in  the  descent  of  Horonaim."  The  present  form 
of  the  text  appears  to  me  to  betraj'  an  effort  after 
greater  distinctness  and  closer  correspondence  to 
the  topography.  Hence  the  ascent  of  Luhith  is 
opposed  to  the  descent  of  Horonaim.  He  who 
would  go  from  Ar-Moab  to  Zoar,  would  have  to 
go  down  a  declivity  at  Horonaim,  and  ascend  an 
elevation  at  Luhith.  Similarly  Vitkinga  on  Isa. 
XV.  6,  only  that  he  makes  Luhith  come  first  after 
Ar-Moab  and  Horonaim  afterward,  which,  how- 
ever, evidently  contradicts  the  connection.  In 
Isaiah  it  reads  "they  raise  aery  of  destruction," 
and  here  it  might  be  objected,  how  could  those 
who  go  up  by  Luhith  weep,  because  they  raise  a 
cry  at  Horonaim?  When  the  ascent  of  Luhith  is 
faking  place,  the  descent  of  Horonaim  lying  in 
the  reiir  is  vacant.  Or  are  the  people  of  Horo- 
naim supposed  to  have  remained  behind,  when 
tlie  streanj  of  fugitives  passed  tiirough  from  Ar- 
Moab?  How  could  this  stream  raise  a  cry  at 
Horonaim  while  ascending  Luhith  ?    They  might, 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  6-10. 


375 


however,  Ye  anxious  when  they  heard  the  op- 
pressors behind  them  at  Horonaim.     I  therefore 

think  that  "^2^,  which  has  given  the  commenta- 
tors 80  much  trouble,  and  produced  so  many 
ouriosities  of  exegesis,  is  quite  correct.     IV  is 


the  oppressor ;  for  11X  is  premere,  urgere  aliquem 
hostili  modo.  The  genitive  is  to  be  taken  in  that 
wider  and  freer  sense,  which  the  construct  state 
80  frequently  has.  The  oppressors  of  the  cry  of 
woe  are  those  who  cause  the  cry  by  their  oppres 
sious. 


2.  Summons  to  flight,  which  yet  will  not  secure  lafety, 
XLVIII.  6-10. 

6  Flee,  save  your  lives ! 

But  they  shall  be^  like  a  forsaken  one^  in  the  wilderness. 

7  For  on  account  of  thy  confidence  in  thy  bungling  work' 
And  in  thy  treasures  shalt  thou  also  be  taken, 

And  Chemosh  shall  go  into  captivity, 
His  priests  and  his  princes  together.* 

8  And  the  spoiler  shall  come  upon  every  city, 
And  the  city  shall  not  be  delivered ; 

The  valley  also  shall  perish, 

And  the  plains  shall  be  devastated — as'  Jehovah  hath  spoken. 

9  Give  wings*  unto  Moab,  for  it  will  flee  forth. 
But  its  cities  shall  be  desolation 

Without  any  to  dwell  therein. 
10  Cursed  be  he  who  doeth  Jehovah's  work  remissly, 

And  cursed  be  he  who  keepeth  back  his  sword  from  biood. 

TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  6. — nynnV    if  the  condition  to  be.expected.as  a  consequence  of  the  flight  were  to  be  designated,  VHl  <""  nn^iTI 

T  :  T  :  T  : 

would  be  grammatically  more  correct.  Hence  I  take  1  in  the  adversative  sense,  and  the  Imperf.  as  a  simple  announce- 
ment.   The  plural  of  the  third  person  refers  to  the  ideal  plural  contained  in  the  collective  DDtJ'fl  J- 

'^  Ver.  6. — It  has  been  with  reason  supposed  that  ^^1J^3  is  to  be  read  instead  of  '\^^'^V2,  according  to  the  analogy 

of  xvii.  6  The  opinion  that  the  strange  word  was  also  the  name  of  a  city,  and  indeed  of  the  well-known  Aroer,  may  easily 
have  given  occasion  to  the  reading  of  the  text.    The  ancient  translations  vacillate  :  .the  LXX.  translate-ovos  aypiosOTIJ?). 

Vulg. :  myrica  {virgultum  humile  et  spinnsum) ;  Syrus :  ti-uncus  arhoris,  slips.  All  these  renderings  lack  proper  etymological 
foundation.  Gesenius  {Commenlary  on  Isa.  vii.  2j,  and  in  his  Thesaurus  (S.  10,  74),  fixes  the  meaning  of  rudera,  ruinx,  on 
IJ^TIJ^  itself,  but  for  this  also  there  is  no  etymological  basis. 

8  Ver.  7. — The  meaning  of  D'ti'J^iO  is  doubtful— bulwark,  bungling  work  (idol  images),  property — the  latter  according 

to  passages  like  Exod.  xxiii.  16;  1  Sam.  xxv.  2.    But  in  these  passages  riK'^O  denotes  only  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and 

its  products.    An  emphasis  on  this  appears  to  be  superfluous  with  riJ'IV IX-    Since  immediately  afterwards  the  disgraceful 

T 

carrying  away  of  the  principal  idol  of  Moab  is  expressly  mentioned,  the  mention  of  these  manufactured  idols  as  vain  sup- 
ports is  more  suitable  to  the  connection  (i.  16  ;  x.  3,  9  ;  xxv.  6,  7.  Comp.  xlix.  4). 

*  Ver.  7. — Tn'  (Chethibh)  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  Jeremiah.     In  the  parallel  passages,  also,  we  find  'TH'- 

T  :  ~ 

5  Ver.  8.— '•■'  lOX  "IK^X-    This  "^t^X,  whether  we  take  it  as=as,  because,  or  which,  is -quite  contrary  to  the  usage  of 

Jeremiah,  since  he  always  inserts  i'  "^bx  alone  (vi.  15;  xxx.  3 ;  xxxiii.  11, 13 ;  xlix.  2,  18).  J.  D.  Michaelis  supposes  it  is 
ortum  ex  repelitione  finalium  literarum  prxcedentis,  "lU/'O.     It  is  also  wanting,  according  to  him,  in  Cod.  72. 

6  Ver. 9.— I"'' i*  from  the  radical  meaning  micare, prcmiicare,  has  also  tlie  meanings  of  "forehead-plate"  (of  the  high- 
priest,  Exod.  xxviii.  36-3S),  "  flower,"  and  "  wing,"  in  which  last  it  occurs  here.  In  Chaldee  it  is  used  for  ala,  Ps.  cxxxix. 
9;  for  fin  Lev.  xi.  9.    Comp.  Buxtorf's  L'x.  Cliald..,  p.  1907.    The  choice  both  of  this  word  and  the  following  xij,  seems  to 

T 

have  been  occasioned  by  an  effort  at  paronomasia.    For  XV  J  also  (properly  HV J.  Comp.  Jli'l J,  wing ;  Ezek.  xvii.  3,  7  ;  Job 

TT  T    ' 

xxxix.  13— the  X  for  the  sake  of  uniformity  with  XVn.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  93  d,  Anm.),  is  owaf  \ey6iievov. 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  portrays  the  destruction  threaten- 
ing Moab  by  surojvouing  the  people  to  flight,  but  a,t 


the  same  time  distinctly  declaring  that  this  would 
not  avail.  This  summons  is  made  in  a  double 
gradation:  1.  Moab  is  simply  called  upon  to  fl'je 
(ver.  6  a),  but  it  is  directly  remarked  that  Moab 
would  only  barely  escape  and  then  be  recaptured 


876 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


(vers.  6  6-7  a),  and  that  in  consequence  the  en- 
tire people,  idols,  priests  and  princes  at  their 
head,  would  be  carried  into  captivity,  while  all 
remaining  immovable  property  would  be  de- 
stroyed (vers.  7  b,  8).  2.  The  means  of  flight 
are  offered  to  Moab  in  a  figure  (9  a)  but,  as  the 
second  half  of  the  verse  briefly  intimates,  the  end 
will  yet  be  the  same,  namely,  devastation  (ver.  9 
b).  It  cannot  also  possibly  be  otherwise,  for  the 
Lord  makes  known  Ilis  fixed  resolution  to  destroy 
Moab,  by  threatening  remissness  or  forbearance 
in  the  work  of  destruction  with  His  curse  (ver. 
10). 

Vers.  6-8.  Flee  .  .  .  hath  spoken.  The 
cull  to  flee  is  evidently  intended  ironically,  for  the 
announcement,  directly  follows  that  the  condition 
of  the  fugitives  will  be  an  extremely  wretched 
one,  that  they  will  indeed  be  again  taken. — Like 
a  forsaken  one, — Hike  Aroer.  Three  Aroers 
are  known;  in  Judah  (1  Sam.  xxx.  26),  in  Gad 
(Num.  xxxii.  34;  Josh.  xiii.  25;  Jud.  xi.  33;  2 
Sam.  xxiv.  5),  and  in  Reuben  (Deut.  ii.  36;  iii. 
12;  iv.  18;  Josh.  xii.  2;  xiii.  9;  Jud.  xi.  26). 
The  first  cannot  possibly  be  meant.  How  one  of 
the  two  others,  whether  that  on  the  Arnon,  or  that 
further  to  the  north,  in  the  vicinity  of  Rabbath- 
Ammon,  can  be  called  "Aroer  in  the  wilderness," 
it  is  difiicult  to  perceive.  For  if  even  on  the 
lii\sis  of  Isa.  xvii.  2,  the  city  be  supposed  to  be 
then  destroyed,  it  is  yet  strange  that  a  destroyed 
city  should  be  designated  as  situated  "  in  the 
wilderness,"  since  this  expression  by  no  means 
involves  the  idea  of  destruction.  Hence  I  have 
adopted  the  alternate  reading  proposed,  which  is 
favored  by  what  follows.  Neither  a  city,  nor  a 
tree,  nor  ruins,  can  flee  and  be  taken,  but  this 
may  easily  happen  to  one  nudatus  et  desertus  in 
the  wilderness.  The  causal  sentence,  ver.  7,  has 
then  the  sense:  thy  flight  will  no  longer  procure 
thee  protection,  as  one  forsaken  in  the  desert 
finds  out,  for  thou  also  (like  other  nations)  wilt  be 
taken.  And  this  will  be  the  punishment  of  Moab 
for  having  founded  its  happiness  on  false  sup- 
ports.— Chemosh  (the  Chethibh  E/"'D3  is  perfectly 


unique)  was  the  national  god  of  the  Moabites 
and  Ammonites  (1  Ki.  xi.  7 ;  2  Ki.  xxiii.  13  ;  Jud. 
xi.  24).  Moab  is,  therefore,  called  the  people 
of  Chemosh  (ver.  40  ;  Num.  xxi.  29)  ;  accord- 
ingly here,  also,  iiis  princes  are  called  princes 
of  Chemosh.  The  idol  goes  into  captivity  when 
his  image  is  carried  away.  Comp.  xlix.  3  ;  Am. 
i.  15;  Hos.  X.  5,  6.  The  passage  Am.  i.  15 
seems  to  have  been  in  the  prophet's  mind  here,  as 
in  xlix.  3. — Ver.  8  describes  the  destruction  of 
the  immovable  property ;  cities,  valleys  (all  river- 
valleys  in  antithesis  to  elevated  plains  and  moun. 

tains),  and  plains  (liiJ/'Jp  the  plateau  of  Rabbath- 

Ammon,  south  as  far  as  the  Arnon.  Comp.  Deut. 
iii.  10;  iv.  43;  Josh.  xiii.  9,  16,  17,  21;  xx.  8; 
Raumer,  Pal.  S.  71  fl".) 

Ver.  9.  Give  ■wings  .  .  .  therein.  In  com- 
parison with  ver.  6  there  is  evidL-utly  a  progress 
here;  there  it  is  a  mere  call  to  flight,  here  the 
call  is  to  afford  Moab  the  only  still  imaginable 
means  for  this,  viz.,  wings.  The  one  call  is  as 
ironical  as  the  other.  There  is  a  strengthening 
of  the  irony  in  the  word  "for,"  which  designates 
the  fleeing  away  as  the  object  not  of  the  speaker, 
but  of  Moab.  Comp.  Isa.  xvi.  2. — The  second 
half  of  the  verse  corresponds  as  a  brief  synopsis 
to  all  that  has  been  mentioned  from  ver.  6  6  to 
ver.  8,  as  the  result  of  the  first  summons  (ver.  6 
a).  The  expression  is  as  in  xlvi.  19;  xlix.  17  ; 
li.  43  ;   iv.  9,  etc. 

Ver.  10.  Cursed  .  .  .  from  blood.  These 
words  are  the  foil  to  the  foregoing  description. 
On  this  background  the  irony  appears  in  its  full 
strength.  From  these  words  we  perceive  what 
was  the  true  meaning  of  the  summons  to  flight, 
and  how  much  more  bitter  the  severity  is  ren- 
dered by  these  contrasting  announcements  (ver. 
6  6-ver.  8 ;  ver.  9  b).  Moab's  destruction  is 
designated  as  the  work  of  the  Lord,  because  this 
is  no  more  than  the  execution  of  a  decree  of 
judgment  pronounced  by  Him.  Comp.  xxv.  31 ; 
xlvi.  10 ;  li.  6. — Remissly.  Comp.  Prov.  x.  4; 
xii.  27. 


3.  The  Transfusion. 
XLVIII.  11-18. 


11  Moab  hath  been  at  ease  from  his  youth, 
And  he  lay  still  on  his  lees, 

And  was  not  drawn  off  from  one-  vessel  to  another,* 
Neither  hath  he  gone  into  exile : 
Therefore  hath  his  taste  remained  in  him, 
And  his  fragrance  hath  not  changed. 

12  Therefore  behold,  the  days  are  coming,  saith  Jehovah, 
That  I  will  send  unto  him  tilters,  who  shall  tilt  him  up 
And  empty  his  vessels  and  dash  his  dishes  in  pieces. 

13  And  Moab  shall  be  put  to  shame  by  Chemosh, 

As  the  house  of  Israel  was  put  to  shame  by  Bethel,  their  confidence. 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  14-17. 


37* 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

•  Ver.  11. — On  7K  for  7^  comp.  rems.  on  x.  1. 

'  Ver.  12.— n^lf ,  inclinare,  only  here  and  ii.  20  in  Jeremiah.    In  0   D'J^i  tbe  object  is  Moab,  or  the  wine  representing 

it;  since  it  is  to  be  mentioned  what  is  made  empty  there  must  be  another  object  to  Ip^T,  and  as  73  J  (originally  a  leathern 

bottle,  and  then  cadus,urceus;  comp.  xiii.  12 ;  Lam.  iv.  2  ;  Isa.  xxx.  11)  offered  itself  as  a  paronomasia  [alliteration]  to  ViJJ, 

it  is  given  as  the  third  object,  though  really  the  object  remains  the  same.  In  order  to  render  the  alliteration  we  have  trans- 
lated, after  Luthkr,  [Bl.wnet,  Noyes,  Wordsworth]  "tilters"  and  "tilted;"  [Cowles  :  emptyers;  and  the  former  after 
Meier,  render  "  dash  '"  and  "  dishes."— S.  K.  A.J 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  a  very  palpable  figure  the  prophet  compares 
Moab  with  wiue,  which  has  never  been  drawn 
oiF  into  another  cask  and  has  therefore  retained 
its  taste  and  scent  unchanged  (ver.  11).  The 
Lord  will  transfuse  Moab  and  cause  his  old  cask 
to  be  broken  in  pieces  (ver.  12),  and  then,  like 
Israel,  he  will  be  put  to  shame  by  his  idols. 

Vers.  11-13.  Moab  .  .  .  their  confidence. 
Since  the  Moabites  took  the  land  from  the  origi- 
nal inhabitants,  the  Emims  (Deut.  ii.  10),  they 
had  generally  remained  in  quiet  possessien  of  it. 
They  had  never  been  carried  into  captivity,  as 
had  been  the  case  with  Israel  in  their  stay  in 
Egypt  and  the  deportation  of  the  ten  tribes. 
That  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  figure  is  ex- 
pressly declared  in  ver.  11,  by  the  words  neither 
hath  he  gone  into  exile.  It  seems  to  me 
doubtful  whether  Jeremiah  has  reference  to  Isa. 
XXV.  6  ;  at  any  rate,  on  account  of  the  difference 
in  the  main  thoughts,  the  reference  can  be  only 
cursory  and  verbal.  Essentially  the  same 
thought,  however,  is  expressed  in  the  same 
words  in  Zeph.  i.  12,  whence  it  is  probable  that 
Jeremiah  had  this  passage  in  mind.    Four  points 


are  distinguished  :  1.  As  a  basis  the  fact  that 
Moab  has  never  been  transfused.  2.  The  pri- 
mary consequence  that  its  taste  and  odor  have 
remained.  So  far  as  this  refers  to  the  outward 
status  reruin,  a  great  degree  of  national  pros- 
perity is  thus  designated.  In  so  far,  however, 
as  the  words  refer  to  the  inward  habitus,  or  to 
their  relation  to  God  and  connected  with  this  to 
His  people,  they  express  a  sense  unfavorable  to 
Moab.  They  declare  that  Moab  has  never  been 
thoroughly  purified,  never  been  freed  from  its 
enmity  to  the  Lord  and  His  people.  3.  As  a 
secondary  consequence,  it  is  mentioned,  that  a 
time  of  visitation  is  impending  on  Moab,  since 
it  cannot  possibly  be  privileged  against  such  a 
season.  The  instruments  of  the  visitation  are 
designated,  in  accordance  with  the  figure  in  ver. 
11,  as  coopers,  who  are  to  tilt  up  the  old  casks, 
empty  and  then  break  them  in  pieces.  4.  As  the 
final  result  it  is  mentioned  that  Moab  will  be  put 
to  shame  by  Chemo^h  as  Israel  by  Bethel.  The 
long  undisturbed  quiet  was  physically  considered 
a  benefit  to  Moab,  but  spiritually  a  gracious  op- 
portunity which  it  did  not  make  use  of.  Hence 
Moab  must  become  wise,  like  Israel,  by  loss  and 
suffering  (comp.  1  Ki.  xii.  28-33). 


4.   TVie  Vanity  of  Human  Glory. 
XLVIII.  14-17. 

14  How  can  ye  say,  we  are  heroes 
And  strong  men  for  the  war  ? 

15  Desolated  is  Moab  and  his  cities  go  up/ 

And  his  best  young  men  go  down  to  the  slaughter, 
Saith  the  King,  Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  his  name. 

16  Moab's  destruction  is  near  approaching, 
And  his  calamity  hastens  on  apace.^ 

17  Bemoan  him,  all  his  neighbors, 
All  ye,  who  know  his  name, 

Say,  how  is  the  mighty  stem  broken, 
The  splendid  rod ! 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  "Ver.  15.— The  singular  rhy  is  certainly  surprising,  but  the  alteration  of  the  text  to  intjr  (the  spoiler  of  Moab  and  tils 

cities  goes  up)  [as  J.  D.  Mich.,  Ewald,  Graf,  BLAY^fEY],  seems  to  me  unnecessary.     I  believe  tliat  .Teremiah  had  in  view  the 

passage  in  Jud.  xx.  40  (HD'Oiyn  1'J.'n-V7D  hS  V  H^m),  ami  that  thus  the  sing.  masc.  is  explained,  which  moreover 

X :~  T   ~  •  T  •  :         TT      ••*: 

in  the  principle  of  the  ideal  number  (the  entirctv  of  the  cities  regarded  as  a  unit.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  i  105  4  a)  has  a 
grammatical  support. 

«  Ver.  16.— Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  22 ;  Ivi.  1 ;  Naeoelsb.  Or.,  I  95,  3  6. 


878 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

All  human  glory  is  turned  to  shame,  whether 
one  glorify  himself,  as,  according  to  ver.  14, 
Moab  had  done,  to  which  the  destruction  of  all 
his  warlike  power  stands  in  strong  contrast 
(ver.  15),  or  good  friends  and  neighbors  praise 
us.  These  may  soon  and  easily  find  occasion 
(ver.  16)  to  turn  their  song  of  praise  into  a 
lamentation. 

Vers.  14,  15.  How  can  .  .  .  his  name.  In 
opposition  to  Moab's  boastful  glorying  in  his 
warlike  strength,  desolation  is  announced  in 
general  and  destruction  according  to  a  just  Ne- 
mesis of  the  main  objects  of  his  glorying:  the 
fort)*i°d  cities,  which  seemed  to  rest  immovably 
on  their  foundations,  must  fly  away  in  smoke  ; 


the  strong  youths,  wlio  aimed  high,  must  go 
down  to  slaughter. — Go  dowrn,  etc.  Comp.  Isa. 
xxxiv.  G,  7  ;  Jer.  1.  27;  li.  40.— Saith,  etc.  Comp. 
xlvi.  18;  li.  67. 

Vers.  16,  17.  Moab's  destruction  .  .  . 
splendid  rod.  So  near  and  certain  is  the  de- 
struction of  Moab  that  his  neighbors  and  friends 
are  called  upon  to  bemoan  the  overthrow  of  this 
power  so  highly  extolled  hitherto  by  themselves. 
— Bemoan  him.  Comp.  xv.  5;  xvi.  5;  xxii. 
10. — Neighbors  (comp.  xlvi.  14;  xlviii.  39: 
xlix.  5),  literally  those  round  about  iiim,  there- 
fore most  intimately  acquainted  with  him,  ye 
•who  know  his  name,  being  the  more  distant 
acquaintances.  (Comp.  the  related  expressions 
in  Ps.  Ixxxvii.  4;  Job  xix.  13;  xlii.  11;  Ps.  Ivi. 
14;  Ixxxviii.  9,  19). — The  mighty  stem. 
Comp.  Ps.  ex.  2 ;  Ezek.  xix.  12,  14. 


6.  Message  to  the  Fugitives  on  the  Arnon. 
XLVIII.    18-25. 

18  Come  down  from  thy  glory  and  seat  thyself  in  the  thirsty/ 
Thou  inhabitant  daughter  of  Dibon  !^ 

For  the  spoiler  of  Moab  is  advancing  against  thee, 
He  destroyeth  thy  strongholds. 

19  Place  thyself  by  the  wayside  and  look  out, 
Thou  inhabitress  of  Aroer  ; 

Ask  of  the  fugitive  and  her  who  is  escaped  !' 
Say,  What  hath  been  done  ?* 

20  "  Moab  is  confounded,  for  she  is  broken  down.^ 
Howl  and  cry  !® 

Proclaim  it  on  the  Arnon,  that  Moab  is  destroyed ; 

21  And  judgment  has  come  on  the  land  of  the  plain, 
On  Holon  and  on  Jahazah,  and  on  Mephaath, 

22  And  on  Dibon,  Nebo  and  Beth-diblathaim, 

23  And  on  Kiriathaim,  Beth-gamul  and  Beth-meon, 

24  And  on  Kerioth  and  Bozrah, 

And  on  all  the  cities  of  the  land  of  Moab,  far  or  near. 

25  The  horn  of  Moab  is  broken  off, 

And  his  arm  is  shattered  " — saith  Jehovah.     . 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  18.— Judging  from  the  parallel  passage  (Isa.  xlvii.  1)  we  must  read  with  the  Kerl  »3Bf^.     XDV  everywhere  els© 

T  T 

iignifies  thirst.  "  To  seat  one's  self  in  the  thirst,"  however,  sounds  very  strange.  We  must  then  either  punctuate  X02f ,  or  re- 
gard xnV  as  a  collateral  form  of  XOV  (comp.  \'21  with  n'^,  Gen.  xlix.  12 ;  ^Sp  with  aSpi,  Exod.  xxiii.  19).    In  I^tin 

also  sitientia  is  used  for  reginnes  aridx.    Comp.  Plin.  HUL.  N  X.  7:5 ;  XIT.  '2S  ;  XXV.  11. 

2  Ver.  18. *13''T~r\3  r\3K'''.    This  form  of  expression  is  found  besides  here  only  in  xlvi.  19.    The  construction  is  as  in 

XVi  r\3  nSin^,  isa.  xxxvil.  22.    Comp.  Naeoelsu.  Gr.,  ?  64,  4. 

8  Ver.  19. ntoSo  J1  D  J.    The  different  gender  is  to  express  the  variety.    On  the  irregular  accentuation  of  ptO/D  J 

tomp.  Olsh.,  S.  253  and  3G3. 

*  Ver.  19.— On  nn'TIJ  and  its  difference  from  the  masc.  (the  idea  of  multiplicity  involved  in  the  feminine)  comp. 
t|t:- 
Naeoelsb.  Or.,  §  60,  6  6. 

5  Ver.  -.JU.— The  fem.  HPn  can  only  be  referred  to  Moab,  in  spite  of  the  immediately  preceding  \tf^2T\.    It  is  the  same 

change  in  gender  as  in  ver.  9,  ver.  11,  ver.  16  (n"yi  ''D  "VWi,  and  then  again  VlinS),  vera.  38  and  39.    Observe  beside* 
that  i^'^n  precedes  as  TIB'  does. 


CHAP.  XLVIII.   18-25. 


r.T'j 


•Ver.  20. — The  alteration  of  the  Keri   (to  accord  -with  the  following  ^TjH)  is  unnecessary,  since  the  fern,  form  of  tttf 
imperf.  evidently  attaches  itself  to  the  preceding  '10^,  etc.    Accordingly  it  ia  Aroer,  which  is  addressed,  not  Moab. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

An  animated  picture !  First  some  concrete 
forms  of  cities  are  directly  addressed:  Dibon  is 
to  go  down,  Aroer  to  question  the  fugitives 
(vers.  18,  19).  Tlie  answer  of  tlie  latter  is  sad 
enougli.  Arrived  ou  tiie  Arnon,  where  Aroer  is 
situated,  and  thus  on  the  borders  of  the  viishor, 
they  proclaim  that  it  is  at  an  end  with  Moab,  for 
all  the  cities  of  the  northeru  half  of  the  country 
are  taken  (vers.  20-24).  From  this  it  follows  as 
the  total  result,  that  the  power  of  Moab  is 
broken  (ver.  25). 

Ver.  18.  Come  down  .  .  .  thy  strong- 
holds. Isa.  xlvii.  1  was  here  in  the  prophet's 
mind,  "Come  down  and  sit  in  the  dust,  0  virgin 
daughter  of  Babylon." — On  Dibon,  which,  as  we 
conclude  from  thy  strongholds,  was  a  fortified 
city  and  was  situate  a  league  north  of  the  Arnon, 
comp.  Num.  xxxii.  3,  34  ;  Josh.  xiii.  9,  17  ;  Isa. 
XV.  2  ;  Raumer,  Pal.  S.  2G1. 

Ver.  19.  Place  thyself .  .  .  done.  To  the 
inhabitants  of  Aroer,  tlie  southern  boundary  city 

of  the  "lil^'p  (comp.  rems.  on  ver.  8)  the  sad  sum- 
mons is  addressed  to  go  out  into  the  street,  to  spy 
out  (comp.  Nah.  ii.  2)  and  then  to  make  inquiries 
from  the  approaching  train  of  the  fugitives. 

Vers.  20-25.  Moab  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
These  verses  contain  the  answer  of  the  escaped. 
— Judgment.  The  choice  of  the  expression  is 
occasioned  by  the  mishor,  plain,  which  signifies 
not  merely  plain,  but  sequitas,  justitia.  Comp. 
Ps.  xxix.  11  ;  xlv.  7 ;  Ixvii.  5.  Judgment  is 
thus  to  come  upon  the  land,  whose  name  also 
signifies  "land  of  righteousness."  The  cities 
mentioned  afterwards  are  all  in  the  Mishor. 
Holon  (diiFerent  from  another  in  Judah,  Josh. 
XV.  51)  is  mentioned  here  only.  Jahaza  (Comp. 
Isa.  XV.  4;  Num.  xxi.  23 ;  Josli.  xiii.  18;  Jud.  xi. 
20)  lay,  according  to  Eusebius  and  Jerome,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Medaba.     Comp.  Raumer,  S.  263. 

— Mephaath  is  elsewhere  called  rijt^30  (Josh, 
xiii.  18)    or  TS^ji^-q   (Josh.  xxi.  37;  1  Chron.  vi. 

64).  According  to  the  passages  cited  from  the 
book  of  Joshua  it  belongs  to  the  tribe  of  Reuben 
and  to  the  Mishor. — Dibon.  Comp.  rems  on 
ver.  18. — Nebo.  Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  1. — 
Beth-diblathaim  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere 


in  the  Old  Testament.  Its  position  is  clear  from 
the  statement  of  Jerome,  that  Jahaza  was  situ- 
ated between  Medaba  and  Diblathaim.  (  Vid. 
Ono-masticon  s.  v.  Jatt'a). — Kiriathaim.  Comp. 
rems.  on  ver.  1. — Beth-gamul  occurs  here  only. 
If  Pointer  is  correct  in  recoguizing  Bozrah,  Ke- 
rioth  and  Betli-gamul  in  the  present  ruined 
cities  of  the  Haurau,  Bosra,  Kureiyeh  and  El  Je- 
mal,  we  have  here  three  cities  not  in  Moab,  but 
separated  from  it  by  the  entire  territory  of  the 
Ammonites.  Comp.  Raumer,  Pal.  S.  251,  2. 
This  hypotljesis  is,  however,  improbable,  since 
real  Moabitish  cities  can  be  shown  for  Bozrah 
and  Kerioth.  See  below. — Beth-meon  was 
named  in  full  Beth-baal-meon  (Josh.  xiii.  17)  ; 
elsewhere  Baal-meon  (Num.  xxxii.  38j,  and  is 
designated  among  the  other  places  as  belonging 
to  the  Mishor  and  to  the  tribe  of  Reuben, 
('omp.  Raumer,  S.  259  and  264. — Kerioth. 
Comp.  ver.  41  and  Am.  ii.  2.  Seetzen  found  a 
place  on  Mt.  Attarus  (comp.  il'lCO^  Num.  xxxii. 

34,  35)  called  El-Karriat,  which  he  decidedly 
regards  as  Kerioth  not  ICiriathaim.  Comp.  R.\t:- 
MER,  S.  251,  2. — Bozrah.  There  is  a  Bozrah 
mentioned  as  in  Edom  (comp.  rems.  on  xlix.  13) 
and  one  as  in  the  Hauran,  but  the  latter  not  in  the 
Bible.  It  was  the  Bostra  of  the  Romans,  the  birth- 
place of  Pliilippus  Arabs.  Immense  ruins  still 
testify  to  the  importance  of  the  city.  Comp. 
Raumer,  S.  244.  Since,  however,  a  place  "1}f3  in 
the  Mishor  is  expressly  mentioned  (Dent.  iv.  43 ; 
Josh.  XX.  8  ;  xxi.  30),  and  since  the  LXX.  always 
render  this  name  by  Boaop,  we  do  not  hesitate  to 

recognize  n"lX3  in  this  "12f3. — And  on  all  the 

T  :   T  vv 

cities,  etc.  From  the  context  it  can  only  be  the 
cities  to  tlic  north  of  Aroer  which  are  meant,  for 
according  to  ver.  19  sqq.,  the  fugitives  announce 
to  the  people  of  Aroer  that  both  the  cities  further 
to  the  north,  and  also  those  more  to  the  south  in 
the  vicinity  of  Aroer  were  already  taken.  From 
this  it  follows  that  the  whole  northern  half  of  the 
country  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and 
consequently  Moab's  horn  and  arm  (the  biblical 
types  of  dominion  and  strength,  comp.  Ps.  Ixxv. 
6,  11,   1  Sam.  ii.  31 ;   Ps.  x.  15)  are  broken. 

[On  the  Moabitic  stone  recently  discovered, 
which  confirms  many  of  the  names  here  men- 
tioned, see  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  Oct.  1870.  Andover. 
— S.  R.  A.] 


I'/.j^'ilET  JEREMIAH. 


II.  The  Reasons  of  the  Punitive  Judgment  (xlviii.  26-42.) 

1.  MoaVs  Pride  and  his  Punishment  in  General. 

XLVIII.  26-30. 

26  Make  ye  him  drunken,  for  against  Jehovah  hath  he  magnified  himself! 
And  Moab  may  wallow^  in  his  vomit, 

And  he  also  may  become  a  derision  ! 

27  Or'^  was  not  Israel  a  derision^  unto  thee, 
When  he  was  found*  among  the  thieves  ? 

Yea,  for  at  each  of  thy  words  concerning  him  thou  shookest  thyself. 

28  Leave  the  cities  and  dwell  in  the  rock,  ye  inhabitants  of  Moab, 

And  be  as  the  dove  that  maketh  her  nest  on  the  walls  of  the  yawning  ravine. 

29  We  have  heard  the  arrogance  of  Moab,  the  very  arrogant,* 

His  loftiness,  and  his  arrogance  and  his  pride  and  the  haughtiness  of  his  heart 

30  I  know,  saith  Jehovah,  his  insolence 

And  the  nothingness  of  his  boastings ;  nothing  have  they  effected.® 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  26.— p£30  an  onomatopoetic  word,  denotes  originally  "  to  spank,  to  clap."  Comp.  ^y^^'  7_j;  \"^p3D,  xxxi.  19. 
Then  it  is  frequently  used  of  striking  hands  :  Num.  xxiv.  10 ;  Job  xxxiv.  37  ;  Lam.  ii.  15.— p3ty  is  used  in  part  for  piJD 
(Job  xxvii.  23),  and  in  part  as  an  independent  root  with  meaning  sufficere.  In  the  latter  signification  it  occurs,  however,  iu 
the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament  (mly  in  the  imperfect  pSt:;'  (1  Ki.  xx.  10),  and  (perhaps)  in  the  Hiphil  (Isa.  ii.  6),  and  be- 
sides (perhaps)  the  substantive  p3i;i;  (Job  xxxvi.  18).  Yet  in  consequence  of  the  interchange  of  the  related  radical  p3p 
occurs  in  Job  xx.  22,  as  also  in  the  Aramaic  psp  and  X3p3p  in  the  sense  of  sufficiency  and  superfluity.  Here  it  is  evident 
that  the  rendering  '■  that  Moab  had  superfluity  in  his  vomit ''  (Meier)  is  feeble,  and  moreover  unsafe,  since  the  prefix  3  is 

Btrikintr,  and  it  is  not  proved  that  the  meanings  of  sufficiency  (of  the  things)  and  of  having  a  superfluity  (of  the  persons)  are 
united  in  the  verb.     The  common  radic.d  meaning  of  pQD  to  strike,  to  clap,  gives  a  perfectly  satisfactory  sense.     Comp.  Isa. 

xix   14.  ' 

2  Ver.  liT.— DJ<1==or  ?  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  107,  4.  In  the  second  clause  of  the  disjunctive  question  H  (with  a  follow- 
ing Dag.  forte.    Coiup.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  53,  3  Anm.)  is  repeated  as  in  Gen.  xvii.  17  ;  Ps.  xciv.  9. 

3  Vei.  27— pnE'=ohject  of  derision  as  in  Job  xii.  4. 

4  Ver.  27  — The  fem.  nX^D3  is  unjustly  suspected  by  the  Masoretes.    Comp.  rems.  on  nnfl.  ver.  20. 

5  Ver.  29.— nXJ  is  an  adjective  ^Comp.  Isa.  ii.  12  ;  Ps.  xciv.  2),  and  to  be  referred  to  Moab. 

6  Yer.30.— Isa.  xvi. 6 concludes  with  in3  P"^?^.  Here  the  words  W}}  n  J^b,  also  are  added.  And  the  Masoretes 
punctuate  so  as  to  connect  m3  with  W^  as  its  subject.  We  cannot,  however,  doubt  that  V13,  in  accordance  with  the 
fundament.il  passage,  belongs  to  JJ-Xp-  It  would  then  be  "the  nothingness  (comp.  2  Ki.  xvii.  9;  Prov.  xv.  7)  of  his 
boastings  (Isa.  xliv.  25;  Job  xi.  3),"  while  the  words  \\IJV  P'K*?  seem  to  declare  the  nothingness  of  his  deeds. 


EXEQETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

To  ver.  42  the  prophet  describes  specially  the 
judgment  of  God  on  the  criminal  arrogance  of 
Moab,  which  he  manifested  particularly  towards 
Israel  and  Israel's  God.  First,  generally,  (vers. 
26-30)  the  disgraceful  fate  of  a  drunken  man, 
who  falls  into  his  own  vomit  (ver.  26),  is  an- 
nounced as  a  just  punishment  for  the  scorn,  with 
which  they  always  treated  Israel  when  chastised 
hy  his  God  (ver.  27),  and  further,  the  fate  of  the 
dtive  driven  into  the  fearful  clefts  of  tiie  rock 
(M-r.  28)  as  a  punishment  for  his  insolent  and 
false  arrogance  (vers.  29,  30). 


Vers.  26,  27.  Make  ye  him  .  .  .  shookest 
thyself.  A  man,  who  is  beastly  intoxicated,  falls 
into  his  own  vomit,  and  how  does  he  provoke  to  it? 
full  extent  the  derisive  laughter  of  tlie  beholder! 
So  shall  it  be  to  Moab  for  his  boasting  against 
Jehovah.  This  making  drunk  reminds  us  of  the 
figure  of  the  cup  of  wrath  (xxv.  15  coll.  xiii.  13). 
As  there,  those  who  make  drunk  are  those  whom 
the  Lord  has  appointed  His  agents  in  executing 
the  punishment. — Magnified  himself.  Comp. 
ver.  42.  The  expression  seems  to  be  taken 
from  Zeph.  ii.  8,  10,  an  older  prophecy  against 
Moab.  Comp.  also  Joel  ii.  20. — The  objection 
on  the  part  of  Moab  that  this  is  too  severe  a 
punishment  is  met  with  the  intimation  that  Moab 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  31-35. 


381 


had  done  the  same  to  the  Israelites. — When  he 
was  found,  etc.  This  is  usually  also  taken  as  a 
question.  But  was  not  Israel  really  often  caught 
in  thievery  and  punished  for  it?  Jeremiah  ex- 
pressly affirms  this  in  ii.  26.  What  reason 
would  Moab   otherwise   have   had   for  scorning 

Israel?     I  therefore  regard  DX   as  a  particle  of 

time=when,  as  often  as  (Num.  xxi.  9;  Gen. 
xxxviii.  9).  It  IS  then  thus  admitted  that  I«rael 
had  been  more  than  once  caught  in  criminal  con- 
duct and  punished,  but  observe  that,  it  is  said 
among  thieves.  In  this  there  is  an  allusion  to  the 
fact  that  Israel  was  only  seduced  by  others,  and 
that  the  principal  thieves,  to  which  Moab  be- 
longed, were  his  heathen  neighbors. — Yea.  for, 
etc.     This    is   the  answer   to   the  question.     We 

supply  Yea. — ''^p=jt>ro  sufficientia,  pro  ratione 
(Isa.  Ixvi.  23 ;  Zech.  xiv.  16),  comp.  xxxi.  20. 
From  the  latter  passage  we  see  also  that  (13) 
him  is  to  be  referred  to  thy  Tvords. — Shook- 
est  thyself.  This  may  be  shaking  of  the  head 
(comp.  xviii.  16)  or  shrugging  of  the  shoulders, 
but  equally  in  either  case  is  it  an  expression  of 
scorn. 

Ver.  28.  Leave.  .  .  yawning  ravine.  The 
preceding  figure  was  adapted  to  humble  Moab's 
national  pride,  the  present  relates  to  his  warlike 


pride.  They  boasted  greatly  of  their  valor  in 
war  (ver.  14),  and  doubtless  also  of  their  excellent 
fortifications  (comp.  ver.  18).  They  are  now  told 
that  they  will  be  driven  from  their  bulwarks  and 
into  the  rocky  mountains,  there  like  a  wild  pigeon 
to  pass  a  troubled,  ever  threatened  existence. — 
On  the  ■walls.  The  word  is  found  besides  only 
in  Isa.  vii.  20,  where  it  undoubtedly  signifies  be- 
yoml.  "^^J^.  however,  signifies  not  merely  the 
side  beyond,  but  the  side  generally.  (Comp.  xlix. 
•i'l;  1  Ki.  V.  4;  Exod.  xxxii.  15).  On  the  doves 
in  Palestine  comp.  Herzog,  Real-Enc,  XV.  S. 
425. 

Vers.  29,  oO.  "We  have  heard  .  .  .  effected. 
These  two  verses  are  no  more  than  a  reproduc- 
tion, extended  by  a  few  additions,  of  Isa.  xvi.  6 
in  accord  with  Zeph.  ii.  10.  In  this  quotation 
the  prophet  expresses  the  thought,  which  is  ex- 
pected as  a  foundation  to  vers.  26-28,  viz.,  an 
answer  to  the  question,  whence  comes  on  the  one 
hand  Moab's  scorn  towards  Jehovah  and  His  peo- 
ple, on  the  other,  the  particularly  severe  punish- 
ment of  the  same?  Answer:  to  the  pride  of 
Moab  corresponds  both  his  scorn  against  Israel 
and  the  chastisement,  which  he  receives  on  the 
part  of  Jehovah.  Hence  the  prophet  labors  by 
an  accumulation  of  terms  to  describe  the  ar- 
rogance of  the  Moabites  as  surpassing  all  bounds. 


2.  Moab  utterly  Destroyed. 

XLVIII.  31-35. 

31  Therefore  I  howl  over  Moab, 

And  over  Moab,  the  whole  of  it,  I  cry. 
Over  the  men  of  Kir-heres  there  is  sighing.^ 

32  My  tears  over  Jazer  flow  even  to  thee,  thou  vine  of  Sibmah : 
Thy  shoots  are  gone  over  the  sea, 

Even  to  the  sea  of  Jazer  they  did  reach. 

On  thy  fruit  harvest  and  thy  vintage  is  the  spoiler  fallen  ; 

33  And  joy  and  gladness  is  taken  from  the  fruit  fields  and  the  land  of  Moab; 
And  I  cause  the  wine  to  fail  from  the  wine  presses ; 

They  will  not  tread  with  shouting, — 
With  a  shouting  that  is  no  shouting. 

34  From  the  cry  of  Heshbon  even  to  Elealeh, 
Unto  Jahaz  they  raise  their  voice : 

From  Zoar  to  Horonaim,  the  three  year  old  heifer,* 
For  even  the  waters  of  Nimrim  shall  be  desolations.' 

35  And  I  destroy  Moab,  saith  Jehovah, 

Him  who  ascends*  the  high  places  and  burns  incense  to  his  gods. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  31. — The  correction  rUHX,  whichi  Meier  allows  himsflf,  is  unuecessarj'  and  not  sufiSciently  anthorized  by  the  ex- 
amples adduced  by  him  (Mic.  vi.  lo,  ij?X  for  U?',  ver.  11,  T\3'ii.  fur  T\2V,  1X11  for  J^H). 

*  Ver.  34.— n7  j;i?  is  used  of  nations  in  xlvi.  20  ;  1. 11 ;  Hos.  iv.  16  ;  x.  11.  The  genitive  r\SjJ^  is  explained  by  analogie.s 
like  ri'^^"in  njtyi,  anm  quarti,  i.  e.,  numeri  (Jer.  xlvi.  2 ;  Ii.  59 ;  2  Ki.  xvii.  6),  inX  tOSt^D  (Lev.  xxiv.  22),  THK 
nnX  (2  Ki.' xii.  10).  TV       -    :   ■  -: 

T  ■; 

3  Ver.  34. — We  have  adopted  the  translation  of  Meier  [German] — Aimrimnimmcr  rinnen  [Nimrim  will  never  run,  which 
expresses  the  alliteration  of  the  Hebrew,  but  is  rather  a  free  rendering].    The  ^2  at  the  beginning  of  the  verse  is  transterred 


S82 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


from  Isaiah,  where  it  is  fully  la  place.    In  the  present  passage  it  can  only  introduce  a  single  point  in  corroboration  of  th« 
main  proposition  (ver.  31). 

Ver.  35. — Is  'nhvO  a  participle  or  a  substantive  ?     Grammatically  the  latter  is  the  easier  (comp.  ver.  5),  but  the  di»- 

crepancy  with  TDpO  is  disturbing.    We  may  take  it  then  in  the  direct  causative  meaning  (ascensum  faciens.    Comp.  on 

xlviii.  5,  2),  and  observe  the  remark  of  Geaf  that  correspondence  with  this  word  occasioned  tho  choice  of  the  Hiphil 
participle. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

After  the  reason  and  manner  of  the  judgment 
on  Moab  have  been  set  forth  in  general,  the  lat- 
ter is  now  described  more  in  particular.  This  is 
done  by  the  prophet's  first  expressing  (ver.  31  a) 
what  feeling  he  has  in  consequence  of  his  know- 
ledge of  the  destruction  threatening  all  Moab 
(i.  e.,  no  longer  merely  the  northern  half  as  in 
vers.  18-25),  and  then  turns  to  single  places  of  the 
whole  land,  with  special  emphasis  on  the  destruc- 
tion which  is  impending  on  the  vine  and  fruit 
culture  of  Moab  (vers.  32,  33),  as  well  as  the 
worship  of  the  idols  connected  therewith  (ver.  35). 

Ver.  31.  Therefore  .  .  .  there  is  sighing. 
This  verse  begins  with  a  free  rendering  of  Isa. 
xvi.  7.  While  there  the  third  person  is  used, 
here  Jeremiah  speaks  in  the  first  person,  being 
evidently  himself  shocked  by  the  fearful  import 
of  the  message  which  he  has  to  deliver.  Comp. 
Isa.  XV.  5 ;  xvi.  9,  11  ;  xxi.  3  and  Drechsler 
ad'loc. — In  the  words,  the  w^hole  of  it,  he  de- 
clares that  here  he  has  not  merely  the  northern 
half  of  the  country,  the  Mishor,  but  the  whole 
country  in  view,  mentioning  a  series  of  cities 
from  the  north  to  the  extreme  south  (ver.  34). — 
Over  the  men,  eic.  In  the  original  passage  it 
reads  "over  the  raisin-cakes  of  Kir-hareseth  will 
ye  sigh,  deeply  troubled."  There  is  no  need  of 
seeking  aid  from  indistinctly  written  MSS.,  it 
being  quite  in  Jeremiah's  manner  to  substitute 
for  a  marked  and  strange  expression,  one  softer 
and  more  usual.  He  has  evidently  omitted  the 
concluding  words  and  substituted 'C/JX  (men)  for 
't^'K^N  (grapes,  raisin-cakes).  The  second  per- 
son plural  would  be  in  too  strong  a  contrast  to 
the  lirst  person  in  the  hemistich,  and  therefore  the 
third  person  singular  masculine  is  chosen,  which 
is  to  be  taken  in  its  impersonal  sense. 

Vers.  32,  33.  My  tears  ...  no  shouting. 
In  Isa.  xvi.  9  it  reads  "  Tiierefore  I  will  bewiul 
with  the  weeping  of  Jazer."  If  we  take  '330  of 
the  text  in  the  sense  of  a  comparison  the  con- 
nection in  meaning  with  the  original  would  dis- 
appear, and  then  no  good  ground  for  the  compara- 
tive  is  apparent.  Jaazer,  according  to  the 
Onomast.  {s.  v.  Azer  atid  Jazer),  was  15  m.  p., 
Sibmah  only  five  hundred  paci-s  from  Heshbon. 
They  were,  therefore,  neighboring  towns  in  a 
fertile  district  abounding  in  fruit  and  wine. 
Since  then  they  were  thus,  as  it  were,  sisters,  the 
centres  of  agriculture  closely  connected  by  soli- 
darity of  interest,  and  the  blow  which  strikes  one 
affects  the  other  also,  one  is  not  to  be  bewailed 
alone,  but  both  at  the  same  time.  This  is  essen- 
tially the  meaning  of '333  (in  the  weeping  over 
Jaazer  is  contained  also  that  over  Sibmah)  and 
of  '330  (Sibmah  participates  in  the  tears  which 
flow  over  Jaazer). — The  district  of  Salt,  in  the 
vicinity  of  which  Jaazer  must  have  been  situated 


(comp.  Raumer,  S.  262,  3)  is  still  very  rich  in 
vines.     Comp.  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  XVII.  S.  611. 

The  elements  of  the  two  following  sentences 
also  are  found  in  Isa.  xvi.  8,  "branches"  only 
instead  of  "shoots"  and  "sea,"  being  wanting 
before  Jazer.  The  sea  of  Jazer  may  denote  only 
a  pond  or  great  basin.  That  the  term  may  be  so 
used  is  shown  by  the  "sea"  in  the  temple  (1  Ki. 
vii.  23).  "The  sea  of  Jazer  was  probably  some 
celebrated  large  pond,  like  the  ponds  of  Heshbon, 
in  which  tiie  water  of  the  Wady  (Nahr)  Sir,  which 
springs  near  by,  was  collected.  Seetzen  found 
some  ponds  there  still."  Delitzsch,  Jes.,  S.  211 
[Eng.  Tr.,  p.  384].  Raumer,  Pal.,  S.  263,  Anm. 
The  hypothesis  that  the  repetition  of  the  word 
sea  is  based  on  a  scriptural  error  is  therefore 
unnecessary.  The  widely  extended  (even  ac- 
cording to  Isa.  xvi.  7,  8,  over  the  Dead  Sea)  wine- 
culture  of  Moab  is  poetically  represented  under 
the  figure  of  a  single  vine.  Comp.  Drechsler 
[and  Alexander]  on  Isa.  xvi.  8. — On  thy  fruit- 
harvest,  etc.  Comp.  xl.  10,  12.  Instead  of 
vintage,  which  suits  the  connection  better,  we 
find  in  Isa.  xvi.  9  "harvest,"  and  instead  of 
spoiler  the  more  forcible  but  less  distinct  "shout- 
ing."— And  joy,  eic,  from  Isa.  xvi.  10.  Comp. 
Joel  ii.  20;  iv.  15.  Carmel  (fruit-fields)  cannot 
possibly  be  a  proper  noun  here.  For  what  oc- 
casion had  the  prophet  to  make  such  a  spring? 

In  Isa.  xvi.  10,  also  stands   /D^lin  JD,  but  there 

without  the  following  and  the  land  of  Moab, 

and  hence  evidently  in  an  appellative  significance. 
The  prophet  would  say:  joy  and  gladness  having 
vanished  from  the  vineyards  they  have  departed 
from  the  whole  country. — And  I  cause,  etc. 
These  words  are  altered  from  Isa.  xvi.  10  b,  in  a 
peculiar  manner.  Instead  of  they  ■will  not 
tread  vrith  shouting,  we  read  in  Isaiah  "the 
treaders  shall  tread  out  no  wine  in  their  presses." 
The  following  words  contain  the  justification  of 
tiie  rendering  given.  It  is  emphasized  that  the 
treading  will  be  altogether  without  shouting.  A 
shouting  will  indeed  be  heard,  not,  however, 
such  as  pertains  to  the  treading  of  grapes  (xxv. 
30),  but  another,  a  warlike  shouting.  The  word 
is  elsewhere  only  applied  to  war-cries,  li.  14. 

Ver.  34.  Prom  the  cry  .  be  desolations. 
These  words  to  their  voice  are  taken,  with  mo- 
difications from  Isa.  xv.  4.  Theory  of  Heshbon, 
as  it  is  called  in  Jeremiah,  represents  at  the  same 
time  a  place,  and  consequently  serves  as  a  termi- 
nus a  quo.  On  Heshbon  comp.  rems.  on  ver.  2. 
Elealeh  (now  El  Al)  lies  only  half  an  hour  from 
Heshbon.  Comp.  Numb,  xxxii.  37  ;  Isa.  xvi.  19; 
Raumer,  S.  261.  Jahaz  (identical  with  Jahza, 
ver.  21)  must,  according  to  Numb.  xxi.  23  have 
lain  to  tlie  south  east,  towards  the  desert.  Zonr 
(comp.  ver.  4)  and  Horonaiin  (ver.  3)  represent 
tlie  south  couiiti'y  of  the  Mnabites.  Wa  distiiicily 
meet  here  the  idea  of  I  he  wkule  of  Moab  (ver.  31  ^ 
in  contrast  to  the  limitation,  in  which  Moab  is 
spoken  of  in  vers.  18-25.     The   individual  ele- 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  36-38. 


383 


ments  are  taken  from  Isa.  xv.  5.  There  Eglatb- 
shalishiyah  appears  to  stand  in  apposition  to 
Zoar.  In  the  present  passage  it  is  as  formally 
co-ordinated  with  the  name  Horonaim.  Both 
are  possible  only  if  Eglath,  etc.,  is  either  a  place 
near  both  the  cities  in  question,  or  a  predicate 
equally  applicable  to  botli.  Tiie  latter  view  is 
favored  by  the  grammatical  struct u-i".  for  in  the 
former  case  we  should  expect  Ij^  uato  or  H^' 
(comp.  on  Jahaz,  ver.  21,  etc.)  In  what  sense, 
however,  are  these  cities  called  Eglath-shalislii- 
vah?  KoSTER  (5/w^/.  u.  Kril.,  1862,  I.,  S.  118  ff.) 
perceives  herein  a  topographical  definition.  Egla 
was  a  Tripolis,  and  "  Egla  of  the  third  part  "  is 
equivalent  to  the  third  part  of  Egla.  Egla  is  the 
principal  name,  Zoar  and  Horonaim  the  names 
of  the  two  other  parts.  It  is  however  surprising 
that  of  this  group  of  cities,  which  must  certainly 
have  been  of  some  importance,  we  find  no  trace 
elsewhere.  We  should  also  expect  the  reverse 
order.  Shalishah-Eglath,  and  if  Egla,  Zoar  and 
Horonaim  form  one  city,  what  is  the  cry  from 
Zoar  to  Hoioiiaim  to  mean?  Delitzsch  (on  Isa. 
S.  206)  [Eiig.  Tr.,  p.  336]  attaches  himself  to 
Gesenius  and  his  predecessors  (Vulg.,  Targ. ) 
taking  the  words  to  signify  '\]uvenca  tertii,  i.  e., 
anni"  =  indomita,  Jugoque  non  assueta.  Yet  lie 
does  not  refer  the  predicate  to  Moab  (which  can 
be  done  in  Isaiah  only  with  great  harshness,  and 
in  Jeremiah  not  at  all)  but  to  Zoar  "  the  beauti- 
ful, fortified,  hitherto  unconquered  city."  Al- 
though the  reason  why  Zoar  should  be  so  called 
is  not  very  transparent,  the  language  compels  us 
to  give  this  exegesis  the  preference.     Whether 


Horonaim  deserved  the  predicate  in  the  same  de- 
gree as  Zoar  is  a  question  of  minor  importance, 
for  the  transference  to  Horonaim,  which  is  men- 
tioned only  one  line  after  in  Isa.  xv.  5,  can  be 
only  accidental. — For  even,  etc.  Comp.  Isa. 
XV.  6.  If  by  D''"}pJ  'D  we  are  to  understand 
Beth-Nimrah,  we  sliall  thus  be  carried  into  the 
extreme  uorlh-west  of  the  country,  not  inappro- 
priately to  the  purport  of  the  strophe.  (Comp. 
the  Twhole,  ver.  31).  The  name  and  character 
of  Beth-Nimrah  favor  the  identity,  for  this  place 
at  the  mouth  of  the  AVady  Sliaib  or  Shoeb  in  the 
plain  of  the  Jordan  is  still  celebrated  for  its 
wealth  of  springs.  Comp.  Winer,  R.-W.-B.,  s. 
V.  Bethnimra.  Yet  it  must  be  confessed,  that  ac- 
cording to  the  connection,  a  place  in  the  South, 
as  the  ruined  Numere  with  the  spring  Moyet 
Numere  (Delitzsch,  ,S.  207)  [Eng.  Tr.,  p.  327], 
might  be  meant. 

Ver.  35.  And  I  destroy .  .  .  to  his  gods.  The 

prophet  has  Isa.  xv.  2  and  xvi.  12  in  mind.   What 

he  means  by  the  words  7103  nbjTD  is  not  per- 
fectly clear.  They  may  mean,  who  erects  the 
high  places,  throws  them  up  (Hitzig)  or,  who 
oflers  on  the  height  (literally:  offerers  of  the 
height),  or  who  ascends  to  the  height;  or,  finally, 
the  ascending  to  the  height.  Each  of  these  ren- 
derings has  its  light  and  its  shadow.  In  Isa.  xvi. 
12,  however,  the  idea  of  going  up  to  the  sanc- 
tuary is  expressed.  Hence  I  give  those  expla- 
nations the  preference  which  take  Hv^O  in  the 
sense  of  ascending. 


?.  The  Lamentation  for  the  Dead. 
XLVIII.  36-38. 

36  Therefore  my  heart  sighs  over  Moab  like  flutes. 

And  my  heart  sighs  like  flutes  over  the  men  of  Kir-heres  ; 
Because  the  remnant^  of  what  was  gained  has  perished. 

37  F^»r  every  head  is  bald,  and  every  beard  cut  short, 
Upon  all  hands  cuttings,  and  on  the  loins  sackcloth  ! 

38  On  all  the  roofs  of  Moab  and  in  his  streets  all  is  lamentation :' 
For  I  have  broken  Moab  like  a  vessel 

Wherein  there  is  no  more  pleasure,  saith  Jehovah. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  36.— On  the  construct  state  of  nil'^  n^H"'  comp.  Naegelsb.  (??•.,  ^  65,  2, 3. 

»  Ver.  38.— In  regard  to  the  construction,  the  abstract  stands  for  the  concrete.    Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  I  59, 1. 


EXEQETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  feels  his  heart  to  be,  as  it  were, 
a  mourning  flute  in  view  of  the  great  loss  of 
Moab  (ver.  36)  and  this  all  the  more  that  he  per- 
ceives in  Moab  itself  on  every  hand  lamentation 
for  the  dead  (vers.    37,  38  a).     This  is  also  war- 


ranted, for  the  Lord  has  broken  Moab  like  a  ves- 
sel which  has  become  worthless  (ver.  38  b.) 

Ver.  36.  Therefore  .  .  perished.  This  verse 
is  parallel  to  ver.  31.  For  1,  both  begin  with 
therefore;  2,  in  both  the  object  of  the  utter- 
ance of  feeling  is  designated  as  Moab  (hardly  Ar 
Moab  ver.  4,  on  account  of  "whole,"  ver.  31  — 
and  why  should  Jeremiah  have  constantly  omit- 


t84 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


ted  the  "^H^)  and  Kir-heres;  in  both  cases  an 
analogous  thought  is  introduced  by  the  particle 
"  therefore:"  there  the  expression  of  howling 
and  crying,  here  the  sighing  of  the  heart  com- 
pared with  the  tone  of  a  funeral  flute.  "  There- 
fore "  in  ver.  36  then  refers  not  to  the  special 
calamities  enumerated  immediately  before,  but  to 
that  general  description,  which  we  have  read 
in  vers.  25-30.  Moreover  here  also  the  single 
elements  of  the  discourse  are  taken  primarily 
from  Isa.  xv.  This  employment  of  foreign  pro- 
perty explains  much  of  the  uuevenness  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  sentences.  Isa.  xvi.  11  and 
XV.  5  are  in  the  prophet's  mind,  but  he  changes 
the  harp,  spoken  of  in  Isa.  xxi.  11  into  the  flute, 
as  is  correctly  remarked,  because  the  flute  is  the 
instrument  used  in  mourning,  and  thus  confor- 
mity is  obtained  with  the  funeral  customs  after- 
wards described.  On  the  use  of  the  flute  in 
mournings  for  the  dead  comp.  Matth.  ix.  23. 
Joseph.  Bell.  Jud.  III.,  9,  5;  Ovid  Fai^t.  VI., 
656;  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  XVI.  S.  364.— Because, 
etc.  The  words  are  from  Isa.  xv.  7,  but  there  they 
are  the  object  of  the  following  verb  (DIXty')  in- 
stead of  which  we  here  find  perished.  The  words 
remnant,  etc.,  must  therefore  be  the  subject  of 
the  verb,  since  "^y^  never  means  "  to  lose  "  but 
only  "  to  be  lost,  to  perish."  The  plural  of  the 
predicate  is  explained  by  the  collective  meaning 


of  the  subject. — |3~7j;^  is  also  here  taken  from 
Isa.  XV.  7,  but  it  cannot  possibly  signify  "  there- 
fore "  as  it  does  there.  iSo  unless  we  assume  an 
error  there  is  uothiug  left  but  to  take  it  as  equi- 
valent to  TtJfN  \r'.~^^J  ^  meaning  which  is  cer- 
tainly not  proved,  sitice  this  very  passage  is  ad- 
duced as  the  strongest  evidence  (comp.  Gesen., 
Thex.pag.  669).  A  double  reason  is  then  given 
for  the  mourning  of  the  prophet  in  ver.  36 :  1.  a 
mediate,  ver.  Z^h;  2.  an  immediate,  vers.  37, 
38  a.  Whence  dost  thou  know  that  all  is  lost  ? 
From  the  fact  that  all  mourns. 

Vers.  37,  38.  For  every  head  .  .  Jehovah. 
Isa.  XV.  2,  3  is  the  oiigiual  passage.  On  Bald 
comp.vii.  29;  xvi.  6.  Instead  of  cut  short  (HJ^TJ) 
Isaiah  has  "cut  ofi""  (H^HJ  cse&a).  In  the  lat- 
ter passage  however  the  editions  vary.  Comp. 
Delitzsch,  S.  205  [Eng.  Tr.,  p.  325].— Cut- 
tings. Comp.  xvi.  6;  xli.  5.— Sackcloth. 
Comp.  iv.  8;  vi.  26;  Joel  i.  8. — Roofs.  Comp. 
Isa  xxii.  1  ;  Herzog,  R.-Enc.  XVI.,  -S.  363.— All 
is  lamentation.  In  Isaiah  "everything  wails, 
melting  into  tears." — For  I  have  broken,  etc. 
The  ground  of  the  facts  which  cause  the  lamen- 
tation is,  that  (not  chance,  or  any  human  or  demo- 
niac power,  but)  Jehovah  has  broken  Moab.  In 
like  a  vessel,  etc.,  Jeremiah  quotes  himself, 
xxii.  28. 


4.  Pride  comes  before  a  Fall. 
XLVIII.  39-4? 

39  How  is  she  broken !  How  do  they  howl ! 
How  has  Moab  turned  the  back  shamefully  ! 
And  Moab  shall  become  a  derision 

And  a  horror  to  all  his  neighbors. 

40  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  :  Behold  like  an  eagle  he  fliea, 
And  spreads  his  wings  over  Moab. 

41  Taken  are  the  cities/ 

And  the  fortresses  captured,* 

And  the  heart  of  the  heroes  of  Moab  in  that  day 

Shall  be  like  the  heart  of  a  parturient  woman.^ 

42  And  Moab  shall  be  destroyed  from  being  a  nation, 
For  against  Jehovah  hath  he  magnified  himself. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

IVer.  41.— nVTp  cannot  here  as  in  ver.  14,  be  a  proper  name  on  account  of  the  following  Jinj^D-  The  plural 
riT'^p  does  not  indeed  occur  in  an  appellative  sense  elsewhere,  but  this  forms  no  objection,  since  the  prophet  m.ay  have 
chosen  this  form  with  reference  to  the  names  of  the  Mnaliitish  cities.    Comp.  Olsh.,  §  146  d ;  152  a. 

2  Ver.  41.— On  the  singular  nt^Dnj  comp.  Nakoklsb.  Gr.,  §  105,  4,  b  ;  Ewai,t>,  J  317,  a. 

»  Ver.  41. — The  expression  rT^VO  HiyX  {mulitr  uterum  comprimens)  ocaxiTi  hero  and  in  xlix.  22  only.    On  the  lub- 

T  ••  :         T  • 
Ject-matter  comp.  iv.  31. 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  43,44. 


38< 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

With  ver.  38  the  quotations  from  Isa.  xv.  and 
xvi.  cease ;  the  begiuuing  of  ver.  39  reminds  us 
of  ihe  beginning  of  vers.  31  and  20  ;  vers.  39  and 
41  are  evidently  closely  related,  reproducing,  as 
it  were,  the  fundamental  thought  of  vers.  26,  27 
that  Moab  is  to  become  a  derision,  because  he 
has  magnified  himself  against  the  Lord.  I  there- 
fore take  vers.  39-41  as  one  strophe.  This  be- 
gins with  an  exclamation :  how  is  Moab  broken, 
given  up  to  shameful  flight,  and  thus  become  an 
object  of  ridicule  and  horror  (ver.  39) !  This  ef- 
fect corresponds  exactly  to  the  cause,  for  a  pow- 
erful enemy,  comparable  to  a  powerful  eagle,  is 
to  come  upon  Moab  (ver.  40).  lu  consequence 
the  fortified  places  are  taken,  the  courage  of  all 
the  warriors  broken  (ver.  41),  and  Moab  stricken 
from  the  roll  of  nations.  This  is  his  punishment 
for  having  magnified  himself  against  Jehovah. 

Ver.  39.  How  is  she  .  .  .  his  neighbors. 
Moab  is  here  again  conceived  of  as  feminine. 
Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  20.  Since  this  passage  was  ge- 
nerally in  the  prophet's  mind,  nnn  also  must  be 

taken  in  the  meaning  which  it  has  there,  viz.,  of 
being  broken.  (Comp.  Isa.  vii.  8).  The  first  re- 
sult of  this  being  broken  is  howling.  We  how- 
ever take  ^ /' '  n  as  3d  pers.  perf.,  since  the  im- 
perative here,  as  afterwards  in  1^13,  does  not  suit 
the    connection.     The    further    consequence    is 

shameful  flight  (E'iS  to  be  regarded  as  in  the  ac- 
cusative. Comp.  Mic.  i.  11).  From  all  this  it  fol- 
lows lastly  that  Moab  is  become  two  things,  a  de- 
rision (vers.  26,  27)  and  a  terror  (xvii.  17)  to  all 
his  neighbors. 
Ver.  40.  For  tbua  saith  .  .  .  over  Moab. 


— For  is  argumentative.  The  effect  correspondg 
to  the  cause.  The  choice  of  figures  is  founded 
on  Deut.  xxviii.  49,  where  the  people  of  Israel 
are  assured  in  case  of  apostasy  of  severe  judg- 
ment, to  be  executed  by  a  nation  coming  from 
afar.  In  iv.  13  also  there  was  an  echo  of  this 
passage.  It  is  possible  that  Isa.  xlvi.  11  was  in 
the  mind  of  the  prophet,  even  as  tliis  present  pas- 
sage lay  before  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  when  in  xvii. 
3  he  used  the  same  figure  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 
Who  the  eagle  is  here  the  prophet  does  not  say. 
If  what  we  have  said  in  the  introduction  con- 
cerning the  date  of  composition  of  this  and  the 
contemporary  prophecies  against  the  Nations  is 
correct,  the  present  passage  is  in  so  far  dissimi- 
lar to  xlvi.  18  in  that  there  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
mentioned  just  before  (ver.  13).  Here  the  non- 
mention  is  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  pro- 
phet did  not  yet  know  who  was  the  chosen  in- 
strument for  the  execution  of  the  judgment. — • 
And  spreads,  etc.  Here  also  a  passage  from 
Deuteronomy  (xxxii.  11)  seems  to  have  hovered 
before  the  prophet's  mind.  This  however  applies 
only  to  the  expression,  for  here  the  spreading  of 
wings  IS  intended  in  an  exactly  opposite  sense. 
Comp.  also  Job  xxxix.  26.  A  repetition  of  this 
passage  and  of  the  following  verse  is  found  in 
xlix.  22. 

Vers.  41,  42.  Taken  .  .  .  magnified  him- 
self. The  prophet  here  passes  into  the  literal 
style  of  discourse. — From  being,  etc.  Comp  ver. 
2  and  Isa  vii.  8. — For  against  Jehovah,  etc. 
This  points  back  to  ver.  26,  and  here  as  there  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  reminiscence  from  Zeph.  ii.  8, 
10.  The  prophet  here  brings  to  a  close  that  part 
of  his  prophecy,  which  has  the  pride  of  Moab  e** 
pecially  for  its  object. 


III.  Two  Appendices  with  a  Concluding  Word  (xlvn..  43-47). 

1.  Application  to  Moab  of  a  passage  from  Isaiah. 

XLVIII.  48,  44. 

43  Terror^  and  ditch  [pit]  and  trap''  on  thee, 
Thou  inhabitant  of  Moab,'  saith  Jehovah. 

44  He  that  fleeth*  from  the  terror  shall  fall  into  the  ditch, 
And  he  that  riseth  from  the  ditch  shall  be  taken  in  the  trap  ; 
For  I  bring  upon  them,  upon  Moab,^ 

The  year  of  their  punishment,  saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  43. — ^^3  fear,  terror,  is  found  besides  in  Jeremiah  only  in  xxx.  5  and  xlix.  5. 

>  Ver.  43. — r\T\2   pit,  only  in  ver.  28.    nS  snare,  only  in  the  plural,  xviii.  22.    [The  rendering  ditch  for  pit  and  trap 
for  snare  is  given  to  express  the  alliteration  of  the  original  pa'hadh,  pa'hath,  pa'h. — S.  R.  A.] 

'  Ver.  43. — 3X10  ^tJ'V-    This  expression  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  usage  of  Jeremiah,  as  he  never  uses  the  singular 

in  this  connection.     Isaiah  however  uses  the  singular  in  a  similar  connection. 

*  Ver.  44. — The  Chethibh  D'^il  (comp.  Fuerst,  Concord,  S.  691,  1365)  is  a  form  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere,  so  the 

Keri  would  read  Djn  after  Isaiah.    An  echo  of  this  passage  is  found  in  Lam.  iii.  47. 

25 


886 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


6  Ver.  4i.— 3K10~Vx  n'SX-    Comp.  ix.  14 ;  li.  15;  xxvu.  8,  etc.    Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  ^  77,  2.    ["  n' 7X  is  anticipatiye  of 
.'JX1D~'7N  as  the  prouominal  suffixes  frequently  are  in  the  Aramaic  dialects."     Henderson. — S.  R.  A. 


EXEQETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Application  of  a  passage  from  Isaiah  (xxiv.  17, 
18).  That  Jeremiah  is  the  original  here,  and  at 
most  took  the  remote  analogy  of  Am.  v.  19  for 
his  model,  appears  to  me  an  entirely  unwarranted 
assertion.  This  pithy  drastic  play  upon  words 
corresponds  as  much  more  to  the  Old  Testament 
master  of  such  worc^-play,  Isaiah,  as  it  is  con- 


trary to  the  softer  and  more  fluent  style  of  our 
prophet.  In  addition  it  is  inconceivable  that  at 
the  close  of  his  discourse,  where  he  has  evidently 
already  exhausted  himself  and  has  for  sometime 
been  speaking  only  in  quotations,  he  should  sud- 
denly make  such  a  pithy  original  utterance. 
Comp.  Delitzsch  in  Drechsler's  Comm.  zu  Jes. 
III.,  S.  405,  6,  and  in  his  own  Comm.  on  Isaiah, 
S.  271  [Eng.  Tr.,  pp.  431,  2]. 


2.   The  Testimony  of  the  Book  of  Numbers  concerning  Moab,  and  concluding  tpord. 

XLVIII.  45-47. 

45  In  the  shade  of  Heshbon  the  fugitives  stand  powerless  ;* 
For  fire^  goes  forth  from  Heshbon, 

And  flame  from  the  midst  of  Sihon, 

And  it  devoured  the  side  of  Moab 

And  the  crown  (of  the  head)  of  the  sons  of  tumult.* 

46  Woe  unto  thee,  Moab  i 
Destroyed  is  the  people  of  Chemosh, 
For  thy  sons  are  led  away  into  prison, 
And  thy  daughters  into  captivity.* 

47  And  I  turn  the  captivity  of  Moab  at  the  end  of  days,  saith  Jehovah. 
— ^Thus  far  the  judgment  on  Moab. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

>  Ver.  45.— On  the  privative  JO  in  ni)D  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  112,  5,  d;  Jar.  x.  14. 

2  Ver.  45. — jyx  is  used  in  Numbers  as  feminine,  as  it  usually  is,  but  here  as  masculine,  as  in  Pa.  civ.  4.    (In  Job  xx.  26 
riiJJ  regarded  as  neuter  is  iu  apposition.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  60,  4  coll.  Jer.  xx.  9). 

5  Ver.  45. — ^plp,  Numb.  xxiv.  17,  not  being  appropriate  to  the  present  passages  (it  signifies  suffodit,  radicitus  evertit 

from  "y^p  fiidit)  we  cannot  say  that  TpTp  is  the  original  reading,  although  it  seems  to  suit  the  passage  iu  Numbers  bet- 
ter, and  is  really  the  reading  of  Cod.  Saniarit.  .Jeremiah,  dealing  very  freely  after  his  manner  with  the  text  of  his  sources, 
may  have  substituted  a  word  of  similar  form.     V\iW  is  of  like  meaning  with  P(\^,  as  the  latter  stands  for  J^XU?.  Lam.  iii. 

47  (as  T\t}   Job  xli.  16  for  nXK?,  PXt:/  xiii.  11)  and  this  for  TS^-^-    Comp.  Olsh.,  ?153. 

<  Ver.  46.— The  form  DOu?  is  found  iu  Jeremiah  here  only.     Since  he  uses  TV^W  (DO^)  only  in  the  connection  of 

"■ty  2,Vl}  he  was  obliged,  in  order  to  have  a  corresponding  word  to  OC?,  to  choose  either  H'^iy  or  n"'3U',  which  latter 

•  :  t:   •  T  •  ■ 

occurs  more  rarely  than  the  former,  since  it  is  found  only  in  Isa.  Iii.  2. 


EXEGETICAL    AND  CRITICAL. 

With  the  exception  of  ver.  45  a,  the  verses  are 
a  free  reproduction  of  Num.  xxi.  28,  29;  xxiv. 
17.  The  prophet  who  already  in  the  previous 
context  has  brought  into  use  old  prophecies 
agiiinst  Moab,  does  the  same  here  with  some 
passages  of  the  book  of  Numbers.  It  is  only 
natural  Lhat  Jeremiah  should  not  leave  unem- 
ployed tliose  ancient  utterances  occasioned  by 
the  first  conflict  between  Israel  and  Moab.  This 
use  IS  evidLMitly  the  main  intention,  and  no  em- 
phasis is  therefore  to  be  laid  on  the  less  strict 


connection  of  the  words  with  the  previous  con- 
text, and  with  each  other.  Graf  has,  therefore, 
rightly  rejected  the  hypothesis  of  Movers  and 
HiTZiG,  tliat  these  verses  aio  a  later  gloss. 

Vers.  45,  46.  In  the  shade  .  .  .  captivity. 
As  the  passage  to  be  used  speaks  of  a  going  forth 
of  the  fire  from  Heshbon  upon  the  Moabitea 
(Num.  xxi.  28),  the  Moabitea  must  be  represented 
as  having  come  into  the  district  of  Heshbon. 
This  is  done  by  assuming  a  flight  of  the  Moabites 
in  that  direction  (doubtless  also  with  a  reference 
to  "  he  that  fleeth,"  ver.  44).  It  has  indeed 
been  correctly  remarked  that  as  the  enemy  is  ap- 
proaching from  the  north,  the  flight  could  uotba 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  45-47. 


387 


towards  Heshbon  (comp.  rems.  on  ver.  19  sqq.), 
but  all  that  concerns  the  prophet  is  to  show  that 
the  ancient  sentence  will  be  veritied  anew  in  this 
judgment  on  Moab.  It  is  assuredly  not  his 
meaning  that  this  will  take  place  literally  in  the 
form  chosen  by  hiiu  (for  which  Isa.  xxx.  2,  8, 
also  was,  perhaps,  in  his  mind).  Ver.  45  a  is 
thus  a  mere  connecting  clause,  of  which  the  ex- 
pressions are  not  to  be  emphasized. — Power- 
less declares  that  the  fugitives,  who  for  protec- 
tion had  betaken  themselves  to  the  shade  of 
He>!ihon,  receive  from  thence  no  strength  but 
the  contrary.  The  following  '3  which  is  also 
taken  from  Num.  xxi.  28,  need  not  then  be  taken 
in  an  adversative  sense  (but). — From  the  midst 
of  Silion.  In  Num.  xxi.  28  it  reads,  "  Xvowi  the 
city  ofSihon."  Heshbon  is  called  in  xxi  2»)the 
city  of  Sihon  the  king  of  the  Amorites.  Owing 
to  the  omission  of  city  here,  I  would  neither  alter 
the  text  with  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Ewald  and  Meier 
(n'J3  for  y22)  so  as  to  read,  from  the  house  of 
Sihon,  nor  with  Graf,  conceive  an  ideal  presence 
of  Sihon  (with  reference  to  Gen.  xlix.  10),  butas 
in  ver.  4,  and  more  frequently  according  to  Graf, 
Moab  stands  for  Ar-Moab,  and  elsewhere  usually 
Shjchem  for  city  of  Shechera  (Gen.  xxxiii.  18), 
so  here  also  the  name  of  Lord  of  the  city  stands 
for  the  city  itself.  The  sense  of  from  the  midst, 
is  that  fire  breaks  forth  from  between  the  open- 
ings of  the  city  (/.  e.,  the  gates  of  the  walls  and 
towers). — The  side  of  Moab.  Num.  xxiv.  17, 
"  and  a  sceptre  shall  rise  out  of  Israel,  and  shall 
smite  the  borders  of  Moab."  As  here  the  sub- 
ject is  astalf  wiiich  smites,  the  borders  can  mean 
only  the  sides  of  the  body.  Accordingly  in  this 
passage  also  it  is  more  natural  to  think  of  the 
aide  (Meier)  as  burnt  or  roasted  by  the  fire,  than 
the  end  of  the  beard  [Hexderson:  corner  of  the 
beard],  which  would  inflict  no  material  injury. — 
And  the  crown,  etc.  Num.  xxiv.  17,  "and  de- 
stroy all  the  children  of  Sheth."  Sheth  has  also 
the  meaning  of  tumult.  The  children  of  tumult  are 
homines  tumultuosi.  The  designation  corresponds 
on  the  one  hand  to  the  arrogant  character  of  the 
Moabites  mentioned  in  vers.  26-30,  and  on  the 
other  hand  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  Am. 
ii.  2,  where  it  reads  "and  Moab  shall  die  with  tu- 
mult."—Woe  unto  thee,  etc.,  from  Num.  xxi.  29. 
Moab  is  called  the  people  of  Chemosh  (comp.  ver. 
7)  as  Israel  the  people  of  Jehovah  (Num.  xi.  29; 
xvii.  H;  .Jud.  v.  11). — For  thy  sons,  etc..  Num. 
xxi.  29:  he  gives  his  sons  ap  as  fugitives,  and 
his  daugluers  into  captivity.  It  is  apparent  that 
the  original  is  softened  down.  Comp.  Gen.  xii.  15. 
Ver.  47.  And  I  turn  ...  on  Moab. — Close  of 
the  chapter.  Comp.  xlvi.  26 ;  xlix.  6,  89. — I  turn. 
Comp.  xxx.  3,  18;  xxxiii.  7,  11. — At  the  end  of 
days.  Comp.  rems.  on  xxiii.  20.  The  expression 
points  to  that  final  period  in  which  the  heathen 
also  will  be  converted  to  the  God  of  Israel.  Comp. 
iii.  17;  Isa.  xxiv.  13-16;  xxv.  6;  Hagg.  ii.  7. — 
Thus  far  the  judgment.  Comp.  ver.  21 ;  U.  64. 
With  the  exception  ui  the  latter  passage  (on  which 
comp.  the  exeg.  reuis.)  this  formula  is  not  found 
in  Jeremiah.     It  appears  to  be  a  later  addition. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

1.   "Because  the  destruction  of  the  Moabites 
it  of  no  service  to  us  except  for  penitence,  we 


must  note  well  wliat  particular  sins  are  specified, 
of  which  they  were  guilty,  and  for  which  such 
heavy  punishments  were  heaped  upon  them,  viz.; 
1.  Disdain,  in  that  they  gave  no  one  a  good  word, 
were  unfriendly  and  only  blustered  and  boasted 
with  every  one,  Ps.  Iii.  3  (1).  2.  Confidence  in 
their  fortifications,  in  their  power,  money  and 
riches,  2  Chron.  xxxii.  8 ;  Isa.  xl.  6.  3.  Security, 
all  being  prosperous  and  peaceful,  which  was  the 
siuof  their  sister  Sodom,  Ezek.  xvi.49;  Zeph.  ii.  9. 
4.  Talking  great  things,  and  thrasonic  self-praise. 
But  although  Goliath  was  such  a  iniglity  fellow 
he  had  yet  to  bite  the  grass,  1  Sam.  xvii.  50.  5. 
Pride  and  Arrogance.  These  never  do  well,  but 
act  with  violence  and  injustice.  By  violence, 
injustice  and  avarice,  however,  a  kingdom  passes 
from  pne  people  to  another.  Sir.  10,  8."  Cramer. 

2.  On  ver.  10.  '^  Iliswerbis  duopeccata  severissime 
prohibentur  •  1.  negligentia  in  operibus  vocationis, 
cui  oppositum  cap.  39  Sir. ;  2.  misericordia  intem- 
pestiva  (2  Tim.  iv.  2)."  Forster. 

3.  On  ver.  10.  Est  ex  ore  Dei  ma.ledictus  et  im- 
pius  est  hie  Qui  Domini  curat  corde  dolosus  opus. 

(MS.  marginal  note  in  my  copy  of  the  Cramer 
Bible). 

4.  On  ver.  10.  God  glorifies  Himself  in  such 
judgments  over  the  malignant  and  proud  powers 
of  the  world.  He  who  knows  Him  is  also  made 
strong,  so  as  to  see  the  world  perish  and  yet  be 
able  to  sing  praises  to  God  thereat."  Dieurich. 

5.  On  ver.  11.  "Moab  retained  its  old  charac- 
ter; being  far  from  the  traffic  of  the  great  world 
it  was  well  pleased  to  keep  to  itself  Vet  things 
cannot  continue  thus  in  this  world  forever,  every 
family  and  every  nation  is  at  some  time  rudely 
terrified  from  its  rest,  for  what  is  peculiar, 
natural  or  national  is  not  in  itself  the  good.  This 
comes  here  only  through  conflict  and  tribulation, 
and  by  God's  word  among  men.  One's  own  way 
is  full  of  idolatry,  and  all  idols  will  in  like  man- 
ner come  to  shame:  the  golden  calf  of  the  Is- 
raelites certainly  first,  but  afterwards  Kamosh." 

DiEDRICH. 

6.  On  ver.  11.  "  Hie  notetur,  quod  hac  allegoria 
Jeremiad  nefarie  et  fanatice  abusus  circa  annum 
Ckristi  1564  quidam  Martians  Sfeinbnch,  rector  vin- 
arius  sive  doliarius  Seleeestadiensis,  qui  se  esse  dicti- 
tavil  spiritum  sanctum  incarnatum  uti  Christus  filius 
incarnatus  est,  hsereseos  sux  fundamentum  statuens 
hoc  prsesens  Jeremise  dictum.  Cumque  sibi  asseclas 
fecissct  circiter  viginti  ex  plebe,  obiit  et  se  post  mor- 
tem appariturum  splendore  luminis  ajfirmavit.  Vide 
Theatr.  Zwingeri  Vol.  V.,  L.  4,  F.  1328. "  Forster. 

7.  On  vers.  26,  27.  Proud  men  rejoice  with 
malicious  pleasure  when  they  can  treat  one,  whom 
they  do  not  like,  as  a  caught  thief.  But  it  may 
happen  to  them  that  notwithstanding  their  age, 
rank  and  high  dignity,  they  may  yet  fixll  in  a 
truly  beastly  manner  into  that  which  they  have 
themselves  vomited,  and  thus  become  a  laughing 
stock  to  the  street  gamins. 

8.  On  ver.  39.  "It  also  comes  about  that  the 
natural  man  hangs  his  head,  and  at  this  time  be- 
lievers commonly  look  up  and  raise  their  heads, 
because  their  redemption  draweth  nigh."    Zin- 

ZENDORF. 

HOMILETICAL   AND    PRACTICAL. 
1.   "How  many  are   still  like  the  Moabites? 


388 


THE  PROPFIET  JEREMIAH. 


For  how  many  are  (here  of  those  who  depend  on 
their  power  and  violence,  their  fortified  cities 
and  buildings,  riches,  money  and  property,  and 
set  all  their  hope  and  confidence  t  hereupon !  How 
many  are  there  of  those  who,  when  they  have 
been  some  time  at  peace,  become  secure  and 
think  there  is  no  more  trouble  from  the  rising  to 
the  setting  of  the  sun  !  How  many  of  those  who 
rely  on  their  own  strength  and  say,  let  the  enemy 
come,  they  area  match  for  him!  How  many 
who,  when  they  surpass  others  in  bodily  and 
mental  gifts  or  in  perishable  goods,  become  proud 
and  despise,  ridicule  and  treat  badly  their  in- 
feriors, as  if  tliey  had  found  such  among  thieves, 
as  God  the  Lord  here  says  !  Not  to  mention  that 
even  the  dear  God  is  not  exempted.  For  although 
all  good  and  perfect  gifts  come  only  from  above, 
from  the  Father  of  light  (Jas.  i.  17),  yet  many 
will  not  acknowledge  this,  but  ascribe  them  to 
their  own  wisdom  and  skill,  do  not  thank  God 
for  them,  and  thus  make  themselves  and  the  out- 
ward means,  by  which  they  obtain  one  and 
another  thing,  the  idol  which  they  serve."  Bibl. 
Summarien,  Halle,  1848. 

2.  Onver.  10.  Remissnessin  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
1.  Wherein  it  consists  (in  not  doing  or  doing  ill 
that  which  is  commanded.  Comp.  Saul  in  1  Sara. 
XV.,  and  doing  that  which  is  forbidden).  2.  Its 
causes  (Selfishness,  Pride,  Unbelief,  Cowardice, 


Indolence,  worldly  interests).  3.  Its  punish- 
ment (to  be  cursed). 

[Jeremy  Taylor:  1.  He  that  serves  God  with 
the  body,  without  the  soul,  serves  God  deceit- 
fully. 2.  He  that  serves  God  with  the  soul, 
without  the  body,  when  both  can  be  conjoined, 
doth  the  work  of  the  Lord  deceitfully.  3.  They 
are  deceitful  in  the  Lord's  work  that  reserve  one 
faculty  for  sin,  or  one  sin  for  themselves,  or  one 
action  to  please  their  appetite  and  many  for  re- 
ligion. 4.  And  they  who  think  God  sutficiently 
served  with  abstaining  from  evil,  and  converse 
not  in  the  acquisition  and  pursuit  of  holy  charity 
and  religion. — S.  11.  A.] 

3.  Oliver.  42.  The  ivorlcfs  boldness  towards  Ood. 
].  Whereon  it  is  supported  (on  the  one  hand  on 
the  real  [material]  powers  appai-ently  standing 
at  its  behest  alone;  on  the  other  hand,  on  the 
apparent  powerlessness  of  God's  servants,  who 
have  only  truth  and  right  on  their  side).  2. 
What  its  end  will  be  (Destruction,  or  termination 
of  national  existence).  [Cowles:  "If  all  the 
historians  who  record  the  ultimate  extinction  of 
nations  were  inspired  of  God  to  give  the  true 
reasons  of  their  fall,  we  should  often  meet  this 
testimony,  '  Perished  of  national  pride,  producing 
contempt  of  God  and  of  fundamental  morality.'  " 
— S.  R.  A.] 


6.  Prophecy  against  the  Ammonites. 

XLIX.  1-6. 

The  Ammonites  also,  the  brother  nation  of  the  Moabites,  (Gen.  xix.  37)  after  centuries  of  various  conflict 
(comp.  Jud.  m.  13;  x.  7  sqq. ;  xi.  32:  1  Sam.  xi. ;  2  Sam.  x.,  xi.,  xii.  26;  2  Chron.  xx. ;  xxvi. 
8:  xxvii.  5)  in  consequence  of  the  deportation  of  the  Bast-Jordanic  tribes  have  appropriated  apart  of 
their  territory.  This  fact  forms  the  point  of  departure  for  the  present  prophec.?/.  Older  prophecies 
against  Ammon  are  extant  only  by  Amos  (i.  13-15)  and  Zephaniah  {in  consequence  of  a  declaration 
against  Moab,  (ii.  9,  10).  Of  these  Jeremiah  has  made  considerable  use  of  the  prophecy  of  Amos. 
Comp.  the  exposition.  There  is  at  most  an  echo  of  the  brief  utterance  of  Zephaniah  in  the  expression 
desolation,  ver.  2.  coll.  Zeph.  ii.  9.  Since  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  Chaldeans  are  not  named,  the 
prophecy  must  be  older  than  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  and  since  the  beginning  agrees  inform  with  the 
beginning  of  the  first  prophecy  against  Egypt  (xlvi.  2),  and  the  prophecies  against  Moab  (xlviii.  1), 
Edom  (xlix.  7)  and  Damascus  {jlWs..  23),  the  supposition  is  natural  that  the  date  of  its  origin  is  the 
same  as  that  of  these  prophecies. 


8 


Against  the  children  of  Ammon. 
Thus  saith  Jehovah :  Has  theu  Israel  no  children,  or  has  he  no  heir  ? 
Why  then  does  Malcom  inherit  Gad  and  his  people  dwell  in  his  cities? 
Therefore  behold,  the  days  come,  saith  Jehovah, 

That  I  cause  the  war-shout  to  be  heard  against  K-abbah  of  the  children  of  Ammon ; 
And  she  shall  become  a  desolated  heap. 
And  her  daughter  shall  be  burned  with  fire  : 
And  Israel  shall  be  heir  to  his  heirs,  saith  Jehovah. 
Howl  Heshbon,  for  devastated  is  Ai ! 
Cry,  ye  daughters  of  Rabbah,  gird  on  sackcloth  j 
Lament  and  run  to  and  fro'  on  the  walls ; 
For  Malcom  must  go  into  captivity. 
His  priests  and  his  princes  together. 


CHAP.  XLIX.  1-6. 


38S 


Why  boastest*  thou  of  the  valleys  ? 

Thy  valley  is  flowing  away,'  thou  rebellious  daughter, 

Who  trusted  in  her  treasures; — "Who  will  come  to  me?" 

Behold,  I  bring  fear  upon  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 

From  all  thy  neighbors ; 

And  ye  shall  be  driven  away,  each  one  before  him ; 

And  there  shall  be  no  gatherer  of  the  fugitives. 

But  nevertheless  I  will  turn  the  captivity  of  the  children  of  Ammon, 

Saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  3.—  Q0)Vr\'n.     On  the  form  comp.  Olsh.,  g  67,  Anm.,  272,  a. 

2  Ver.  4.— S^nnn  in'.ariably  denotes  to  boast,  to  brag.    The  object  of  the  boasting  is  most  frequently  connected  bS 
3.     Comp.  iv.  2 ;  ix.  22,  23 ;  Ps.  xlix.  7,  etc. 

3  Ver.  -i.— TpOj,'  21    The  explanation  of  Ewald  and  Graf,  "  of  the  luxuriance,  the  superfluity  of  thy  valley  "   would 
suit  the  connection,  but  the  abstract  rendering  of  31  is  an  objection,  since  this  form  (Dp)  elsewhere  is  used  almost  wholly 

T  It 

in  the  formation  of  participles,  very  rarely  of  substantives  of  concrete  meaning,  as  3jr  people,  ^_Jr  city.    31  occurs  (in  the 

T  T  T 

masc.  form)  only  of  a  man  with  emission  of  seed  (Lev.  xv.  4),  in  the  fem.  of  a  woman  with  emission  of  blood  (Lev.  xv.  19), 
and  of  Canaan  as  a  land  flowing  witli  milk  and  honey  (Exod.  iii.  8,  17  ;  Lev.  xx.  24  ;  Num.  xiii.  27,  etc.)  Hence  the  explana- 
tion :  thy  valley  flows  away,  passes  away,  or  redundat  sangui-m  confossnrum,  does  not  correspond  to  the  use  of  the  word 
elsewhere.  I  would,  therefore,  explain  with  Schleuss.ner:  quid  gtoriaris  vallibus  tuis?  {quod  scilicet)  foscunda  sit  vallis 
tuaf    Thus  one  idea  is  expressed  independently  of  the  preposition. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Four  parts  may  be  plainly  distinguished.  In 
the  first  (vers.  1,  2)  the  prophet  alludes  to  the 
fact,  from  the  theocratic  point  of  view  regarded 
as  improper,  that  the  Ammonites  had  taken  pos- 
session of  the  Gadite  territory  (ver.  1),  and  de- 
clares that  this  cannot  remain  so.  Ammon  must 
be  involved  in  war,  the  capital  with  the  neigh- 
boring cities  destroyed,  and  Israel  again  put  into 
possession  of  his  country  (ver.  2).  In  the  second 
part  (ver.  3)  a  brief  specification  follows,  in  the 
third  (vers.  4,  5)  a  reason  for  the  punitive  judg- 
ment, with  express  indication,  that  the  recom- 
pense would  correspond  exactly  to  the  inculpa- 
tion. In  the  fourth  part  (ver.  6)  the  prophet 
concludes  with  a  consolatory  outlook  into  the 
future. 

Vers.  1,  2.  Against  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah. — 
The  prophet  here  presupposes  the  possession  of 
the  Gadite  territory  by  the  Ammonites  in  con- 
sequence of  the  deportation  of  the  East-Jordanic 
tribes  by  Tiglath-Pileser  (2  Ki.  xv.  29;  1  Chron. 
V.  6,  26.  Comp.  Introd.  to  ch.  xlviii.).  Amos  re- 
fers to  former  attempts  by  the  Ammonites  for  the 
same  object  (i.  13). — Malcom.  Jeremiah  has 
Am.  i.  15  in  view.  In  this  passage  Malcom  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  used  in  a  double  sense.  AVhy 
should  the  kint/  be  mentioned  only  with  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Ammonites?  Why  does  Amos  say  of 
Damascus  (ver.  5)  and  Philistia  (ver.  8),  "him 
that  holdeth  the  sceptre,"  and  of  Moab  (ii.  3) 
"the  judge?"  Did  he  not  wish  it  tobe  under- 
stood that  the  expression  used  only  of  Ammon, 
wes  to  be  taken  here  in  a  special  sense?  I  lie- 
lieve,  then,  that  Malcom  (Am.  i.  16)  refers 
primarily  to  the  King,  but  in  such  wise  that  an 
allusion  to  the  God  is  also  intended.  This  allu- 
sion was  all  the  plainer,  if  the  Ammonites  really, 
as  Movers  supposes  {Phcenic,  I.,  S.  323.  Comp. 
Herzog,  Real-Enc,  IX.,  S.  714),   called  the  god 

p/P,  ».  e.,  our  king.     With  reference  to  this  he 


might  fitly,  when  the  Ammonites  were  spoken  of, 
be  called  DD^D  by  the  Israelites.  It  is,  there- 
fore,  unnecessary  here,   and  in  ver.   8  to  read 

D37D,  as  EwALD,  Graf  and   Meier  would   do, 
after  the  example  of  the  LXX.  and  Syr.    Since  we 
cannot  express  the  specific  meaning  -of  the  word 
by  the  translation,  we  have  retained  Malcom  as 
if  it   were  a  proper  name. — The  ■war-shout, 
et£.,  is  a  reminiscence  from  Am.  i.  14. — Rabbah 
Beni  Ammon.     This  was  the   complete  name 
of  the   city  (comp.    Deut.  iii.  11  ;  2  Sam.  xi.  1; 
xii.  26  sqq).     It  was  called  Rabbah,  the  great, 
the  capital,  in  contrast  to  the  neighboring  cities. 
Comp.   Yi-E-RZ.,  R.-Enc.  XII.,  -S.    469.— A  deso- 
late heap,  literally  hill  of  desolation,  therefore, 
heap  of  ruins.     Comp.  Josh.  viii.  28  and  Zeph.  ii. 
9. — Burned  ■with  fire.     This  also  reminds  us 
of  Am.  i.  14  (comp.  Olsfi.,  §  242  b). 
I     Ver.  3.   Howl  Heshbon  .  .  .  princes  to- 
'  gether.     The   immediate  consequences   of  the 
war-shout  being  heard  are  specified.      Heshbon 
is   to  howl.     It  was   then  an  Ammonitish  city. 
Comp.  rems.  on  xlviii.  2,  45.     It  is   given  as  a 
reason  that  Ai  is  destroyed.     What  city  iliis  was 
is  not  to  be  ascertained.     Venema's  and  Ewald's 
explanation   [Rabba  ita  vastata  est,  tit  jam  xil  tu- 
mulus ruderum)  is  forced.     Graf  would  read  1J^ 

with  reference  to  Rabbah.  But  Rabbah  could 
be  called  '\^  only  in  the  appellative  sense,  and 
then  it  must  have  the  article.  To  suppose  that 
Ai  is  transferred  hither  from  Josh.  viii.  28,  be- 
cause there  alone  the  expression  "heap  of  deso- 
lation "  occurs,  is  to  attribute  to  the  prophet 
either  ignorance  or  carelessness.  Many  com- 
mentators therefore  (J.  D.  Michaelis,  Hitzig, 
comp.  V.  Raumer,  S.  168,  Anm.  150)  are  disposed 
to  assume  an  East-.Jordanic  Ai,  which  expedient 
s-ems  to  me  thus  far  the  best. — There  is  no  rea- 
son for  taking  daughters  of  Rabbah  in  a  dif- 
ferent sense  here  from  ver.  2. — Sackcloth. 
Comp.  rems.  on  xlviii.  37. — On  the  ■walls. 
I  do  not  see  why  these  should  be  regarded  as 


890 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


the  walls  of  a  sheep-fold,  as  many  would  do.  What 
is  more  natural  in  a  city,  against  which  the 
enemy  is  advancing,  than  to  run  up  and  down  on 
the  walls  to  take  measures  for  defence  ?  That 
the  city  walls  may  be  meant  is  evident  from  Ps. 
Ixxxix.  41;  Ezek.  xlii.  12. — For  Malcom,  etc. 
These  words  are  taken  from  Am.  i.  15.  Only  in 
the  present  passage  we  have  his  priests  for 
"he,"  which  is  evidently  not  from  misunder- 
standing, but  to  emphasize  more  plainly  the 
intended  meaning  of  Malcom.  Comp.  rems.  on 
xlviii.  7. 

Vers.  4,  5.  Why  boastest  thou  ....  fugi- 
tives. Reason  of  the  primitive  judgment.  The 
pride,  the  stubbornness,  the  security  of  Ammon 
must  be  correspondingly  punished.  Comp. 
xlviii.  26,  30. — Rebellious  daughter.     Comp. 


xxxi.  22. — "Who  will  come  to  mw?  The 
Ammonites'  boast,  Who  will  come  fe>  us  ?  The 
Lord  tells  them,  the  enemies  will  come  upon 
them,  and  that  from  all  sides,  yea,  oven  behind 
them,  so  that  the  Ammonites  will  be  driven 
straight  before  them,  and  because  the  enemies 
come  from  all  sides  will  be  so  scattered  that  no 
one  will  be  in  a  condition  to  collect  the  fugitives 
again. — Pear.  Comp.  xlviii.  43,  44. — Each 
one  before  him.  Comp.  ''every  man  straight 
before  him,"  Josh.  vi.  5,  20;  v.  13. — Gatherer. 
Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  14;   Ivi.  8;   Nah.  iii.  18. 

Ver.  6.  But  nevertheless  ....  Jehovah. 
Ammon  also  is  to  share  in  the  salvation  of  the 
future,  which  is  to  issue  from  Israel  unto  all 
nationa.     Comp.  rems.  on  xlviii.  47  and  xlix.  39. 


7.  Prophecy  against  Edom  (xlix.  7-22). 

On  account  of  their  relationship  to  the  Israelites,  the  Edomites,  in  consequence  of  an  express  divine  com- 
mand, were  not  treated  as  enemies  on  the  journey  to  Canaan  (Deut.  ii.  4  ;  xxiii.  7).  Saul,  however, 
conquered  them  (1  Sam.  xiv.  47).  David  subjected  them  entirely  (2  Sam.  viii.  14).  In  this  state 
of  dependence  they  remained  after  Iladad's  attempt  at  revolution  had  failed  (1  Ki.  xi.  14-22)  till  the 
reign  oj  Joram,  when  they  revolted  (2  Ki.  viii.  20-22;  2  Chron.  xxi.  8).  Amaziah  and  Uzziah  in- 
deed made  by  no  means  unsuccessful  attempts  to  bring  them  again  into  subjection  (2  Ki.  xiv.  7,  22), 
but  their  success  was  not  lasting.  In  the  reign  of  Ahaz  the  Edomites  again  invaded  Judea  (2  Chron. 
xxviii.  17),  and  in  the  time  of  the  Chaldeans  we  also  Jind  their  ambassadors  among  those  who  came  to 
Zedekiah  to  consult  concerning  means  to  be  taken  in  common  (Jer.  xxvii.  3) ;  but  at  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  they  are  on  the  side  of  the  Chaldeans,  greeting  the  destruction  of  the  long  hostile  city 

(comp.  D/tJ?  nT{<,  Ezek.  xxxv.  5)  with  scornful  triumph  (Lam.  iv.  21 ;  Ezek.  xxxv.  15;  xxxvi. 
5;  Ps.  cxxxvii.  7). 

As  regards  the  date  oj  our  prophecy,  the  construction  of  the  superscription  (DHX/),  as  well  as  the  non- 
mention  of  the  Chaldeans,  point  to  the  same  date  at  which  the  other  portions  with  similar  superscrip- 
tion, at  the  head  of  which  is  the  first  against  Egypt  (xlvi.  1-12),  originated,  i.  e.,  the  time  immediately 
before  the  battle  of  Carchemish.  Comp.  rems.  on  xlvi.  1,  2,  and  Inlrod.  to  the  Prophecies  against 
the  Nations. 

Of  special  importance  for  our  prophecy  is  its  relation  to  the  prophecy  of  Obadiah  directed  against  Edom. 
They  correspond  to  each  other  as  follows  : 


7. 


That  Jeremiah  drew  from  Obadiah,  and  not  vice  versd,  has  been  shown  by  Caspari  (Der  Proph.  Obadja 
ausgel.  Leipzig,  1842)  in  such  an  exhaustive  manner  that  there  can  be  no  further  question  on  this 
point.  The  quotations  then  from  Obadiah  extend  only  to  ver.  8  of  his  prophecy.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  following  context  (Obad.  9  sqq.)  has  frequent  points  of  contact  with  Joel,  which  is  not  /he  case 
in  the  previous  context,  and  it  is  just  in  these  verses  that  the  indubitable  references  to  the  capture  of 
Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans  are  found  (comp.  Obad.  10,  16).  Hence  recently  either  the  old  theory 
has  been  retained  (held  by  AcausTi,  Kraiimer,  Ewald,  Meier  in  Zeller's  Jahrb.  I.  3,  S.  526)  of 
the  use  of  an  older  source  in  common  on  the  part  of  Jeremiah  and  Obadiah  (comp.  Meier,  die  proph. 
BE.  d.  A.  T.  iihersetzt  u  erk.,  S.  368  [The  proph.  Books  of  the  O.  T.  transl.  and  explained']),  or  it 
is  supposed  that  Ohnd.  9-21  was  a  later  addition,  composed  after  the  Chaldean  catastrophe.  Tliis  u 
not  the  place  to  enter  into  this  difficult  investigation  specially  or  loiih  the  precision  which  it  requires. 
I  content  myself  therefore  with  putting  two  questions :  1 .  Ii  it  then  so  decidedly  demonstrated  that 
Obadiah  quotes  Joel  and  not  Joel  Obadiah?  2.  How  is  it,  that  in  vers.  12-14  Edom  is  only  irnmed 
against  committing  hostilities  against  Judah  '^  in  the  day  of  their  calamity?"  Such  hostilities  had 
certainly  been  already  committed  (vers.  10,  11,  15,  16).     But  is  it  not  clear  from  the  turn  which  tht 


er. 

xlix.  7 

and 

Obad 

8. 

"     9 

5. 

'«   10 

6, 

"    14 

1. 

"    15 

2. 

"    16 

3, 

CHAP.  XLIX.  7-13.  391 


discourse  takes  (with  7X1)  in  ver.  12  that  the  prophet  distinguishes  two  points  of  time,  a  past  and  a 
future  ?  Once  already  have  the  Edomites  greeted  the  calamity  of  Jerusalem  with  malicious  joy.  When 
now  they  are  warned  against  doing  this  again,  is  it  not  presupposed  that  Jerusalem  is  still  by  no  means 
wholly  destroyed,  but  that  the  really  great  day  of  calamity  is  still  impending  [observe  the  *•!  DV3  re- 
peated eight  times  in  vers.  12-14)  ?  Would  it  not  accordingly  be  exeyetically  viore  exact  to  suppose 
that  the  prophet,  finding  occasion  in  the  hostility  displayed  by  the  Edomites  in  a  transient  occupation 
of  Jerusalem,  warns  them  from  a  repetition  on  the  great  day  of  Jerusalem,  ivhich  he  foresees  as  in- 
evitable, and  on  the  presupposition  that  this  warning  will  not  avail,  threatened  them  with  a  just  re- 
compense ? 

Of  the  other  older  prophecies  against  Edom  (Isa.  xxxiv.  5-17  ;  Am.  i.  11,  12  ;  Joel  iv.  19)  Jeremiah  has 
made  no  use. 

The  whole  prophecy  is  plainly  to  be  discriminated  into  three  parts.  The  first  (vers.  7-13)  has  for  its  topic 
the  Judgment  to  be  executed  on  Edom  according  to  the  elements  of  its  outward  appearance  (vers.  7-10) 
and  its  objective  imvard ground,  ivhich  is  the  decree  of  Jehovah.  The  second  part  (vers.  14-18)  is 
predominantly  occupied  with  the  statement  of  the  subjective  ground  of  the  visitation,  i.  e.,  with  the 
guilt  of  Edom.  The  third  part  (vers.  19-22)  brings  before  us  the  subject  of  the  destination,  that  is, 
the  instrument  thereof,  chosen  by  Jehovah. 

1.   The  judgment  on  Edom  in  its  external  appearance  and  objective  reason, 

XLIX.   7-13. 

7  Against  Edom.     Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth  : 
Is  there  no  longer  wisdom  in  Teman  ? 

Hath  counsel  vanished  from  the  intelligent  ?^ 
Is  their  wisdom  expended  ?  ^ 

8  Flee,  turn,  bow  low,^  ye  inhabitants  of  Dedan ! 
For  the  destruction  of  Esau  I  bring  upon  him, 
The  time,  when  I  visit  him. 

9  If  vintagers  come  to  thee  they  will  leave  no  gleanmgs, 
If  thieves  by  night  they  destroy  their  fill, 

10  For  I  have  stript  Esau  bare,  discovered  his  hiding  places, 
And  he  cannot  hide  himself.* 

His  seed  is  destroyed  and  his  brethren  and  his  neighbors. 
And  he  is  no  more. 

11  Leave  ^  thy  orphans,  I  will  preserve  their  life. 
And  let  thy  widows  confide*  in  me. 

12  For  thus  saith  Jehovah,  Behold, 

They,  whose  rule  it  was  not  to  drink  the  cup,  must  drink  it, 
And  art  thou'  to  remain  unpunished? 
No,  but  thou  shalt  drink. 

13  For  I  have  sworn  by  myself,  saith  Jehovah, 
That  Bozrah  shall  become  a  desolation, 

A  reproach,  a  desert*  and  a  curse; 

And  all  her  cities  shall  become  desolate  for  ever. 

TEXTUAIi    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  7.— D'J^D  Part.  Kal  from  J'^  instead  of  the  more  usual  Part.  Niph.  D'jbj  (Gen.  xli.  33,  39,  etc.).  The  form 
does  not  occur  elsewhere. 

*  Ver.  7.— rr^D  is  to  overflow,  overhang.  So  Exod.  xxvi.  12  of  the  overhanging  curtain;  Ezek.  xvii.  6,  fin^D  |3J, 
vUispaiula,  late  effusa.  Part.  Pual  PmD,  poured  out,  stretched  out  on  the  couch.  Am.  vi.  4,  7.  D'SOD  TinD,  Ezek. 
xxiii.  15,  redundantes  mitris  d.  i.  gestantes  mUras  longe  dependentes.  Hence  Niph.  (which  occurs  here  only),  pro/usum,  ef- 
fusum  esse,  p^j  from  DpII,  Isa.  xix.  3  coll.  Jer.  xix.  7. 

3  Ver.  8.— As  ^QJ  can  only  be  Imperative,  1p"3J^n  and  ?J3n  niust  also  be  taken  as  such.  The  former  (on  the  con- 
struction with  the  Inf.  comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr..  J 95,  e)  is  also  used  in  ver.  30  as  an  Imperative.  Other  instances,  ^tynH,  -  Hi. 
ii.  3,  5 ;  mXH,  Jer.  xii.  19 ;  comp.  Oi.sh.,  §  250,  a,  b.    :|  J£3n  is  likewise  a  rare  form,  but  not  impossible  or  without  analogy. 

Comp.  n33'iyn,  Ezek.  xxxii.  19;  13iyn,  Job  xxi.  5;  Olsh.,  ?2G0,  coll.  S.  631. 
1       ;   T  -  - 

*  Ver.  10.— n^njl.  ^Tv)  for  ^xS,  comp.  Olsh.,  2263,  b.  The  perfect  would  have  to  be  translated:  and  does  he  hide 
himself,  he  cannot,  which  is  forced.    We  should  expect  at  least  v'   X'Sv     Ewald  and  Graf  would  punctuate  T^3'^^,  comp. 


392 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


forms  like  XTpJ.  rlOIJ'  DiilHi  (Ol3H.,  §2G0,  c),  aud  as  regards  the  construction,  ver.  23.    This  expedient  removes  at 

least  the  great  grammatical  difiBLulties  which  HSHJ  affords. 

T  :  *.' 

5  Vor.  11.— On  the  Imperative  form  comp.  Olshausen.  ?234,  a. 

6  Ver.  11. — inO^ri-     *-!uu'p.  KuL'k.  x.x-\vii.  7.    E.tcept  iu  connection  with  suffixes,  we  find  only  this  and  n^HX  as  ex- 
amples of  the  aljuormiil  affirmative.     Comp.  Olsh.,  S.  io\i,  3. 

■  Ver.  12.— Xin   TMMi.     'I'huu,  such  an  one!  xiv.  22  ;  Ps.  xliv.  5,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §79,  3. 

8  Ver.  13.— Instead  of  Jlh  we  find  HSin  in  the  parallel  passages. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  destruction  of  Edoin  is  described,  1.  as  it 
appears  oulwardly,  2.  according  toils  inner  rea- 
son in  the  divine  decree.  First  the  irresistible 
nature  of  the  attack  is  set  forth,  in  opposition  to 
which  all  the  renowned  wisdom  of  Edom  will  be 
unavailing  (ver.  7).  The  Dedanites,  the  neigh- 
bors and  commercial  allies  of  Edom,  are  warned 
to  consult  their  own  safety  (ver.  8).  The  ene- 
mi.'s  will  come,  and,  like  vintagers  or  thieves, 
make  a  clean  sweep  (ver.  9).  It  will  turn  out 
that  Edom's  material  means  of  defence,  his  rock 
fortresses  regarded  as  impregnable,  together 
with  his  own  and  his  allied  offensive  forces,  can- 
not avert  destruction  (ver.  10).  This  must  be 
so,  because  it  is  the  will  of  Jehovah.  This  is 
seen  in  Jehovah's  taking  charge,  as  it  were,  of 
the  widows  and  children  of  the  Edomites,  which 
presupposes  the  death  of  their  guardians  (ver. 
11).  Jehovah  must  permit  their  death,  as  with- 
out being  unjust.  He  cannot  spare  Edom  the  cup 
which  Israel  had  to  drink.  Edom  must  there- 
fore drain  it  irrevocably  (ver.  12)  for  Jehovah 
(in  accordance  with  the  imperative  demands  of 
His  justice)  has  sworn,  that  Edom  will  be  a  prey 
to  everlasting  desolation  (ver.  13).  Tiius  the 
strophe  concludes,  and  from  the  similarity  of 
this  conclusion  with  ver.  18  it  is  seen,  that  in 
both  cases  we  have  a  larger  section  of  the  dis- 
course. 

Ver.  7.  Against  Edom  .  .  .  expended. 
Wisdom  and  intelligence  are  necessary  in  car- 
rying on  war  (Prov.  xxiv.  6)  and  where  these 
fail,  all  is  lost.  This  lack  is  observable  in  Edom. 
This  is  the  more  striking  since  the  wisdom  of 
Edom  and  especially  of  Teman  was  celebrated 
from  of  old.  Comp.  Ob.  8;  Job  ii.  11  (Te- 
man was  the  home  of  Eliphaz) ;  Baruch  iii.  22, 
23.  On  Teman  comp.  Herz.,  R.-Eiic,  III.,  S. 
650.     [CowLES  on  this  verse. — S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  8.  Flee  .  .  visit  him.  On  Dedancomp. 
rems.  on  xxv.  23.  They  were  not  Edomites  but 
neighbors  (Ezek.  xxv.  13),  and  at  all  events  con- 
nected with  them  by  mercantile  intercourse 
(comp.  Isa.  xxi.  13).  Hence  they  are  also  threa- 
tened by  tiie  tempest  which  is  breaking  over 
Edom.  They  are  therefore  admonislied  to  look 
to  their  own  safety. — For,  etc.  Comp.  ver.  32  ; 
xlvi.  21 ;  vi.  15. 

Vers.  9,  10.  If  vintagers  .  .  .  nomore.  Ver. 
9  is  taken  from  Obad.  5.  The  sense  is  clear.  It 
could  not  be  so  if  we  should  render  the  sentence 
interrogatively,  as  many  do,  in  too  servile  ad- 
herenc«  to  the  passage  in  Obadiah.     Ver.  10  re- 


minds us  of  Obad.  6,  though  there  we  read 
"searched  out"  and  "sought  up"  for  stript 
bare  and  discovered.  These  terms  applied 
to  Esau  refer  to  the  uiicouimouly  strong  fortress- 
dwellings,  occupied  by  the  Edomites.  Comp. 
rems.  on  ver.  16. — His  seed  is  destroyed,  etc. 
"  Both  the  real  Edomites  and  the  descendants  of 
related  and  other  nations,  which  were  mingled 
with  them,  as  the  Amalekites,  Gen.  xxxvi.  12; 
Horites,  Gen.  xxxvi.  20;  Simeonites,  1  Chron. 
iv.  42  and  neighboring  tribes,  as  Dedan,  ver.  8. 
Tema  and  Buz,  Jer.  xxv.  23  "  are  to  be  destroyed 
says  Graf.  He  also  justly  remarks  that  the  ex- 
pression his  brethren  and  his  neighbors  ap- 
l^ears  to  have  been  occasioned  by  "  men  of  thy 
confederacy"  and  "  men  of  thy  peace  "  in  Obad. 
7. — Aud  he   is  no  more.     Comp.  Isa.  xix.  7. 

Vers.  11-13.  Leave  thy  orphans  .  .  .  deso- 
late forever.  Hitzig  sees  in  ver.  11a  preli- 
minary conclusion  parallel  to  ver.  6  and  xlviii. 
47.  But  ver.  11  is  no  conclusion,  being;  followed 
by  two  sentences  with  foi;",  vers.  12,  13,  of  such 
a  purport  that  no  inference  favorable  to  Edom 
can  possibly  be  drawn  from  them.  I  therefore 
take  ver.  11  with  Theodoret,  Neumann  and 
others,  as  irony.  The  Edomites  are  called  upon, 
the  men,  namely,  to  leave  their  widows  and  or- 
phans. Observe  that  it  is  not  said,  wives  and 
children.  The  death  of  the  men  is  presupposed. 
When  Jehovah  immediately  adds  that  He  will 
care  for  the  survivors,  this  is  a  poor  consolation 
for  the  Edomites  who  do  not  believe  in  Jehovah. 
For  what  other  care  but  such  as  slaves  receive, 
can  be  expected  from  Him,  who  announces  as  his 
unalterable  determination  so  total  a  destruction 
of  Edom,  as  in  vers.  13,  17,  18,  20,  21?— I  wiU 
preserve,  etc.  Comp.  Exod.  i.  17,  18;  2  Sam. 
xii.  3;  1  Ki.  xviii.  5  ;  Isa.  vii.  21.  We  see  from 
these  passages  that  the  meaning  of  the  word  is 
prim^arily  negative :  not  kill,  but  secondarily 
positive:  do  what  is  necessary  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  life. — Whose  rule  it  v^as  not,  etc.  It 
was  an  abnormal  thing  lor  Israel,  the  chosen 
people,  to  be  obliged  to  drink  the  cup  of  wrath. 

I  therefore  take  £031^0  in  the  sense  of  norm,  law, 

rule.  Comp.  xxx.  11  ;  viii.  7. — The  cup. 
Comp.  xxv.  losqq. — Unpunished.  Comp.  xxv. 
29, — Have  sv^orn,  etc.  Comp.  xxii.  5. — A  de- 
solation. Comp.  xxv.  11,  18;  xliv.  6,  22. — 
Bozrah  (Isa.  xxxiv.  6  ;  Ixiii.  1  ;  Am.  i.  11,  12) 
was  one  of  the  most  important  cities  of  Edom 
(comp.  xlviii.  24)  of  which  there  are  still  re- 
mains under  the  name  of  Besseyra,  i.  e..  Little 
Bozrah.  Comp.  Raumer,  Pal.,  S.  278. — Deso- 
late for  ever.     Comp.  xxv.  9, 


CHAP.  XLIX.  14-18. 


;593 


2.  The  Judgment  on  Edom  according  to  its  subjective  reason, 
XLIX,  14-18. 

14  I  have  heard  a  report  from  Jehovah, 
And  a  messenger  is  sent  among  the  nations : 

"Assemble  yourselves  and  come  up  against  her, 
And  rise  ye  for  the  war." 

15  For  behold,  I  make  thee  small  among  the  nations ; 
Despised  among  men. 

16  Thy  object  of  horror^  deceived  thee, 
The  pride  of  thy  heart, 

Thou  that  dwellest  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock, 

Thou  that  occupiest  the  height  of  the  hill. 

Even  though,  like  an  eagle,  thou  buildest  thy  nest  high, 

I  will  bring  thee  down  from  thence,  saith  Jehovah. 

17  And  Edom  shall  become  a  wilderness ; 
Every  one  that  passeth  by  shall  be  horrified, 
And  jeer  on  account  of  all  her  strokes. 

18  As  in  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
And  their  neighboring  cities,  saith  Jehovah, 
No  man  will  dwell  there, 

Nor  a  son  of  man  sojourn  in  her. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  16. — nX /£3r\  does  not  occur  elsewhere.  It  is  usually  taken  in  the  sense  of  terror  =«ni2f  73  (Jer.  xxi.  4) 
and  understood  to  mean  the  terror  which  Edom  inspires.  But  because  the  following  verb  is  in  the  masc.  some  have 
thought  it  necessary   to  separate   "in^f  7i3n   from   it  and   regard   it  as  an  isolated  exclamation  (comp.   DDDSH)  Isa. 

xxix.  16),  which  Schleussner  renders  O  arrogantiam,  tuam;  Hitziq,  "fear  to  thee;"  Graf,  "horror  at  thee."  But  this 
exclamation  appears  somewhat  exaggerated.  Why  should  a  people,  who  are  deceived  by  pride,  be  especially  inspired 
with  fear?  Is  not  this  very  common?  Was  the  pride  of  Edom  greater  than  that  of  Moab  (xlviii.  29)?  Or  was  it  threat- 
ened with  a  worse  fate?  I  find  it  more  suitable  to  take  HV /SH  in  the  sense  of  JIV/DO.  The  latter  word  in  1  Ki.  xv. 
13 ;  2  Chrou.  xv.  16  designates  an  idol,  an  idol-image.     This  is  called  a  terror,  an  object  of  holy  horror,  as  frequently  ini3, 

Gen.  xxxi.  42;  X^IOi  Isa.  viii.  13;  D'O'X,  Jer.  1.  38  are  used  in  an  analogous  sense.    The  LXX.  may  have  the  same  idea, 

.         ^  ... 

translating  r^vaiyyia  aou,  i.e.,  risus,  jocm  tuus.  According  to  Schleussner,  they  had  Priapus  in  mind,  for  which  also  Je- 
rome holds  j"\]i7D0  in  1  Ki.  xv.  and  2  Ki.  xv.  Rabbis  also,  according  to  Kimchi's  testimony,  have  understood  the  word  of 
niT  m^y,  i.e.,  idolatry.    Among  the  moderns,  J.  D.  Mich.^elis  and  Meier  adopt  this  view.    The  gender  of  the  verb  is 

TT  T    "^r 

no  hinderauce,  for  the  prophet  could  properly  use  the  masc.  when  thinking  of  the  person  of  the  idol.  Comp.  Naegelsb. 
er.,g60,4. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Jeremiah  proclaims  in  the  words  of  Obadiah, 
that  nations  will  be  summoned  to  make  war  upon 
Edom,  to  make  her  small  and  despised  (vers.  14, 
15).  To  such  a  procedure  has  Edom  given  oc- 
casion by  her  idolatrous  abominations  and  her 
pride.  This  pride  is  now  to  be  punished  (ver.  16) 
and  Edom  is  now  to  become  a  horrible  waste  and 
like  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  (vers.  17,  18).  These 
verses  are  taken  with  modifications  from  Oba- 
diah 1-4.  The  main  thought  is  evidently  ex- 
pressed in  ver.  16;  the  statement  of  the  subjec- 
tive cause  of  the  punitive  judgment,  impending 
over  Edom. 

Vers.  14, 15.  I  have  heard  .  .  among  men. 
Hemistich   1  is  taken   from  Obad.    1  only  with 


the  alteration  of  "we  have  heard"  (Israel)  to 
"  I  have  heard,"  and  "arise  ye"  to  "assemble 
yourselves."  The  report  wh'ch  the  prophet 
bears  directly  from  the  Lord  and  the  message 
(1"'^  viator,  nuntius,  Prov.  xiii.  17;  xxv.  1'3;  Isa. 

xviii.  2;  Ivii.  9)  which  is  sent  among  the  nations 
are  of  the  same  purport.  We  must  regard  the 
report  however  as  expressing  not  only  the  com' 
mand  itself,  but  also  that  it  has  been  issued. 
Hemist.  2  is  extended  in  Jeremiah.  It  reads  in 
Obadiah  "Arise  ye,  and  let  us  rise  up  against  her 
in  battle."  Ver.  15,  taken  from  Obad.  2,  states 
the  object  of  the  war,  for  the  attainment  of  which 
the  nations  are  summoned.  The  words  corres- 
pond to  vers.  11-13,  expressing  the  decree  of  Je- 
hovah concerning  Edom,  the  execution  of  which 
is  the  object  of  the  war.  "  For  "  is  wanting  in 
Obadiah.     In  small  and  despised  there  is  evi* 


«94 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


dently  an  antithesis  to  EJom's  pride  (ver.  16). 
Hemist.  2  reads  in  Obadiah,  "thou  art  greatly 
despised." 

Ver.  16.  Thy  object  of  horror.  .  .  saith  Je- 
hovah. We  evidently  have  here  the  kernel  of 
the  strophe,  that  by  which  it  is  distinguished 
from  the  context,  viz.,  the  guilt  of  Edom  is  here 
stated,  the  subjective  reason  of  her  destruction. 
While  Obadiah  mentions  as  this  reason  only 
"the  pride  of  thine  heart"  (ver.  3),  Jeremiah 
mentions  also  the  "  being  a  terror,"  or,  as  I  un- 
derstand the  word,  the  horror,  i.  e.,  the  idol.  We 
may  well  conceive  that  wishing  to  extend  the 
text  of  his  source  the  prophet  would  insert  a 
word  which  would  state  the  ground  of  Edom's 
moral  corruption.  Whence  does  arise  the  moral 
pollution  of  the  heathen  world  ?  According  to 
Rom.  i.  from  idolatry.  Here  also  Jeremiah  would 
say  that  it  was  really  the  idol  which  deceived 
Edom,  pride  being  involved  in  idolatry. — The 
pride  of  thy  heart  is  then  in  apposition  to  hor- 
ror. It  is  in  accordance  with  this  that  inacces- 
sible rock-castles  are  designated  as  the  ground  of 
pride,  for,  were  not  all  heathen  idols  local  dei- 
ties ?  Was  not  then  the  idol  who  had  built  these 
rocks  and  continually  protected  them  the  real 
lord  on  whom  their  proud  confidence  was  founded? 
— Clefts  of  the  rocks,  etc.  It  appears  to  me 
beyond  doubt  that  Jeremiah  had  here  in  view  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  Edomite  cities,  espe- 
cially the  capital,  which  was  called  Sela  (2  Ki. 
xiv.  7;  Isa.  xvi.  1).  Comp.  the  remarks  on  Boz- 
rah,  ver.  13.  The  second  hemistich  is  abbrevi- 
ated from  Obad.  4.     Comp.  Am.  ix.  2. 

["  The  descriptive  points  in  this  verse  are  won- 
derfully accurate.  Petra,  the  ancient  capital 
of  Edom,  for  ages  the  main  thoroughfare  of  the 
great  trade  and  travel  between  India  and  Meso- 
potamia on  the  East,  and  Egypt  and  North  Africa 
on  the  South- West;  the  seat  therefore  of  wealth 


and  art,  perhaps  of  wisdom  also,  and  culture, 
held  a  position  of  great  military  strength.  It  was 
built  in  a  vast  ravine,  partly  on  the  broad  area 
inclosed  by  lofty  precipitous  walls  of  rock,  which 
by  some  of  nature's  mighty  convulsions  had  been 
rent  asunder,  and  partly  in  those  very  fronts  of 
lofty  rock,  chiseled  out  with  immense  labor,  so 
that  the  pillars,  of  the  temples  and  the  apartments 
of  its  tombs  and  dwellings  were  wholly  cut  from 
the  solid,  eternal  rock.  Here — her  nests  built 
high  in  these  crags  like  the  eagle's — old  Petra 
sat  in  her  pride  and  h3r  strength,  cherishing  the 
vain  fancy  that  no  power  could  ever  bring  her 
down.  But  the  Almighty  spake  and  it  was  done! 
— The  site  of  ancient  Petra,  for  ages  unknown, 
has  been  brought  to  light  during  the  present  cen- 
tury. A  number  of  travelers  have  visited  and 
explored  it.  Laborde,  Dr.  Robinson  and  others, 
have  given  fuU.and  precise  statements  of  its  won- 
derful ruins,  placing  Petra  in  the  front  rank  of 
those  ancient  witnesses  who  bear  their  silent  but 
resistless  testimony  to  the  precision  of  the  old 
prophetic  descriptions,  and  to  the  marvellous 
correspondence  in  the  most  minute  details  be- 
tween prophecy  and  history — the  prophecy  of 
twenty  centuries  ago  and  the  history  of  to-day." 
CowLES. — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  17,  18.  And  Edom  .  .  .  sojourn  in 
her.  These  verses  do  not  contain  any  reminis- 
cences from  Obadiah,  but  they  do  from  Jeremiah 
himself  and  from  other  writings. — And  Edom, 
etc.,  is  formed  after  xxv.  11,  38.  Comp.  1.  13. — 
Every  one  that  passeth.  Comp.  xix.  8. — As 
in  the  overthrow,  etc.,  is  from  Deut.  xxix.  22. 
Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  19;  Jer.  1.  40.  The  expression 
neighboring  cities  points  to  Deut.  xxix.  22, 
where  Admah  and  Zeboim  are  mentioned  with 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Comp.  Hos.  xi.  8. — No 
man  vrill  dwell, 
li.  43. 


etc.     Comp.  ver.  33;  1.  40; 


3.   TVie  instrument  chosen  by  Jehovah  for  the  destruction  of  Edom. 

XLIX.  19-22. 


19  Behold,  as  a  lion  he  cometh  up 

From  the  pride  of  Jordan  to  the  evergreen  pasturage, 
For  in  a  twinkling  I  drive  him  (Edom)  from  thence.^ 
And  who  is  chosen  ?^     Him  will  1  set  over  him. 
For  who  is  like  me  ?     And  who  will  appoint  me  the  time  ? 
And  who  is  the  shepherd  that  would  stand  before  me  ? 

20  Therefore  hear  the  counsel  of  Jehovah  which  He  hath  counselled  against  Edom, 
And  His  thoughts,  which  he  has  thought  concerning  the  inhabitants  of  Teman : 
Verily  they  will  be  dragged  along,  the  feeble  little  sheep ; 

Verily  their  pasturage  will  be  astounded*  at  them. 

21  At  the  sound  of  their  fall*  the  earth  trembles. 
Crying  !*  The  sound  of  it^  is  heard  on  the  Red  Sea. 

22  Behold,  as  an  eagle  he  ascends  and  flies, 
And  extends  his  wings  over  Bozrah  ; 

And  the  heart  of  the  heroes  of  Edom  on  that  day 
Will  be  as  the  heart  of  a  woman  in  anguish. 


CHAP.  XLIX.  19-22. 


395 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  19. — The  construction  as  in  Zeph.  iii.  7  coll.  Prov.  xii.  19.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g95  ff,  Anm. — H'/yD  is  «n- 
doubtedly  to  be  referred  to  HI  J,  although  this  word  is  elsewhere  used  as  a  masc.  (Isa.  xxvii.  10;  xxxiii.  20),  since  the  idea 

of  "  country  "  lies  at  its  basis.    Comp.  rems.  on  r^^^^ilH  ver.  16.  .  , 

2  Ver.  19.— ■'D  is  used  as  e.^.  in  Exod.  xxiv.  14.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  79,  6.— n''7X  for  T]''7V-    Comp.  remarks 

T    V  T  v't 

on  X.  1. 

s  Ver.  20.— □''2/1  Hiphil  (oathe  form  comp.  Olsh.,  S.  577,  8;  Numb.  xxi.  30)  is  to  be  taken  as  the  direct  causative: 
ttuparem  ej)icere,  to  produce  astonisliment  and  horror  not  in  others,  but  in  one's  self,  i.  <•..,  to  be  horrified.    Comp.  Naegelsb. 

Cr.,  g  18,  3.    ["J<7~DX  if  noJ,  a  strong  mode  of  asseveration  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  the  certainty  of  any  event." 

Henderson. — S.  R.  A.] 

*  Ver.  20. — 0*73^  is  infinitive.    Comp.  2  Sam.  i.  10  ;  Olshausen,  \  245  6. 

B  Ver.  21.— npy^  the  main  idea  placed  emphatically  in  advance,  which  is  more  accurately  defined  in  the  following 
context.    Comp.  Ewald,  §  309,  6. 

«  Ver.  21. — ["For  PlVlp  which  refers  to  npyX,  we  find  the  less  appropriate  reading  D/'lD  in  eighty-four  MSS. :  it 

has  been  originally  in  fourteen  more ;  it  is  in  three  by  correction,  and  is  in  the  text  of  twenty-one  printed  editions.    The 
only  version  whicli  supports  it  is  the  Targum."  Henderson.     IIitzu;  however  approves  of  this  reading  as  the  more  diflS 
cult,  referring  it  to  VTj^ri.  the  land,  i.  e.  the  population  thereof. — S.  R.  A.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

This  strophe  also  describes  the  destruction  of 
Edom,  but  in  such  wise  that  the  instrument  in  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  is  prominent,  without  being  men- 
tioned by  name.  As  a  lion  from  the  reed  thick- 
ets of  the  Jordan  falls  upon  a  Hock,  which  is  pas- 
turing on  the  luxuriant,  ever-green  meadows  of 
the  Gor,  so  shall  Edom  be  surprised  in  his  rock- 
dwelling  and  be  driven  away  in  a  twinkling.  So 
shall  a  new  shepherd,  chosen  ad  hoc  by  the  Lord 
Himself,  be  set  over  Edom,  for  the  previous  shep- 
herds of  Edom  have  no  prerogative  to  maintain 
their  position  in  spite  of  the  Lord  (ver.  19).  The 
new  Shepherd,  however,  will  not  pasture  the 
flock  in  the  old  way  peaceably,  but  will  drag 
them  away,  so  that  their  pasturage  will  be  as- 
tounded at  the  disappearance  of  the  flock  (ver. 
20).  Thus  the  fall  of  Edom  will  be  a  violent  one, 
so  much  so  that  the  sound  of  it  will  be  heard 
afar  (ver.  20).  Again,  in  conclusion,  the  one  who 
is  called  to  the  destruction  of  Edom  is  compared 
with  an  eagle  (after  Deut.  xxviii.  49),  who  will 
extend  his  wings  over  Bozrah,  which  is  fortified 
indeed,  but  powerless  against  such  an  enemy,  so 
that  on  that  day  even  the  heroes  of  Edom  will 
be  as  faint-hearted  as  parturient  women. 

Ver.  19.  Behold  as  a  lion  .  .  .  before  me. 
As  in  xlvi.  18  with  Carmel,  and  in  xlviii.  40  with 
an  eagle,  so  here  the  instrument  of  the  Lord  is 
compared  with  a  lion,  one  who  lurks  in  the  reedy 
margin  of  the  .Jordan  (the  pride  of  Jordan,  "the 
luxuriant  bushes  and  reeds  growing  on  its  banks, 
by  which  it  is  enclosed  as  by  a  green  garland." 
KoHLER  on  Zech.  xi.  3  coll.  Jer.  xii.  5;  Raumek, 
Pal.  S.  58;  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  VII.,  S.  S)  and 
from  thence  makes  his  inroads  on  the  flocks  pas- 
turing on  the  luxuriant  evergreen  meadows  of 
the  Jordan  valley.  For  the  Gor,  though  in  ge- 
neral arid  and  infertile,  where  brooks  flow  down 
from  the  mountains  to  the  Jordan  has  oases, 
which  under  the  influence  of  the  tropical  climate 
are  exceedingly  fertile.  Comp.  Arnold  in  Her- 
zog, R.-Enc,  S.  10,  etc.  I  am  therefore  of  opi- 
nion that  jiTX  nij  does  not  directly  signify  the 
land  of  Edom.  and  thus  is  neither  to  be  taken  as 
"  rock-dwelling"  nor  as  "  evergreen  pasturage  " 
with  sole  reference  to  the  undisturbed  possession 


of  the  land  for  centuries.  I  take  it  in  the  latter 
meaning,  but  I  think  that  the  expression  is  cho- 
seu  because  it  admits  of  a  double  reference,  to 
the  oases  of  the  Jordanic  valley  and  to  Edom  it- 
self, which  may  be  thus  designated  both  as  the 
ancient  residence  of  the  Edomite  nation,  and 
with  reference  to  the  strength  ami  indestructibi- 
lity of  its  national  defences  (comp.  Num.  xxiv.  21 ; 
Mic.  vi.  2).  In  referring  the  expression  at  the 
same  time  to  Edom,  a  transition  is  formed  from 
the  comparison  to  the  thing  compared. — For  in 
a  tw^inkling.  From  the  "For"  we  see  that  the 
jirophet  has  in  view  the  suddenness  of  the  at- 
tack as  a  tertium  comparationis.  From  the  thickets 
of  the  Jordan  lions  could  easily  fall  upon  herds 
feeding  near  the  bank  (comp.  Herzog,  R-Enc.  XI. 
*S.  2'J).  In  like  manner  shall  Edom  be  suddenly 
assailed  and  driven  away  from  his  pa.slurige. — 
And  who  is  chosen?  We  see  from  this  ex- 
pression that  the  prophet  had  no  definite  person 
in  view.  He  does  not  yet  know  who  the  chosen 
one  is,  but  only  that  there  will  be  one.  Whoever 
it  is  will  really  obtain  the  supremacy  over  Edom, 
appointed  to  him.  (xv.  3;  li.  27).  The  elder 
commentators  understood  Nebuchadnezzar,  or 
even  {interprete  Luthero,  as  Forstersays)  Alexan- 
der the  Great. — For -who  is  like  me?  Edom's 
princes  of  ancient  and  illustrious  descent  (Gen. 
xxxvi.)  might  well  be  caught  in  the  delusion  of  in- 
violable security.  Here  they  are  told  that  they 
have  a  higher  power  above  them,  who  can  re- 
move them,  and  set  others  more  pleasing  to  him 
in  their  place — Jehovah,  namely,  who  has  none 
like  unto  Him,  (Comp.  C.\sp.\ri,  iltcha  da-  Mo- 
rast,  S.  llsqq. ;  Exod.  xv.  11),  whom  no  one  can 
bring  to  an  account  (Job  ix.  19),  whom  no  earthly 
national  shepherd  (x.  21 ;  xxv.  34;  xxiii.  Ij  can 
defy.  ["To  'appoint  one  the  time'  is  the  an- 
cient phrase  for  a  legal  indictment  and  sum- 
mons. Who  shall  prosecute  me  before  the  court 
for  this  proceeding,  i.  e.,  set  himself  against  me 
as  an  opponent,  or  an  antagonist."  Cowles — S. 
R.  A.] 

Vers.  20,  21.  Therefore  hear  .  .  .  Red  Sea. 

As  it  is,  therefore,  undeniable  that  the  Lord  has 
power  over  all  kingdoms  of  the  nations,  it  is 
solemnly  made  known  to  all  the  world  as  the  de- 
cree of  the  highest  Majesty;  the  Edomites  shaU 
suifer  the  same  fate  from  Him,  who  shall  attack 


896 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


them  like  a  lion,  aa  the  lion  brings  upon  the 
weaker  animals,  i.  e.,  they  shall  be  dragged  away 
(xv.  3  ;  xxii.  19) — carried  into  captivity.  Thus 
will  the  land  be  desolated,  as  the  prophet  poeti- 
cally expresses  it  in  the  words,  the  land  will  be 
horrified  at  the  sudden  stillness  and  desolation. 
There  is  a  similar  personification  in  Job  vii.  10, 
(Ps.  ciii.  16).  From  tbis  it  follows  1.  that  the 
entire  representation  of  these  two  verses  is  based 
on  a  figure  of  a  place  of  pasturage  ;  2.  that  by 
the  new  shepherd,  a  conqueror  is  understood  who 
will  desolate  the  land  and  carry  the  people  into 
captivity ;  3.  that  the  sentence  with  therefore, 
occasioned  by  the  emphatic  causal  sentence  of 
three  clauses,  ver.  19,  b,  contains  no  more  than 
an  emphatically  repeated  inference  (A,  then  B, 
therefore  A),  consequently  the  same  thought  in 
substance,  which  was  already  expressed  in  I  v^ill 
drive  him  from  thence.  Onver.  20acomp.ver. 
30:  xviii.  11;  xxix.  11;  Isa.  xiv.  26,  27;  xix.  12 
— Teman,  comp.ver.  7.  The  city  lay  according  to 
Jerome,  five,  according  to  Eusebius,  fifteen  Roman 
miles  from  Petra,  comp.  Baumeb,  Pal.  S.  279. 


The  little  sheep.  Comp.  xiv.  3;xlviii.  4.  The 
"smallest  of  the  flock"  are  the  weakest,  most 
helpless,  who  are  least  adapted  for  flight  or  re- 
sistance, and  most  for  being  dragged  away. — 
[Henderson  adheres  to  the  A.  V.,  making  "the 
smallest  of  the  flock"  the  nomi  ative. — S.  R.  A.] 
— At  the  sound,  &c.,  immediate  efi"ect  of  the 
overthrow  of  the  power  of  Edom.  Comp.  Ezek. 
xxvi.  15;  xxxi.  16;  Isa.  xiii.  13;  Jer.  li.  29. — The 
whole  passage,  vers.  19-21,  is  repeated  and  ap- 
plied to  Babylon  (1.  44-46). 

Ver.  22.  Behold  ...  in  anguish.  That 
which  is  in  ver.  19  declared  by  means  of  a  figure 
taken  from  a  lion,  is  here  repeated  in  the  form 
of  a  figure  derived  from  an  eagle.  The  first  half  of 
the  verse  is  taken  from  xlviii.  40,  the  second  from 
xlviii.  41.  The  reason  of  the  assailer  of  Bozrah 
appearing  here  as  an  eagle  may  be  that  the  "cas- 
tellated rock"  of  this  city  is  designated  as  ac- 
cessible only  to  an  eagle.  Comp.  Raumer,  Pal. 
S.  278 ;  Schubert,  Reise  in  das  Morgenland,  11. 
S.  426. 


8.  Prophecy  against  Damascus. 
XLIX.  23-27. 

Out  of  a  large  number  of  small  kingdoms  {thirty-two  are  mentioned  in  1  Ki.  xxi.  1,  16)  with  which  the 
Israelites  after  the  period  of  the  Judges  had  to  endure  many  conflicts,  (Jud.  iii.  8 ;  1  Sam.  xiv.  47  : 
2  Sam.  viii.  and  x.),  a  large  one  was  formed  after  David's  death  by  Rezon,  with  Damascus  for  its 
capital  (1  Ki.  xi.  23,  24).  With  this  great  Syrian  kingdom  also  the  two  kingdoms  of  Israel  had  to 
endure  many  and  severe  conflicts,  (1  Ki.  xv.  18  sqq. ;  xx.  1  sqq. ;  xxii.  1  sqq. ;  2  Ki.  v.  1  sqq. ; 
vi.  8  sqq.  ;  viii.  28,  29;  x.  32,  33;  xii.  17;  xiii.  3;  xiv.  25;  xv.  37;  xvi.  5,  6),  till  at  last  the 
Assyrians,  solicited  by  Ahaz  of  Judah,  (2  Ki.  xvi.  7-10),  fell  upon  Syria  and  brought  the  country 
permanently  under  their  dominion  (2  Ki.  xvi.  9).  We  need  not  seek  the  fulfilment  of  JeremiaKs 
prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Damascus  in  a  particular  "  conquest  and  devastation  of  the  country  by 
Nebuchadnezzar. '^  (Graf).  For  even  if  Nebuchadnezzar  did  seize  Syria  and  Damascus  and  trtat 
them  with  a  certain  degree  of  hostility  [whether  as  an  Assyrian  province  or  as  an  Egyptian  tributary) 
yet  the  prophet' s  perspective  extends  over  the  whole  future  of  Damascus  (comp.  the  Introd.  to  chh. 
1.  li.).  He  sees  in  one  picture  what  in  the  fulfilment  will  be  divided  into  many  stages,  comp.  Hekzoq 
R.-Enc.  III.,  S.  260. 

As  regards  the  date  of  the  prophecy  both  the  superscription  and  the  purport  of  it  indicate  that  it  formed 
part  of  that  Sepher,  beginning  with  xlvi.  1,  which  oiues  its  origin  to  the  period  before  the  battle  of 
Carchemish.     Comp.  Introd.  to  the  Prophecies  against  the  Nations. 


23  Against  Damascus. 
Ashamed  are  Hamath  and  Arpad, 

For  a  bad  report  have  they  heard :  they  are  dissolved.* 
In  the  sea  there  is  terror,''  it  cannot  rest. 

24  Enfeebled  is  Damascus,  she  turns  to  flee, 
And  terror^  seizes  her,* 

Anguish  and  sorrow  lay  hold  on  her  like  a  parturient. 

25  How !  Is  not  the  city  of  renown  abandoned, 
The  place  of  my  delight  ? 

26  Hence  her  youths  fall  in  the  streets. 

And  all  men  of  war  shall  perish  on  that  day,  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth. 

27  And  I  kindle  a  fire  in  the  wall  of  Damascus, 
Which  shall  devour  the  palaces  of  Benhadad. 


CHAP.  XLIX.  23-27. 


S9T 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  23. — Jjjj  used  frequently  of  the  effect  of  fear  in  loosening  the  compagines  corporis ;  Eiod.  xv.  15 ;  Josh.  ii.  9,  24; 

T 

Vs.  Ixxv.  4 ;  Isa.  xiv.  31.  ,  . 

2  Ver.  23.— njXI  DO     Since  the  following  words  73V  X/  Dp'C'n  tire  taken  verbatim  from  Isa.  lvii.20,  the  previous 

words  in  Isaiah  may  rule  the  previous  words  here.    There  we  read  tJ/TJJ  D''3  D'yi2'"im.     It  would   now  be   certainly 

T :  ■       T -  •  1     :  t; 

most  convenient  to  read  □''3  in  the  present  passage  instead  of  D'3.    Jeremiah  however  does  not  quote  the  last  words  ac- 

curately  as  a  whole.    And  □'3  also  is  not  without  difficulty.     We  should  expect  it  to  be  in  the  construct  state.     I  there- 
fore think  that  the  reading  in  the  text  is  the  correct  one. — njXT  is  fear,  terror,  unrest.    Comp.  Josh.  xxii.  24  ;  Prov.  xii. 

T  T  : 
25;  Ezek.  iv.  16;  xii.  18,  19.     The  subst.  in  Jeremiah  here  only  ;  theverb  inxvii.  8  ;  xxxviil.  ItT;  xlii.  16. 

3  Ver.  24. — £0D1  ^tt.  Key.  a  Syrian  word,  without  doubt  chosen  purposely.     Comp.  J^m,  llos.  xiii.  1. 

*  Ver.  24. — np'tnn  is  so  punctuated  by  the  Masoretes  that  it  is  evident  the^  took  Damascus  for  the  subject  (terrorem 
/?reft.endt<)  having  in  view  passages  like  Isa.  xiii.  8  ;  Job  xviii.20;  xxi.  6.  But  the  punctuation  Hp^inn  would  corres- 
pond better  to  Jeremiah's  usage.     Comp.  vi.  24 ;  viii.  21 ;  1. 43.  .  '     ' 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

An  enemy  coming  from  the  north  threatens 
first  Hamath  and  Arpad,  which  are  thus  thrown 
into  commotion,  like  a  tempestuous  sea  (ver.  23). 
This  agitation  reaches  also  Damascus,  hence  dis- 
couragement, anxiety,  in  part  ilight  (ver.  2-1). 
The  city  is  not  abandoned  by  all  the  troops  (ver. 
25),  hence  a  great  blood-bath  and  destruction  of 
the  army  in  the  streets  (ver.  26)  and  destruction 
of  the  city  by  fire  (ver.  27). 

Ver.  23.  Against  Damascus  .  .  .  cannot 
rest.  The  superscription  is  as  in  xlvi.  2  ;  xlviii. 
1;  xlix.  1,  7.  I  cannot  at  all  discover  that  the 
superscription  is  too  limited,  as  Graf  supposes, 
for  in  fact  this  brief  utterance  is  occupied  only 
with  Damascus,  the  cities  Hamath  and  Arpad 
being  mentioned  only  to  designate  the  successive 
advance  of  the  calamity  and  the  direction  in 
which  the  enemy  comes.  It  is  a  matter  of  course 
that  the  fall  of  the  capital  involves  that  of  the 
kingdom,  hence  the  superscription  is  incorrect 
neither  in  itself  nor  in  relation  to  the  purport 
of  the  passage.  According  to  Num.  xxxiv.  8 
Hamath  is  to  be  the  northern  limit  of  the  land 
to  be  occupied  by  Israel.  The  boundaries  were 
also  really  extended  thus  far  at  times.  Comp. 
2  Ki.  xiv.  28  with  2  Chron.  viii.  4.  The  city 
was  situated  on  the  Orontes  to  the  North  of  Da- 
mascus, and  was  afterwards  called  Epiphania 
by  the  Greeks.  Comp.  Jerome  on  Am.  vi.  2,  14. 
Arpad,  which  is  always  named  together  with 
Hamath  (Isa.  x.  9,  comp.  Delitzsch  on  the  pas- 
sage; xxxvi.  19;  xxxvii.  13),  must  have  been 
situated  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  city.  We 
thus  see  that  the  prophet  expects  the  enemy 
from  the  North,  as  it  was  natural  that  the  army 
of  the  Egyptians  then  in  northern  Syria  should 
turn  his  gaze  in  that  direction.  Hamath  and 
Arpad  stand  confounded  in  consequence  of  the 
evil  tidings.  They  flow  away,  dissolve,  pass 
away  with  anguish. — The  following  words  are 
taken  verbatim  from  Isa.  Ivii.  20.  Jeremiah  has 
doubtless  from  this  passage  the  idea  of  the  sea 


in  general  in  his  mind.  The  expression  IJOJ 
had  directed  his  thoughts  to  that  passage  and 
still  exerts  some  influence.  He  thus  imagines 
these  cities  as  a  wildly  agitated  sea.  In  the 
swaying  hither  and  thither  ot  the  waves  is  mir- 
rored the  inward  unrest  and  anguish.  It  is  not 
then  the  real  sea  that  is  meant  (Hitzig),  but  the 
human  multitude  compared  to  a  sea.  (Comp. 
Isa.  xvii.  12  ;  viii.  7,  8). 


Vers.  24-27.    Enfeebled 


Benhadad. 


The  bad  report  reaches-even  the  capital,  and  this 
in  consequence  falls  into  critical  agitation.  De- 
spair seizes  on  the  inhabitants.  A  part  turns  to 
flight.  (Comp.  rems.  on  xlvi.  5,  21).  Anguish 
takes  hold  upon  them. — How  ?  Is  not,  etc. 
We  are  not  justified  in  regarding  the  negative 
as  a  strong  affirmation,  or  taking  abandoned 
in  the  sense  of,  left  free,  spared.  Rather  does 
the  prophet  say  really  :  how  then  is  the  city 
not  forsaken?  (Comp.  2  Sam.  i.  14).  He  is 
astonished  and  complains,  that  it  has  not  been 
abandoned.  This  would  have  been  better  for  the 
Syrians.  For  just  because  it  has  not  been,  their 
youths  fall  in  their  streets  and  their  whole  army 
is  destroyed.  Flight  might  have  saved  them. — 
City  of  renown,  etc.  Comp.  li.  41  ;  Isa.  Ix. 
18  ;  Ixii.  7. — My  refers  to  the  prophet  and  there 
is  no  irony  in  it.  He  lamented  that  the  city  was 
not  abandoned.  He  has  a  human  pity  for  the 
destroyed  city  as  he  has  a  human  joy  in  its 
beauty.  Comp.  rems.  on  xlviii.  31.  [The  Vulg., 
Syr.,  Chald.,  omit  77iy.  Boothroyd  maintains 
that  this  omission  is  necessary  to  make  good 
sense! — S.  R.  A.]. — The  youths.  Comp.  ix. 
20.— Ver.  27.  And  I  kindle.  The  whole  verse 
in  its  main  constituents  is  taken  from  Am.  i.  and 
ii.  Comp.  Am.  i.  4,  7,  10,  12,  14 ;  ii.  2,  5.— In 
the  w^all,  not  on  the  wall,  for  the  wall  itself 
does  not  burn,  but  within  the  wall,  so  that  all 
which  the  wall  includes  is  consumed  by  the  fire. 
The  palaces  of  Benhadad  are  the  royal  palaces, 
since  Benhadad  (there  were  three  of  them,  1  Ki. 
XV.  18,  20;  XX.  1-3;  2  Ki.  vi.  24;  viii.  7,  9,- 
xiii.  3,  24,  25)  wa&  the  best  known  name  of 
Syrian  kings. 


398  THE  PROPdEf  J  EKE  Ml  AH. 


9.  Prophecy  against  Kedar  and  the  Kingdoms  of  Hazor. 

XLIX.  28-33. 

From  Damascus  the  prophet  tU'-ns  his  gaze  eastward  to  the  bordering  Arabians,  comprised  in  the  designor 
Hon  of  the  title.  In  xxv.  23,  24  Jeremiah  mentions  among  the  populations  to  be  subdued  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar several  Arabian  tribes.  We  feel  impelled  to  suppose  that  the  limits  of  the  Arabian  con- 
quests of  Nebuchadnezzar  were  undefined  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet,  for  we  shall  be  obliged  to  dis- 
tinguish a  real  and  ideal  dominion  of  that  ruler,  though  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  is  a  vague 
one.  It  is  unnecessary  to  inquire  after  a  special  occasion  for  this  prophecy.  Nebuchadnezzar  being 
now  universal  ruler,  the  Arabs,  being  the  immediate  southern  neighbors  of  his  native  country,  cannot 
possibly  be  omitted  from  subjection  to  his  power.  Moreover,  the  Arabs  had  enough  to  do  with  the 
Israelites  frorn  the  time  of  Gideon  (comp.  Jud.  vi.-viii. ;  2  Chron.  xvii.  11;  xxi.  16,  17;  xxvi.  7). — 
As  regards  the  date  of  this  prophecy  we  have  in  the  mention  of  Nebuchadnezzar' s  name  a  sure  proof 
that  it  was  written  later  than  most  of  its  sisters  in  chh.  xlvi.-xlix.,  for  only  a  single  one  of  these  (the 
second  against  Egypt,  xlvi.  13-28)  mentions  Nebuchadnezzar.  If  his  expedition  against  the  Arabian 
tribes  were  really  the  first,  which  he  made  after  his  ascension  to  the  throne  [comp.  the  exeg.  reins,  on 
vers.  28,  29)  this  prophecy  might  be  ascribed  most  fitly  to  the  time  in  which  he  was  preparing  for  the 
undertaking. 

28  Against  Kedar  and  the  kingdoms  of  Hazor,  which  Nebuchadnezzar^  the  king 

of  Babylon  smote, 
Thus  saith  Jehovah : 
Arise,  go  up  against  Kedar, 
And  spoil  ye  the  sons  of  the  east.^ 

29  Their  tents  and  their  flocks  shall  they  take, 
Their  curtains  and  all  their  utensils ; 

And  their  camels  shall  they  take  for  themselves,' 
And  shall  cry  over  them,  "  Terror  round  about." 

30  Flee,  run  apace,  stoop,  ye  inhabitants  of  Hazor,  saith  Jehovah, 

For  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  hath  planned  a  plan  against  you, 
And  hath  had  thoughts  against  you. 

31  Up  !     Move  against  a  nation  at  ease,* 
That  dwelleth  securely,  saith  Jehovah. 
They  have  neither  doors^  nor  bolts, 
They  dwell  apart  by  themselves. 

32  And  their  camels  shall  become  a  prey, 

And  the  multitude  of  their  flocks  a  plunder  ; 

And  I  scatter  to  all  (the  four)  winds,  those  with  cropped  hair-corners, 

And  from  all  sides  I  bring  their  destruction,  saith  Jehovah. 

33  And  Hazor  shall  become  a  habitation  for  jackals, 
A  desolation  in  perpetuity  : 

Not  a  man  shall  dwell  there. 
Nor  a  son  of  man  sojourn  therein. 

TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

'  Ver.  28. — The  1  with  which  the  king's  name  i8  written  in  the  Chethibh  is  due  to  a  scriptural  error  occasioBed  by  th« 
word  TlVn  atanding  just  before. 

2  Ver.  28.— nntJ'1.    On  the  singular  imperative  form  comp.  Own.  ?  235,  6. 

3  \PT.  29. — DnS  IXtl'".     The  pronoun   is  grammiitieally  more  correctly  referred  to  the  enemies  of  the  Arabs  (comp. 
Num.  xvi.  0  ;  Deut.  ii.  35  ;  iii.  7  ;  Naegelsb.  Or.,  g  81,  1  h)  since  the  reference  to  the  Arabs  must  have  beeu  expressed  by  TO. 

4  Ver.  .•51.— Tho  form  vSt!?  formed  like  Tyt  (comp.  Olsh.  §  180,  Anm.)  is  found  here  only.    Elsewhere  iSt^  (Job  xvi, 

,     .  ■•:  '^■■-  "T 

12:  XX.  20)  or  Vty  (-lob  .xxi.  23). 

•■   T 

5  Ver.  31.— DTiSt  xb  by  this  are  meant  not  house-doors,  but  city  gates.    Comp.  Deut.  iii.  5 ;  1  Sam.  xxlii.  7. 


CHAP.  XLIX.  28-33. 


899 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Plunder,  desolation  and  dispersion  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar are  proclaimed  to  the  pastoral  tribes 
living  in  Arabia  to  the  East  of  Palestine.  First 
the  enemies  are  called  upon  to  advance,  and  with 
war-cries  to  fall  upon  the  Arabs  and  spoil  them 
(vers.  2-^,  29).  The  Arabs,  however,  are  ad- 
monished to  flee  and  hide  tliemsjlves,,  to  escape 
the  plans  formed  against  them  (ver.  30).  Here- 
upon the  enemies  are  summoned  anew  to  the 
attack,  and  are  told,  as  if  to  allure  them,  that 
they  have  to  deal  with  a  people  at  peace  and  not 
intrenched  behind  bulwarks  (ver.  31).  Rich 
booty  is  placed  before  tliera  in  prospect.  Dis- 
persion on  all  aides  will  he  the  result,  corres- 
ponding to  the  attack  on  all  sides  (ver.  32).  The 
land  shall  be  devastated  and  cease  to  be  a  habi- 
tation for  man  (ver.  33). 

Vers.  28,  29.  Against  Kedar  .  .  .  terror 
round  about.  Kedar  is  named  in  Gen.  xxv.  13 
as  the  second  son  of  Ishmael,  with  which  the 
Arabian  tradition  agrees.  Comp.  Herzog,  ^.- 
Enc.  I.  S.  463.  [Comp.  Keil  and  Delitzsch, 
Comm.  on  the  Pentateuch  (Eng.  Ed  )  Vol.  I.  p. 
264].  They  lived  "  in  the  desert  between  Arabia 
Pctrnea  and  Babylonia"  (Knobel,  Gen.  S.  212), 
and  are  frequently  mentioned  as  rich  in  flocks, 
living  in  tents  (Song  of  Sol.  i.  5;  Ps.  cxx.  5; 
Isa.  xlii.  11;  Ix.  7;  Ezek.  xxvii.  21)  and  cele- 
brated for  their  skill  in  archery  (Isa.  xxi.  16,  17). 
Comp.  rems.  on  ii.  10. — Hazor,  difi"erent  from 
the  localities  of  this  name  in  Palestine  (Josh.  xi. 
1-3;  xii.  19;  xix.  36;  Jud.  iv.  and  v;  1  Ki.  ix. 
15;  XV.  29— Josh.  xv.  23,  25— Neh.  xi.  33),  is 
mentioned  here  only  as  a  district  in  Arabia. 
According  to  Niebuhr  [Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  210  coll. 
428),  Hazor  is  "the  present  Hadshar,  a  district 
which  occupies  the  whole  north-eastern  corner 
of  Nedshed,  and  to  which  in  the  wider  sense  the 
coast  lands  of  Lachsa  also  belong.*'  This  corner 
is  formed  by  the  southern  course  of  the  Euphra- 
tes and  the  Persian  Gulf.  With  regard  to  the 
meaning  of  the  name  it  is  natural  to  think  of 
Isa.  xlii.  11  and  to  suppose  that  l^ypi  denotea 
the  inhabitants  of  the  D'''^Vn,  i.  e.  villages  with- 
out walls  and  gates  (comp.  Gen.  xxv.  16).  De- 
LiTzscaremarksonlsa.  xlii.  11,  "the  settled  Arabs 
are  still  called  Hadarije  in  distinction  from  Wa- 
barij'e,  the  tent  Arabs ;  hadar,  "H^n  is  the    fixed 

dwelling-place  in  contrast  to  bedd,  the  steppe, 
where    the   tents    are    erected   temporarily  now 

here  and  now  there."    Accordingly  "np  and  "llXn 

are  related  not  as  opposites,  but  only  as  the 
more  limited  and  more  extended  idea,  and  Jere- 
miah would  address  his  words  to  Kedar  and  to 
mil  other  Arabs  dwelling  in  C'^KO-     ^it,h  this 


would  accord  not  only  the  -Chaldean  incursion 
generally,  which  it  is  easier  to  regard  as  directed 
against  a  settled   people  than  against  nomads, 
but  especially  the  description  of  the  devastation 
in  ver.  23,  which  seems  to  presuppose   not  the 
pasturage  of  a  passing  horde   but  the  abiding- 
place  of  men  who  build   houses.     It  seems  op- 
posed to  this,  however,  that  in  ver.  29  the  tents 
and  curtains  of  the  attacked  are  spoken  of,  ac- 
cording   to  which   part    of  them    at   least  were 
tent-dwellers.     It  is  also  surprising  that  in  Isa. 
xlii.  11  the  Kedarenes  are  inhabitants  of  D"'"12fn, 
while  elsewhere  (comp.  the  passages  cited)  they 
are  described   as  tent-dwellers.     I  believe   that 
all  may  be  united  in  the  hypothesis  that  there 
were  some  Kedarenes  living  in  tents  and  some  in 
villages,  and  that  the  text  has  in  ^iew  both  these 
and  also  the  other  tribes  settled  in  villages  of 
northern  Arabia. — Which  Nebuchadnezzar, 
etc.     These  words  appear  to  be  a  later  addition, 
as  otherwise  the  prophecy  characterizes  itself  as 
a  vaticinium  post  eventum.     Yet  even  Hitzig   re- 
marks, the  addition  is  "contained  in   the  LXX. 
and    preserving    the    older   form  of  the    proper 
name  as  in  xliv.  30  is  relatively  very  old,  and  pro- 
bably genuine  and  certainly  contains  historical 
tiulh,    which  is  not    handed  down    elsewhere." 
Niebuhr  [Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  209,  10)  and  Duncker 
[Genh.   des.  Alterth.,  I.   S.   827)  are   of  opinion 
that  Nebuchadnezzar,  after  returning  from  the 
victory  of  Carchemish,  had  strengthened  his  in- 
ternal dominion,  first  taking  into  consideration 
"the  extension  of  his  dominion  over   the  Arabs 
on  the  lower  Euphrates,  in  North  Arabia  and  the 
Syrian  desert "  (Dunckeb).    It  is  to  be  remarked 
in  this  connection,  that   according  to    Ctesi.\s, 
whose  statement  Duncker  regards  as  credible 
[S.  804,  806  Anm.  2,  etc.),  the   Babylonians  had 
already  brought  Arabs  with  them  to  the  siege  of 
Nineveh. — The  expression   "sons  of  tlie  East" 
is  the  "  general  designation  of  the  Arabs,  espe- 
cially the   nomad    tribes    of  northern   Arabia" 
(Arnold   in  Herz.,  R.-Enc.  I.  S.  460).     Comp. 
Jud.  vi.  3,   33;  vii.    12;  viii.  10;    1  Ki.   v.   10; 
Job  i.  3;  Isa.  xi.  14;  Ezek.  xxv.  4,  10. — Cur- 
tains are  the  mats  or  canvas  of  which  the  tents 
consist.      Comp.    iv.    20;    x.    20. — Terror,    etc. 
Mayor  missabib.    Comp.  vi.  15;  xx.  3,  10;  xlvi.  5. 
Vers.    30-33.    Flee  .  .  .  therein.     On  flee, 
etc.,  comp.  ver.  8.     On  planned  a  plan  comp. 
ver.  20;  xviii.  11. — At  ease.    Comp.  Jud.  xviii. 
7. — Apart  by  themselves.     Comp.    xv.   17; 
Numb,  xxiii.  9;  Deut.  xxxiii.  28. — And  I  scat- 
ter, etc.    Comp.  Ezek.  v.  12  ;  xii.  14. — Cropped 
hair-corners.     Comp.    rems.   on   ix.  25;  xxv. 
23. — From  all  sides.     Comp.  rems.  on  xlviii. 
28;  1  Ki.  V.  4— ver.    8;  xlvi.   21.— Shall   be- 
come, etc.,  ver.  33.     Comp.  ver.  18;  ix.  10;   s. 
^2 ;  li.  37  ;  1.  40. 


400 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


10.  Prophecy  against  Elam. 
XLIX.  34-39. 

l^lam  is  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  in  Gen.  x.  22;  xiv.  1,  9;  Isa.  xi.  11;  xxi.  2;  xxii.  6;  Jer. 
XXV.  25 :  Ezek.  xxxii.  24  ;  Dan.  viii.  2  ;  Ezra  iv.  9.  Comp.  supra  ad  xxv.  25.  It  is  here  men- 
tioned as  the  representative  of  the  more  remote  populations,  beyond  the  Tigris,  all  those  who  are  enu- 
merated in  the  catalogue  of  nations  beyond  the  Tigris  in  xxv.  25,  26.  M.  Niebuhr  assumes  as 
certain  a  victorious  war  of  Nebuchadnezzar  with  Elam  between  the  ninth  and  twentieth  years  of  his 
reign  (Ass^  u.  Bab.  S.  212).  In  this,  however,  he  relies  not  on  positive  historical  testimony  but  only 
on  inferences,  the  correctness  of  which  may  be  disputed.  We  are  further  in  no  need  of  an  actual  over- 
throw of  Elam  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  The  kernel  of  the  prophecy  is  an  idea  which  retains  its  truth 
even  if' Nebuchadnezzar  had  never  made  war  on  Elam. 

Why  Jeremiah  chose  Elam  as  the  representative  of  the  eastern  nations  is  not  apparent.  The  supposition  of 
EwALD  (Proph.  d.  A.  £.,  II.  S.  lioO),  that  ^^  the  wild  warlike  Elamites  had  acted  as  auxiliaries 
shortly  before  in  the  deportation  of  Jehoiachin  and  the  first  great  deportation  of  the  people,  and  in  this 
had  shown  themselves  particularly  cruel,''  does  not  appear  to  be  well-founded.  For  1.  if  the  Elamites 
already  served  in  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar  they  needed  not  to  be  subjugated  ;  2.  the  superscription 
affords  no  sure  criterion  of  the  date.  For  it  is  highly  2^rol)able  that  it  is  placed  here  by  mistake,  as  we 
shall  show  on  ver.  34.  The  prophecy  does  not  mention  Nebuchadnezzar  by  name,  and  we  must 
therefore  regard  it  as  of  the  same  date  as  the  others  m  chh.  xlvi.-xlix.  against  the  nations  (^except 
xlvi.  13  sqq.  and  xlix.  28-33). 

34  The  word  of  Jehovah  which  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet  with  respect  to  Elam, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  saying, 

35  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth  : 
Behold,  I  will  break  the  bow  of  Elam, 
The  chief  part  of  their  strength, 

36  And  I  will  bring  upon  Elam  four  winds  from  the  four  corners  of  heaven, 
And  will  scatter  them  to  all  those  winds ; 

And  there  shall  be  no  nation  whither  the  dispersed  of  Elam^  shall  not  come. 

37  And  I  will  terrify^  Elam  before  their  enemies, 
And  before  those  who  seek  their  life  ; 

And  I  will  bring  calamity  upon  them, 
The  fierceness  of  my  anger,  saith  Jehovah ; 
And  I  will  send  the  sword  after  them, 
Until  I  have  utterly  consumed  them. 

38  And  I  will  set  my  throne  in  Elam, 

And  destroy  king  and  prince  from  thence,  saith  Jehovah. 

39  And  it  shall  be  at  the  end  of  days, 

I  will  turn  the  captivity  of  Elam,  saith  Jehovah. 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  36.— dSi^^  ia  the  Chethibh  has  expressions  such  as  ver.  13 ;  xxv.  12 ;  li.  26,  62,  etc.,  in  view. 

2  Ver.  37.— Ou  Tinnn  comp.  Olsh.,  S.  563,  4,— xlvi.  26 ;  ix.  15. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

The  bow  of  the  Elamites,  wherein  their  strength 
consists,  shall  be  broken  (ver.  35).  They  shall 
be  attacked  and  scattered  on  all  sides  (ver.  3U), 
and  be  pursued  to  destruction  (ver.  37).  In  the 
country  itself  the  Lord  will  hold  strict  judgment 
and  pxtcrminiite  all  the  rulers  (ver.  38).  Yet  in 
the  distant  future  Elam  aiso  shall  be  liberated 
and  obtain  salvation  (ver.  39). 

Ver.  34.  The  word  .  .  .  Judah.     There  are 


well-founded  doubts  as  to  the  authenticity  of  this 
superscription.  AVe  have  hitherto  found  without 
an  exception,  that  in  all  prophecies  which  are 
older  than  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  Jeremiah 
never  mentions  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  Chal- 
deans, while  in  all  the  oracles  subsequent  to  this 
catastrophe  he  knows  and  names  Nebuchadnezzar 
as  the  Lord's  chosen  instrument.  If  now  this 
prophecy  really  dates  from  the  beginning  of 
Zedekiah's  reign,  why  is  not  Nebuchadnezzar 
mentioiied  ?  Why  are  the  agents  of  the  punish- 
ment spoken  of  in  as  general  a  masaer  as  in  thr 


CHAP.  XLIX.  34-39. 


401 


older  prophecies  ?  Or  must  not  Nebuchadnezzar 
be  necessarily  regarded  as  the  agent,  as  Gbaf 
supposes  {S.  576)?  I  hold  itquite  impossible  for 
Jeremiah  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Zede- 
kiah  to  have  thought  of  any  other  than  Nebuchad- 
nezzar as  an  instrument  of  the  execution,  or  to 
have  left  this  point  even  in  suspense.  Compare 
only  xxvii.  6  sqq.,  where  the  whole  earth,  with 
all  that  is  thereon,  is  given  over  without  excep- 
tion or  reserve  to  the  Chaldean  king.  Add  to 
this  an  external  circumstance.  Unreliable  as  the 
Alexandrian  translation  in  general  is,  yet  in  some 
circumstances  it  may  serve  to  indicate  the  origi- 
nal form  of  the  text  (comp.  Graf,  Finl.  S.  LVII.). 
This  is  here  the  case.  As  is  well-known  the  pro- 
phecies against  the  nations  have  in  the  LXX. 
their  place  immediately  after  that  indication  of 
a  Sepher,  containing  them,  in  xxv.  13,  and  this 
prophecy  against  Elam  is  at  their  head.  It  is 
introduced  with  the  words:  a  hKpo(f)ijT£vaev 
'leps/ulag  kni  ra  idvr]  to.  ADidfi.  It  further  closes 
with  the  words:  ev  apxv  (iaoLTievovToq  ^edeKiov 
^aaoMuQ  eyEvero  6  ?.6yog  ovrog  irepl  AiTidu,  and 
these  words  form  in  addition  the  beginning  of 
ch.  xxvi.  However  severely  we  may  judge  the 
arbitrariness  of  this  translator,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  this  exceeds  the  customary  degree 
thereof,  which  is  substantially  confined  to  abridge- 
ment (comp.  Graf,  EM.,  S.  XLIIL).  What 
could  have  induced  him  to  invent  this  postscript, 
since  the  brief  oracle  was  sufBeiently  character- 
ized by   the  prefixed  words  rd  Al'^ap.   (evidently 

corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  Ur^j,  but  on  ac- 
count of  its  brevity  added  as  in  apposition  to  the 
preceding  exl  to.  kdvjjt  Whence  now  that  post- 
script? It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  LXX.  the 
first  verse  of  ch.  xxvii.  (Heb. )  is  wanting.  It  is 
the  verse  with  the  undoubtedly  false  name  of  Je- 
hoiakim!  Now  ch.  xxvii.  stands  in  the  closest 
topical  relation  to  ch.  xxv.  In  the  symbolic 
sending  of  the  yoke  it  forms  an  actual  commen- 
tary to  the  symbol  of  the  cup  of  wrath,  xxv.  15 
sqq.  Ch.  xxvi.  on  the  other  hand  belongs  to  a 
much  earlier  date,  and  is  merely  inserted  here, 
because  it  likewise  (as  ch.  xxvii.)  has  for  its 
subject  the  conflict  with  the  false  prophets,  and 
bears  as  date  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Je- 
hoiakim.  Compare  the  Introduction  to  the  Ninth 
Discourse  (ch.  xxv.),  and  the  rems.  on  xxvii.  1. 
This  postscript  now  whicli  the  LXX.  subjoins  to 
the  oracle  against  Elam  suits  exactly  (only  with 
the  omission  of  the  words  rcepl  At/Id//)  in  the  place 
of  the  verse  wanting  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  xxvii., 
and,  which  is  a  matter  of  importance,  it  contains 
the  right  king's  name,  viz.,  that  of  Zedekiah. 
The  supposition  is  thus  pressed  upon  us  that  the 
prophecies  against  the  nations  originally  had 
place  immediately  after  ch.  xxv.,  that  ch.  xxvii. 
was  connected  directly  therewith  (without  the 
intervention  of  ch.  xxvi.),  that  the  prophecy 
against  Elam  formed  the  conclusion  of  the  oracle 
against  the  nations,  and  that  by  mistake  the 
Diaskenast  who  altered  that  original  order,  re- 
moved xxvii  1,  and  attached  it,  as  a  postsci-ipt, 
to  the  oracle  agninst  Elam.  In  this  behalf  the 
words  "against  Elam,"  had  to  be  inserted.  This 
alteration  must  have  been  made  in  very  early 
umes,  for  it  makes  itself  felt  in  both  the  Hebrew 
leit  and  in  the  LXX.  only  with  this   difi'erence. 


that  in  the  text,  on  which  the  LXX.  was  based, 
the  misplaced  words  still  stood  at  the  close  of  the 
word  directed  against  Elam,  so  that  this  had  a 
superscription  and  a  postscript,  while  in  our 
Masoretic  recension  the  postscript  is  made  into 
the  title  by  the  assumption  into  it  of  the  words 

D^'^" /X.  For  this  purpose  the  form  of  the  sen- 
tences must  also  have  been  altered,  so  that  it  was 
in  correspondence  with  the  superscription,  xlvi. 
1  and  xlvii.  1,  while  in  the  Greek  text  (xxvi  1) 
the  old  form  is  still  perceptible.  Thus  substan- 
tially Movers  and  Hitzig,  with  whom  I  feel  com- 
pelled to  agree  in  the  main. 

Vers.  35-89.  Thussaith  .  .  .  aaith  .Jehovah. 
It  seems  to  me  far-fetched  to  take  HK^p  in  the 

sense  of  vin  fortes  as  Hitzig  and  Graf  would  do, 
after  the  example  of  the  Targum  and  several 
llabbis.  This  meaning  also  does  not  seem  to  me 
to  be  proved.  For  in  Isa.  xxi.  17  the  word  is  to 
be  understood  peculiarly  (comp.  Delitzsch,  ad 
loc).  In  1  Sam.  ii.  4  and  Hos.  i.  5,  it  stands  by 
synecdoche  for  all  the  means  of  attack  and  de- 
fence. And  it  is  thus  to  be  rendered  here  the 
rather  as  we  know  from  history,  that  the  Elamites 
were  really  celebrated  as  archers  (comp.  Isa. 
xxii.  6;  Livy  XXXVII.  27;  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  III. 
S.  748).  The  bow  was  the  chief  part  of  their 
strength  (comp.  ii.  3;  Am.  vi.  1,  6).  When 
Hitzig  inquires  "why  limit  the  breaking  to  the 
bow?"  the  answer  is,  because  it  was  the  main 
element  of  their  power.  To  break  their  bow  was 
to  render  them  defenceless.  When  this  is  done,  the 
advance  is  made  upon  them  positively;  from  the 
four  corners  of  the  heaven  are  the  four  winds  to 
rage  against  them  and  drive  them  one  to  another, 
i.  e.,  the  four  winds  shall  scatter  them  to  the  four 
winds  (comp.  ver.  32;  Zech.  ii.  10;  vi.  5).  With- 
out a  figure,  they  shall  be  attacked  on  all  sides 
and  scattered  on  all  sides,  so  that  there  will  be 
no  nation  in  which  such  Elamites  are  not  to  be 
found.  That  this  is  the  sense  is  clear  from  ver. 
37,  where  the  same  thing  is  expressed  without  a 
figure — In  the  country  itself  will  the  Lord  erect 
His  throne  (comp.  the  related  but  not  identical 
expression,  i.  15  and  xliii.  10),  i.  e.,  He  will  sit 
in  judgment,  and  the  heads  of  the  people  must 
appear  to  receive  their  sentences.  But  Elam 
also  at  the  end  of  days  shall  share  in  the  salva- 
tion which  the  Lord  shall  then  bring  to  all  na- 
tions by  the  Messiah  (comp.  xlix.  6;  xlviii.  47). 
It  is  also  not  to  be  doubted  that  this  word  of  con- 
solation applies  not  to  Elam  alone,  but  to  all  the 
nations  before  mentioned. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  On  xlix.  1.  Has  then  Israel  no  heir?  So  the 
prophet  tells  the  Ammonites.  But  to  Israel  him- 
self he  speaks  differently;  I  will  cast  you  out 
from  my  presence,  as  I  cast  out  all  your  brethren, 
the  whole  seed  of  Ephraim  (vii.  15).  Thus  the 
Ammonites  have  no  right  in  Israel,  and  Israel, 
although  he  has  forfeited  his  claim  with  respeit 
to  Jehovah,  still  has  a  right  to  his  country  with 
respect  to  the  Ammonites,  which  ho  will  one  day, 
through  God's  grace,  make  good  again.  "Israel 
will  one  day  possess  and  rule  his  possessors  an  1 
rulers.  This  is  Israel's  eternal  calling,  which, 
in  spite  of  every  sin,  must  again  be  manifested. 


402 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


and  Is  fulfilled  in  the  Christian  church  to  which 
all  nations  are  given  as  a  possession.  Even  now 
Jeremiah  by  God's  word,  of  which  he  is  the 
bearer,  has  power  over  Ammon  as  over  all  the 
heathen  world.  He  surveys  their  whole  charac- 
ter, and  already  holds  judgment.  In  him  is 
Israel's  majesty  and  triumph  even  though  on  this 
account  he  is  most  mo^^ked  by  the  Jews." 
(Diedrich).  As  then  the  servants  of  Malcom 
occupied  the  territory  of  Israel,  so  since  then 
have  the  servants  of  Mohammed  occupied  the 
territory  of  the  Christian  church  in  Asia  and 
Europe.  In  both  cases  it  was  a  judgment  on  the 
latter  without  conferring  any  righton  the  former. 
A  time,  however,  will  come  when  the  restoration 
of  Israel  and  of  Christianity  to  their  country, 
and  their  right  will  take  place  at  the  same  time. 

2.  On  vers.  4,  5.  "The  real  confidence  of  the 
world  is  always  on  Mammon.  They  would 
satisfy  the  deity  with  their  dead  self-devised 
works,  but  with  desire  and  the  tension  of  all 
their  powers  does  the  world  serve  material  in- 
terests, as  they  are  now-a-days  called  ?  Soon, 
however,  Ammon's  corn-fields  are  overflowed  by 
enemies,  then  even  their  confidence  gives  way  to 
despair."  Diedrich. 

3.  On  ver.  7.  "We  see  here,  how  God  puts  to 
shame  those  who  depend  on  their  wisdom  and 
craftiness,  so  that  we  may  ask:  is  tliere  no  more 
wisdom  or  counsel  among  the  wise?  Is  their 
wisdom  come  to  naught?  Paul  also  writes  of 
this  (1  Cor.  i.  19,  20)  from  the  prophet  Isaiah 
(xxix.  14  coll.  Jer.  ix.  23,  24).  Biblische  Sum- 
viarien,  etc. 

4.  On  ver.  7  sqq.  "Although  Edom  was  the 
nation  nearest  to  Israel  both  in  relationship  and 
acquaintance,  it  is  thus  only  a  precursor  of  Anti- 
christ, who  endeavors  to  hide  a  worldly  charac- 
ter in  Christian  forms.  Edom  is 'irritated  by  the 
existence  of  Israel,  the  presence  of  the  pure  word 
of  God  is  always  a  thorn  in  his  conscience. 
From  Edom  cam*  Herod  wh'o  wanted  to  murder 
the  child  Jesus,  and  who  also  mocked  the  suffer- 
ing Saviour.  Edom  was  celebrated  for  wise 
proverbs;  it  possessed  high  mental  endowments; 
but  are  not  even  these  put  to  shame,  when  not 
accompanied  by  the  fear  of  God?"  Diedrich. 

5.  On  ver.  12.  Israel  was  the  chosen  nation, 
the  son  of  the  house  (comp.  Exod.  iv.  22;  Jer. 
xxxi.  9),  and  yet  he  was  severely  chastised. 
Further,  there  were  in  Israel  many  just  and  pious 
men,  who  did  not  share  the  sins  of  their  people, 
but  zealously  contended  against  them.  But  even 
these  also  had  to  bear  the  severe  chastening. 
"  Prophets  and  priests  were  also  carried  away  to 
Babylon ;  Daniel,  Ezekiel  and  pious  men  like 
Ananiah,  Azariah,  Mishael,  and  probably  very 
many  others,"  says  Theodoret.  How  then  could 
another  nation  expect  to  be  treated  differently? 
Comp.  Prov.  xl.  31  ;  1  Pet.  iv.  17,  18.  There 
will,  however,  be  a  similarity  also  in  this  that 
finally  the  chastisement  of  both,  the  chosen  na- 
tion and  the  other,  will  redound  to  their  eternal 
Tyelfare.  Comp.  ver.  39.  "Ju.ttii.i  c.it  Dominus  et 
rectum  omne  judicium  ejus!  Qux  etiam  erat  con- 
fes.sio  Mauritii  imperaloris,  quam  edihat.  cum  videret 
sanctum  suam  uxorem  gladio  feriri  paulo  post  feri- 
endus  et  ipse."  Forster.     Pss.  cxix.,  cxxxvii. 

6.  On  ver.  16.  "  Fortifications  may  be  con- 
it  ructed  and  made  due  use  of,  but  they  must  not  be 


depended  upon.  For  no  fortification  is  too  strong 
or  too  high  when  God  is  angry,  and  will  punish. 
And  he  has  various  ways  of  bringing  them  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemies  as,  He  can  cause  pro- 
visions to  fail;  or  a  spark  to  fall  in  a  powder- 
magazine;  water  may  be  wanting;  there  may  be 
pestilence  or  the  dysentery  or  mutiny  among  the 
soldiers,  or  bribes  may  be  used  as  scaling  lad- 
ders. Then  all  is  in  vain."  Cramer.  "What 
the  world  calls  protection,  cannot  protect  against 
God's  judgnaent;  death  mounts  over  all  rocks." 
Diedrich. 

7.  On  ver.  19.  "God  gives  all  authority  and 
respect,  and  takes  it  all  away.  For  He  it  is,  who 
poureth  contempt  upon  princes,  Job  xii.  21 ;  Ps. 
cvii.  40;  Isa.  xl.  23."  Cramer.  ["We  need  not 
be  surprised  by  such  a  searching  question  as 
that  in  the  present  passage  conceining  Christ, 
when  we  remember  that  Edom  is  the  prophetical 
type  of  Christ's  enemies,"  etc.  Wordsworth. — 
S.  R.  A.] 

8.  On  ver.  25.  "God  can  suffer  moderate  joy- 
ousness,  but  to  be  joyous  from  security  and  in 
an  Epicurean  manner,  is  commonly  a  prelimi- 
nary to  destruction,  Matt.  xxiv.  39."  Cramer. 

9.  On  ver.  30.  ^'  JVon  est -quo  fugias  a  Deo  irato, 
nisi  ad  Deum  placatum^  Augustin  in  Ps.  Ixxiv." — 
Forster. 

10.  On  ver.  38.  Where  judgment  is  held  there 
is  the  Lord's  throne.  For  even  the  idea  of  judg- 
ment is  divine,  and  all  judges  are  the  lower 
representatives  of  the  highest  judge.  Woe  to 
those  judges  who  proceed  so  as  to  efl'ace  the  idea 
which  they  represent.  Well  for  us  that  there  is 
a  superior  tribunal  which  will  reverse  all  unjust 
judgments,  and  in  all  points  bring  true  justice 
to  the  light,  before  which  also  summum  jus  will 
not  be  summa  injuria. 

11.  On  ver.  39.  "  In promissione  spondetur  Persis 
vocatio  ad  regnum  Chrisli,  cujus  primitiae  fuerunt 
Magi  (Matt,  ii.),  qui  et  ob  id  a  Chrysostomo  Patri- 
archse  gentium  appellantur.''^  Forster.  [The  ful- 
filment ot  this  prophecy  was  seen,  in  part,  when 
the  Magi  came  to  our  Lord  at  Bethlehem;  and 
still  more  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  '  Parth- 
ians,  Medesand  Elamites'  listened  to  the  preach- 
ing of  St.  Peter  at  Jerusalem,  and  were  received 
into  the  Christian  church  (Acts  ii.  9,  14)." 
Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.]^ 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  1,  2.  Lament  and  hope  of  the 
church  with  respect  to  lost  territory.  1.  The 
lament  (ver.  1).  2.  The  hope  (a)  with  respect 
to  the  overcoming  of  opponents ;  (b)  with  respect 
to  the  reacquisition.of  the  lost. 

2.  On  vers.  4,  6.  Warning  against  arrogance. 
1.  Whereon  it  depends  (ver.  4,  trusted  in  her 
treasures,  etc.).  2.  What  its  end  will  be  (destruc- 
tion of  its  sources  of  help,  fear,  flight). 

3.  On  ver.  7.  The  insufficiency  of  human  wis- 
dom. 1.  Its  strength  (the  renowned  wisdom  of 
the  Edomites  was  not  unfounded).  2.  Its  weak- 
ness (it  must  fail  before  the  strokes  of  the  Lord). 

3.  On  ver.  11.  A  word  of  comfort  for  widows 
and  orphans.  1.  They  have  lost  their  human 
protectors  and  supporters.  2.  Their  shield  is 
the  Lord,  if  they  trust  in  him. — "How  blessed  is 
God's  kind  promise  to  widows  and  orphans      1. 


CHAPS.  L.,  LI. 


403 


It  calms  the  heart  of  every  dying  father ;  2.  It 
comforts  the  heart  of  all  who  are  left  orphans ; 
8.  It  encourages  us  all  to  trust  ourselves  with 
our  children  more  faithfully  to  God.  Florey, 
Bibliseh.  Wegweiser  fur  yeistl.  Grabredner,  1861, 
S.  101. 

5.  On  ver.  12.  The  justice  of  the  Lord.  1.  It 
directs  its  strokes  with  strict  impartiality  against 
the  children  of  the  house  and  against  strangers. 


2.  It  always  has  in  view  the  true  welfare  of  those 
who  are  smitten. 

6.  On  vers.  15,  16.  The  folly  of  those  who 
would  contend  against  God.  1.  The  ground  of 
it  (pride,  earthly  power).  '1.  Its  fate  (overthrovf 
and  destruction  by  divine  omnipotence) 

7.  On  vers.  38,  39.  The  Lord's  judgments.  They 
are  1,  irresistible;  2,  directed  not  to  complete  de- 
struction, but  to  amelioration  and  true  well-being. 


11.  Prophecy  against  Babylon  (chh.  1.,  li.). 

INTRODUCTION. 


1.  Before  the  battle  of  Carchemish  Jeremiah 
predicted  to  his  people  a  severe  visitation  b}'  a 
people  coming  from  the  north,  whom  lie  after- 
wards recognized  as  the  Chaldeans,  and  then 
constantly  proclaimed  that  Israel  and  the  other 
nations  would  be  saved  from  complete  destruc- 
tion only  by  subjection  to  Nebuchadnezzar.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  said  that  during  part  of  his 
ministry  he  spoke  of  the  Chaldeans  unknowingly 
in  a  manner  favorable  to  them.  There  is  no 
contradiction,  however,  as  many  suppose,  in  his 
here  predicting  the  destruction  of  Babylon  itself, 
and  in  the  same  manner  by  a  people  coming  from 
the  north  (1.3,  9,41;  li.  48).  For  Jeremiah 
would  only  say  that  for  the  present,  in  the  proxi- 
mate future,  Babylon  is  the  instrument  of  judg- 
ment on  all  nations  (1.  23;  li.  20  sqq.),  but  the 
time  is  coming  when  Babylon  itself  must  drain 
the  cup  of  wrath,  in  punishment  for  the  sins 
which  it  has  incurred  in  the  execution  of  its  mis- 
sion (1.  11,  24,  28,  32;  li.  6,  11,  24,  36,  56).  Jere- 
miah's declarations  for  and  against  Babylon  are 
thus  related  to  each  other,  as  in  ixv.  27  the 
brief  declaration,  "and  the  king  of  Sheshach 
shall  drink  after  them,"  is  to  the  previous  an- 
nouncements that  Babylon  shall  offer  the  cup  of 
wrath.  It  is  not  strange  to  find  a  prophecy 
against  Babylon  in  Jeremiah,  but  must  be  re- 
garded as  perfectly  natural. 

2.  Prophecy  against  Babylon  has  a  history. 
First,  Isaiah,  probably  moved  by  the  embassy, 
which  Merodach-Baladan  sent  to  Hezekiah  (Isa. 
xxxix.;  2  Ki.  xx.  12  sqq.)  proclaimed  the 
judgment  of  destruction  on  Babylon  (Isa.  chh. 
xiii.,  xiv.,  xxi.;  xliii.  14;  xlvi.  1-2;  xlvii.;  xlviii. 
14  sqq.).  He  is  followed  by  Micah,  who,  in  a 
brief  declaration,  comprises  all  which  Jeremiah 
has  said  in  his  whole  book  for  and  against  Baby- 
lon, "thou  shalt  dwell  in  the  field,  and  thou  shalt 
go  to  Babylon  ;  there  shalt  thou  be  delivered ; 
there  the  Lord  shall  redeem  thee  from  the  hand 
of  thy  enemies."  Mic.  iv.  10.  Habakkuk  then, 
the  cotemporary  of  Jeremiah,  prophesied  before 
him,  but  after  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  against 
Babylon,  characterizing  it  not  only  in  the  nar- 
rower sense  as  a  power  hostile  to  the  people  of 
Israel,  but  also  in  a  higher  and  more  compre- 
hensive sense  as  a  worldly  power,  self-deifying, 
and  the  enemy  of  God.  Jeremiah  finally  appro- 
priates his  predecessors    "  "4  represents  the  acme 


of  Old  Testament  prophecy  against  Babylon. 
He  thus  forms  the  main  foundation  for  the  pro- 
phecy of  the  Apocalypse  concerning  the  Babylon 
of  the  final  period.  It  is,  however,  to  be  ob- 
served that  he  gives  relatively  less  prominence 
than  Habakkuk  to  the  ideal  significance  of  Ba- 
bylon as  a  type  of  ungodly,  self-deifying,  worldly 
powers.  The  latter  does  this  in  brief  but  won- 
drously  profound  and  significant  utterances. 
"  For,  lo,  I  raise  up  the  Chaldeans,  that  powerful 
anil  irrepressible  nation,  which  goes  as  far  as  the 
earth  extends,  to  occupy  dwellings  which  are  not. 
Terrible  and  fearful  are  they ;  from  themselves 
proceed  their  judgment  and  their  dignity"  (i.  6, 
7).  "Then  he  overflows  with  courage  and  trans- 
gresses and  becomes  guilty;  this  his  power  is 
unto  his  God"  (i.  11).  "Lo,  inflated,  not  up- 
right is  his  soul  within  him,  but  the  just  by  faith 
shall  live"  (ii.  4).  "Yea  also  because  wine 
stultifies  a  man,  who  is  arrogant  and  is  not  con- 
tented, who  enlargeth  his  desire  as  hell,  and  is 
like  death  and  cannot  be  satisfied,  but  draweth 
to  himself  all  nations  and  gathereth  to  himself  all 
nations  "  (ii.  5). — Jeremiah  by  no  means  passes 
over  this  element,  but  he  rather  intimates  it  only 
in  single  words,  in  those  significant  names  which 
he  gives  to  Babylon  when  he  calls  it  Double  de- 
fiance (1.  21),  Pride  (as  personification  in  1.  31, 
32),  Heart  of  my  opponents  (li.  1),  Golden  cup 
making  the  whole  earth  drunk  (li.  7).  We  may 
then  say  that  of  the  two  contemporary  prophets, 
who  lived  to  see  the  culmination  of  the  Baby- 
lonian power,  Jeremiah  draws  the  grandest  and 
most  complete  picture  of  the  destruction  menacing 
Babylon,  but  in  such  wise  that  he  only  intimates 
the  ideal  element  which  represents  Babylon  as 
the  centre  and  type  of  all  worldly  enmity  to  God, 
while  Habakkuk,  who,  notwithstanding  the  ex- 
ternal insignificance  of  his  little  book,  has  a 
powerful  and  profound  mind,  gives  us  deeper 
glances  into  the  inner  life  of  the  Babylonian  em- 
pire. 

3.  It  is  not,  however,  the  prophets  who  first 
stamped  Babylon  as  a  centre  and  type  of  ungodly 
empire.  This  character  was  impressed  upon  it 
from  the  earliest  period.  It  was  the  locality  of 
the  first  earthly  princedom.  That  Nimrod, 
whose  memory  is  preserved  to  the  present  day  by 
the  ruined  tower  of  the  Birs  Nimrud,  and  who 
still  lives  in  the  traditions  of  the  East  ag  a  great 


404 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


criminal  and  enemy  of  God,  had,  according  to 
Gen.  X.  8sqq.,  Babylon  as  the  beginning  of  his 
dominion.  The  first  aristocrat,  hero  of  the  chase 
and  of  war,  conqueror,  and  despot,  proceeded 
from  Babylon.  Add  to  this,  that  the  Babylonian 
tower-structure  is,  according  to  its  most  essential 
nature,  to  be  regarded  as  an  undertaking  of  hu- 
man pride  begun  without  God  and  in  man's  own 
strength.  The  tower  was  to  be  a  memorial  of  a 
period  of  gigantic  effort  and  aspiration  towards 
the  political  concentration  of  the  human  race  into 
one  irresistible  power.  Thus  we  see  that  the 
ideas  of  earthly  power  and  glory  were  from  the 
first  native  to  the  soil  of  Babylon.  Comp.  Nae- 
GELSB.,  Jer.  u.  Bab.,  S.  5  sqq.;  Perizonius, 
Origg.  BabyLonicse,  Cap.  10-12  ;  Jahn,  Archieology 
I.,  1.  S.  80,  coll.  Deyling,  Observ.  Sacrse.,  P.  III., 
p.  19  ff. — Brian  Walton  in  his  Polyglott,  Lond., 
Prolegg.  I.,  pag.  3;  Hetzel,  Gedanken  iiber  den 
babylonischen  Thurmbau,  Hildb.,  1775;  Gorres, 
Die  ViJlkertafeldes Pent.,  Regensburg,  1845,1,  /S'.51. 
The  seed  sowed  in  that  primitive  period  reached 
its  full  bloom  in  Nebuchadnezzar.  By  him  Ba- 
bylon was  really  made  the  first  "all-devouring" 
universal  monarchy,  by  which  I  mean  that  his 
power  was  greater  than  that  of  the  Assyrians 
before  him,  or  the  Persians  and  Romans  after 
him.  But  he  also  devoured  the  theocracy,  i.  e., 
the  only  point  on  this  earth  where  the  kingdom 
of  God  was  represented  in  the  form  of  a  human 
popular  and  civil  life.  Since  that  time  the  king- 
dom of  God  as  such  lias  had  no  place  on  earth. 
It  is  still  as  the  church  in  the  embrace  of  worldly 
power.  Babylon,  however,  the  first  worldly 
power  which  brought  the  kingdom  of  God  into 
this  condition,  appears  from  that  time  in  the 
Scriptures  as  the  worldly  '^/ower,  kut^  e^ox'/v,  so 
that  not  only  what  the  Old  Testament  prophets 
declare  of  the  different  representatives  of  worldly 
dominion,  of  Egypt  (Rev.  xi.  8),  Tyre  (Rev. 
xviii.  11  coll.  Ezek.  xxvii.),  Nineveh  (Rev.  xviii. 
3,  5  coll.  Nah.  iii.  4;  Jon.  i.  2),  is  transferred  in 
the  New  Testament  to  Babylon,  but  even  the  name 
of  Babylon  itself  is  attributed  to  the  final  form 
of  the  worldly  power,  antichristian  Rome.  Comp. 
Rev.  xvii.  9,  18.  See  in  general  Rev.  xiv.  8; 
xvi.  9,  and  especially  chh.  xvii.,  xviii.  This 
subject  is  treated  more  in  detail  in  Naegelsb. 
Jer.  u.  Bab. 

4.  With  regard  to  the  etymology  of  the  name 
Babylon  there  have  been  two  opposite  views.  Ac- 
cording to  one,  which  was  first  broached  by  Ste- 
PHANUS  Byzantinus  and  the  Elyviologicon  Magn. 
s.  V.  'Rafivluv,  the  name,  designates  Bel  as  the 
founder  of  the  city.     Eichhokn  [Biblioth.  d.  bibl. 

Litt.  III.,  S.  1001)  accordingly  exjilains  733  as 

arising  from  Bab  Bel,  i.  e.,  porta  or  aula  Belt. 
Gesenius  [Thesaur.,  pag.  212),  Tuch  and  others 
modify  this  view,  in  so   far  that  they  translate 

733   domus  Beli,  since   the  word   is  written  in 

Arabic  babel,  and  ba  is  frequently  used  in  Arabic 
names  of  cities  for  bi,  bet.  Knobel  [Gen.,  S, 
12§)  derives  Babel  from  Bar-bel,  i.  e.,  arx  (/3ap<c, 
n^'3)  Beli.  It  is  opposed  however  to  these  ex- 
planations that  they  are  supported  on  partly 
much  too  recent  and  partly  altogether  insecure 
linguistic  analogies.     The  other  explanation  is 

founded  on  Gen.  xi.  7,  9  (Dn£3ty  nS3J,  ver.  7  and 

^      T  T  :  T  :|T 


tnxn-S3  naty  '■■'  SSs  Dty  '3).  According  to  thli 
733  arose  from  7373.     The  punctuation  of  the 

VT  ••  :  -  '■ 

first  syllable  is  to  be  explained  after  tlie  analogy  of 
3313  for  3333,  n'liJDiD  for  j-\i3tD3£3  (Ew.  2  158, 

T  t:-  t  t:t^  X,  ' 

c;  Olsh.  I  74,   I  189,  a).     For  the  Segol  of  the 

second  syllable  appeal  might  be  made  to  /p.7^ 
(Delitzsch  on  Gen.  xi.  9).  The  meaning  would 
be  confusio.    Comp.  Exod.  xxix.   2,  40;   Lev.  ii. 

4-6;    further,   7w3,  farrago;     /73r),   troubling, 

blemish  (Lev.  xxi.  20).  These  explanations  are 
also  favored  by  the  ancient  translations.     Onke- 

Los  translates  n73J,  Gen.  xi.  7,  by   73*731  '7'?3, 

t:|t  '•'■■:-:        -t 

ver.  9,  by  73^3,  confudit.  Comp,  Buxtorf,  Lex. 
Rabb.  et  Talm.,  pag.  309.  The  Peshito  version 
has  in  xi.  9  balbel  (comp.  Castelli.  Lex.,  pag. 
100);  Saadiah  haAhala,  confudit . — Comp.  Gabler, 
Urgeschichte  II.  2,  S.  228.  Haevebnick,  Einleit. 
i.  A.  T.,  I.,  S.  147,  8.— -The  Babylonian  monu- 
ments lead  to  still  another  etyojology.  Accord- 
ing to  Oppert,  namely  [Exp.  en.  Mesop.  II.  S.  46), 
the  word  reads  on  the  monuments  Babi-ilu,  Ba- 

bilu.     Bab  is  the  Shemitic  33  door,  Ilu  the'EAof 

in  Diodorus,  the  Kp6vo^  of  the  Greeks,  Saturn, 
the  god  of  the  deluge.  The  meaning  of  the  name 
would  then  be  Porta  Dei  diluvii.  Comp.  lb.,  S. 
67,  157,  259. — Which  of  these  explanations  is  tlie 
correct  one  is  by  no  means  decided,  for  even  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions,  presupposing  that  they 
are  correctly  deciphered,  represent  a  late  date 
in  relation  to  the  origin  of  the  name,  and  it  is  a 
question  whether  the  Babylonian  scholars  them- 
selves knew  the  correct  etymology  of  the  word. 
[Comp.  also  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  s.  v.. 
Babel,  Babylon  ;  Rawlinson,  Ancient  Monarchies, 
I.,  p.  149;  Id.,  Herodotus,  II.,  p.  574;  DR-  Pu- 
SET,  Lectures  on  Daniel,  p.  271,  n,  quoted  in 
Wordsworth  adloc. — S.  R.  A.] 

6.  The  genuineness  of  this  prophecy  has  been 
shown  by  me  in  detail  in  my  work  Jeremia  und 
Babylon,  S.  69  ff.  Graf  also  acknowledges  it 
[S.  580  ff. ).  Only  Ewald  and  Meier,  so  far  as 
I  know,  still  persist  in  maintaining  its  unauthen- 
ticity.  "This  portion  evidently  belongs  to  tlie 
last  period  of  the  exile,  and  cannot  therefore 
proceed  from  Jeremiah,"  says  the  latter  [Die 
prophet.  Bucher  d.  A.  T.,  S.  350,  2).  I  myself 
formerly  regarded  the  passage  1.  41-46  as  a  gloss, 
but  I  have  now  retracted  this  opinion.  But  af- 
ter repeated  investigation  I  cannot  regard  the 
passage  li.  15-19  as  original.  Consult,  the  exe- 
gesis.    In  respect  to  the  word  'ijK'B',  li.  41,  also, 

my  suspicions  have  not  yet  been  removed. 

6.  In  what  manner  the  prophecy  is  related  to 
its  fulfilment  has  been  fully  shown  in  Nakoelsb. 
Jer.  u.  Bab  ,  S.  135.  I  add  to  the  remark  there, 
that  according  to  Theodoret  Jews  were  the  last 
inhabitants  of  the  destroyed  city  of  Babylon,  the 
following  notice  from  Oppert  [Exp.  I.,  S.  135): 
"Hillah  fut  fondle  par  Seifeddaulet  vers  I'an 
1100  a  la  place  de  I'antique  ville  de  Babylone, 
Tu  aarv.  Jusque-la,  des  Juifs  avaient  habits  seuls 
laville  on  plutot  les  mines  de  Babylone  ;  en  1030 
apr^s  Jesus-Christ  ils  quittferent  ces  lieux." 
Many  later  witnesses  thus  corroborate  the  state- 
ment of  Theodoret,  that  the  people  of  Israel 


CHAP.  L.  1-5. 


405 


could  not  separate  themselves  from  the  corpse 
of  the  city,  which  had  destroyed  Jerusalem  and 
the  temple. 

7.  In  regard  to  the  division  of  the  portion,  I 
am  no  longer  of  opinion  that  the  whole  is  to  be 
discriminated  into  three  main  sections  with  thir- 
teen subdivisions.  I  still  think  that  three  chro- 
nological stages  may  be  distinguished,  in  so  far 
as  the  destruction  of  Babylon  is  represented 
partly  as  future,  now  in  the  stage  of  preparation 
(comp.  1.  9,  21,  26,  41)  partly  as  present,  in  the 
process  of  execution  (comp.  1.  14,  24,  35,  43, 
etc.;  li.  1,  11,  27),  partly  as  already  accomplished 


(comp.  1.  2,  15,  46;  li.  39,  41,  46,  57).  Ani 
these  three  stages  are  so  distributed  that  the  first 
is  chiefly  in  the  beginning,  the  second  chiefly  in 
the  middle,  the  third  towards  the  close  ;  but  not 
so  sharply  defined  that  1.  21 — li.  33  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  second  and  the  foregoing  and  fol- 
lowing as  the  first  and  third  divisions.  The 
single  tableaux  or  pictures,  of  which,  according 
to  the  peculiar  style  of  Jeremiah,  the  discourse 
consists,  are  more  distinct.  I  find  nineteen  of 
these,  exclusive  of  the  superscription  and  the 
historical  close.  The  exegesis  will  exhibit  these 
in  detail. 


1.    The  Superscription. 
L.  1. 

1       The  word  which  Jehoyah  spoke  against  Babylon,  against  the  land  of  the  Chal« 
deans,  by  Jeremiah  the  prophet. 


EXEQETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

The  form  of  the  superscription  is  like  those  in 
xlv.  1 ;  xlvi.  13.     The  expression  T3  is  not  found 

in  any  other  superscription  of  Jeremiah's.  It 
occurs  in  this  sense  only  in  xxxvii.  2.  In  my 
work,  Jer.  u.  Bab.,  S.  22,  I  have  proposed  the  | 


hypothesis  that  there  is  in  this  an  intimation 
that  this  prophecy,  according  to  li.  59  sqq.,  was 
given  only  by  the  hand,  not  by  the  mouth  of 

the  prophet.  0  ]*"'N~7K  defines  more  particu- 
larly the  idea  of  733  and  guards  against  too  nar- 
row a  rendering.     Comp.  1.  8,  45 ;  li.  54. 


2.   77ie  cord  broken;  Israel  free  (Ps.  cxxiv.  7). 

2  Declare  it  among  the  nations, 
Publish  it  and  erect  a  signal ; 
Publish  it,  conceal  it  not. 

Say  "  Babylon  is  taken,  with  shame  stands  Bel, 
Merodach  is  thrown  down,  with  shame  stand  her  images. 
Thrown  down  are  her  idols." 

3  For  a  nation  cometh  against  her  from  the  north, 
And  will  make  her  land  desolate, 

That  no  inhabitant  shall  be  therein 

From  man  down  to  beast  they  flee ;  up,  away ! 

4  In  those  days  and  at  that  time,  saith  Jehovah, 
The  children  of  Israel  shall  come. 

They  and  the  children  of  Judah  together ; 

Weeping  shall  they  come 

And  seek  Jehovah  their  God. 
6  After  Zion  shall  they  inquire. 

Their  faces  turned  thitherward : 
"  Come,  let  us  join  ourselves'  to  Jehovai. 

In  a  perpetual  covenant'  that  shall  not  be  forgotten." 


406 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  5. — II7JI    1N3.     Both  forms  are  Imperative,  and  there  is  no  need  either  to  take  !|X3  as  Perf.  or  to  alter  ^IvJ  into 
n^Sj  (Graf.).    Comp.  Ewald,  §226,  6  ;  Olsh  ,  §264 ;  Joel  iv.  11 ;  Isa.  xliii.  9. 

a  Yer.  5.— dSiJ^   iTIi-    Accus.  modalis.    Comp,  Naegelsb.  GV.,  §70,  t;  xxxi.  31,  32;  xxxii.  40. 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

The  prophet  in  the  first  two  verses  goes  to  work 
analytically,  first  (ver.  2)  causing  the  destruction 
of  Babylon  to  be  proclaimed  aloud  to  all  nations, 
and  then  (ver.  3)  saying,  how  and  by  whom  this 
destruction  will  be  accomplished.  This  analytic 
description  serves  him,  however,  only  as  a  basis 
for  a  promise  important  to  him  above  all,  viz., 
that  in  those  days  the  captives  of  Israel  and  Ju- 
dah  being  liberated,  will  come  home  and  be 
united  to  their  God  in  an  eternal  and  unforgeta- 
ble  covenant  (vers.  4,  5). 

Vers.  2,  3.  Declare  it  .  .  .  up,  away.  The 
importance  of  the  matter  is  shown  in  the  grand- 
eur and  animation  of  the  opening,  in  which  the 
summons  to  proclaim  and  the  declaration  of  the 
destruction  are  five  times  repeated.  Comp.  iv. 
5,  6;  v.  20;  xxxi.  7  ;  xlvi.  14. — Erect  a  signal, 
i.  e.,  for  the  rapid  spread  of  the  tidings.  Comp. 
li.  12,  27;  iv.  6;  vi.  1  ;  Isa.  v.  26;  xiii.  2.— 
Conceal  it  not.  The  address  seems  to  be  to 
the  friends  of  Babylon,  who  might  be  disposed  to 
withhold  this  Job's  post. — Taken.  Comp.  viii. 
9;  X.  14;  xlvi.  24  ;  xlviii.  1. — Bel  and  Merodach 
are  not  difiFerent  deities,  but  one  and  the  same 
(comp.  Delitzsch  on  Isa.  xlvi.  1).  The  temple 
of  Belus  (comp.  Herod.  I.  181,  2)  was  also  the 
temple  of  Marduk,  as  he  is  called  on  the  monu- 
ments.    Here  he  was  worshipped   as  the    Bilu 

rabu  (31  ^.J'3)  as  deus  auffurationis  a.nd'pTotective 

deity  of  Babylonia.  "Toute  la  dynastie  Babylo- 
nienne  (says  Oppert,  Uzp.  en  Mesop.,  Tom.  II., 
p.  272)  le  met  (Merodach)  a  la  fete  des  Dieux,  et 
1' inscription   de   Borsippa  le  nomme  le  roi  du 


ciel  et  de  la  terre.  Nebo  prend  la  seconde  place 
et  les  autres  divinites  ne  paraissent  que  rare- 
ment."  Comp.  Tom.  1,  p.  178,  9.— That  he  is 
not  Mars,  as  I  formerly  supposed  and  Hahn  in 
Drechsler's  Jesaja  on  xxxi.  1  (II.,  2,  S.  212) 
directly  maintains,  is  decidedly  affirmed  by  Op- 
pert  (p.  271). — The  purport  of  the  piuclamation 
is  expressed  in  vers.  '2  b  and  3  only.  From  ver. 
4  we  have  the  words  of  the  prophet,  who  pre- 
dicts in  what  manner  these  results  will  be  at- 
tained. This  is  seen  from  the  imperfects 
riTT,  iTK^',  etc. — A  nation   from  the   north. 

Comp.  ver.  9.  The  destroyers  of  Babylon  are  to 
come  from  the  north,  and  in  li.  27,  28  nations  to 
the  north  and  north-east  of  Babylonia  are  men- 
tioned. Comp.  the  map  in  Niebuhr's  Ass.  u. 
Bab.,  and  S.  135,  Anm.  1 ;  427,  8. — Moreover, 
the  remarkable  parallelism  should  be  noticed, 
Babylon,  once  the  nation  from  the  north,  me- 
nacing Israel,  is  now  attacked  by  such  a  nation. 
Comp.  ii.  15;  iv.  7;  ix.  9 ;    xxxiii.  12;  li.  62. 

Vers.  4,  5.  In  those  days  ....  forgotten. 
The  destruction  of  Babylon  is  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  the  redemption.  The  prophets  so  re- 
gard it  as  to  comprise  all  the  stages  of  iis  lulril- 
ment  through  several  thousand  years  in  one  pic- 
ture. To  this  picture  belongs  above  all  the  re- 
union of  the  tribes  of  the  northern  and  southern 
kingdom  (comp.  iii.  14-16)  and  then  their  honest 
conversion  to  the  Lord  (comp.  iii.  21 ;  xxxi.  9-19  ; 
Hos.  iii.  5),  the  return  to  Zion  (xxxi.  8),  the 
conclusion  of  a  covenant  with  Jehovah,  which 
shall  not  be  broken  and  forgotten  like  the  first 
(comp.  Geu.  xvii.  10;  Lev.  xix.  6-7;  Deut.  xxix. 
and  XXX.).     Comp.  also  Jer.  xx.  11;  xxiii.  40. 


3.   77ie  Chastisement  of  the  Chastiser. 
L.  6-13. 


6  A  lost  herd'  was''  my  people : 

Their  shepherds  had  led  them  astray  on  seductive  mountains,* 
From  mountain  to  hill  they  went, 
Forgat  their  fold. 

7  Whoever  found  them  devoured  them, 

And  their  oppressors  said  :  We  incur  no  guiit, 

Because  they  have  sinned  against  Jehovah, 

The  true  pasturage  and  their  fathers'  hope,  Jehovah. 

8  Flee  out  of  Babylon  and — 

Let  them  go*  forth  out  of  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans, 
And  be  as  the  rams  before  the  sheep ! 

9  For  behold,  I  raise  and  lead^  against  Babylon 

An  assembly  of  great  nations  from  the  north  country ; 


CHAP.  L.  6-13. 


407 


They  equip  themselves  against  her,  there®  she  is  taken — 

Their  arrows'  like  those  of  a  successfuP  hero,  who  returneth  not  empty, 

10  And  Chaldea  shall  become  a  prey ; 

All  that  plunder  her  shall  be  satisfied,  saith  Jehovah. 

11  For  thou  rejoicedst,^  for  thou  exultedst,  robber  of  my  heritage, 
For  thou  skippedst  like  a  thrashing^"  calf 

And  neighedst  like  the  strong  steeds. 

12  Your  mother  is  put  to  great  shame, 
She  that  bare  you  blushes. 

**  Behold  the  last  of  the  nations,  wilderness,  waste,  and  steppe,** 

13  Because  of  the  wrath  of  Jehovah  it  shall  be  uninhabited. 
And  shall  be  wholly  a  desolation ; 

Whoever  passeth  by  Babylon  is  amazed. 
And  mocks  her  on  account  of  all  her  strokes. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

Ver.  6.— The  plural  HH^X  depends  on  the  Ideal  plural  in  ?X)f-    Comp.  Naegeisb.  dr.,  §105,  3;  Gen.  xxx.  38;  Jer. 

xxxiii.  13  ;  Job  i.  14.  ' 

2  Ver.  6. — The  Chethibh  TTTI  is  referred  to  the  subject  as  e.g.,  in  Gen.  xxxi.  8.    The  Keri  is  therefore  unnecessary. 

S  Ver.  6.— D'iJIty  Cin.  The  Chethibh  is  usually  read  D'S^Hy  ('"•  14,  22)  the  Ker  Q^D'Hy.  I  think,  however, 
that  we  must  read  the  Chethibh  D'331U'  (comp.  xxxi.  8 ;  xlix.  i),  and  understand  it  in  the  meaning  of  "  alienating,  seduc- 
tive mountains."  We  then  take  the  word  in  the  sime  sense  as  those  who  follow  the  Keri,  and  find  our  support  like  them 
in  passages  like  Isa.  xlvii.  10.     Comp.  reins,  on  xxxi.  8. 

*  Ver.  8. — Chethibh  J|{<2^'-     This  sudden  change  of  person  is  not  uncommon.    (Comp.  v.  14;  xii.  13;  xvii.  13;  xxi.  12 

Chethibh) ;  xxxi.  3 ;  xxxvi.  29,  30 ;  xliv.  3-6 ;  xlvii.  7.     Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  101,  2,  Anm. 

»  Ver.  9. — n  7j7m  I^J^D-    Observe  the  paronomasia  and  compare  li.  1, 11 ;  Isai.  xiii.  17. 

*  Ver.  9. — DtyD.     If  this  word  is  regarded  as  local,  it  is  difficult  after  H  7  O'^J^  to  find  a  suitable  terminus  a  quo.    I 

therefore  prefer  to  understand  it  with  Rosknmueller,  De  Wette,  Umbreit,  of  time.    Comp.  Hos.  ii.  17 ;  Job  xxxv.  12. 
'  Ver.  y. — •Vyri-    The  suffix  is  to  be  referred  to  the  entirety  of  those  nations  regarded  as  one  male  person. 

8  Ver.  9.— ^Oli'O.     Comp.  x.  21 ;  xxiii.  5. 

9  Ver.  11. — The  Keri  inOtiT^i  etc.  is  occasioned  by  *.1  'Dti')  but  is  unnecessary,  for  the  prophet  conceives  the  Chaldean 
nation  as  one  female  individual,  as  in  TV H  the  enemies  as  one  male.    Comp.  e.  g.,  iii.  8-10,  and  DJ3K  in  ver.  12. 

M  Ver.  11.— XE^'l-    Part,  from  tJ^^T  to  thrash  (Hos.  x.  11),  N  for  71  as  e.  g.,  Lam.  iii.  12  ;  comp.  Ol'sh.  g  108,  e,  Anm.  164,  6 , 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Israel  has  certainly  sinned  greatly  by  idolatry 
(ver.  6),  and  has  therefore  been  deservedly  chas- 
tised by  his  enemies  (ver.  7).  But  now  the  hour 
of  deliverance  strikes  (ver.  8),  for  the  Lord  sends 
against  Babylon  great  hosts  of  nations  from  the 
north,  who  will  attack  it  successfully  (ver.  9).  In 
consequence  Babylon  itself  shall  become  a  prey 
(ver.  10),  and  receive  the  punishment  for  having 
discharged  its  office  as  punisber  of  Israel  with 
arrogant  and  malicious  joy  (ver.  11).  It  shall 
thus  be  the  last  of  nations,  and  the  country  be  a 
horrible  wilderness  (vers.  12,  13). 

Vers.  6,  7.  A  lost  herd  .  .  .  hope,  Jehovah. 
Comp.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  4.  IG;  Ps.  cxix.  176;  Luke 
XV.  4,  6.— Their  shepherds.  Comp.  x.  21;  xii. 
10;  xxiii.  1  sqq. — Seductive.  The  mountains 
may  well  be  thus  called,  which  by  means  of  the 
worship  of  high-places  practised  upon  them,  ex- 
erted such  an  irresistible  charm  on  the  heart  of 
carnal  Israel.  Comp.  ii.  20;  iii.  2;  vi.  23;  xvii. 
2.— Whoever  found  them.  Comp.  ii.  3 ;  x. 
25;  xxx.  16.  In  this  expression  there  is  evi- 
dently an  intimation  that  Israel  has  been  often 
devoured.  The  enemies  had  a  certain  degree  of 
justification  in  this,  but  in  yielding  to  the  illu- 
sion that  they  could  not  sin  against  Israel,  for- 
saken by  his  God,  and  could  therefore  do  any 
thing  to  him,  they  incurred  great  guilt,  as  is  seen 


in  what  follows. — True  pasturage.  Zion  is 
called  Pn^~niJ  in  xxxi.  23.  Here  Jehovah  Him- 
self is  so  called,  as  elsewhere  a  fortress  (Ps.  xviii. 
3)  sun,  shield  (Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11),  shade  (Ps.  cxxi. 
5). — Father's  hope.  Comp.  xiv.  8;  xvii.  13. 

Vers.  8-10.  Flee  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah.  The 
tables  are  turned.  Babylon  must  now  suffer  the 
punishment  of  injustice.  The  hour  of  deliver- 
ance has  struck  for  Israel  and  the  other  nations 
held  in  bondage.  Hence  the  summons  is  made 
to  Israel  to  flee.  Comp.  Isa.  xlviii.  20;  Iii.  11; 
Zech.  ii.  10. — As  the  rams,  etc.  The  sense  is 
not  both  that  Israel  is  to  press  forward  in  order 
to  save  himself  before  all,  but  rather  that  it  is  to 
go  before  all  (comp.  ver.  16)  as  an  example  and 
leader  in  the  flight. — -North.  Comp.  rems.  on 
ver.  3. — Like  those,  dc.  Comp.  iv.  31 ;  xlvi.  22; 
Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^  65,  3  Anm. — Who  returneth, 
etc.  Comp.  2  Sam.  i.  22. — Chaldea.  Kasdim  as 
the  name  of  the  country,  as  in  li.  24,  35  ;  Ezek. 
xi.  24. — A  prey.   Comp.  xlix.  32. 

Vers.    11-13.    For   thou   rejoicedst    .    .    . 

stroke. — I  take  ''2  simply  as  ''for,"  so  that  ver 

11  gives  the  reason  why  Chaldea  is  to  become  a 
prey.  The  imperfects  then  designate  the  action 
as  continuing  in  the  past.  Comp.  Naegelsb. 
Gr.,  ^  87  f. :  Jer.  xv.  9;  xxxvi.  18.— Vers.  12, 
13  conclude  the  discourse  with  a  l.vely  descrip- 
tion, sketched  in  a  few  powerful  strokes  of  the 
condition  of  Babylon  after  the  attack  predicted 


408 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


in  vers.  9, 10.  Theprophet  beholds  this  as  though 
it  had  been  produced  in  his  presence.  Hence 
the  perfects  is  put  to  shame,  and  blushes 
(xv.  9).  Observe  that  the  prophet  here  address- 
es the  single  individuals  of  the  nation.     Hence 


your  mother  and  last  of  the  nations.  Comp.  Pg. 
cxxxix.  9;  Am.  ix.  1;  Jer.  xxxi.  7. — Waste 
(TTX).  Comp.  li.  43. — Uninhabited.  Comp.  Isa. 
xiii.  20;  Jer.  xvii.  6,  25;  xxx.  18. — "Whoever 
passeth.    Comp.  xviii.  16;  zix.  8;  xlix.  17. 


4.   The   Vengeance  of  Jehovah. 
L.  14-16. 

14  Array  yourselves  against  Babylon  round  about,  all  ye  archers, 

Shoot^  at  her,  spare  not*  the  arrows, 
For  against  Jehovah  hath  she  sinned. 

15  Cry  against  her  round  about ! 
She  stretches  forth*  her  hand ; 
Fallen  are  her  bastions,* 
Thrown  down  are  her  walls. 
For  Jehovah's  vengeance  it  is. 
Avenge  yourselves  on  her ! 

As  she  hath  done,  do  also  unto  her. 

16  Exterminate  the  sower  from  Babylon, 

And  him  that  handleth  the  sickle  at  the  time  of  harvest. 
Before  the  destroying  sword  let  every  one  turn  to  his  people, 
And  every  one  flee  into  his  own  land. 


TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  14. — nv     The  Kal  here  only.    Elsewhere  Pie!  only  occurs;  Joel  iv.  3;  Chad.  11;  Nah.  iii.  10;  Lam.  iii.  S3, 
Zech.  ii.  4.  .  . 

a  Ver.  14.— 70n  with  ^X,  as  in  li.  3 ;  Isa.  ix.  18. 

—  T 

3  Ver.  15. — Owing  to  the  animation  of  style,  the  perfects  are  without  the  connecting  Vau.    Comp.  Josh.  vi.  5, 10, 16,  20 ; 
1  Sam.  xvii.  20. 

*  Ver.  15.— rrn'lti'X  or  n'n'lU'X  (ChethiUh)  occurs  here  only.    Likewise  the  form  of  the  Keri  nTIViyX-    The  root 
TV        -:  TV    ■  :  |-  .    .  T V     :   T .    . 

appears  to  be  Hu/X,  from  which  at  most  in  Hebrew  the  proper  name  ri'E/K''  is  derived.    Related,  however,  is  tyt^N,  to  be 

T    T  .        .  T  •  .  .  -  T 

Strong,  firm  (Arab,  assa)  from  which  jy'CX  (Isa.  xvi.  7)  the  foundation-walls  and  the  Aram.  tJ'N,  plur.   TtJ'X  (Ezt.  iv.  12; 

v.  IG  ;  vi.  3\  which  the  prophet  chose  purposely.    Comp.  ver.  23.    From  the  radical  meaning  "  to  be  strong,''  may  also  ba 
derived  that  of  fortification,  defence,  bastion. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  picture  is  a  supplement  to  the  foregoing, 
and  a  further  delineation  of  particular  features, 
(a)  The  attack  is  described  more  in  detail  (vers. 
14.  15  a);  {b)  the  connection  between  the  fall  of 
Babylon  and  its  malignant  pride  (ver.  11)  traced 
through  the  idea  of  recompense  and  vengeance 
of  Jehovah  (vers.  14  6,  15  b);  and  (c)  the  deso- 
lation of  Babylon,  described  generally  in  vers.  12, 
1;J,  is  rcndt-red  more  palpable  in  ver.  16  by  the 
setting  forth  of  single  characteristic  features. 

Vers.  14,  15.  Array  .  .  .  unto  her. — Array 
evidently  refers  to  equip  (O^J^),  ver.  9,  but  as 

the  attack  was  only  ordered  there  in  general,  the 
manner  of  it  is  here  more  specially  designated. 
Comp.  ver.  29  ;  xlvi.  9. — Both  these  verses  cor- 
respond exactly  in  their  structure.  Each  begins 
with  a  summons  to  attack,  and  closes  witli  a 
eausal  sentence  of  the  purport  that  this  warlike 
proceeding  is  an  act  of  Jehovah's  vengeance. 
Yel  there  is  a  gradation  in  the  two,  for  while  in 
ver.  14  the  attack  is  described  in  only  its  first 


stage,  ver.  15  brings  before  us  the  last  decisive 
storm  in  the  words  Cry  against  her,  which  has 
the  surrender  for  its  immediate  consequence. 
That  the  words  are  to  be  understood  in  this  sense, 
seems  to  me  clear  from  round  about.  Comp. 
ver.  14.  The  triumphant  cry  sounds  not  from  the 
environs,  but  from  within  the  city. — Stretches 
forth  her  hand.  This  is  a  token  of  subjection. 
Del  mamis  vincique  se  patiatur.  Cicero,  De  Amic. 
Cap.  'Hi  fin.  Conip.  2  Chron.  xxx.  8;  Lam.  v.  6. 
— For  Jehovah's,  etc.  This  point  also  is  here 
expressed  more  strongly  than  in  ver.  14  b,  and 
thus  forms  the  transition  from  ver.  14  to  the 
threatening  of  judgment.  Babylon  has  called 
fortli  the  vengeance  of  Jehovah  by  its  malicious 
pleasure  and  arrogant  violence.  Comp.  ver.  28 ; 
li.  C,  11,  36;  xlvi.  10. — As  she  hath  done. 
Comp.  ver.  29;  Ps.  cxxxvii.  8;  Rev.  xviii.  6,  7. 

Ver.  16.  Exterminate  .  .  .  his  own  land. 
This  verse  also  specializes  a  general  idea  ex- 
pressed in  the  previous  context,  viz.,  that  of  deso- 
lation, and  this  from  two  points  of  view.  It  ia 
first  said  that  what  had  hitherto  been  an  orna- 
ment of  tiie  city,  and  had  increased  their  power 


CHAP.  L.  17-20. 


409 


of  resistance,  viz.,  the  fields  inside  the  walls 
(DioD.  Sic,  II.  9;  Curt.  v.  4;  Plix.  Hist.  Nat., 
XVIII.  17),  will  be  given  up  to  desolation  for 
lack  of  men.  It  is  evident  that  tlie  prophet  had 
these  fields  within  the  city  in  view  from  the  fact 
that  he  is  describing  the  siege  of  the  city  of 
Babylon  throughout.  Then,  however,  he  predicts 
the  flight  of  all  who  are  not  Babylonians  (for  the 
Babylonians  will  fall  by  the  sword),  Israel  at 
their  head  (ver.  8).  Comp.  xlvi.  16  ;  Isa.  xiii.  14. 


— Destroying  sword.  Comp.  xxv.  38;  xlvi. 
16.  In  the  latter  passage  the  LXX.  translates  as 
here,  /udxacpa  kTiXrividj,  which  Theodoret  explains: 
■Kpo  tF/c  BapvXuvoc  Av6ovg  6  Kvpoc  Karearphpara 
Kal  'luvag  Kat  A'loAiaQ.  Another  explanation  ia 
given  by  Walton  {Polyglott,  Lond.,  Tom.  l.,pag. 
47.  Introd.):  Ira  columbse  (xxv.  38),  gladius 
columbse  dcsignant  iram  et  gladiiim  Chaldseorum,  in 
quorum  labaro  erat  columba  argentea  pennis  tnaura' 
tis  Semiramidem  reprsesentans. 


5.   The  -Happy  Turn. 
L.  17-20. 


17  A  scattered  sheep  is  Israel,  which  the  lions  chased.* 
First  the  king  of  Assyria  devoured  him, 

And  last  this  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon  hath  broken  hia  bones.' 

18  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel; 
Behold,  I  visit  the  king  of  Babylon  and  his  land 

As  I  have  visited  the  king  of  Assyria. 

19  And  I  bring  Israel  home  to  his  pasturage, 
To  pasture  on  Carmel  and  Bashan, 

And  on  mount  Ephraim  and  Gilead  his  soul  shall  be  satisfied. 

20  In  those  days,  at  that  time,  saith  Jehovah, 

The  iniquity  of  Israel  shall  be  sought  for,' — and  it  is  gone ! 
And  the  sins  of  Judah — but  thou  findest  them  not.* 
For  I  will  pardon  him  whom  I  reserve. 


TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  17.— This  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  relative  sentence  with  "Iti'X  understood.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  g  80,  6. 

2  Ver.  17.— D2fX  here  only.    It  is  formed  like  D"^ J, 'ienominative  from  Q'^J.    As  this  signifies  "  to  strip  oflf,  to  gnaw 
ofif "  (Num.  xxiv.  8 ;  Ezt-k.  xxiii.  34),  so  the  former  means  "  to  bone,  to  destroy  tlie  bones." 

3  Ver.  20.— '■1J1  pj^-flX  K/p^''-  Comp.  xxxl.  34;  xxxiii.  8;  xxxvi.  3.    In  regard  to  the  construction  comp.  Naeqel8B. 

6r.,  §  100,  2. 

*  Ver.  20.— nj''N:f  on.    Comp.  Olsh.,  g  265,  c. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Hitherto  Israel  has  been  a  poor  frightened 
sheep,  driven  and  devoured  by  two  mighty  wild 
animals,  Assyria  and  Babylon  (ver.  17) ;  but  the 
tables  are  to  be  turned.  Assyria  has  already 
received  its  chastisement.  That  of  Babylon  will 
not  be  deferred  (ver.  18).  Then  will  Israel  again 
feed  peaceably  on  his  own  pasture  (ver.  19).  The 
reason  of  this  wonderful  change  consists  in  this, 
that  the  Lord  will  show  kindness  to  His  people 
and  forgive  them  all  their  iniquity  (ver.  20). 

Vers.  17-19.  A  scattered  ...  be  satisfied. 
Assyria  destroyed  the  northern,  Babylon  the 
southern  kingdom.  In  both  cases  the  destruc- 
tion was  complete,  and  consequently  represented 
by  the  figure  of  devouring,  only  with  this  diifer- 
ence  that  as  a  still  higher  degree  the  breaking 
»f  the  bones  is  mentioned  in  the  second  case. 
After  the  destruction  of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten 


tribes  the  kingdom  of  Judah  still  remained  as 
the  skeleton  of  the  theocracy.  In  destroying  Je- 
rusalem and  the  temple  Nebuchadnezzar,  as  it 
were,  broke  its  bones. — As  I  have  visited. 
Comp.  xlvi.  25.  The  then  already  long  past  de- 
struction of  Nineveh  is  thus  the  type  and  pledge 
of  the  destruction  of  Babylon. — Bring  Israel 
home.  Comp.  Ezek.  xxxviii.  4;  xxxix.  2. — 
Pasturage.  Comp.  xxiii.  3;  xxii.  6;  Mic.  vii. 
14;  Isa.  xxxiii.  9;  Nah.  i.  4  ;  Ezek.  xxxiv. 
13,  14. 

Ver.  20.  In  those  days  .  .  .  reserve.  Comp. 
ver.  4.  As  in  the  mention  of  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lon, vers.  17,  18.  there  was  a  reference  to  the 
community  of  the  two  halves  of  the  theocratic 
nation  in  misfortune,  so  here  their  union  in 
prosperity  is  expressly  set  forth.  Comp.  rems. 
on  ver.  4.  The  reason  of  their  restoration  to 
prosperity  is  here  nientioneil;  .Jehovah's  grace 
which  will  grant  forgiveness  to  the  survivors,  and 
cause  their  guilt  to  disappear  without  a  trace. 


410 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


6.   One  Hammer  crushed  by  the  Other. 
L.  21-23. 

21  Against  the  land  of  Double-defiance  ;^ 

Go  up  against  it  and  against  the  inhabitants  of  Visitation  I 

Slay^  and  burn  after  them,  saith  Jehovah, 

And  do  according  to  all  that  I  commanded  thee! 

22  Cry  of  war  in  the  land  and  great  ruin  ! 

23  How  is  the  hammer  of  the  whole  earth  crushed  and  broken  I 
How  is  Babylon  become  a  horror  of  desolation  among  the  nations  1 

textual  and  grammatical. 

1  Ver.  21.— EWALD  has  well  remarked  that  the  word  D'iTlO  is  used  iu  antithesis  to  DnHJ-DIN,  Mesopotamia.    Not 

Double-river,  but  Double-defiance  (comp.  Zweibriicken  [Bipnnti's]  in  Germany)  was  to  be  Babylon's  title.  For  similar 
names  comp.  e.  g.,  Mic.  i.  10.     The  word  does  not  occur  elsewhere.     It  may  be  derived  from  "'10,  although  the  mention  of 

Israel  by  this  name  (Ezek.  ii.  7 ;  xliv.  6)  may  be  regarded  as  analogous  to,  or  an  imitation  of  (conip.  l'lp3,  ver.  21,  and  Ezek. 

xxiii.  23)  this  expression.     A  singular  rT^O  from  TT^O,  rehdlisfuit,  also  does  not  occur.     D'OIO  is  a' new  form  made  by 

TT  T  T  •  -  T   ; 

the  prophet.     Fuekst  would  derive  it  from  r\1f3,  to  which  he  ascribes  the  meaning  of  "  lordship."     But  the  analogies 

mm  (.Tob  xx.xvi.  22  ;  Aram.  X"irO,  13),  D'I'D,  flilO  (Mic.  i.  12)  are  very  uncertain,  and  admit  of  another  explanation. 

•  •  T        -  T  :  •  T 

The  word  HID,  rebdlisfuit,  is  always  used  elsewhere  of  Israel,  but  this  limitation  of  the  use  is  not  necessarily  founded  in 

TT 

the  radical  signification.  There  is  no  reason  then  why  a  word  formed  from  the  root,  new  and  specially  ad  hoc,  should  not 
be  applied  in  another  case.  In  regard  to  the  dual  it  is  ungraminatical  to  attribute  to  it  the  significance  of  a  climax,  which 
it  never  has  elsewhere. 

2  Ver.  21.— 3ln  a  denominative  from  ^iri-    Comp.  ver.  27  ;  2  Ki.  iii.  23. 


exegetical  and  critical. 

A  complete  picture,  the  specific  element  of 
which  is  the  prophet's  showing  how  the  Lord 
sends  a  chosen  instrument  to  crush  Babylon, 
which  has  hitherto  served  Him  as  such  in  the 
chastisement  of  mankind.  In  brief  but  powerful 
lines  is  described  the  summons  to  the  instrument 
(ver.  21),  the  execution  of  the  commission  (ver. 
22),  the  result  (ver.  23). 

Vers.  21-23.  Against  the  land  .  .  .  among 
the  nations.  What  is  meant  by  the  double  de- 
fiance it  is  difficult  to  say.  We  may  regard  it 
not  inappropriately  as  the  double  visitation  of 
the  theocratic  nation  by  Assyria  and  Babylon 
(vers.  17,  18).  The  name,  however,  is  given 
only  to  Babylon,  which  according  to  this  view 
represents  only  half  the  defiance.  The  connec- 
tion seems  to  require  an  interpretation  according 
to  which  Babylon  itself  receives  the  whole  re- 
proach, and  here,  as  it  seems  to  me,  two  points 
may  be  observed:  1.  The  defiance  which  Babylon 
manifested  both  towards  man  and  God,  in  revolt- 
ing against  the  king  of  Assyria  its  master,  and  in 
sinning  against  Jehovah  by  its  arrogant  demeanor 
towards  Israel.  2.  The  double  defiance,  which 
Babylon  manifested  in  the  earliest  period  in  the 
erection  of  the  tower  of  Babel  and  the  founding 
of  the  first  worldly  kingdom  (Gen.  x.  8sqq.),  and 
in  later  times  by  its  behaviour  towards  the  theo- 
cracy. I  formerly  inclined  to  the  latter  view,  but 
now  give  the  former  the  preference,  because  it  is 
more  natural  and  presents  more  clearly  the  ele- 
ment  of  doubleness.     For   the   sin   of  Babylon 


against  the  Lord  in  earlier  and  more  recent 
times  is  too  entirely  one  and  the  same  for  it  to 
be  represented  as  a  double  one. — Against  it. 
Comp.  ver.  3.  The  singular  appears  to  me  to  be 
due  to  a  different  reason  from  that  in  ver.  3,  for 
there  we  find  "'U,  nation,  which  according  to 
what  follows  is  to  be  taken  as  collective.  Here, 
however,  the  subject  is  left  indefinite.  This  is 
the  more  surprising,  as  previously  the  enemies 
of  Babylon  are  always  called  upon  in  the  plural 
(vers.  14-16).  When  then  in  the  following  ver. 
23  Babylon  is  designated  as  the  crushed  ham- 
mer, I.  e.  as  the  instrument  of  Jehovah,  which 
He  Himself  has  destroyed,  is  it  not  most  natural 
to  regard  as  the  subject  of  the  imperative  in  ver. 
21  the  instrument  of  which  the  Lord  will  make 
use  in  the  destruction  of  His  former  instrument  ? 
Then,  however,  it  is  natural  to  place  over  against 
the    Babylonian   hammer   (Sl^QS,  comp.  Grotius 

ad  loc),  viz.,  Nebuchadnezzar,  another  hammer, 
i.  e.  over  against  the  already  known  and  men- 
tioTied  (ver.  17)  representative  of  the  first  em- 
jiire,  the  representative  (certainly  only  somutimes 
j)resent  in  idea)  of  the  other  empire  called  to  its 
destruction.  Comp.  li.  20. — Visitation  is  also 
a  name  formed  ad  hoc,  and  given  to  Babylon  in 
antithesis  to  its  double-defiance,  which  deserves 
visitation.  Thus  the  former  name  designates 
Babylon's  guilt,  the  latter  its  punishment.  Comp. 
vers.  18  and  31  and  Ezek.  xxiii.  23,  which  pas- 
sage is  based  on  this.  Comp.  Haevernick  on 
the  passage. — Burn.  Comp.  xxv.  9. — Cry  of 
•war,  elc.  Comp.  iv.  6;  vi.  1  ;  xiv.  17;  xlviii. 
3;  li.  54. — Hovw,  etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xiv.  12  ;  Jer 
li.  20,  41. 


CHAP.  L.  24-28. 


■Sil 


7.  Babylon  surprised  and  destroyed,  Israel  liberated. 
L.  24-28. 

24  I  have  placed^  a  net  for  thee  and  thou  art  also  taken, 
O  Babylon,  and  thou  knowest  it  not. 

Thou  art  found  and  also  caught, 

For  against  Jehovah  hast  thou  striven.* 

25  Jehovah  hath  opened  his  arsenal, 

And  brought  forth  the  weapons  of  his  wrath  ; 

For  the  Lord  Jehovah  Zebaoth  hath  a  work  in  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans. 

26  Come  hither  even  the  last,  open  her  storehouses,* 
Cast  it  up  as  heaps  of  rubbish  and  burn  it,* 
Let  there  be  nothing  left  of  it. 

27  Slay  all  her  bullocks, 

Down  with  them  to  the  slaughter-house ! 
Woe  unto  them,  for  their  day  is  come. 
The  time  of  their  visitation. 

28  Hark !  the  fleeing  and  escaped  from  the  land  of  Babylon, 
To  proclaim  in  Zion  the  vengeance  of  Jehovah,  our  God, 
The  vengeance  of  his  sanctuary. 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 
>  Ver.  24.— The  verb  t^p'  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  Jeremiah.    But  compare  Ji?^p%  v.  26. 

2  Ver.  24.— r\''"l  jnn-    This  word  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  Jeremiah.    Comp.  Deut.  ii.  5, 19,  24 ;  Prov.  xxviii.  4 

3  Ver.  26.— rT'O^XO-     This  word  is  an.  Key. 

4  Ver  26 The  suffix  in  TX'h'O  and  H^O'inn  may  be  referred  to  the  land  or  more  fitly  to  the  contents  of  the  store- 

T       T  T         •  -:  |- 

houses.    Comp.  xxxiii.  2,  3  ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  60,  6,  6. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

In  thif  picture  the  element  of  secrecy  and  sur- 
pfise  as  excluding  all  resisstance,  which  will 
prevail  at  the  capture  of  Babylon,  is  made  pro- 
minent (ver.  24).  This  mode  of  capture  is  ren- 
dered possible  by  the  Lord's  having  opened  His 
armory  and  brought  into  use  all  the  means  of 
attack  which  it  affords.  He  has  done  this  be- 
cause He  would  manage  the  business  with  Baby- 
lon as  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance  (ver. 
25).  As  now,  however,  the  Lord  has  emptied 
His  arsenal  against  Babylon,  so  also  shall  all 
store-houses  in  Babylon  be  emptied  and  all  living 
and  dead  treasures  contained  therein  be  de- 
stroyed (vers.  26,  27).  The  escaped  of  Zion, 
however,  shall  bring  home  the  joyful  tidings  of 
■Jehovah's  vengeance  (ver.  28).  AVe  see  that 
these  verses  also  furnish  a  complete  picture  pro- 
gressing from  the  beginning  to  the  close  with 
special  prominence  of  single  specific  elements. 

Ver.  24.  I  have  placed  .  .  .  striven.  In 
this  placing  of  a  net  or  snare  lies  the  element  of 
commencement  on  account  of  which  we  regard 
this  verse  as  the  commencement  of  a  new 
picture.  This  must  be  so  the  rather  as  ver.  23 
evidently  contains  a  conclusion.  The  prophet 
in  spirit  sees  Babylon  unexpectedly  caught  in  a 
net  or  snare.     How  literally  this  would  be  ful- 


filled Jeremiah  himself  might  have  no  idea 
(comp.  1  Pet.  i.  11).  Twice  was  Babylon  taken 
by  stratagem,  and  both  times  so  that  the  city 
was  in  the  power  of  its  enemies,  before  it  was 
aware.  Herodotus  says  (I.  191),  with  reference 
to  the  capture  by  Cyrus,  that  if  the  Babylonians 
had  known  or  observed  his  plan  (the  diversion 
of  the  Euphrates)  they  could  have  inflicted  great 
injury  on  the  Persians.  But  these  came  upon 
them  quite  unexpectedly  (ff  a-poo^oK/'/rov  cT<f>i 
TTapearijaav  ol  Uipaai),  the  outer  parts  of  the  city 
being  already  taken  before  those  who  dwelt  in 
the  central  parts  had  observed  what  was  going 
on  [rovQ  TO  fjiaov  oIkeovto^  ov  /nav&dveiv  iaXuKOTag). 
With  reference  to  the  capture  by  Darius  Hystas- 
pis,  however,  he  says  (III.  158)  that  a  part  of 
the  Babylonians,  who  saw  the  entrance  of  the 
Persians  through  the  gate  opened  by  Zopyrus, 
fled,  the  rest  remaining  every  one  in  his  place 
till  they  also  perceived  that  they  were  betrayed 
(ff  3  6^  Kal  ohrat  hin^Bov  TpoSf^otih'Oi). 

Vers.  25-28.  Jehovah  .  .  .  sanctuary.  The 
capture  of  a  city  like  Babylon  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing surprise  is  not  possible  without  great  means. 
Such  are  now  provided  by  Jehovah,  for  He 
opens  His  arsenal  (comp.  x.  13;  li.  16)  to  takii 
from  it  all  necessary  implements  of  war  (comp. 
Isn.  xiii.  5).     This  He  does  because    He   has   a 

riD^/D.  a  business  in  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans 


412 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


A  business  or  work  of  Jehovah  is  always  a  great 
and  important  matter,  and  is  therefore  not  to  he 
performed  negligently  (xlviii.  10).  To  the  exe- 
cution of  this  work  He  now  summons  His  ser- 
vants and  instruments  (ver.  2!jj,  who  are  to 
come  I'P"?'  If  we  refer  this  to  the  city  (attacked 
from  the  end,  not  from  the  middle)  the  meaning 
is  feeble  and  nnsuitable,  for  a  city  can  only  be 
attacked  from  without  and  thus  from  the  ends 
of  it.  If  it  be  rendered  "  from  all  ends  "  (round 
about,  vers.  15,  29)  we  miss  the  word  for  "  all." 
Hence  it  is  best  to  take  it  with  Ewald  and  Graf 


=ad  unum  omne.s.  If  the  outermost  come,  all 
couie.  Comp.  Gen.  xix.  4;  xlvii.  2\  Isa.  Ivi. 
11;  Ezek.  xxxiii.  2.  To  the  opening  of  the 
arsenal  of  Jehovah  is  to  correspond  the  violent, 
breaking  open  and  emptying  of  the  storehouses 
of  Babylon. — Slay  all,  etc.  The  bullocks  are 
the  representatives  and  chief  personages  of  the 
human  population.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  6,  7  ; 
Jer.  xlviii.  lo  ;  li.  40. — -Tiie  time,  etc.  Comp. 
xlvi.  21. — Fleeing.  Comp.  vers.  4,  8. — Ven- 
geance.    Comp.  ver.  15  ;  li.  11, 


8.   The  Punishment  of  Pride. 
L.  29-32. 


29  Call  against  Babylon  archers  ;^ 

All  ye  that  bend  the  bow  camp  against  it  round  about !' 
No  escape  !     Recompense  her  according  to  her  work, 
Just  as  she  hath  done,  do  ye  also  unto  her, 
For  against  Jehovah  was  she  proud. 
Against  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

30  Therefore  shall  her  young  men  fall  in  her  streets, 

And  all  her  warriors  shall  be  cut  off  in  that  day,  saith  Jehovah. 

31  Behold  I  come  to  thee,  O  Pride,  saith  the  Lord,  Jehovah  Zebaoth. 
For  come  is  thy  day,  the  time  of  thy  visitation. 

32  Then  Pride  totiers  and  falls. 
And  none  helps  him  up  ; 

And  I  kindle  a  fire  in  his  cities, 
AVhich  shall  devour  all  round  about. 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  29. — D^3T.     As  there  is  no  substap.tivo  here  as  in  ver.  41 ;  xvi.  16,  the  meaning  appears  to  be  different.     Derived 
from  331  (Gen.  xlix.  23;  Ps.  xviii.  15  coll.  PIDl  Gen.  xxi.  20j  3T  is  found  with  the  meaning  of  "archer,"  also  in  Job  xvi. 

-  T  TT 

13  ;  Prov.  xxvi.  10.         , 

2  Ver.  29. — 0   "'n^~7X.     The  Keri  unnecessarily  adds  H  ?  from  ver.  26. 

T 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

Warriors  are  summoned  to  recompense  Baby- 
lon for  the  pride  which  it  has  manifested  towards 
Jehovah  (ver.  20).  Its  men  shall  perish  (ver. 
31).  Thus  will  the  Lord  on  the  day  of  recom- 
pense bring  their  pride  to  totter  and  fall ;  no 
one  vfill  raise  it  up,  fire  will  consume  all  its 
power  (vers.  31,  32). 

Ver.  29.  CaU  ...  of  Israel.  Convocatio  mili- 
tum  inilium  belli.  Comp.  ver.  14.  l^f^Dtyn  is 
taken  by  most  commentators  and  translators  in 
the  sense  of  vocare,  convocare,  as  in  li.  27  ;  1  Ki. 
XV.  22  coll.  1  Sam.  xv.  4. — All  ye,  etc.  Comp. 
ver.  14. — Recompense,  etc.  Comp.  ver.  15; 
XXV.  14. — Proud.  Deserved  humiliation  of  the 
pride  of  Babylon  is  predicted  by  earlier  pro- 
phets:  Isa.  xiii.  11;  xiv.  13  sqq.;  xlvii.  7,  8; 
Hab.  ii.   5,  8. — Holy  One  of  Israel.     Comp. 


li.  5.  This  expression  is  peculiar  to  Isaiah. 
"All  Isaiah's  prophecies  bear  this  name  of  God 
as  their  peculiar  stamp.  It  occurs  twelve  times 
in  chh.  i.-xxxix.,  seventeen  times  in  chh.  xl.- 
Ixvi."    Delitzsch  on  Isa.  vi.  3. 

Vers.  30-32.  Therefore  .  .  .  round  about. 
Ver.  80  is  repeated  almost  verbatim  from  xlix. 
26.  The  only  difference  is  that  here  we  have 
her  warriors  for  the  warriors.  The  verse  is  not 
necessary,  but  rather  disturbing,  for  ver.  31, 
is  closely  connected  by  Pride  with  ver.  29 
(proud).  It  may  have  been  a  gloss. — Behold 
I  come,  etc.  Comp.  xxi.  13;  xxiii.  30  sqq.; 
li.  25. — Pride.  "  Ifi  nominis  proprii  formam 
iransiit."  J.  D.  Michaelis. — Thy  day.  Comp. 
ver.  27 ;  xlix.  8. — Totters,  etc.  Comp.  Isa. 
xxxi.  3 ;  Jer.  xlvi.  6. — I  kindle,  etc.  Comp. 
xxi.  14  ;  xvii.  27  ;  xlix.  27. — Him  in  ver.  32 
refers  to  Pride. — Babylon  is  regarded  as  the 
metropolis.     Comp.  ver.  12  ;  li.  43  ;  ix.  10,  etc. 


CHAP.  L.  33-40. 


4:14 


9.  Israel  Free,  the  Sword  upon  Babylon. 
L.  33-40. 

33  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth  : 

Oppressed  are  the  childrea  of  Israel  and  the  children  of  Judah  together, 
And  all  their  captors  hold  them  fast, 
They  refuse  to  let  them  go. 

34  Their  Redeemer  is  strong,  Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  his  name. 
He  will  well  prosecute  their  cause, 

That  he  may  give  rest^  to  the  land, 

And  procure  disquiet  to  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon. 

35  A  sword  upon  the  Chaldeans,  saith  Jehovah, 
And  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon, 

And  upou  her  princes  and  upon  h.^r  wise  men. 

36  A  sword  upon  the  coxcombs,  that  they  become  fools, 
A  sword  upon  her  heroes,  that  they  be  dismayed. 

37  A  sword  upon  their  horses  and  their  chariots, 

And  upon  all  her  auxiliaries  in  her  midst,  that  they  become  as  \7ome(n, 
A  sword  upon  her  treasures,  that  they  be  plundered. 

38  Drought*  upon  her  waters,  that  they  dry  up  ; 
For  it  is  a  land  of  idols. 

And  on  objects  of  horror'  they  foolishly  trust. 

39  Therefore  shall  wild-beasts*  dwell  there  with  the  jackals,* 
And  the  daughters  of  the  ostrich  shall  dwell  there ; 
And  never  more  will  it  be  inhabited  further, 

Nor  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  generation. 

40  As  God  overthrew  8odom  and  Gomorrah  and  their  neighbors,  saitb  Jehovah, 
A  man  shall  not  dwell  there. 

Nor  a  son  of  man  sojourn  in  her. 

TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  34.— On  the  Infinitive  form  y_'J"in  comp.  Olsh.,  §  192  /.;  Ewald,  ?  238  d. 

8  Ver.  38.— The  Masoretes  read  3in  evidently  because  3in,  sword,  does  not  apply  to  water.  The  idea  of  a  sword  may, 
however,  be  used  by  synecdoche  for  w.ir  (comp.  xi.  6)  or  31 H  may  have  a  double  meaning.  Not  a  few  exegetes  assuma  for 
Deut.  xxviii.  22  a  word,  ^-^n  derived  from  Jin,  with  the'  meaning  "  drought,  dryness."    Comp.  Fuerst  s.  v.  3in. 

8  Ver.  38.— D'O'X  is  used  for  "  idols  "  here  only.   Comp.  Gen.  xiv.  5;  Deut.  ii.  10, 11 ;  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  16;  Jobxx.25.    [In 

Pa.  Ixxxviii.  16  the  word  is  translated  "terrors."]  .  „„  ^         ...    ,       ,  •   i    ,-..     .      v.^i 

4  Ver.  3J.— Q'-'i  (.in  J eiemiah  here  only,  comp.  besides  Ps.  Ixxu.  9 ;  Dan.  xi. 30) from  •'};,  desertum,  are  inhabitants,  jt  the 

desert,  especially  wild  beasts.  Q^'X  ^om  "X  (ri'N  to  howl,  comp.  Delitzsch  on  Isa.  xiii.  21)  are  jackals.  Ibn-Awi  is  the 
Arabic  name  for  jackal.  Our  translation  "  Sliuhu^s  and  Uhus  "  [horned  owls],  is  based  on  formal  grounds.  [Umbreit  and 
Blaynek  read  "  wild-cats  and  jackals  "  or  "  wild-dogs."     HiTzia  as  iu  the  te.Kt.— S.  R.  A.j 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Proceeding  from  the  condition  of  bondage  in 
which  JuJah  and  Israel  are  found  (ver.  33),  the 
prophet  predicts  deliverance  by  the  strong  hand 
of  Jehovah  (ver.  3i),  which  to  Babylciu  signifies 
Jcstruction  of  all  that  supports  its  power  and 
glory  :  the  inevitable  fate  of  an  idolatrous  people 
(vers.  .3-5  3S).  In  consequence  of  this  Babylonia 
will  become  a  deserted  and  horrible  waste  (vers. 
39,  40). 

Vers.  33,  34.  Thus  saith  .  .  .  inhabitants 
of  Babylon.      The    prophet,    who    knows   the 


exile  of  Israel  as  an  accomplished  fact  and  has 
predicted  for  years  the  exile  of  Judah  as  im- 
pending, may  well  descrlbd  Judah  and  Israel  as 
oppressed,  held  fast  by  their  captors  (D'3i^',  cap- 
tivalores,  Isa.  xiv.  2;  1  Ki.  viii.  46  sqq.;  Ps. 
cxxxvii.  3).  It  is  the  same  thought  which  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  the  summons  to  flight  (ver. 
8  coll.  vers.  4  and  28).— They  refuse,  etc.  As 
Pharaoh,  Exod.  vii.  14-27 ;  ix.  2. — The  strong 
captor  is,  however,  opposed  by  a  still  stronger 
deliverer  of  Israel, — Jehovah.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  words  "  Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  His 
name"  (x.  16;  xxxi.  35;  xxxii.  18;  xxxiii  2), 
the    first   half  of  ver.  34   is   taken   from    Prov 


414 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


xxiii.  11  coll.  xxii.  23;  Isa.  xlvii.  4;  xlviii.  20. 
— That  he  may  give  rest,  etc.  Since  it  may 
be  appropriately  declared  of  Babylon,  as  the 
"hammer  of  the  whole  earth,"  ver.  23,  that  it 
has  disquieted  the  earth  (Isa.  xiv.  1(1),  and  that 
ooDsoquently  its  disquieting  must  contribute  to 
the  peace  of  the   earth,  I  agree  with   those  who 

take  j^'J"!"?  ^^  '^^^  usual  meaning,  "  to  make  rest, 
quiet"  (i)eut.  xxviii.  65;  Isa.  xxxiv.  14;  li.  4; 
Jer.  xxxi.  2). 

Vers.  35-38.  A  sword  .  .  .  foolishly  trust. 
In  these  verses  it  is  specially  shown  how  the 
Lord  will  conduct  His  cause  with  Babylon  and 
bring  disquiet  upon  it.  Tiie  sword  is  as  it  were 
cited  to  exercise  the  office  of  avenger,  both  in 
general  and  in  particular.  For  as  its  objects 
are   designated:   1.  the  Chaldeans    in   general; 

2.  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital,  with  the  resi- 
dent princes,  wise  men  (counsellors  of  the  king), 
Magians  (C^t?,  "talk,  chattering,"  xlviii.  30; 
Isa.  xvi.  6;  Job  xi.  3  ;  here  personally  the  lying 
prophets,  astrologers,  Isa.  xliv.  25,  couip.  De- 
LiTzscH  ad  loc;  xlvii.  13,  xix.  13)  and  warriors  ; 

3.  horses,  chariots  and  auxiliaries  (xxv.  20 ; 
comp.  NiEBUHR,  ^4ss.  u.  Bab.,  S.  200  ^4«w.  2  and 
the  article  "Griechen"  in  the  Register  S.  519; 
li.  30)  ;  4.  treasures  and  water,  on  which  last 
the  power  and  safety  of  Babylon  in  great  mea- 
sure  depended.     (Comp.  li.  13,  36 ;  Isa.  xxi.  1 


and  Delitzsch  ad  loc). — For  it  is  a  land,  etc. 
This  sentence  corresponds  to  ver.  34.  As  there 
the  positive  reason  of  the  destruction  breaking 
over  Babylon  is  stated,  so  here  the  negative, 
'-'he  positive  ground  is  the  strength  of  Jehovah 
(prn,  ver.  34),  the  negative  is  the  powerlessness 

of  the  idols.  Comp.  li.  47,  52. — Foolishly 
trust.     The  prefix  3  [on]  may  designate  either 

the  means  and  instrument,  or  the  supporting  or 
moving  reason.  The  former  yields  the  concep- 
tion that  the  idol-images  served  as  the  instru- 
ments of  mad  behaviour,  the  latter  that  they  were 
the  ground  thereof.  Without  doubt  the  latter 
is  the  more  correct.  The  senseless,  inflated, 
arrogant  behaviour  of  the  Babylonians  was  sup- 
ported by  their  belief  in  idols.     Comp.  N3J  with 

3  in  ii.  8  and  the  Greek  fiaivsa^ai  virb  tov  ■&eov. 

ilEROD.  IV.  79. 

Vers.  39,  40.  Therefore  shall  .  .  .  sojourn 
in  her.  The  first  half  of  ver.  39  is  composed 
of  reminiscences  from  Isaiah  (Isa.  xiii.  21,  22; 
xxxiv.  14).  The  second  half  of  the  verse  is  taken 
verbatim  from  Isa.  xiii.  20.  Comp.  ver.  13  ;  xvii. 
6.  Ver.  40  is  a  repetition  of  xlix.  18,  but  taken 
originally  from  Isa.  xiii.  19  coll.  Am.  iv.  11.  The 
original  passage  on  which  all  these  prophetic  ut- 
terances are  based  is  Deut.  zxix.  22. — Comp. 
xlix.  33;  li.  43. 


10.  Non  tu,  ted  tibi, 
L.  41-46. 


41 


42 


44 


Behold,  a  people  cometh  from  the  north, 
And  a  great  host  and  many  kings  break  up  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Bow  and  lance  they  bear. 
Cruel  are  they^  and  without  compassion. 
Their  sound  roareth  like  the  sea, 

And  on  horses  they  ride  equipped  like  a  man  for  the  battle 
Against  thee,  thou  daughter  of  Babylon. 
43  The  king  of  Babylon  hath  heard  the  report  of  them. 
And  his  hands  are  feeble; 

Anguish  hath  seized  him,  trembling  as  a  parturient. 
Behold,  like  a  lion  he  ascends 

From  the  pride  of  Jordan  to  the  evergreen  pasturage, 
For  in  a  twinkling  I  drive  her  from  thence, 
And — who  is  chosen?     Him  I  set  over  her. 
For  who  is  like  me,  and  who  will  order  me? 
And  who  is  the  shepherd  who  may  stand  before  me? 

Therefore  hear  the  counsel  of  Jehovah  that  he  hath  counselled  against  Babylon, 
And  his  thoughts  which  he  hath  thought  against  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans  : 
Yea,  they  will  be  dragged  away,  the  weak  little  sheep, 
Yea,  the  pasturage  wjll  be  amazed  concerning  them. 
With  the  cry,  "  Babylon  is  taken,"  the  earth  trembles. 
And  a  crying  is  heard*  among  the  nations. 


45 


16 


CHAP.  LI.  1-6. 


416 


TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  42.— non    "'TTDX-    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §105,  4,  6.  2. 

«  Ver.  44.— D}fnX  is  probably  only  a  mistake,  and  is  therefore  to  be  read  with  the  Keri   D^f'^N  (comp.  ^jT^'^X, 

xlix.  19).  "'    "'  '•'     "^ 

3  Ver.  46. — J^Diyj  is  occasioned  by  xlix.  21,  and  moreover  comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr.,  §  60,  4. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL, 

This  entire  passage  consists  of  quotations, 
vers.  41-4:J  being  taken  from  vi.  2:2-24,  vers.  44- 
46  from  xlix.  19-21.  As  the  prophet  has  already 
repeatedly  designated  the  enemy  as  one  coming 
from  the  north,  it  was  natural  to  apply  the  for- 
mer prophecy  of  the  enemy  threatening  Judah 
from  the  north  to  Babylon,  and  it  must  also  be 
admitted  that  the  propliet  would  find  it  appro- 
priate to  transfer  the  prophecy  of  the  chosen 
instrument  for  the  destruction  of  Edom  (xlix. 
19-21)  to  the  similarly  chosen  instrument  of  the 
destruction  of  Babylon.  Although  thus  the 
quotations  here  are  accumulated  to  a  degree 
greater  than  heretofore,  I  am  yet  convinced  (con- 
trary to  my  former  view  in  Der  proph.  Jer.  u. 
Bab.,  S.  128  W.)  that  the  passage  is  genuine  and 
original.  The  idea  of  the  unity  of  God's 
judgments  and  of  just  recompense  was  to  be 
represented  here.  This  would  receive  no  detri- 
ment, even  if  every  single  feature  of  the  former 
prophecies  did  not  seem  adapted  to  be  applied  to 
Babylon.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case,  for  we 
find  in  the  text  such  modifications  as  the  appli- 


cation to  Babylon  required;  daughter  of  Baby- 
lon, ver.  42;  King  of  Babylon,  ver.  43;  against 
Babylon  and  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans,  ver.  45; 
Babylon  is  taken,  ver.  46;  among  the  nations, 
for,  in  the  Red  Sea,  ver.  4tJ.  What  is  not  altered 
is  not  then  opposed,  according  to  the  author's 
judgment,  to  its  application  to  Babylon.  The 
figure  in  ver.  44  a  is  therefore  not  inappropriate. 
The  pride  of  Jordan  and  evergreen  pasturage 
belong  to  the  picture.  The  lion,  which,  from  the 
reed-thickets  on  the  Jordan,  falls  upon  the  flocks 
feeding  near  the  bank  (comp.  rems,  on  xlix.  19), 
is  a  figure  which  may  be  applied  to  any  case  of 
overpowering  hostile  attack.  Likewise  the  de- 
scription of  the  northern  people  ^vi.  23)  is  by  no 
means  so  special  that  it  may  not  be  applied  to 
any  people  advancing  with  warlike  impetuosity. 
Moreover,  Jeremiah,  when  he  wrote  vi.  22-24, 
neither  had  the  Chaldeans  specially  in  view,  nor 
are  they  so  very  difl"erent  from  their  neighbors, 
the  Medes. 

The  addition  and  many  kings  in  ver.  41  is 
thus  explained,  that  in  the  conception  of  tha 
prophet  the  picture  was  present  of  a  host  of  ene- 
mies, composed  of  many  different  elements  (comp. 
li.  27,  28). 


11.  The  Heart  of  the  insurgents,  the  Fanners  and  the  Invidmate. 


LI.  1-6. 

Thus  saith  Jehovah : 
Behold,  I  raise  up  against  Babylon, 
And  against  the  inmates  of  the  heart  of  my  insurgents 
A  destroying  wind.^ 
And  I  sent  unto  Babylon  fanners,'' 
Who  shall  fan  it  and  empty  out  its  land, 
Fur  upon  it  are  they  from  all  sides  in  the  day  of  calamity. 
Against  him  that  bendeth  let  the  archer  bend  his  bow, 
And  against  him  who  lifteth  himself  up^  in  his  harness,* 
And  spare  ye  not  her  young  men, 
Banish  ye  the  entire  host. 

That  the  slain  fall  in  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans, 
And  the  pierced  through  in  her  streets. 

For  Israel  and  Judah  are  not  widows*  from  their  God,«  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 
But  their  land  is  full  of  guilt  on  account  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
Flee  out  of  Babylon,  and  let  every  man  deliver  his  soul ; 
Let  not  destruction  come  upon  you  through  their  sin. 
For  it  is  a  time  of  vengeance  for  Jehovah, 
He  rendereth  recompense  unto  her. 


il6 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  1.— niT  as  masc.  also  in  Exod.  x.  13 ;  Ps.  li.  12 ;  Eccles.  i.  6.    HTIti'O,  comp.  ver.  25 ;  il.  30 ;  v.  26. 

2  Ver.  2. — W1].  The  analogy  of  xlviii.  12  seems  to  require  the  punctuation  D^"1T-  D^"!  I  is  very  troublesome.  Although 
violence  by  strangers  is  spoken  of  in  many  places  (comp.  ver.  51),  this  idea  does  not  at  all  suit  this  connection,  and  the  fre- 
quent occurrence  of  D'lT  while  0'"^!  is  not  found  elsewhere  (only  rT^T  occurs  in  Ruth  iii.  2),  may  indeed  have  occasioned 
the  Masoretic  punctuation,  unless  W'^l  itself  maybe  taken  as  Part.  Eal.  after  the  analogy  of  nin,  XT',  HlO,  6tc.  (comp. 

•T  T  T  **  T  ■•  T 

Olsh.,  g  245,  a). 

3  Ter.  3. — '7l*iT~'7X1.    This  is  the  main  difficulty  in  ver.  3.     For,  1.  this  Hithp.  form  does  not  occur  elsewhere,  2.  the 

abbreviated  Impcrfuct  form,  if  the  word  comes  from  PI  7^,  is  surprising.    According  to  the  laws  of  the  Hebrew  language, 

however,  ^'XliX'  tan  come  only  from  7171?  (comp.  Olsh.,  g269,  d).    It  must  then  signify  "  lift  one's  self  up."    Then  the  ab- 

brevlated  form  is  strange,  which  might  be  iu  place  after  7X,  but  not  after  7X-    I  lio  not  think,  however,  that  we  need  be  so 

scrupulous  in  the  matter.     As  in  Jeremiah  (and  elsewhere)  the  full  form  stands  where  we  should  expect  the  abbreviated 
(comp.  iii.  7  ;  Ew  ,  g  22-t,  c),  so  may  the  latter  stand  where  we  should  expect  the  former.     Comp.  Jer.  xvii.  8,  Chethibh  ;  Ew- 
ALD,  'i  224,  c,  Anm.;  lifis.,  ^  12S,  2,  Anm.     Then  the  rest,  according  to  the  reading  of  the  Chethibh,  affords  no  difiSculty.   With 
respect  to  the  absence  of  the  nnta  relationis,  cniiip.  1  Cliron.  xv.  12;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  80,  6,  2,  a. 
*  Ver.  3.— riD-     Comp.  xlvi.  i ;  Ewald,  g  4'J,  d. 

6  Ver.  5. — The  masc.  JO'^X  bere  only — to  be  regarded  as  neuter.    Comp.  H^nty,  iv.  SO. 

e  Ver.  5.— VnSxO-    Pregnant  construction.    Comp.  N.*.egelsb.  Gr.,  1 112,  7. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Babylon,  the  heart  of  Jehovah's  opponents, 
Bball  be  fanned  like  chaff  (vers.  1,  2).  Without 
a  figure;  a  strong,  warlike  power  shall  cast 
down  Babylon  (vers.  3,  4).  For  Israel  and  Ju- 
dah  are  not  forsaken  widows;  rather  shall  they 
be  delivered  and  Jehovah's  vengeance  executed 
on  Babylon  (vers.  5,  6). — The  passage  thus  con- 
sists of  two  halves:  vers.  1-4,  and  vers.  5,  6.  In 
the  first  half  the  judgment  on  Babylon  is  an- 
nounced, (a)  under  the  figure  of  fanning,  vers. 
1,  2;  {b)  in  unfigurative  language,  vers.  3,  4. 
The  second  half  is  related  to  the  first  as  a  state- 
ment of  the  reason  (For,  ver.  5).  The  judgment, 
namely,  is  impending,  because  the  Lord  will  show 
Himself  a  faithful  husband  with  respect  to  Is- 
rael, a  righteous  recompenser  with  respect  to 
Babylon. 

Vers.  1,  2.    Thus  saith calamity. 

Whether  'Op  3^  [heart  of  my  insurgents]  is 

to  be  explained  by  the  Atbash  [or  principle  of 
alphabetical  inversion,  according  to  wliicli  it  is 
equivalent  to  Casdim,  the  Chaldeans]  is  doubtful, 
lor  the  expression  might  be  used  by  the  prophet 
without  any  reference  to  that  permutation  of 
letters.  As  he  called  Babylon  Double-defiance 
and  Visitation  in  1.  21  and  Pride  in  1.  31,  so 
might  he  call  it  Heart-of-my-insurgents.  This 
designation  was  a  natural  one.  It  is  founded  in 
the  significance  which  the  idea  of  Babylon  has 
in  the  consciousness  of  the  entire  Old  and  New 
Testament  prophecy.  For  though  it  is  only  in 
the  Apocalypse  that  Babylon  is  distinctly  set 
fortli  as  the  comprehensive  centre  of  all  and  every 
hostility  to  the  Lord  and  His  kingdom  (comp. 
Naegelsb.  Jer.  u.  Bab.,  S.  10  fi. ),  this  repre- 
sentation is  rooted  in  the  views  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment prophets  concerning  Babylon,  and  we  shall 
not  err  if  we  regard  this  passage  as  the  chief 
basis  of  this  conception  of  Babylon  by  the  New 
Testament  revelator,  according  to  which  it  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  "Mother  of  harlots  and  abomi- 
nations of  the  earth"  (Rev.  xvii.  5).  Still  it  is 
remarkable  that  the  name  D'Tt^S   should  form, 


according  to  the  Cabbalistic  play  upon  words,  an 
exjiression  with  a  suitable  meaning  (comp.  Bux- 
TORF,  Lex.  Chald.,  p.  248,  9;  Herzog,  ReaUEnc, 
VII.,  S.  205).     The  expression  nn  ")"'^n  signifies 

indeed  everywhere  else  (ver.  11;  Hagg.  i.  14; 
Ezr.  i.  1,  5  ;  1  Chron.  v.  26  ;  2  Chron.  xxi.  16  ; 
xxxvi.  22)  "to  awaken,  excite  the  spirit."  But 
the  expression  is  not  necessarily  restricted  to 
this  meaning.  In  this  passage  where  fanning  is 
spoken  of,  the  context  requires  the  meaning 
"wind."  It  seems  thatthe  expression  first  began 
to  come  into  use  in  the  time  of  Jeremiah,  for 
previously  it  does  not  occur.  It  is  however  quite 
natural  that  a  mode  of  expression  still  in  its 
formative  state  should  at  first  waver  in  its  signi- 
fication. Only  when  it  has  become  fixed  by  long 
usage  in  a  definite  sense  can  it  no  longer  be  taken 
in  another  sense  without  misapprehension. — 
"Who  shaH  fan.  Comp.  xlix.  32,  36.— And 
empty.  Comp.  xix.  1,  7;  Isa.  xxiv.  1;  Nah.  ii. 
3.  Here  the  prophet  passes  from  the  figurative 
to  the  literal  mode  of  speech,  for  the  fanning  will 
consist  in  just  this,  that  the  land  will  be  emptied, 
men  and  property  being  carried  away. — For 
upon  it,  etc.    Comp.  iv.  17;  xvii.  17,  18. 

Vers.  3-6.  Against  him unto  her — 

Spare  not,  etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  18 ;  Jer.  1.  14. — 
Fail,  etc.  Comp.  vers.  47,  49,  52;  xxxvii.  10; 
Isa.  xiii.  15. — Not  vridows,  etc.  Comp.  Isa.  1. 
1  ;  liv.  4-6;  Lam.  i.  1. — Their  is  to  be  referred 
to  Babylon.  The  sense  of  this  half  of  the  verse 
is :  it  might  appear  as  if  the  Lord  were  better  dis- 
posed towards  Babylon  than  Israel,  because  the 
latter  is  a  captive  in  the  power  of  the  former.  It 
is  not  so.  Babylonia  is  laden  with  guilt  with  re- 
spect to. Jehovah,  and  is  therefore  under  the  curse 
of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  I  do  not  see  what 
tiiere  is  unlike  Jeremiah  in  this  verse.  That 
Di^X  for  guilt  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  Jere- 

T  T 

miah  i.s  nothing  (o  the  point.  The  occurrence  of 
the  expression  Holy  Oae  of  Israel  here,  us  iu 
1.  29,  is  not  strange  in  view  of  the  frequent 
quotations  from  Isaiah.  With  respect  to  the 
connection  witii  the  preceding  and  following  con- 
texts, liowever,  it  should  be  mentioned  th;it  ver. 
5  in  an  exceedingly  appropriate  manner  gives  ft 
double  reason  for  tlie  announcement  contained  in 


CHAP.  LI.  7-10. 


417 


vers.  1-4 :  1.  a  negative  one  (Israel  is  not  re- 
jected) ;  2.  a  positive  one  (Babylon  is  full  of 
guilt).  Ver.  5  is  also  connected  with  ver.  6  in 
two  ways;  1.  as  an  integral  part  of  the  entire 
discourse,  vers.  1-5,  in  so  far  that  ver.  6  draws 
the  inference  from  all  that  has  gone  before  (vers. 
1-5);  2.  specially  by  the  words,  "Let  not  de- 
etructiou  come  upon  you  through  their  sin," 


which  apparently  refer  to  "their  land  is  full  of 
guilt." — Flee,  etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  14;  xlviiL 
20 ;  Jer.  xlviii.  6  ;  1.  8. — Let  not,  etc.  Comp. 
xlix.  26  ;  1.  30 — Gen.  xix.  15. — For  it  is  a  time, 
etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  8;  Jer.  xlvi.  10;  \.  15,  28; 
li.  11 — Rev.  xviii.  4. — Vengeance,  etc.  Comp. 
Joel  iv.  4;  Isa.  ILx.  18;  Ixvi.  6;  Prov.  xix.  17; 
Ps.  cxzxvii.  8. 


12.  The  golden  Cup  broken. 
LI.  7-10. 

7  A  golden  cup  was  Babylon  in  the  hand  of  Jehovah, 
Which  made  all  the  earth  drunken : 

Of  its  wine  have  nations  drunk, 
And  nations  have  become  mad. 

8  Suddenly  is  Babylon  fallen  and  shattered  1 
Howl  over  her,  take  balsam  for  her  pain, 
If  so  be  she  may  be  healed. 

9  We  have  healed^  Babylon,  but  she  was  not  healed : 
Forsake  her  and  let  us  go  each  into  his  own  country : 
For  her  judgment  reacheth^  unto  heaven, 

And  towers  up  even  to  the  clouds. 
10  "  Jehovah  hath  brought  forth  our  righteous  works : 

Come  and  let  us  declare  in  Zion  the  work  of  Jehovah,  our  God." 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 
>  Ver.  9.— The  perf.  ^JX3T  is  to  be  understood  de  canatu.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  100,  4,  Anm.  2. 
»  Ver.  9.— On  J^JJ  specially  comp.  iv.  10,  18. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

These  verses  also  contain  a  picture  complete  in 
itself  For  the  prophet  shows  us  first  Babylon 
at  the  height  of  its  power,  when  it  was  like  a 
golden  cup,  in  which  Jehovah  gave  the  nations 
the  wine  of  His  wrath  to  drink  (ver.  7).  Now 
the  parts  are  changed.  Babylon  is  itself  "a  sick 
man,"  and  the  prophet  therefore  calls  upon  the 
nations  that  have  become  tributary  to  him  to  give 
him  medicine  (ver.  8).  These  answer  that  they 
had  tried  this  in  vain,  and  mutually  expect  each 
01  her  to  flee  from  the  common  prison  (ver.  9). 
Israel  is  one  among  these  nations,  and  therefore 
calls  upon  those  who  belong  to  it  to  journey  home, 
and  in  their  home  declare  the  mighty  acts  of  the 
Lord  in  the  deliverance  and  justification  of  His 
people  (ver.  10).  We  see  that  the  discourse  is 
ilramatically  arranged,  and  as  to  its  purport, 
proceeds  from  the  height  and  greatness  of  Baby- 
lon to  its  fall. 

Ters.  7,  8.  A  golden  cup  ...  be  healed. 
The  prophet  had  lu'r.e  xxv.  15  in  mind.  That 
which  in  1.  23  and  li.  2U  is  expressed  by  the  figure 
of  the  hammer  is  expressed  here  by  the  figure  of 
the  cup,  except  that  in  the  hammer  the  element  of 
irresistible  power,  in  the  golden  cup  that  of  pride 
and  glory,  is  more  prominent.  The  cup,  howe- 
27 


ver,  is  "in  the  hand  of  Jehovah."     It  is  there- 
fore Jehovah's  instrument,  and  what  it  bestows 
is  the  gift  of  Jehovah.     From  the  effect  of  this 
gift  we  see  that  its  object  was  punishment.     The 
nations  are  intoxicated  by  it,  and  become  like 
mad  (comp.  xxv.  16).     This  figure  portrays  the 
overwhelming  fulness  of  destructive  effect  which 
they  were  obliged  to  receive. — Comp.  Rev.  xvii. 
2,  4. — [Babylon,    "  like    a   fair  harlot,  has  be- 
witched thee  with  the  love  potions  of  her  idola- 
tries." Wordsworth.     The  same  image  is  used 
in  the  Apocalypse.    Comp.  also  Doctrinal  Note 
No.  17. — S.  R.  A.] — Now  Babylon  itself  is  thrown 
down,  shattered,  sick  unto  death.     The  expres- 
sion "Babylon  is  fallen  "  seems  to  betaken 
from  Isa.  xxi.  9.      Comp.  Rev.  xiv.  8 ;    xviii.  2. 
The  figure  of  the  cup   is  abandoned  gradually. 
It  is  still  perceived  in   the  word  shattered,  but 
the  balsam  and   the  pain  presuppose  a  living  or- 
ganism.    Those  who  are  called  upon  must  be  the 
same  who  afterwards  speak,   vers.  9,  10.     It  is 
the  nations  conquered   and  held  in  captivity  by 
Babylon  which  speak,  among  them  Israel.    They 
are   the  same  who  were  spoken   of  in  1.  8,  16. 
These  are  summoned  to   heal   Babylon,  because 
they  are  now  his  servants,  and  thus  obligated  to 
render    him   assistance. — Balsam.     Comp.  xlvi. 
11 ,    viii.  22. 
Vers.  9, 10.    "We  have  healed  .  .  our  God. 


418 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Those  who  are  called  upoa  do  not  refuse  to  ren- 
der the  service,  but  this  is  shown  to  be  in  vain. 
They  express  this  after  having  made  the  attempt, 
and  hence  the  perfect  tense — vi.  14;  xv.  18; 
xvii.  14.  They  thus  express  that  in  the  service 
of  Babylon  they  have  honestly  done  what  they 
could  for  its  deliverance.  As  all  their  attempts 
have  proved  vain,  they  think  of  their  own  safety 
by  flight  into  their  native  lands.  Comp.  Isaiah 
xiii.  14;  Jer.  xlvi.  10. — The  reason  why  Babylon 
was  not  to  be  helped  lies  in  the  immeasurable 
greatness  of  the  evil  which  has  come  upon  it. 
Tlie  punitive  judgment  advances  upon  them  so 
overpoweringly  that  it  reaches  even  to  the  sky. 
Comp.  Ps.  xxxvi.  6;  jvii.  11;  cviii.  6. — Israel, 
who  is  especially  benefited  by  the  breaking  of 


the  prison,  rejoices  above  all  that  his  honor  ia 
saved,  that  he  has  not  everlastingly  disappeared 
and  perished  as  something  entirely  bad,  but  is 
still  preserved  as  good  for  something.  We  might 
be  tempted  to  take  righteous  works  (mplV)  in 
the  sense  of  "  salvation  "  (comp.  Isa.  Ixii.  1),  but 
the  plural  is  opposed  to  such  a  rendering.  For 
though  the  "righteousnesses  of  Jehovah"  are 
spoken  of  in  the  sense  of  "saving  acts"  (comp. 
Jud.  v.  11;  Ps.  ciii.  6)  the  righteousness  of  Israel, 
which  the  Lord  has  brought  to  light,  cannot  well 
be  other  than  such  facts  as  render  manifest  that 
Israel  is  still  worthy  the  honor  of  being  the  peo- 
ple of  Jehovah  (comp.  Ia.  Ixii.  2).  Comp.  Ps. 
xxxvii.  6;  Jer.  1.  20. 


13.   The  triple  Threatening. 
LI.  11-14. 

11  Sharpen*  the  arrows,  fill  the  shields  !=* 

Jehovah  hath  awakened  the  spirit  of  the  kings  of  Media, 
For  his  mind  is  against  Babylon  to  destroy  it ; 
For  the  vengeance  of  Jehovah  it  is, 
The  vengeance  of  his  sanctuary. 

12  Against  the  walls  of  Babylon  raise  standards, 
Strengthen  the  watch,  appoint  watchmen, 
Lay  the  ambush ! 

For  as  Jehovah  hath  thought  so  also  hath  he  done — 

All  that  he  hath  spoken  against  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon. 

13  0  thou  that  dwellest  on  great  waters,  on  greatness  of  treasures  ! 
Thine  end  is  come,  the  ell  of  thy  section.* 

14  Sworn  hath  Jehovah  Zebaoth  by  himself:* 

"  Have  I  filled  thee  with  men  as  with  grasshoppers, 
So  shall  they  sing  over  thee  the  song  of  the  vintage.'* 

TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  11.— T^n  is  properly  to  polish,  but  arrows  are  polished  by  being  sharpened.  The  word  is  thus  rendered  by  the 
Chaldee  and  Vulgate. 

2  Wr.  11.— D'to'^ti'-  The  meaning  is  doubtful.  It  may  be  quiver,  arrow,  or  shield.  Roediger,  in  Ges.  Tlifs.,  p.  1418, 
dccidus  iur  the  last,  and  I  also  think  that  both  the  parallel  passages  (comp.  Song  of  Sol.  iv.  4  with  -A  Chron.  xxiii.  9  ;  Ezek. 
xxvii.  11 ;  1  Chron.  xviii.  7)  and  the  use  of  the  word  in  Aramaic  favor  the  meaning  "  shield."     To  till  the  shields  is  a  phrase 

Viku  brachiu  implere.    Comp.  JlK/p  kI'2,  Zcch.  ix.  13,  and  Koehler  thereon.    [Wordsworth  prefers  the  translation  gfMmr* 

as  civen  by  the  Vulg.,  Syriac.  and  Tari^um.  Cowles  :  "The  Hebrew  word  means  prim.arily  to  ^W.  Qesenius  supposes  it 
means  here.  Kill  tiie  sliields  witli  tlie  soldiers'  own  body,  i.  <■.,  put  tlnni  on  ;  while  Maurer  suggests  the  sense,  '  Fill  them 
with  oil,'  anoint  tlieni  as  a  preparation  for  service,  ur;;iiigthat  this  is  in  harmony  with  the  preceding  clause,  'Polish  the  ar- 
rows,' and  eiirresponds  with  Isaiah  xxi.  .5,  'Anoint  tlie  sliields.'  "— S.  R.  .\.J 

3  Ver.  LI.— According  to  this   rendering  [A.  V.:  measure   of  thy  covetousness],  1|^X3  ia  inf-  Kal  from  j;2f3  (comp. 

linns,  xlviii.  7  ;  Olsh.,  g245,  6)  meaning  to  strike  off,  cut  off,  etc. 
*  Ver.  i.—W212-    Comp.  Am.  vi.  8. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

A  triple  call  of  threatening  against  Babylon 
forming  a  climax;  fir.st  (ver.  11  a)  a  general 
summons  to  war,  with  mention  of  the  warlike 
power  thus  called  upon,  then  (ver.  12  a)  an  im- 
mediate attack  on  the  walls  of  the  city  is  com- 
manded, and  in  the  third  place  (ver.  13),  its  ap- 


proaching end  is  announced.  Each  of  the  calls 
is,  however,  followed  by  a  statement  of  reasons, 
in  which  also  a  climax  may  be  perceived.  Foi 
ver.  Hi  announces  the  decree  of  Jehovah  and 
its  cause;  ver.  12  b  contains  the  assurance  that 
with  the  Lord  purposing  and  acting  are  the  same 
thing.  Ver.  14  strengthens  the  threatening  of 
ver.  13  by  reference  to  a  solemn  oath  of  .Jehovah. 
Ver.  11.  Sharpen  .  .   .  sanctuary. — Hath 


CHAP.  LI.  15-19. 


41% 


aw^akened,  etc.  Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  1.  This 
passage  is  taken  from  Isa.  xiii.  17,  fi'om  which 
we  see  that  the  definition  of  the  enemies,  threaten- 
ing from  the  north  (1.  9,  41),  as  the  Medes  is 
older  than  Jeremiah.  Comp.  ver.  28.  In  this 
sentence  the  prophet  informs  us  to  whom  the 
summons  of  the  preceding  clause  is  addressed. 
The  second  half  of  tbe  verse  contains  a  double 
statement  of  cause,  first  the  proximate  and  im- 
mediate, then  the  remote  and  mediate,  but  at  the 
same  time  deepest  ground  of  the  summons. 
Comp.  1.  15.  -28. 

Ver.  12.  Against  the  walls  ...  of  Baby- 
lon. The  military  signals  are  to  precede  ttie 
attack  on  the  walls  of  Babylon.  On  account  of 
against  the  walls,  DJ,  standards,  seems  here 

to  be  not  the  mere  general  signal  of  convocation 
or  message,  but  a  military  sign  indicating  a  par- 
ticular point  of  attack.  The  word  also  denotes 
the  Hags  of  ships  (Isa.  xxxiii.  23;  Ezek.  xxvii. 
7).  Comp.  Wi.\ER,  R.-W.-B.,  s.  v.  "Fafine7i"  and 
"  Schiffe."  Tlie  watch  aud  watchmen  appear 
to  be  related  to  each  other  as  defensive  and  oifeii- 
sive  (comp.  2  Sam.  xi.  16,  and  Hitzig). — Am- 
bush. Comp.  Josh.  viii.  14-16;  Jud.  xx.  33-35. 
— For,  etc.  To  wish  and  to  do  are  to  be  shown 
to  be  identical  with  Jehovah.  Comp.  iv.  28  ;  Lam. 
ii.  17;  Zech.  i.  6;  viii.  14,  15. 

Vers.  13,  14.  O  thou  that  dwellest  .  .  . 
vintage.  The  greatest  supports  of  the  power 
of  Babylon  were  the  waters  surrounding  it  (comp. 
vers  32  and  36;  1.  38;  Isa.  xxi.  1;  Ps.  cxxxvii. 
1),  and  the  great  riches  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
accumulated  (comp.  BajSvluv  7  Tro?.vxpvaog,  JEsch. 
Pers.  u2,  and  Oppert,  Exped.  en  Mesop.  I.  p.  175), 
and  which  rendered  it  possible  for  him  to  erect 
his  immense  buildings.  Duncker  says  in  refer- 
ence to  this:  "  Nebuchadnezzar  had  no  need  to  fear 
that  he  would  exhaust  the  subjects  of  his  native 
land  by  the  cost  of  his  buildings.  The  immense 
booty  of  Nineveh,  the  greater  part  of  which  ac- 
crued to  the  Babylonians,  the  plunder  of  Jerusa- 
lem, the  tributes  of  Syria  and  the  Phoenician 
cities  furnished  the  greatest  means.  The  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  Babyloaian  territory,  the  produce 


234— Their 
-Ell  of  thy 


of  the  fields  depended  on  the  overflowing  of  the 
Euphrates.  By  an  extensive  system  of  dams, 
canals  and  conduits,  Nebuchadnezzar  succeeded 
both  in  conducting  the  water  of  the  Euphrates  to 
every  point  of  the  Babylonian  plain,  and  in 
draining  the  marshes  and  averting  the  violent 
inundations,  which  were  not  infrequent"  [Gesch. 
d.  Alterth.,  I.,  S.  846).  Add  to  this  that  these 
water-courses  were  of  the  greatest  importance 
i'ur  the  defence  of  the  country.  "Their  object 
was  primarily  irrigation  and  navigation;  but 
tliey  afforded  at  the  same  time  strong  lines  of  de- 
fence against  the  enemy,"  says  Niebuiir  [Ass.  u 
Bab.,  S.  229). — On  a  cylinder  in  the  possi  ssion  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Phillips,  which  has  been  deciphered 
by  Grotefend,  Nebuchadnezzar  says  (according 
to  Oppert,  p.  231):  "  Tout  autour  je  fis  couler  de 
I' eau  dans  cette  digice  immense  de  terre.  A  tr avers 
ces  grandes  eaux  comparables  aux  abimes  de  la  mer, 
je  fis  fair e  ^ln  conduit."  Comp.  /6.,  p. 
end  is  come.  Comp.  Gen.  vi.  13.- 
section.  There  are  two  renderings  of  this, 
"measure,  end  of  thy  fury,  avarice,  gain."  So 
Grotitjs,  Capelle,  Chr.  B.  Michaelis,  Rosen- 
mueller,  Ewald,  Hitzig.     But  PISX  is  the  ell  or 

T  — 

yard  measure,  and  does  not  involve  the  idea  of 
full  measure,  or  end.  Hence  the  other  render- 
ing is  to  be  preferred,  which,  after  the  example 
of  Jerome  [pedalis  prsecisioiiis  tux),  is  adopted  by 
Venema,  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Eichhorn,  De  Wette, 
Gesenius,  Bottcher  [Probenaltestavi.  Schrifterkl., 
S.  289,  Anm.  m),  Maurer,  Graf.  The  idea  lying 
at  the  foundation  of  the  expression  "the  ell  6t 
the  cutting  thee  off,"  is  that  the  thread  of  life  is 
measured,  aud  when  a  definite  number  of  yards 
is  reached,  will  be  cut  off.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxviii. 
12;  Job  vi.  9. — Have  I,  DN  ''II,  are  not  here 
particles  of  asseveration,  as  in  2  Sam.  xv.  21 ; 
2  Ki.  V.  20,  but  conditional,  if  I  have  filled  thee 
with  men  as  with  grasshoppers  (comp.  xlvi.  23), 
this  was  only  in  order  to  be  able  to  tread  the 
more  abundant  vintage  (TTn.  Comp.  rems.  on 
XXV.  30).  Hence  even  the  song  of  the  treaders 
is  a  sign  of  their  work  yielding  abundant  returns. 


Passage  inserted  from  x.  12-16. 
LI.  15-19. 

15  Who  maketh  the  earth  by  his  power, 
Establisheth  the  globe  by  his  wisdom, 

And  by  his  understanding  stretched  out  the  heavens. 

16  At  the  sound  of  his  voice,  throng  of  waters  in  the  heavens, 
And  vapors  he  bringeth  up  from  the  ends  of  the  earth ; 
He  raaketh  lightnings  to  the  rain, 

And  bringeth  the  wind  out  of  his  chambers. 

17  All  men  stand  there  mute,  without  understanding; 
All  the  founders  of  idol  images  are  put  to  shame, 
For  a  lie  is  their  molten  work,  no  spirit  is  therein, 

18  They  are  vapor,  turned  to  ridicule; 

At  the  time  of  their  visitation  they  perish. 


420 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


1 9  Not  so  the  portion  of  Jacob  ; 

For  he  formeth  all  things  and  the  rod  of  his  inheritance. 
Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  his  name. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

This  whole  passage  is  a  quotation  from  x.  12- 
16.  It  interrupts  the  connection  in  a  disturbing 
manner.  For  even  if  the  words  in  vers.  15,  16 
may  be  regarded  as  suitable  to  support  the 
thought  that  Jehovah,  who  ha.s  sworn  in  ver.  14 
to  destroy  Babylon,  has  also  the  power  to  realize 
this  threat,  the  following  exposition  of  the  vanity 
of  idols  is  a  superfluous  appendage  to  the  pres- 
ent prophecy.     There  is  no  point  either  in  the 


following  or  previous  context  which  requires 
such   an  exposition.      It  is   a  mere   digression. 

Add  to  this,  that  in  ver.    19  the   words  ^NIK'M 

are  omitted  before  £3^32/  (comp.  x.  16).     If  this 

omission  is  not  due  to  a  mere  oversight,  it  be- 
trays the  hand  of  an  emendator,  who,  to  honor 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  wishes  to  remove  the  appear- 
ance as  though  only  the  Israel  of  the  ten  tribes 
were  the  stock  of  Jehovah's  inheritance.  Comp. 
Naegelsb.  Jer.  u.  Bab.,  S.  131  ff.;  Qka.t,  S 
590,  1. 


14.  ffow  the  Lord  punishes  His  own  Hammer, 
LI.  20-24. 

20  A  hammer^  art  thou  to  me,  weapons  of  war, 
And  with  thee  I  break  nations  in  pieces, 
And  with  thee  I  overthrow  kingdoms. 

21  And  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  the  horse  and  his  rider, 
And  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  the  chariot  and  its  driver. 

22  And  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  man  and  woman, 
K\\\  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  old  man  and  boy, 
And  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  young  man  and  maiden, 

23  And  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  the  shepherd  and  his  flock. 
And  with  thee  I  break  in  pitces  the  husbandman  and  his  team, 
And  with  thee  I  break  in  pieces  magistrates  and  rulers.^ 

24  And  I  recompense  to  Babylon  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Chaldea  all  the  evil, 
Which  they  have  done  to  Zion  before  your  eyes,  saith  Jehovah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  20. — V30  (a  participial  form  derived  from  the  Hiphil.    Comp.  e.g.,  "1J0O>  and  as  a  related  synonym  V'3D, 

Prov.  XXV.  18)  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 

2  Ver.  2:5.— j"lin3.  Comp.  ver.s  28,  57;  Ezek.  xxiii.  6,  23;  1  Ki.  x.  15;  Neh.  ii.  7;  Ezr.  viii.  30;  Esth.viii.  9.  According 
to  Benfey  ( Morialsnamen,  S.  195),  tlie  word  comes  from  tlie  Sanscrit  (Paksclia,  socius,  amicus),  and  is  certainly  related  to 
the  Arabic  P.T.scha.  Comp.  Gesex.,  Thes.,  pag.  1100. — D''J  JDt  which  occurs  only  in  the  plural  (Isa.  xli.  25 ;  Ezr.  ix.  2  ;  Nch. 
ii.  16,  etc.),  are  likewise jjras/ecit  provinciarum.    On  the  different  derivations  comp.  Gesex.  T/ies.,  pag.  937. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

A  picture  very  clearly  complete  in  itself.  The 
propliet  sees  in  spirit  a  large  number  of  per.sons 
before  hi^  who  are  lo  serve  the  Lord  for  a  ham- 
mer, in  order  therewith  to  dash  to  pieces  nations 
and  kingdoms,  especially,  however.  Babylon  in 
all  its  parts,  and  tlius  to  recompense  to  it  what 
it  ha.s  inflicted  on  Ziim. 

Vers.  20-24.  A  hammer  .  .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
In  1.  23  Babylon  was  called  "the  hammer  of 
the  whole  earth,"  and  it  miglit  certainly  be  ad- 
dressed agiiin  in  the  same  way  here.  Many  ex- 
positors, the  LXX.,  Jerome,  Theodoret  at  their 
head,  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  so.  But  1,  it 
should  be  observed  that  another  word  and,  in- 


deed, one  formed  ad  hoc  is  chosen.  Comp. 
Textual  Note  1.  May  not  the  prophet  have  in- 
tended to  indicate  by  using  another  word,  spe- 
cially formed  for  the  occasion,  that  he  meant 
another  hammer  than  that  spoken  of  before  in  1. 
23?  2.  The  perfects  with  the  Vau  consecutive 
may,  indeed,  be  taken  in  a  past  sense  (comp. 
xviii.  4;  xix.  4,  5;  xxxvii.  11),  but  this  con- 
struction is  not  normal.     The  imperfect  would 

be  more  correct.     3.    'j[^?2^},  ver.  24,  must  at 

any  rate  be  taken  in  a  future  sense.  Since,  how- 
ever, this  word  is  a  perfectly  similar  form  to  the 
previous  perfects  and  similarly  construed,  there 
is  a  presumption  that  the  perfects  are  aIs;o  to  be 
rendered  as  futures.  4.  In  1.  21  we  found  an 
ideal  person  addressed,  of  which  the  Lord  would 


CHAP.  LI.  25,  26. 


421 


make  use  as  His  instrument  in  the  chastisement 
of  Babylon.  It  is  to  the  same  that  the  prophet 
here  turns.      That  he  referred  in   thought   to  1. 

21,  'J.2,  is  evident  from  VSO,  which  he  opposes  to 
B?'£03  there  used.  He  here,  however,  extends 
the  task  appointed  to  the  hammer,  for  it  is  not  to 
visit  Babylon  only,  as  in  1.  21,  but  many  nations 
and  kingdoms.     Who  this  chosen  instrument  was 

to   be    the  prophet  was  ignorant. — To  take  ''/2 

■weapon,  as  singular  for  ^/2,  with  Hitzio  and 

Graf,  appears  to  me  unnecessary.  The  former  is 
not  a  single  weapon,  but  comprehends  all  weapons 


of  war.  The  objects  enumerated  as  to  be  broken 
form  in  a  certain  measure  a  circle,  proceeding 
from  the  great  and  stiong  to  the  small  and  weak, 
and  then  rising  from  the  young  man  and  maideo 
again  to  the  great  and  strung. — Chaldea.  Kas- 
dim  as  the  name  of  the  country,  as  in  1.  10  coll. 
li  35. — Before  your  eyes,  is  to  be  referred  to 
I  recompense,  since  it  would  be  superfiuoua 
referred  to  have  done,  and  expresses  the 
thought  that  those  who  now  hear  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Babylon  will  also  see  it,  and  thus  be  con- 
vinced by  ocular  demonstration  of  the  truth  of 
Jeremiah's  prediction. 


15.   The  Destroying  Mountain. 
LI.  25,  26. 


25  Behold,  I  come  to  thee,  thou  destroying  mountain, 
Saith  Jehovah,  which  destroyed  the  whole  world  ; 
And  I  stretch  forth  ray  hand  over  thee, 

And  roll  thee  from  the  rocks  and  make  thee  a  burnt  mountain. 

26  And  they  shall  take  no  stone  of  thee  for  a  corner, 
Nor  a  stone  fur  foundations, 

But  thou  shalt  be  perpetual  ruins,  saith  Jehovah. 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

Babylon  is  here  compared  to  a  mountain,  which 
has  a  widely  destroying  influence.  This  can  re- 
fer only  to  a  volcano,  and  with  this  it  agrees  that 
the  mountain,  after  being  laid  bare  to  its  rocky 
heart,  is  said  to  be  a  burnt-out  mountain  (ver. 
25).  So  much,  however,  has  it  suffered  by  the 
destroying  energies  that  its  stones  are  not  even 
available  for  building  material. — We  see  that 
these  two  verses  afford  a  picture  perfectly  com- 
plete in  itself.  [Cowles  :  "This  blending  of 
the  figures  of  the  volcano  and  the  avalanche  may 
not  conform  to  the  nicest  rules  of  rhetoric,  but 
none  can  say  the  conceptions  are  not  grand  and 
their  significance  both  clear  and  strong." — S. 
R.  A.] 

Vers.  25.  26.  Behold,  I  come  .  .  .  saith  Je- 
hovah.— Behold,  ^^c.  Comp.  xxi.  13;  xxiii.  30- 
32;  1.  31.  —  The  expression  destroying  mountain 
[rcniy^n  "inj,  occurs  besides  only  in  2Ki.  xxiii. 

13,  where  the  mount  of  Olives  (or  the  southern 
peak  thereof,  the  mons  scandali  or  offensionis  of  ec- 
clesiastical tradition;  comp.  Keil  on  Kings,  S. 
362).  is  so  called  [A.  V.  "Mountain  of  corrup- 
tion]." The  Mount  of  Olives  evidently  received 
this  appellation  from  the  corrupting  influence 
which  proceeded  from  it  in  religious  matters. 
May  not  Babylon  also  be  called  a  destroying 
mountain  in  spiritual  relations?  If  then  we  re- 
member that  the  name  of  Babylon  is  connected 
even  in  primaeval  traditions  with  defiant  worldly 
power  and  idolatry  (comp.  1.  29-32.  and  Xaegici.^ij. 
Jer.  u.  Bab.,  S.  off.),  we  mtiy  well  suppose  tint 


the  prophet  also  had  the  corrupting  spiritual  in- 
fluence of  Babylon  in  mind  (comp.  also  1.  38;  li. 
1,  44).     We  are  not,    however,  justified  in  re- 
stricting his  view  to  this  single  point,  the  ele- 
ment of  destructiveness  in  a  physical  sense  being 
also  quite  natural.     It  is  repeatedly  expressed 
in  this  prophecy.  Comp.  the  hammer,  1.  23,  and 
the  cup,  li.  7  coll.  xxv.  15-17. — We  may  then  as- 
sume that  Babylon  is  designated  as  a  destroying 
mountain  in  a  spiritual  and  pliysical  reference. 
Perhaps  in  the  term  "mountain,"  there  is  also 
a  hint  at  the  tower  which  was  widely  visible,  and 
j  corresponded  to  the  widely  exi  ended  influence. 
As  to   the  picture  in  itself  the  question  arises. 
What  sort  of  a  mountain  had  the  prophet  in  mind? 
I  How  must  a  (natural)  mountain  be  constituted  so 
I  as   to   be   fitly  designated   a    widely  destroying 
mountain?     lam  of  opinion  that  this  designa- 
j  tion  can  be  given  only  to  a  volcano,  for  men  seek 
I  the  vicinity  of  mountains  because  these   afford 
protection  to  their  habitations  and  agriculture. 
Even  the  vicinity  of  volcanoes  is  not  shunned,  be- 
I  cause  these  become  dangerous  only  from  time  to 
i  time,  and  the  general  advantage  of  their  vicinity 
I  outweighs   the    temporary    disadvantage.       The 
,  following   description  seems  also  to    point  to  a 
I  volcano.      How   otherwise  can   we   explain   the 
words  "roll  thee  from,    the    rocks,"    than    of  a 
volcanic  eruption?     The  mountain  is  to  belaid 
bare,  the  overlying  strata  are  to  be  thrown  down 
so  that   noiliing  will  remain  but  the  skeleton, — 
the  masses  ot  stone  which  form  its  interior.      All 
this  can  be  said  only  of   volcanoes.     And  when 
finally  the  result  of  this  process  is  designated  by 
the  words  nDTiy  in^  ITIjIJI,  i3  not  this  Cv  rood 


422 


THE  PllOPIIET  JEllEMiAH. 


conclusion  to  the  figure  drawn  from  a  volcano? 

nS'^E'  is  combustio,   exustio.     Comp.    Isa.    ix.   4; 

liiv.  10.  A  mons  combustionis  or  exustionis  is 
either  one  from  which  the  combustio  issues,  or 
one  which  suffers  or  has  suffered  combustion.  In 
the  former  case  it  would  be  difficult  to  perceive 
how  this  could  be  a  punishmeut.  In  the  latter 
case  the  question  arises,  whether  tlie  mount  of 
combustion  is  to  be  understood  as  burning  or 
burnt  out.  If  we  regard  the  previous  and  follow- 
ing context,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  words 
"make  thee  a  mountain  of  combustion,"  desig- 
nate the  result  of  the  process,  which  is  further 
described  in  ver.  26.  The  mountain  is  so  burnt 
out  that  its  stones  are  not  even  available  for 
buildino'  materials.  To  Graf's  remark  that 
"this  latter  point  in  itself  doubtful  was  hardly 


so  established  in  the  experience  of  a  Jew,  that 
he  could  make  use  of  it  as  a  figure  which  would 
commend  itself  to  his  countrymen,"  I  reply,  that 
it  did  not  need  much  experience  to  know  that 
stones  cracked  or  vitrified  by  fire,  are  bad  build- 
ing material,  and  that,  moreover,  here  at  the 
close  the  discourse  evidently  passes  from  figure 
to  reality.  The  prophet  has  certainly  the  burnt- 
up  city  in  view,  the  stones  of  which  could  not  be 
used  for  building  purposes.  [Cowles:  "In  fact, 
large  building  stones  were  never  there.  Her  im- 
mense structures  were  built  of  brick,  either  sun- 
dried  or  kiln-burnt.  Hence  the  great  mass  of 
these  materials  lie  to  this  day  more  or  less  decom- 
posed in  the  mountains  of  rubbish  which  mark 
the  site  of  iliat  once  magnificent  city."- — ^S.  R.  A.] 
— But  thou  shalt,  etc.    Comp.  ver.  62 ;  xxv.  9. 


16.    War  against  the  Threshing-floor  of  Babylon. 
LI.  27-33. 

27  Raise  ye  a  standard  in  the  land, 
Blow  the  trumpet  among  the  nations, 
Consecrate  nations  against  her, 

Call  upon  her  the  kingdoms  of  Ararat,  Minni  and  Ashkenaz ; 
Appoint  a  captain  against  her. 
Bring  up  horses  like  bristly  locusts. 

28  Consecrate  nations  against  her. 

The  kings  of  Media  with  her  satraps  and  all  her  governors, 
And  the  whole  land  of  their  dominion. 

29  Then  the  earth  quakes^  and  trembles, 

For  the  thoughts  of  Jehovah  are  being  fulfilled^  on  Babylon, 
To  make  the  land  of  Babylon  a  waste  without  an  inhabitant. 

30  The  heroes  of  Babylon  have  ceased  to  fight. 
They  sit  in  their  strongholds  ; 

Dried  up*  is  their  strength. 
They  are  become  women  ; 
They  have  burned  her  dwellings. 
Her  bars  are  broken. 

31  Courier  runneth  against  courier,  messenger  against  messenger. 
To  announce  to  the  king  of  Babylon 

That  his  city  is  taken  to  its  utmost  end, 

32  The  passages  occupied,  the  ponds  burned  with  fire,  the  men  of  war  confounded. 

33  For  thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth,  the  God  of  Israel, 
"The  daughter  of  Babylon  is  like  a  threshing  floor. 
Now  they  tread  her,* 

Yet  a  little  and  the  time  of  harvest  will  come  to  her." 


TEXTUAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  29. — ^M"^r\V  The  Imperf.  with  Vau  consec.  is  used  here  because  the  prophet  transports  himself  so  vividly  to 
Ihe  future  that  he  regards  it  as  already  past.  Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  \  88,  5.  Tliere  is  therefore  no  necessity  of  reading 
B;j^"ir\1  with  Meier. 

a  Ver.  29.— HOp.     Comp.  xliv.  28,  29.     On  the  singular  Cdinp.  Naeqelsd.  Or.,  105,  4  6. 

«  Ver.  30.— The  form  nr^'^J  is  probably  to  be  derived  from  nc/j  e.xaruil.    This  root  occurs  only  in  two  passages  else- 

T   :    |T  -  T 

W»we:  Isa.  xix.  ."5,  ^ni!/3,  and  xli.  17,  nr>  v3"     The  latter  form  miiv  liave  stood  for  rijI'VJ  with  Dag.  f.  mphrm.    Cnm^. 


CHAP.  LI.  27-33. 


41i 


Olsh.,  §  83  6  and  232  «;  Deutzsch  on  Isa.  xix.  5.    Others  would  derive  the  fTirms  from   nnE?,  HnC?  or  Tim-     Comp 
FOERST  s.  V.  nm,  Gesen.,  Thes.  s.  V.  I^'d:.    At  any  rate  a  play  upon  words  with  Q'pih  appears  to  be  intended. 

*  Ver.  33.— Tmn='nin  facere.    Comp.  IIitzig  ad  toe— With  regard  to  the  construction,  it  is  not  necessary  to  assume 
an  irregular  infinitive  form",  but  simply  to  supply  IK'N-    Comp.  ver.  3  and  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  §  80,  6. 

north  "  which  are    spoken   of  in  1.   3,  9. — Ap- 
point  a   captain— "ID3D.     The   word    occurs 
besides    only  in   Nah.  iii.  17.     The   meaning  is 
doubtful.     All  we  learn  from  the  context  is  that 
something  hostile  to  Babylon  is  intended.     The 
words  against  her  follow  four  times  in  vers.  27, 
28,  and  cannot  be  taken   in  another  sense   the 
third  time  from  the  other  three.     It  is  therefore 
not  a  measure  tvithin  Babylon  but  against  Babylon 
which  is  spoken  of.     Appoint  is  then  used  as 
in  XV.  3.     I  do  not  think  that  number,  multitude 
can  be  the  point  of  comparison  between  this  and 
the  parallel  horses  (it  is  certainly  not  so  with 
ITJO    in   Nah.  iii.   17),  and  that  therefore    the 
word   designates  "  troops  "  of  any  kind  (Graf, 
Meier).     It  is  admitted  by  most  commentators* 
that  it  is  an  Assyrian  word.     (Comp.   Strauss 
on  Nahum,  S.  128).     In  the  inscription  of  Bisu- 
tuu,  the  Assyrian  text  of  which   has  been  ren- 
dered  in    Hebrew  letters   by  Oppert,   {Exp.  en 
Mesop,  II.  p.  238),  the  word  "ID  occurs  times  in- 
numerable in  the  sense  of  "  King,"  as  a  title  of 
Darius.     Comp.  also  Strauss,  S.  124  Anm.,  etc.; 
Brandis,  Geivinn,  etc.,  S.   101,  2.     "^D3D    might 
thus  be  a  compound  of  ID.     The  circumstance 
that  the  diiferent  nations  have  their  leaders  in 
their  "kings"  is  no  ground  against  this  hypo- 
thesis, for  the  multifarious  host  would  still  need 
a  common  head.     I  therefore  adhere  provision- 
ally to  the  meaning  "captain."— Like   bristly- 
locusts.     Comp.   ver.   14.      The  comparison   is 
very  graphic,  both  with  respect  to   the  ni.imber 
and  also  the  form  and  movements  of  the  animals. 
Comp.  Credner  on  Joel  i.  4.— Consecrate  na- 
tions is  repeated  as  a  sign  that  the  prophet  will 
yet  make  new  and   important  additions  to   the 
nationsalready  mentioned.— Kings  of  Media. 
The  plural  is  no  more  to  be  regarded  as  an  ab- 
solutely iuditferent  matter  than  as  depending  oa 
distinct  historical  knowledge.     It  simply  leaves 
open  the  possibility  of  a  plurality.     A  great  war 
with  Babylon  would  certainly  occupy  the  whole 
royal  family  of  Media  and  might  occupy  several 
Median  kings  in  succession.     For  an  analogous 
case   comp.  xvii.  20;  xix.  3.— Jeremiah's  men- 
tion of  the  Modes  is  significant  for  two  reasons  : 

1.  because  at  that  time,  in  the  fourth  year  of 
Zedekiah  (155  Nabon.=B.  C.  593),  Nebucha,d- 
nezzar  was  in  all  probability  at  war  with  Media. 
His  father-in-law,  Cyaxares,  had  died  the  year 
before,  B.  C.  594.  This  was  a  favorable  epoch 
to  cast  off  the  previous  supremacy  of  Media. 
"We  think  that  we  may  unhesitatingly  assume 
that  Nabukudrussur  had  to  undertake  a  great 
war  with  Media  in  the  years  154  and  155,"  says 
NiEBUHR  (A.SS.  u.  Bab.,  S.  212,  3  and  on  his 
reasons  for  this  view  lb.  S.  211  and  S.  284),— 

2.  because  in  the  mention  of  the  Medes  there  is 
a  strong  argument  against  those  who  assert  that 
this  prophecy  was  composed  j90s<  ei^entum,  during 
the  captivity,  for  at  this  time  the  Persian'^  and 
not  the  Medes  would  have  been  designated  as 
the  conquerors  of  Babylon.     Comp.  ver.   11.^ 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

A  very  animated  picture  !  Three  main  groups 
may  be  plainly  distinguished,  and  a  conclusion. 
The  first  group  (vers.  27-29)  shows  us  the  ene- 
mies of  Babylon,  the  Medes  with  the  nations 
subject  to  their  dominion  advancing  against 
Babylon  with  so  great  an  army  that  the  earth 
trembles.  The  second  group  is  composed  of  the 
Babylonian  warriors,  who,  overwhelmed  by  the 
success  of  the  enemy,  let  their  hands  fall  in 
powerless  and  spiritless  dismay  (ver.  30).  In 
the  third  group  we  perceive  the  king  of  Babylon, 
who,  sitting  in  his  castle,  receives  from  all  sides 
the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  city  (vers.  31, 
32).  In  the  closing  words  the  prophet  expresses 
the  thought  that  all  which  is  now  being  done  to 
render  the  city  splendid  and  glorious  is  no  more 
than  the  preparation  of  the  threshing-floor,  on 
which  in  a  short  time  the  harvest  will  be  piled. 
These  verses  are  clearly  distinguished  from  those 
which  precede  and  follow,  and  exhibit  a  clear 
and  connected  picture. 

Vers.  27-29.   Raise  ye  .  .  .  inhabitant.  Ver. 
27   evidently  contains  a  new  beginning,  for  it 
summons  to  that  which   has  to  be  done  in  the 
beginning  of  a  warlike  expedition.     Comp.  ver. 
12;  1.  2.— Consecrate,  e^c.     It  was  the  custom 
to  commence  every  war  with  sacred  rites  (comp. 
Herz.,    R.-Ehc,    and    Winer,    R.-B.-W.,   s.    v. 
"Krieg");  but  here,  as  in  Isa.  xiii.  3,  the  war 
appears  to  be  designated  as  a  holy  one,  because 
it  has  to  do  with  a  "work   of  Jehovah"  (1.  25) 
and  "the  vengeance   of  His  sanctuai-y"  (1.  28). 
Comp.  vi.  4;   xxii.  7;  Joel  iv.  9;   Mic.    iii.  5. — 
Call.     Comp.  1.  2,   29.— Ararat.     Comp.  Gen. 
viii.  4.      [CowLES:   "The  name  Ararat  is    San- 
skrit, meaning  '  the  holy  land,'  a  name  probably 
due  to  traditions  of  Noah's  ark." — S.  R.  A.]. — 
In   Isaiah  (xxxvii.  38  coll.  2  Ki.  xix.  37)  a  land 
of  Ararat  is  spoken  of.     Theodoret  says  on  the 
present    passage,    ' Apapar    t?/v    'Ap/ievlav    naTiel. 
According  to  Moses  of  Chorene  {Hist.  Armen.  p. 
361 )  Ararat  was  the  chief  district  of  Armenia  and 
divided  into  twenty  circuits.     Comp.  Delitzsch 
on  Isa.  xxxvii.  38. — Minni   also,  which  occurs 
here  only,  Ps.  xlv.  9  being  doubtful,  belongs  to 
Armenia;  it  was,  according  to  Niebuhr  {Ass.  u. 
Bab.  S.  427  coll.  13G),  the  second  chief  state  of 
this  country. — Ashkenaz  must  be  sought  for 
at    any  rate   in    the    neighborhood    of  Armenia, 
since  Togarmah  is  the  brother  of  Ashkenaz  ac- 
cording to   Gen.  X.  3,  and  "the   country  on   the 
Pontus,  Ararat  and  Caucasus  is  in  general  the 
home  of  the  children  of  Japheth"  (Niebuhr  w< 
sup.).     Knobel  (  Volkertafel  and  on  Gen.  x.  3)  re- 
gards Ashkenaz   as   the  Asorum  genus  and   says 
in  reference    to    this   passage:   "  The  Ashkenaz 
mentioned  in  Jer.  li.  27  appears  to  be  a  remnant 
of  the  Asi  nation  in  Asia."     [Comp.  also   Keil 
and    Delitzsch   on  Gen.  x.  3,  Tr.  1.  p.  163. — S. 
B.  A.].     In    general   these    three    peoples  here 
mentioned  correspond  to  the  "nations  from  the 


424 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Her  satraps.  Comp.  vers.  23  and  57. — To 
make,  etc.  Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  9;  Jer.  ii.  15;  iv. 
7;  ix.  10;  xlvi.  19;  1.  3;  li.  47. 

Ver.  30.  The  heroes  of  Babylon  .  .  .  bro- 
ken.— Become  ■women.  Comp.  1.  37  ;  Nah. 
iii.  13. — They  have  burned.  The  subject  is 
the  enemies. — Bars  are  broken.  Comp.  Am. 
i.  5.;  Isa.  xlv.  2  ;  Lam.  ii.  9. — As  only  the  cap- 
ture of  the  city  is  described,  the  burning  of  the 
dwellings  must  not  be  referred  to  a  burning  of 
the  whole  c^iy,  presupposing  the  capture.  It 
must  rather  be  intended  as  a  parallel  to  the 
breaking  of  the  bars.  The  sentence  discloses 
that  the  enemies  had  begun  their  work  by  setting 
the  dwellings  on  fire.  [Compare  the  account  of 
the  siege  of  Babylon  in  Xenophon  as  given  by 
Wordsworth. — S.  11.  A.] 

Vers.  31,  32.  Courier  .  .  .  confounded. 
The  prophet  conceives  of  the  king  as  in  the  midst 
of  the  city,  in  his  citadel.  When  the  city  is  taken 
"from  the  end  thereof"  (comp.  1.  26)  the  mes- 
sengers hastening  to  inform  the  king  would  meet 
each  other.  This  is  a  sad  meeting,  an  accumu- 
lation of  calamities  which  reminds  us  of  the  Job's 
posts  (Job  i.  13  sqq.). — Passages.    ni"13^0,  are 

passages.  Forts  may  be  meant,  but  also  bridges 
or  tunnels,  or  even  the  stations  of  the  messen;ier 
or  ferries,  since  on  account  of  the  walls  a  landing 
could  not  be  made  at  pleasure.  Concerning  the 
bridges  which  connected  the  two  banks  of  the 
river  in  the  middle  of  the  city  and  the  tunnel 
under  the  Euphrates,  which  connected  the  two 
royal  castles,  comp.  Oppert,  I.  S.  192,  etc.  The 
Euphrates,  moreover,  had  no  fords,  and  the  arti- 
cle forbids  us  to  think  of  the  bed  of  the  Euphi-a- 
tes,  laid  dry  by  the  diversion  of  the  stream 
[Herod.,  I.  191),  as  it  denotes  that  definite  and 
well-known  points  of  transition  are  meant.  The 
expression  may  well  be  referred  to  the  bridge, 
the  ferry-stations  and  perhaps  also  to  the  tunnel. 
Both  this  sentence  and  the  following  parts  of 
ver.  33  belong  to  the  announcements  spoken  of 
in  ver.  31. — The  ponds  burned  vrith  fire. 
This  sentence  is  enigmatical.  The  view  that  the 
burning  is  not  to  be  understood  literally,  but 
merely  to  be  taken  as  figurative  for  drying  up, 
for  which  an  appeal  is  strangely  made  to  1  Ki. 
xviii.  38,  seems  to  me  as  untenable  as  that,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  burning  is  to  be  referred 
merely  to  the  sedge.  The  former  view  is  op- 
posed by  the  formal  reason  that  the  figure  would 
be  an  unsuitably  exaggerated  one,  the  latter  by 
the  material  reason  that  the  burning  of  the  sedge 
eeems  purposeless.  But  are  the  great  water- 
works of  Nebuchadnezzar    to   be   conceived  of 


as  having  no  wood-work  about  them  ?  Did 
not  the  flood-gates  at  least  consist  of  wood  ? 
The  great  basin  of  Sepharvaim,  e.  g.,  might  be 
opened  and  closed  by  flood-gates  (comp.  Duncker, 
Gesch.  d.  Allerlh.  I.  ,S.  849).  If  the  Euphrates 
were  di-ied  up  and  it  was  wished  to  complete  the 
act  of  demolition,  the  destruction  of  the  sluices 
by  fire  might  be  an  appropriate  way  of  accom- 
plishing this.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  I  per- 
ceive a  special  prediction  in  these  words.  Jere- 
miah paints  the  picture  of  the  destruction  of 
Babylon  in  colors,  which  in  general  betray  a 
correct  knowledge  of  Babylonian  circumstances. 
This  picture  could  not  be  applied  to  the  capture 
of  any  city  at  pleasure,  but  the  coloring  is  no- 
\7here  so  specific  that  we  must  say  it  is  either  a 
inantic  prediction  or  a  vaticinium  post  eventum. 
Jeremiah's  mind  was  occupied  only  with  the 
great  theme, — Babylon  will  fall  and  be  destroyed, 
and  Israel  will  be  delivered.  He  greatly  varies 
this  theme,  and  here  and  there  a  feature  finds  a 
surprisingly  accurate  fulfilment,  but  there  may 
be  here  a  deeply  hidden  connection  between 
cause  and  effect,  which  we  cannot  fathom  or  de- 
monstrate, and  the  prophet  had  no  foreknow- 
ledge of  this  agreement  of  his  words  with  the 
future  reality.  Comp.  1.  24  and  the  rems.  oa 
li.  39.  KuEi'ER  in  the  Bcweis  des  Glauhcns,  Feb- 
ruary and  I\larch,  1867. — Are  confounded. 
Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  8.  The  words  as  the  purport 
of  the  message  correspond  exactly  to  what  was 
reported  as  a  fact  in  ver.  30.  [Comp.  Heeod., 
I.  181;  Aristot.,  PoUt.  III.  c.  1;  K.\wlinson, 
Anc.  Mon.  III.  363  ;  and  Pusey,  on  Daniel,  p. 
268,  in  Wordsworth  and  his  note  on  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  prophecy. — S.  R.  A.] 

Ver.  33.  For  thus  saith  ...  to  her.     For 

attaches  these  words  closely  to  the  previous  verse. 
What  follows  is  separated  by  its  specific  contents, 
and  thus  the  statement  of  reason  forms  a  con- 
clusion. When  Jeremiah  wrote  Babylon  stood 
at  the  zenith  of  its  bloom.  The  rejoinder  might 
then  be  made  to  him.  How  canst  thou,  contrary 
to  all  appearances,  speak  of  such  an  enfeebling 
of  this  glorious  army  and  of  the  capture  and 
destruction  of  these  impregnable  bulwarks  ? 
Jeremiah  replies,  Exbylon  is  a  threshing-floor. 
All  that  is  now  done  to  render  her  great  and 
glorious  is  no  more  than  a  preparation  of  the 
floor  by  treading.  In  a  short  time,  however,  the 
season  of  harvest  will  come  to  her.  Jeremiah 
here  leans  back  upon  1.  26.  The  glorious  city 
shall  one  day  serve  only  as  a  threshing-floor  for 
all  the  treasures  harvested  by  her  enemies. 


CHAP.  LI.  34-40. 


42S 


17.  Babylon's  Misdeed,  Israel's  Complaint,  Jehovah's  Sentence. 

LI.  34-40. 

34  Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  devoured  us,  he  crushea  us, 
He  put  us  away  as  an  empty  vessel. 

He  swallowed  us  like  a  dragon. 

He  filled  his  belly^  with  ray  best  and  cast  us  out  * 

35  "  My  wrong  and  my  flesh  be  on  Babylon,"  say  the  inhabitress  of  Zion, 
"  My  blood  on  the  inhabitants  of  Chaldea,"  say  Jerusalem. 

86  Therefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  : 

Behold,  I  fight  thy  battle,  and  execute  thy  vengeance, 
Aud  cause  her  sea  to  dry  up  and  seal  up  her  spring. 

37  And  Babylon  shall  become  ruins,  the  abode  of  jackals, 

A  terror  and  an  object  of  scorn,  which  is  bare  of  inhabitants. 

38  They  will  roar  one  with  another  like  young  lions, 
They  will  growl*  like  the  young  of  the  lioness. 

39  For  their  intoxication  I  prepare  them  a  drinking-bout, 
And  make  them  drunken  that  they  may  rejoice, 

Fall  asleep  to  a  perpetual  sleep 
And  never  awake,  saith  Jehovah. 

40  I  will  bring  thera  down  like  lambs  to  the  slaughter, 
Like  rams  with  he-goats. 


TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  34.— iyi3,  belly,  is  an.  Key. 

2  Ver.  34.— 'jn^'O-  The  singular  suffix  has  induced  the  Masoretes  to  make  the  previous  verbs  conformable  to  this,  but 
this  rhanse  nf  number  is  by  no  means  rare.  Comp.  ix.  7  ;  x.  4;  xiii.  20  ;  xliv.  9  ;  Naegei.sb.  Gr.,  ^  lOo,  7  Anm.  2.  Some 
commeuiators  would  attach  the  word  to  the  following,  aud  read  iUnHH  because  the  Hiph  of  PH  signifies  to  waah,  rinse 

away  (Isa.  iv.  4 ;  Ezek.  xl.  38 ;  2  Chron.  iv.  C),  and  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  Jeremiah,  while  pinn  is  very  common  with 

him  (viii.  3;  xvi.  15  ;  xxiii.  3,  8;  xxvii.  10,  15,  etc.).  The  meaning  of  rinsing,  however,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  that  cast- 
ing away  ('■  the  Uiph.  ol  nn  is  to  cast  away,  wash  away,"  ItfiuizsCH  on  Isa.  iv.  4,  S.  8Uj,  and  the  brevity  of  the  seconl 
half  of  the  verse  is  not  without  analogy.     Comp.  1.  26  ;  li.  28. 

3  Ver.  35.— c^  r\2U''-    Comp.  Isa.  xii.  6.    The  expression  occurs  only  in  these  two  places. 
*  Ver.  38. — "1^  J,  snarl,  growl,  is  an  air.  Aey. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Nebuchadnezzar  ha.s  devoured  Israel,  emptied 
his  land  and  caused  it  to  stand  like  an  empty 
vessel,  having  cast  out  the  people  (ver.  84).  For 
this  Israel  invokes  the  vengeance  of  .Jeliovah 
(ver.  3')).  To  this  desire  the  Lord  declares 
Himself  willing  to  respond;  as  Babylon  has 
emptied  Israel,  so  sliall  it  becouie  an  empty  un- 
watered  desert;  as  Nebuchadnezzar  has  devoured 
Israel  like  a  dragon,  so  shall  the  Chaldeans  roar 
like  lions;  as  tliey  have  revelled  in  Israel's  flesh 
and  blood,  so  shall  they  empty  the  cup  of  wrath 
even  to  fatal  drunkenness,  and  be  brought  as 
sheep  to  the  slaughter  (vers.  36-40).  Three  main 
thoughts  are  thus  plainly  distinguishable,  the 
exponUio  facli,  the  complaint  and  the  sentence. 

Ver.  34.  Nebuchadrezzar  .  .  .  cast  us  out. 
Nebuchadnezzar  lias  devoured  (1.  7,  17)  and 
crushed  (literally  rf/A7i(/-/;(/('(7,  Ex.  xiv.  25;  xxiii. 
27  ;  Josh.  X..  10;  li  Chr.  xv.  G)  Israel;  and  then  let 


the  land  stand  like  an  empty  vessel.  Hitziq  re- 
gards the  words  he  put  us  away,  as  spoken  by 
the  land,  but  this  view  is  opposed  by  the  plural 
pronoun.  It  is  better  to  regard  the  people  and 
land  as  speaking  together.  Then  the  first  clause 
refers  to  the  persons,  the  second  to  the  land,  the 
third  to  the  particular  things,  which  the  enemy 
took  with  him  as  plunder  out  of  the  country. — 
Dragon,  V^^},  is  1,  bellua  marilima,  Ki/rog,  (Gen. 
i.  21;  ,Iob  vii.  12;  Ps.  clviii.  7).  2.  Serpent 
(Ex.  vii.  9,  10,  12;  Deut.  xxxii.  .33;  Ps.  xci.  13). 
3.  Crocodile  (Isa.  xxvii.  1;  li.  9;  Ezek.  xxix.  3; 
xxxii.  2;  Ps.  Ixxiv.  13).  In  this  place  it  is 
usually  translated  dragon,  this  being  viewed  as 
a  modification  of  the  second  meaning.  It  is 
really  a  matter  of  indifference  what  great  animal 
is  intended,  and  it  therefore  suffices  to  render  the 
word  by  a  general  term. 

Ver.  35.  My  wrong  .  .' .  Jerusalem.  After 
the  representation  of  the  condition  of  things, 
Israel  here  appears  as  a  plaintiff,  and  demands 
as  his  right  the  punishment  of  the  oppressor. — 


420 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


My  vrrong.  Comp.  Gen.  xvi.  5. — My  flesh 
and  my  blood  point  back  to  devoured,  ver. 
34. — Inhabitants  of  Chaldea.  Comp.  ver.  24; 
1.  10.  ["By  my  flesh  we  are  here  to  under- 
stand the  blood-relations  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  or  the  Jews  throughout  the  country, 
who  were  killed  or  carried  captive  to  Babylon." 
Henderson. — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  30-40.  Therefore  thus  .  .  .  with  he- 
goats.  The  Lord  receives  the  complaint  of 
Israel.  He  declares  himself  ready  to  execute  the 
punishment  desired.  The  close  connection  of  the 
words  with  ver.  35  is  clear  from  therefore,  and 
from  its  whole  purport. — I  fight,  etc.  Comp.  1. 
34;  li.  6,  11,  56;  1.  15,  28.— Cause  to  dry  up, 
etc.  The  abundance  of  water,  to  which  the  land 
of  Babylon  owes  its  fertility  and  power,  the  Lord 
will  dry  up  and  even  seal  up  the  springs.  Comp. 
1.  38. — Her  sea.  Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  13.  "The 
i^ain  land,  on  which  Babylon  stands,  is  .  .  .  a 
large  .  .  .  plain,  which  is  so  broken  up  with 
marshes  and  lakes  by  the  Euphrates,  that  it  floats, 
as  it  were,  in  the  sea.  The  low  land  on  the  lower 
Euphrates  is,  as  it  were,  wrung  from  the  sea; 
for  before  Semiramis  erected  the  dikes,  the 
Euphrates  used  to  overflow  it  all  [nETLayKEiv, 
Herod.,  I.,  184);  Abydenus  (in  Euseb.  Prsep., 
IX.,  41),  even  says  that  at  first  it  was  all  water, 
and  was  also  called  i?d/la(T(ja. "  Delitzsch  on  Isa. 
xxi.  1. — Become  ruins.  Comp.  ix.  10;  xviii. 
16;  xix.  8;  xxv.  9,  18;  xxix.  18;  li.  29.  Ac- 
cording to  the  theory  of  recompense  which  the 
Lord  has  presented  in  ver.  36  (comp.  ver.  6)  the 
desolatioQ  and  evacuation  here  predicted  corres- 


ponds to  the  emptying,  which  Israel,  according 
to  ver.  34,  had  experienced  from  Babylon. — In 
ver.  38  it  is  not  an  element  of  the  punishment, 
but  on  the  contrary  the  revelling  of  the  Baby- 
lonians in  the  enjoyment  of  their  plunder,  which 
is  described  (comp.  ii.  15;  Am.  iii.  4).— Ver. 
39.  While  now  they  are  in  the  heart  of  their 
greedy  enjoyment  (comp.  Hos.  vii.  4-7)  the  Lord 
will  prepare  them  a  banquet  of  his  own  kind. 
He  will  pour  them  out  a  full  cup,  but  of  wrath 
(xxv.  15-27).  Of  this  excitement  and  sleep  will 
be  the  consequence — the  excitemenf  of  anguish 
and  the  sleep  of  death  (ver.  57). — That  they 
may  rejoice,  is  therefore  intended  ironically. 
Comp.  Isa.  xxi.  5,  and  Delitzsch,  ad  loc. — The 
remarkable  fulfilment  of  these  words  in  the  sur- 
prise of  the  Chaldeans  while  feasting  (Dan.  v.  1 
sqq. ;  Herod.,  I.,  191  ;  Cyrop.,  VII.,  23)  is  no 
more  to  be  traced  to  special  prediction,  than  the 
fulfilment  of  vers.  31,  32;  1.  24.  The  prophet 
has  no  expectation  that  his  picture  of  wild  carou- 
sal, and  the  exchange  of  this  for  another  ironi- 
cally so-called,  would  correspond  so  literally  to 
the  facts.  That  this  was  the  case  was  not,  how- 
ever, due  to  a  coincidence,  but  to  divine  Provi- 
dence. Comp.  rems.  on  vers.  31,  32. — I  ^will 
bring  them,  etc.  Comp.  xlviii.  15;  I.  27.  Lambs, 
rams,  he-goats!  All  classes  of  the  population 
are  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  butcher's  knife. 
Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  6;  Ezek.  xxxix.  18;  Jer.  1.  8. 
— This  description  also,  from  ver.  38  onwards, 
stands  in  evident  contrast  to  the  devouring  of 
Israel  by  the  Chaldeans,  in  ver.  34. 


18.  The  Demolition  of  the  Prison,  the  Liberation  of  the  Captiwet. 

LI.  41-46. 


41  How  is  Sheshach  taken, 

And  the  praise  of  the  whole  earth  captured ! 

How  is  Babylon  become  a  horrid  waste^  among  the  nations  I 

42  The  sea  is  come  up  over  Babylon, 

With  the  multitude  of  its  waves  is  she  covered. 

43  Her  cities  are  become  a  desolation, 
A  land  of  aridity  and  steppe, 

A  land  wherein  no  man  will  dwell, 
Which  no  son  of  man  will  pass  through. 

44  And  I  visit  Bel  in  Babylon, 

And  take  from  his  mouth  what  he  hath  devoured, 
And  no  more  shall  the  nations  flow  to  him: 
The  wall  also  of  Babylon  is  fallen. 

45  Go  out  from  the  midst  of  her,  my  people. 

And  let  every  one  save  his  Boul  from  the  fury  of  Jehovah's  anger. 

46  And  let  not  your  heart  faint,'^ 

Nor  fear  on  account  of  the  rumor  which  is  heard  in  the  land, 
For  in  that  year  the  rumor  comes^  and  the  year  after*  another, 
And  feud  in  the  land,  ruler  against  ruler. 


CHAP.  LI.  47-52. 


427 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL 
1  Ver.  41.— nfSC^  is  stupor  in  v.  30  ;  viii.  21.    As  in  the  verbal  root,  so  also  in  the  noun,  the  idea  of  being  rigid  and  con- 
fused is  connected  with  that  of  horrible  desolation.  Comp.  ii.  15  ;  iv.  7 ;  1.  3,  23,  etc. 

«  Ver.  46.— ».l  ■jT'-JiJI.  Comp.  Deut.  xx.  4;  Isa.  vii.  4.— J^=7X  aa  frequently.  Ewald,  g  337,  b. 

s  Ver.  46.— V1J1  X3V     The  construction  is  as,  e  g.,  in  xxvii.  10.  Comp.  N.^egelsb.  Or.,  g  99,  3. 
*  Ver.  46.— VinX  is  to  be  regarded  as  neuter.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  60,  4. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

A  double  picture !  As  in  vers.  1.  1-5,  on  the 
background  of  Babylon  destroyed  the  prophet 
sees  Jerusalem  delivered.  He  thus  first  shows 
us  Babylon  taken  and  desolated  (vers.  41-43),  the 
gods  robbed  of  all  ability  to  retain  plunder  or 
attract  worshippers,  and  even  the  strong,  proud 
walls  thrown  down  (ver.  44).  He  then  summons 
Israel  to  flee  from  the  abomination  of  desolation 
(ver.  45),  and  not  to  be  afraid  at  the  alarm  of 
war  (ver.  46). 

Vers.  41-44.  How  is  Sheshach  ...  is  fall- 
en. Comp.  1.  2. — Sheshach.  Comp.  rems.  on 
XXV.  26.     If  it  is  to  be  derived  from  "^DU  to  stoop 

down,  and  taken  in  the  sense  of  "humiliation, 
submission,"  the  idea  does  not  accord  with  the 
following  "praise  of  the  whole  earth."  It  must 
wait  further  illumination. — Praise,  etc.  Comp. 
xlviii.  2 ;  xlix.  25.  Herodotus  says  of  Babylon, 
kneKdafiriTO  ug  ovdev  aXko  'KoMa^a  ruv  fjiieiq  i^fiev 
(L,  178). — The  sea,  etc.  We  might  think  here 
of  the  sea  of  nations  (comp.  Isa.  viii.  7,  8;  xvii. 
12;  Jer.  xlvi.  7,  8),  especially  since  in  ver.  36 
and  ver.  43,  the  contrary  is  expressed.  It  is, 
however,  possible  that  the  prophet  would  really 
say  both,  viz.,  that  Babylon  will  be  exposed  to 
horrible  aridity  and  fearful  inundations.  The 
Euphrates,  when  left  to  itself,  has  at  some  times 
too  much,  and  at  others  too  little  water.  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's great  water- works  were  to  regulate 
the  supply,  and  when  these  are  destroyed  (comp. 
ver.  32)  Babylon  incurs  the  double  danger. — 
Her  cities,  etc.  Comp.  ix.  10. — Land  of  ari- 
dity, etc.  Comp.  ii.  6;  I.  12. — No  man,  etc. 
Comp.  ix.  9-11;  xlix.  18,  33;  1.  40.— Bel  (comp. 


rems.  on  1.  2)   is  here  mentioned  as  Babylon's 
highest  deity,  and  accordingly  as   the  shield  of 
its  power  and  glory.      Whoever    conquers   and 
plunders  Babylon,  conquers    and  plunders  Bel, 
and  whatever  Babylon  retains  of  plundered  pro- 
perty in  its   hand,  that  has  Bel.     He  has,  as  it 
were,  swallowed  all  (comp.  ver.  34  ;  1.  17).  Israel 
then  with   all  the  plunder  of  Jerusalem  (comp. 
Dan.  i.  2)  may  be  represented  as  "devoured  by 
Bel,"  and   this  he  is  to  restore.     He  is  also  no 
longer  to  have  the  renown  of  being  a  powerful 
protector.      Foreigners  shall   no  longer  stream 
thither  to  commend  themselves  to  his  protection 
and  be  amazed  at  his  glory.     On  the  expression, 
comp.   Isa.  ii.   2. — The  mention  of  the  wall  of 
Babylon  (comp.  ver.  58;  1.  15)  again  as  by  way 
of  supplement,  may  seem  surprising.     The  walls 
of  Babylon,  however,  seem  here  to  be  regarded 
as  a  sanctuary  of  Bel.     This  is  intimated  in  their 
names;   Imgur-Bel,  i.  e.,    Bel    protect,   was    the 
name  of  the  outer   wall  comprising  480  stadia, 
Nivitti-Bel,  i.  e.,  residence  of  Bel,  was  the  name 
of  the  inner  wall,  360  stadia  long.  Comp.  Oppeiit, 
I.,  S.  227.     [The  name  of  the  king  also  was  Bel- 
shazzar. — S.  R.  A.] 

Vers.  45,  46.  Go  out  .  .  .  ruler.  That  which, 
according  to  vers.  41-44  is  to  come  upon  Babylon, 
is  the  effect  of  Jehovah's  wrath.  In  order  that 
this  may  not  fall  upon  the  Israelites  also,  they 
are  to  flee.  Comp.  ver.  6  ;  1.  8. — From  the 
fury,  etc.  Comp.  iv.  8,  26;  xii.  13;  xxv.  37,  38; 
XXX.  24. — Feud,  etc.  Comp.  xxx.  21  ;  xxxiii. 
26. — The  prophet  evidently  presupposes  a  great 
war.  Comp.  rems.  on  ver.  28.  This  passage  re- 
minds us  of  Matt.  xxiv.  6;  Luke  xxi.  28.  [Comp. 
Rawl[nson,  Anc.  Mon.,  III.,  p.  515,  as  quoted  in- 
Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.]. 


19.  Babylon's  fall  an  Occasion  of  Joy  to  Heaven  and  Earth,  but  especially  to  Israel. 

LI.  47-52. 

47  Therefore  behold,  the  days  come  that  I  visit  the  idols  of  Babylon, 
And  her  whole  land  shall  be  put  to  shame, 

And  her  wounded  ones  shall  all  fall  in  the  midst  of  her. 

48  But  heaven  and  earth,  and  all  therein,  shall  rejoice  over  Babylon, 
For  from  the  north  come'  the  destroyers,  saith  Jehovah. 

49  As  Babylon  caused^  the  slain*  of  Israel  to  fall, 

So  at  Babylon  are  fallen  the  slain  of  the  whole  land. 

50  Ye  that  have  escaped  the  sword, 
Go  on,*  stand  not  still : 
Remember  Jehovah  from  afar, 

And  let  Jerusalem  come  into  your  hearts. 


428 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


51  "  We  are  ashamed,  for  we  have  heard  reproach, 

Shame  covers  our  face,  for  strangers  are  come  into  the  sanctuaries  of  Jehovah's 
house." 

52  Wherefore  behold,  the  days  come,  saith  Jehovah,  that  I  punish  her  idols ; 
And  in  her  whole  land  groan*  the  slain. 

TEXTUAL   AND  GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  48. — The  singular  N13'  stands  here   aa  an  anticipated  predicate.    Comp.  Naeqelsb.  Gr.,  g  105,  4,  6,  3. 

i  Ver.  49 Before  Ss  jS  should  be  supplied  nHTI-    The  sense  of  the  connection  is  then  Babylon  tended  to,  occasioned, 

:    ■  t:  |T 

the  fall.  Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ?  95,  3  6. 

3  Ver.  49 — *■!  ^'7^71  need  not  be  taken  as  vocative.  It  is  the  construction  of  a  sentence  in  which  the  infinitive  repre- 
sents the  predicate,  aiid  the  subject  is  implied  in  a  substantive,  dependinR  on  a  preposition.  Comp.  v.  26;  vi.  7;  xvii.  2  ; 
xxxiv.  9 ;  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  95,  2.— If  we  take  it  as  voc.  (Hitzig,  Ewald,  Graf,  etc.),  the  two  clauses  of  the  disjunctive  sen- 
tence either  contain  the  same  thought,  or  we  must  take  7  as  the  7  anctoris,  which  is  harsh.    The  Perf.  173  J  is  according  to 

:  :  :  T 

this  interpretation  the  prophetic  perfect.    The  prophet  sees  the  straqcs  of  the  Babylonians  as  something  which  has  already 
happened.     Hence  he  addresses  the  Israelites  as  having  esca])ed  from  the  overthrow. 

*  Ver.  50.— 'jSH-  This  imperative  occurs  here  only.  The  choice  of  the  expressicm  is,  however,  explained  by  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  in7\  here  does  not  signify  to  go  away,  but  as  is  clear  from  the  antithesis  nb^n  (comp.  Gen.  xix.  17 ;  Jer.  i  v 

6)  to  go  on,  and  is  thus  used  with  a  certain  emphasis.    Hence  it  is  also  unnecessary  with  the  LXX.  to  connect  the  H  with 
the  previous  word,  and  read  n3"in3  or  n3inO-— Comp.,  moreover,  ver.  45  ;  1.  8,  28. 

TT  T  ••  TIT" 

6  Ver.  52.— pJX  in  Jeremiah  here  only.    Comp.  Ezek.  xxvi.  15. 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

We  may  observe  ia  this  passage  that  it  gradu- 
ally exhausts  itself,  and  hastens  to  the  conclu- 
sion.    We  may  also  perceive  the  eifort  to  revert 
to  the  commencement.      Hence  the  great  simi- 
larity of  these  verses  to  1.  3-5.     Babylon's  idols 
are  to  be  visited,  the  land  confounded,  and  filled 
with  the  slain  (ver.  47),  to  the  joy  of  heaven  and 
earth.    The  destroyers  coming  from  the  north  are 
to  accomplish  this   (ver.  48).     Thus  will  be  re- 
compensed to  Babylon  what  it  has  done  to  Israel 
(ver.    49).       The   Israelites,    however,    are   en- 
couraged to  go  home  comforted  (vor.  50).     They 
seem  not  to  understand  the  call,  for  they  answer 
with  complaining  words,  from  which  it  is  seen 
that  no  other  feeling  could  find   place   in  their 
hearts,  than  that  of  the  disgrace  they   had  suf- 
fered (ver.  51).     But  the  prophet  comforts  them 
by  skilfully  repeating  the  opening  words  of  the 
picture,  indicating  that  even  for  their  disgrace 
the  promised  visitation  of  the  idols  and  of  their 
country   would   procure   satisfaction    (ver.    52). 
If  our  division  is  correct,  and  ver.  52  is  really 
the  close  of   the   strophe  beginning  at  ver.  47, 
and  if,  as  cannot  be  doubted    (see   the  proof  in 
detail  below),  these  verses  reproduce  in  a  certain 
measure  the  beginning  of  the  wliole  prophecy,  I. 
2 -•'>,  an  artificial  arrangement  is  here  noticeable, 
of  which  a  trace  also  recurs  in  the  last  picture, 
for  ver.    58   also   in  its   purport  refers  back  to 
ver.  53. 

Vers.  17,  48.  Therefore  behold  .  .  .  saith 
Jehovah. — Therefore  draws  a  further  special 
conclusion  from  the  premises  stated  in  the  pre- 
vious context.  The  main  purport  of  this  picture 
follows  from  all  which  has  been  previously  stated 
;.s  the  lecree  of  Jehovah  concerning  Babylon. — 
Behold,  the  day.  Comp.  ix.  24.  This  formu- 
la is  found  fourteen  times  in  Jeremiah,  vii.  32; 
:cvi.  14;  xix.  6,  e/c. — The  idols,  e<c.  Generaliza- 
tion of  what  is  said  in  ver.  44  of  Bel  alone.  In 
1.  2  also  the  confusion  of  Bel,  Merodach  and  the 
idols    generally   is   spoken  of.     Comp.    ver.    52. 


— Put  to  shame.  Comp.  xlviii.  13. — Her 
wounded.  Comp.  ver,  4. — If  we  render  "slain," 
we  get  no  suitable  meaning  from  the  sentence, 
even  if  the  emphasis  be  laid  on  "  in  the  midst  of 
her,"  we  must,  therefore,  take  the  word  in  the 
sense  of  wounded,  as  in  Ps.  Ixix.  26;  Job  xxiv. 
12.  All  the  wounded  will  fall,  ;'.  e.,  all  their 
wounds  will  be  mortal. — Ver.  48.  Shall  rejoice, 
etc.  These  words  express  the  main  thought  of 
the  first  part  (vers.  47,  48)  and  at  the  same  time 
the  only  new  element.  Heaven  and  earth  cer- 
tainly must  rejoice  when  once  again  the  justice, 
wisdom  and  power  of  the  Lord  celebrate  a  tri- 
umph, and  it  is  anew  evident  that  He,  and  not 
the  devil,  is  Lord  in  the  world.  Comp.  Isa.  xliv. 
23;  xlix.  13;  Ps.  xcvi.  10,  11.— The  sentence 
gains  much  in  clearness  if  we  regard  it  as  a 
parenthesis,  and  refer  the  following  causal  sen- 
tence to  ver.  47.  According  to  the  logical  se- 
quence the  destroyers  are  the  first  cause,  and  the 
destruction  of  Babylon  the  second  cause  of  the 
rejoicing.  If  we  do  not  take  the  imperative  sen- 
tence as  a  parenthesis,  we  must  at  ^east  refer  the 
causal  sentence  to  all  the  foregoing  context,  so 
that  the  destroyers  appear  as  the  ground  both 
of  the  fall  and  the  rejoicing.  The  words  for 
from  the  north,  also  remind  us  of  1.  8  coll.  1. 
9,  41,  standing  here  in  the  same  connection  as 
there. — Destroyers.  Comp.  ver.  53. 

Vers.  49-32.  As  Babylon  .  .  .  the  slain.  In 
this  second  part  of  the  picture  the  prophet  ex- 
presses substantially  the  same  thought  as  in  the 
first,  but  with  special  application  to  Israel  and 
emphasis  on  the  idea  of  recompense.  The  sin 
of  Babylon  against  Israel  shall  be  recompensed, 
and  Israel,  at  first  unable  to  receive  the  joyful 
tidings,  is  greatly  comforted  by  the  repeated  so- 
lemn prochmialion  of  judgment  on  the  destroyers. 
— Remember,  rtc.  These  words  remind  us  vi- 
vidly of  1.  4.  5. — Prom  afar.  Jehovah  is  still  al- 
ways considered  as  dwelling  in  Zion.  Comp. 
xli.  5. — Come,  etc.  Comp.  iii.  16;  xliv.  21. — 
The  Israelites  answer  to  the  call,  but  with  words 
of  grief.  They  cannot  receive  thejoyful  tidings. 
Their  minds  are  still  full  of   the  feeling  of  the 


CHAP.  LI.  53-58.  429 


disgrace  they  have  suffered.     It  is  as  though  they  I  even  those  forbidden  to  profane  feet)  of  Jehovah's 
would  say,  What  is  the  thought  of  Jehovah  aud  !  house.    It  must  appear  surprising  that  the  Israel 


Jerusalem  for  us  ?  Have  we  not  from  thence  re- 
collections only  of  the  deepest  shame  and  re- 
proach ?  We  are  put  to  shame  and  we  are 
ashamed  ^comp.  ix.  18),  for  we  have  heard  re- 
proach, scorn  and  ridicule  as  the  part  of  the 
heathen  (vi.  10;  xxiv.  9),  the  consequence  of 
which  is  that  shame  covered  our  face  (Ps.  Ixix. 
8;  XXXV.  26;  Ixxi.  13).  This  scorn  which  has 
come  upon  us  refers  however  to  the  fact  that 
strangers  (comp.  v.  19;  xxx.  8;  Isa.  i.  7)  have 
come   into  the  sanctuaries  (i.  e.,  into  all  parts, 


ites  respond  to  the  joyful  call  of  the  prophet,  ver. 
60,  with  words  of  grief.  The  strophe  cannot 
therefore  possibly  be  concluded  here,  or  it  would 
end  in  a  harsh  dissonance.  We  therefore  attach 
ver.  52  to  it.  Even  on  this  account,  says  Jere- 
miah, skilfully  repeating  the  opening  words  of 
the  picture,  shall  the  idols  be  visited  and  their 
land  filled  with  the  slain.  The  prophet  speaks 
very  appropriately  of  the  visitation  of  the  idols, 
for  just  this  is  the  recompense  for  the  disgrace 
inflicted  on  the  house  of  Jehovah. 


20.  iVo  wall  is  a  defence  against  the  Lord- 
LI.  53-58. 

53  "  Even  though  Babylon  should  mount  up  to  heaven, 
And  tower  up^  his  defences^  to  a  precipitous  height, 
From  me  will  destroyers  come  to  her,"  saith  Jehovah. 

54  A  loud  crying  from  Babylon 

And  great  ruin  from  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans ! 

55  For  Jehovah  destroyeth  Babylon, 
And  extirpates  from  her  the  loud  noise. 
And  her  waves  roar  like  mighty  waters, 
The  noise  of  their  calling  resounds. 

56  For  there  is  coming  upon  her,  upon  Babylon,  a  destroyer, 
And  her  heroes  are  taken,  their  bows  broken  f 

For  a  God  of  recompense  is  Jehovah, 
Who  well  requiteth. 

57  "And  I  make  drunk  her  princes  and  her  wise  men, 
Her  counts,  her  dukes  aud  her  heroes, 

That  they  may  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep. 
And  never  awake,"  saith  the  King : 
Jehovah  Zebaoth  is  his  name. 
68  Thus  saith  Jehovah  Zebaoth, 
"  Babylon's  broad  wall*  is  laid  bare,* 
And  her  high  gates  burn^  in  the  fire ! 
Thus  then  have  peoples  labored  in  vain. 
And  nations  wearied  themselves'  for  the  fire." 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  53.— The  Piel  1^3  denotes  to  cut  off,  to  separate  sharply.    This  is  used  in  the  sense  of  fortifying,  like  Kal  in 

miV3,  Isa- ii.  15;   xxxvii.  26  coll.  ^3f  30,  because  fortifications  are  sharply  separated  from  their  surroundings.    Comp. 

T        :  T  ;  ■ 

Isa.  xxii.  10. 

2  Ver.  53.— TJr  is  here  as  in  TJ^    ^IJ?.  Ju^i-  >x-  ^t ;  Ps.lxi.4;  Prov.  xviii.lO;    T^^  "l^l};,  Ps.  Ixii.  4;  T];  or  I_^  fl'lp, 

Isa.  xxvi.  1 ;  Prov.  x.  12  ;  xviii.  11,  a  strong  bulwark  for  defence  or  protection. 

i  Ver.  56.— nr\n=to  make  nn,  *'•«•,  to  make  cracked.    Comp.  nnS,  Isa.  xlviii.  8 ;  Ix.  11 ;  ^^3,  Isa.  li.  13  ;  aud  with 

respect  to  the  meiuiiug  "broken,"  1  Sam.  ii.  4;  on  the  singular,  comp.  Naeoelsb.  dr.,  §105,  4,  6. 

4  Ver.  58. — r\10n  is  construed  as  sing,  here  only.    Evidently  the  totality  of  the  walls,  which,  in  a  certain  aspect,  was 
a  six-fold  line  of  circumvallation  (comp.  Oppert,  p.  22S,  etc.),  is  regarded  as  a  unit.     Comp.  IIwald,  §318,  a. 

5  Ver.  68. — >.1   '^i^'^i^■    Inf-  abs.  Pilpel.  (comp.  Olsh.,  §253,  Anm.)  with  Hithpalp.  from  I^J^,  to  strip  one's  self,  i.  c, 

thrown  down,  discovered  to  their  foundations.     Comp.  71"^ J^.    Hab.  iii.  13;    Psalm  cxxxvii.  7 ;   and  Isaiah  xxiii.  13; 

T  •■ 

Ezek.  xiii.  14. 

6  Ver.  .58.— iny\     Comp.  xlix.  2  ;  Isa.  xxxiii.  12;  Olsh.,  §242,  b. 

7  Ver.  58. — Regarding  these  words  as  original  to  Habakkuk,  we  may  also  regard  1£)^'1  as  a  scriptural  error,  it  being 
easy  to  write  this  instead  of  13^^'.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Jer.  u.  Bab.,  S.  97. 


430 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  main  thought  of  the  picture  is  that  no 
dead  or  living  wall  can  save  Babylon,  for  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  recompenser,  has  determined 
upon  its  fall.  The  dead  wall  of  r.abylon  will  not 
avail,  because  the  Lord  will  send  destroyers,  as 
first  expressed  in  ver.  o3.  In  the  following  verses 
the  fulfilment  of  this  declaration  is  exhibited  : 
great  noise  is  heard  from  Babylon  (ver.  54). 
Whence  comes  this?  Hence,  that  the  Lord  has 
begun  the  work  of  destruction  on  Babylon — de- 
stroying both  the  great  masses  (ver.  55)  and  the 
('■lite  of  the  population.  His  justice  requires  this 
(ver.  56).  Substantially  the  same  thought  closes 
the  discourse  as  began  it,  and  both  the  beginning 
and  conclusion  appear  as  the  verba  ipsissima  of 
.Jehovah,  so  that  in  form  also  the  end  reverts  to 
the  beginning.  The  princes  and  wise  men  of 
iJabylon  may  be  designated  as  its  living  wall. 
They  shall  be  made  drunk  with  the  cup  of  Jeho- 
vah's wrath,  and  sleep  an  everlasting  sleep  (ver. 
u7).  The  dead  wall,  with  its  lofty  gates,  shall  be 
subjected  to  fire,  so  that  it  will  be  made  manifest 
that  the  immense  work,  the  fruit  of  the  labor  of 
many  nations,  was  achieved  in  vain,  to  be  con- 
sumed by  fire  (ver.  58). 

Ver.  53.  Even  though  .  .  saith  Jehovah. 
In  the  opening  words  there  appears  to  be  a  dou- 
ble allusion  :  1.  to  the  tower  of  Babel,  Gen.  xi. 
4 ;  2.  to  the  high  walls  with  which  Babylon  was 
surrounded.  Their  height  must  have  been  vei-y 
great.  Evenif  the  statements  of  200  yards  (Hero- 
dotus) and  250  yards  (Orosius)  are  to  be  consi- 
dered exaggerated,  the  lowest  estimates  of  tlie  an- 
cients  (Philostr.,  Ajmll.  Tj/an.,  I.,  25)  speak  of 
three  and  a  half  plethra,  i.  e.,  150  feet  (Oppert, 
Exp.,  L,  p.  224,  5).— Comp.  Ob.  4;  Hab.  iL  9; 
Jer.  xlix.  16. — Destroyers.  Comp.  ver.  48. 
[Wordsworth:  "We  may  compare  also  the 
words  of  Nebuchadnezzar  still  extant  on  this 
cylinder:  'In  Babylon  is  the  tower  of  my 
abode.  ...  To  make  more  difficult  the  attack  of 
an  enemy  ngaXnst  Imgotir- Bet,  the  indestructible 
Wall  of  Babylon,  I  constructed  a  bulwark  like  a 
mountain,'"  etc. — S.  II.  A.] 

Vers.  54-56.  A  loud  crying  .  .  requiteth. 
That  ver.  54  describes  the  execution  of  what  is 
threatened  in  ver.  63,  the  work  therefore  of  the 
destroyers  (comp.  1.  22,  46;  xlviii.  3)  is  seen 
from  vers.  55.  56.  It  is  at  the  same  time  clear 
from  the  connection  that  the  loud  noise  spoken 
of  in  ver.  54  is  the  united  consequence  of  a  dou- 
ble operation  directed  to  the  two  main  portions 
of  the  Babylonian  population.  At  one  time  the 
work  of  the  destroyers  is  against  the  great  mass 
of  the  people.  This  is  the  sense  of  loud  noise 
and  her  v^aves.  The  sentence  And  her 
^vaves,  etc.  expresses  the  result.  The  destruc- 
tion of  Babylon  and  the  extirpation  of  the  great 
tumult  of  nations  cannot  take  place  without  bring- 
ing the  masses  of  the  people  into  wild  and  noisy 
excitement,  for,  as  was  remarked  on  ver.  42, 
masses  of  people  may  certainly,  as  here,  be  com- 
pared with  masses  of  water. — Roar.  Comp.  v. 
'11;  xxxi.  .'55;  Jer.  li.  15 — Jer.  vi.  23. — After- 
w  irds,  however,  tlie  work  of  the  destroyers  is 
against  the  (-lite  of  the  people,  the  heroes,  i.  e., 
the  brave  men  and  warriors  (ver.  30;  1.  36)  and 


their  weapons. — For  a  God  of  recompense, 

etc.  The  causal  particle  refers  of  course  not  only 
to  the  immediate,  but  all  the  previous  context. 
The  object  of  recompense  is  here  stated  as  the 
ground  of  Jehovah's  procedure  against  Babylon, 
as  in  1.  15,  28  ;  li.  6,  II,  36.  Comp.  2  Sam.  xix. 
37  ;  Isa.  lix.  18. 

Vers.  57,  58.  And  I  make  .  .  .  for  the  fire. 
These  verses  also  contain,  like  ver.  53,  the  verba 
ipsissima  of  Jehovah,  and  ver.  58  also  treats  of  the 
dead  wall.  AVhen,  in  ver.  57,  it  is  said  of  the 
princes,  wise  men  and  warriors  (comp.  I.  35,  36  ; 
li.  23,  28),  that  the  Lord  will  make  them  drunk 
and  cause  them  to  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep  (comp. 
rems.  on  ver.  39,  whence  these  words  are  taken, 
and  XXV.  15,  16,  27),  it  is  evidently  to  be  thus  in- 
timated that  the  Lord  will  paralyze  all  the  forces 
which  might  be  able  in  any  way  to  delay  the  fall. 
It  may  then  be  said  that  the  prophet  treats  in 
ver.  57  of  the  destruction  of  the  living,  in  ver.  58 
of  the  dead  stone  defences.  I  may  be  allowed 
here  to  insert  a  passage  relating  to  the  building 
of  the  walls  from  the  cylinder-inscription  already 
mentioned,  as  given  by  Oppert  {Exp.,  I.,  p.  230). 
"Babylon  is  the  refuge  of  the  God  Merodaeh;  I 
have  finished  (observe  that  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
the  speaker)  Imgur-Bel,  his  great  enclosure.  In 
the  thresholds  of  the  great  gates  I  have  adjusted 
folding-doors  in  brass,  very  strong  railings  and 
gratings  (?),  I  h.ivc  dug  its  ditches,  1  have 
reached  the  boltom  of  the  waters,  I  have  con- 
structed the  banks  of  the  trench  with  bitumen 
and  bricks.  Wishing  to  preserve  the  pyramid 
more  efficaciously  and  to  defend  it  from  the  enemy 
and  the  attacks  which  might  be  made  on  Babylon 
the  imperishable,  I  caused  to  be  constructed  in 
masonry  in  the  extremities  of  Babylon  a  (second) 
great  enclosure,  the  boulevard  of  the  Rising  Sun, 
which  no  king  had  made  before  me.  I  had  the 
ditches  made  dry,  and  caused  the  banks  to  be  con- 
structed on  barrels."  Here  follow  the  words 
quoted  above  in  ver.  13. — The  walls  of  Babylon, 
however,  were  not  the  work  of  Nebucliadnezzar 
alone.  According  to  an  inscription,  now  at  Aber- 
deen, some  share  in  the  glory  of  this  work  is  due 
to  Assarhaddon,  the  son  of  Sanherib.  He  says 
(QppKRT,  p.  227,  etc.),  "Babylon  is  the  city  of 
laws,  Imgur-Bel  is  its  enclosure,  Nivitti-Bel  its 
rampart;  from  the  foundation  to  the  battlements 
I  founded,  continued,  enlarged  them."  Oppert 
is  of  opinion  that  these  words  express  too  much, 
and  that  Nabopolassar,  and  especially  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, are  to  be  regarded  as  at  least  the  com- 
pleters of  the  work.  As  to  the  destruction  of  the 
wall,  Oppert  says  (p.  225,  etc.),  "  It  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  outer  wall,  encroached  upon  by 
Cyrus,  spoiled  by  Darius,  filled  with  breaches  by 
Xerxes,  did  not  exist  at  the  commencement  of  the 
fourth  century  of  the  vulgar  era.  The  ditches 
had  been  filled — and  at  least  in  the  greater  part 
the  wall  had  disappeared  which  was  so  imposing 
to  the  enemies  of  Babylon,  and  which  inspired 
Jeremiah  with  the  words  recorded  in  li.  53,  58." 
— Thus  then  have  peoples,  etc.  These  words 
are  found  witli  sligiit  alteration  (transposition  of 
in  vain  and  for  the  fire)  in  Hab.  ii.  13.  Ha- 
bakkuk  was  the  contemporary  of  Jeremiah,  and 
also  prophesied  the  punitive  judgment  to  be 
executed  on  Judah  by  the  Chaldeans.  As  in  i. 
6  Habakkuk  expressly  mentions  the  Chaldeans, 


CHAP.  LI.  59-U4. 


431 


he  cannot  have  prophesied  before  the  battle  of 
Carchemish,  for  it  is  inconceivable  that  the  ap- 
pointment of  this  nation  was  disclosed  to  him 
earlier  than  to  Jeremiah.  It  is  possible  that  he 
wrote  in  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  for  we  see  from 
chap.  i.  that  the  dominion  of  the  Chaldeans  had 
then  lasted  for  some  time.  If  now  the  words 
"Behold,  is  it  not  of  the  Lord  of  hosts?"  which 
in  Hab.  ii.  13  immediately  precede  the  words 
common  to  this  passage,  are  to  be  regarded  as  a 
formula  of  quotation,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
this  is  the  passage  which  he  quotes,  although,  of 
course,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  both  may  have 
drawn  from  a  common  source.  It  is,  however, 
grammatically  more  correct  to  take  nXO  in  the 
sense  of  command  or  determination  (as  in  Josh. 
xi.  20;  Ezek.  xxxiii.  30),  and  to  translate  (with 
EwALD,  Mkier)  "it  is  decreed  of  the  Lord  that 
the  nations,"  etc.,  and  then  it  is  more  probable 
that  the  words  are  original  to  Habakkuk.  They 
suit  the  context  admirably.  For  Habakkuk  wishes 
to  show  that  a  building  erected  with  blood  and 
injustice  cannot  endure,  from  which  in  passing 
we  may  derive  the  important  information  that 


Nebuchadnezzar  did  not  execute  his  immense 
works  without  despotic  violence. — Labored  and 
vrearied  themselves  are  synonymous  expres- 
sions, comp.  Isa.  xl.  38  sqq.;  so  that  if  we  render 
and  •wearied  themselves  (as  required  by  the 
text  here,  but  not  in  Hab.  ii.  13),  we  must  under- 
stand this  in  an  enhanced  signification,  as  ex- 
hausted themselves,  or  uj-e  sinking,  which  it 
is  doubtful  if  the  word  will  bear.  Nor  is  it  in 
accordance  with  the  sense  and  connection  of  the 
original  passage  to  attribute  to  the  nations,  who 
were  compelled  to  build  the  wall,  a  sinking  when 
the  wall  falls!  It  is  for  them  rather  a  victory 
than  a  defeat.  This  long  discourse,  as  Ewald 
remarks,  "very  suitably  closes  with  this  sentence 
of  Habakkuk,  which  is  here  quite  appropriate." 
— P'"?""?.^  (to  ^  sufficiency  in  vain),  involves 
a  certain  irony.  The  great  wall  will  be  good 
enough  to  satisfy  the  lust  of  the  all-devouring 
annihilation,    or    of  the    fire.      It   is    therefore 

stronger  than  P'")/-  Isa.  xlix.  4;  Ixv.  23.  Comp. 
Nah.  ii.  13. 


21.  Historical  conclusion. 
LI.  59-64. 

59  The  word  which  Jeremiah  the  prophet  commanded  Seraiah  the  son  of  Neriah, 
the  son  of  Maaseiah,  when  he  went  with  Zedekiah  the  king  of  Judah  into  Babylon 
in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign.     And  this  Seraiah  was  a  quiet  prince  [caravan- 

60  marshall].     So  Jeremiah  wrote  in  a  book  all  the  evil  that  should  come^  upon  Ba- 

61  bylon,  even  all  these  words  that  are  written  against  Babylon.  And  Jeremiah  said 
to  Seraiah,  When  thou  comest  to  Babylon,  and  shalt  see,  and  shalt  [see  that  thou]' 

62  read  all  these  words ;  then  shalt  thou  say,  O  Lord  [and  say,  O  Jehovah],  thou 
hast  spoken  against  this  place,  to  cut  it  off,  that  none  shall  remain  in  it,  neither 

63  man  nor  beast,  but  that  it  shall  be  desolate  for  ever.  And  it  shall  be,  when  thou 
hast  made  an  end  of  reading  this  book,  that  thou  shalt  bind  a  stone  to  it,  and  cast 

64  it  into  the  midst  of  Euphrates :  And  thou  shalt  say.  Thus  shall  Babylon  sink,*  and 
shall  not  rise  from  [because  of]  the  evil  that  I  will  bring  upon  her  :  and  they  shall 
be  weary  [exhausted].*     Thus  far  are  the  words  of  Jeremiah. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  60.— On  the  sense  of  the  Imperfect  x'nri  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ?  87, 1. 

2  Ver.  61.— H'KIV  This  word  cannot  mean  "and  when  thou  seest  it  (for  thf>  first  time)."  The  snflSx  would  certainly 
not  be  wantin-  in  th  it  oa-i'.  Nor  Ciiii  wi-  si?(>  why  the  rcailiii.i;-  should  takr  plaL-e  at  tlic  first  sight  of  the  city.  Both  time 
and  place  might  then  lie  very  unfavorable.  It  is  rather  the  apiKlusis;  tlnu  sue  to  it.  It  is  inculcated  upon  him  that  he  dis- 
charge his  commission  with  circumspection.     Comp.  1  Ki.  .Kii.  10;  Ps.  x.KXvii.  37  ;  laa.  xxii.  11. 

8  Ver.  64.— yp^,  demergi,  desidere,  in  Jeremiah  here  only.    Comp.  Am.  viii.  8;  ix.  5. 

*  Ver.  64. If  the  word  IJJM'I  is  not  genuine,  it  can  have  come  here  only  through  the  transposition  of  the  following 

words,  "  Thus  far,"  etc.,  with  which  the  copyist,  through  carelessness  or  of  puriiose,  connected  this.  This,  however,  involves 
the  inauthenticity  of  vers.  59-64  or  their  original  position  before  1.  1.  HiTZiG  says  the  passage  "  bears  some  marks  of  genu- 
ineness, none  of  the  contrary,"  and  it  is  incredible  that  it  stood  before  I.  1,  since  it  would  then  appear  that  this  great  pro- 
phecy was  only  of  secondary  importance.  If,  then,  vers.  59-64  are  genuine  and  in  their  original  position,  the  same  must  be 
sai<l  of  the  concluding  words,  since  they  could  never  have  had  their  position  before  ver.  59.  A  copyist  could  not  have  added 
llJU'l  by  mistake.  Jeremiah,  then,  must  liave  done  it.  His  object  probably  was  to  give  a  token  of  identity  to  the  sinking 
prophecy  by  an  unmistakable  quotation  from  it.  The  ancient  translations,  with  the  exception  of  the  LXX.,  which  is  of 
no  authority,  all  express  the  word.    Comp.  Naegelsb.  Jer.  u.  Bab  ,  S.  96. 


432 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

When  King  Zedekiah,  in  the  fourth  year  of  his 
reign,  made  a  journey  to  Babylon,  Jeremiah  gave 
to  Seraiah,  the  brother  of  Baruch,  the  marshal!, 
the  prophecy  against  Babylon  to  take  with  him 
and  read  in  Babylon,  and  then  with  prayer  to  the 
Lord  to  cast  it  into  the  Euphrates. 

Ver.  59.  The  word  .  .  .  caravan-marshall. 
The  commission  which  Seraiah  receives  really 
forms  the  chief  part  of  this  section.  For  after 
ver.  tiO,  in  which  the  restoration  of  the  roll  form- 
ing the  basis  of  this  commission  is  described,  all 
the  rest  contains  only  the  words  in  which  Jere- 
miah imparts  the  commission. — Seraiah,  accord- 
ing to  xxxii.  18,  must  be  a  brother  of  Baruch, 
the  friend  and  assistant  of  our  prophet,  which 
explains  why  the  commission  was  given  to  him. 
Other  persons  named  Seraiah  are  mentioned  in 
this  book,  xxxvi.  26;  xl.  8;  lii.  24.  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  common  name  among  the  priests. 
Comp.  1  Chron.  vii.  6,  14;  Ezr.  vii.  1,  4;  Neh. 
X.  2;  xi.  11;  xii.  1,  12. — It  is  not  perfectly  clear 
why  Zedekiah  went  to  Babylon.  His  fourth  year 
is  the  same  in  which  the  envoys  of  the  neighbor- 
ing nations  met  in  Jerusalem,  to  treat  concerning 
a  defensive  alliance  against  the  Chaldean  power. 
Comp.  rems.  on  xxvii.  1  and  xxviii.  1.  Niebdhr 
thinks  that  the  diversion  then  made  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's war  with  Media  was  the  occasion 
of  this  meeting  {Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  211).  The  jour- 
ney to  Babylon  shows  that  nothing  came  of  the 
project,  whether  that  the  reports  from  the  East 
caused  the  matter  to  appear  too  dangerous,  or 
that  the  warnings  of  Jeremiah  made  some  iui- 
pressiou. — A  quiet  prince  (nmjO-1E/).  This 
expression  has  been  interpreted  in  the  most  va- 
rious and  strangest  ways,  concerning  which 
comp.  RosENMUELLER  and  J.  D.  Michaelis  ad 
loc.  The  latter  was  the  first  to  give  the  substan- 
tially correct  rendering  in  his  Translation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  1778,  Leader  of  the  caravan. 
Maureb  first  proposed  "Reisemarschall,"  mar- 
shall  of  the  journey.  Literally  it  denotes 
"Prince  of  the  resting-place."  Comp.  Numb. 
X.  33. 

Vers.  60-64.  So  Jeremiah  wrote  ....  ex- 
hausted. We  may  assume  that  this  journey  of 
Zedekiaii  was  the  occasion  of  the  prophecy  against 
Babylon.  For  homage,  if  not  the  only  object, 
was  certainly  one  of  the  objects,  of  the  journey, 
and  it  therefore  involved  a  deep  disgrace  to  the 
theocracy.  How  fitting  it  was  that  the  prophet 
should  make  use  of  this  journey  to  furnish  the 
meilal  wiih  an  appropriate  reverse.  While  the 
king  of  Judah,  in  view  of  all,  was  casting  himself 
in  liomage  before  the  throne  of  the  Chaldean 
kiug,  Seraiah  was  to  cast  a  roll  in  the  Euphrates, 
on  which  was  recorded  as  a  divine  decree  the 
destruction  of  Babylon  and  deliverance  of  Israel. 
— TliiU  Jcroiiiiah  copied  the  prophecy  from  the 
book-roll  mentioned  in  xxxvi.  32  (Ghak)  is  only 
8upposal)le,  in  case  Jeremiah  successively  in- 
creased that  collection  of  writings  begun  in  the 
fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  first  inserting  the  pre- 
sent prophecy  in  it,  and  thus  giving  Seraiah  a 
copy,  a  contirniation  of  which  liyiiothcsis  nia^'  be 
found  in  the  expression  in  a  [TIX,  one]  book. 

U  is,  however,  possible  that   Jeremiah    would 


thus  intimate  that  he  purposely  wrote  the  pro- 
phecy upon  one  roll,  in  antithesis  to  the  many 
rolls  forming  the  main  collection.  The  reason 
of  the  prophet's  care  to  write  the  whole  on  one 
roll,  would  then  doubtless  be  that  one  could  be 
handled  more  easily  and  safely  than  two. — The 
reading  was  evidently  for  a  threefold  purpose: 
1.  With  respect  to  the  city  of  Babylon  it  was  an 
announcement  of  judgment  (Hitzig),  which  ap- 
pears the  more  significant,  as  the  announcers 
were  not  in  a  condition  to  make  a  declaration 
against  Babylon,  coming,  as  they  did  in  all  hu- 
mility, to  do  homage.  2.  With  respect  to  God, 
it  was  to  be  affirmed  that  the  people  of  Israel 
had  taken  solemn  notice  of  the  divine  promise. 
Hence  after  the  reading  the  Lord  is  to  be  ex- 
pressly addressed  and  reminded  of  the  word  of 
His  promise  in  its  main  features  (comp.  ver.  62 
with  1.  3;  li.  26).  He  is  thus,  as  it  were,  to  be 
taken  at  His  word  and  pledged.  3.  To  the  Is- 
raelites there  was  naturally  a  great  comfort  in 
all  this,  which  must  have  been  of  special  value  to 
them  in  that  moment  of  deep  shame. — The  sink- 
ing of  the  roll  in  the  Euphrates  is  added  to  the 
reading  as  supplementary  and  confirming  the 
words  by  a  visible  symbolic  action.  The  roll  be- 
ing compelled  to  sink  by  the  stone  and  thus  out- 
wardly given  up  to  destruction,  suggests  the 
thought  that  this  external  part  was  no  longer  ne- 
cessary after,  by  the  reading,  the  purport  had 
been  received  into  the  living  spiritual  archives 
of  the  consciousness.  At  the  same  time,  as  is 
expressly  stated  in  ver.  64,  the  sinking  by  the 
weight  of  the  stone  is  to  represent  symbolically 
the  ruin  of  Babylon.— Shall  not  rise,  as  the 
roll  with  the  stone  will  not. — From  the  evil 
does  not  designate  the  element  in  which  Babylon 
is  to  sink,  but  the  figure  is  here  forsaken  and 
the  transition  made  to  literal  speech.     \Ji)?  then 

=in  consequence  of  [because  of,  the  evil  J. — 
Shall  be  weary.  These  words  might  certainly 
be  dispensed  with,  as  they  rather  injure  than  pro- 
mote the  clearness  of  the  sense.  As  is  well  un- 
derstood, however,  the  easier  reading  is  by  no 
means  always  the  more  correct.  The  question 
depends  on  whether  the  finer  and  more  hidden 
sense  which  may  be  contained  in  the  words  is 
able  to  balance  the  formal  reasons  which  favor 
their  spuriousness.  Comp.  the  Textual  re- 
marks. 

Thus  far  the  w^ords  of  Jeremiah.  These 
words,  which  I  cannot  regard  as  misplaced 
(comp.  rems.  on  ver.  64)  have  simply  the  object 
of  indicating  that  ch.  lii.  does  not  proceed  from 
Jeremiah  himself,  but  is  the  addition  made  by 
another  person. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  "Daniel's  Babylonian  empire  resumes,  as  it 
were,  tlie  threail  which  was  broken  off  with  the 
tower-erection  and  kingdom  of  Nimrod.  In  the 
Babylonian  tower-building  the  whole  of  the  then 
existing  iiuinanity  was  united  against  God;  with 
the  Babylonian  kingdom  began  the  period  of  the 
universiil  monarchies,  which  again  aspired  after 
an  atheistical  union  of  entire  humanity.  Baby- 
lon has  since  and  even  to  the  Revelation  (ch. 
xviii  )  remained  the  standing  type  of  this  world." 
AuBEKLEN,  Der  proph.  Daniel,  S.  230. 


CHAP.  LI.  59-64. 


433 


2.  For  what  reason  does  Babylon  appear 
as  a  type  of  the  world  ?  Why  not  Nineveh,  or 
Persepolis,  or  Tyre,  or  Memphis,  or  Rome? 
Certainly  not  because  Babylon  was  greater, 
more  glorious,  more  powerful  or  prouder  and 
more  ungodly  than  those  cities  and  kingdoms. 
Nineveh  especially  was  still  greater  than  Baby- 
lon (corap.  DcNCKER,  Gesch.  d.  Allerth.  I.  S. 
474,  5),  and  Assyria  was  not  less  hostile  to  the 
theocracy,  having  carried  away  into  captivity 
the  northern  and  larger  half  of  the  people  of 
Israel.  Babylon  is  qualified  for  this  representa- 
tion in  two  ways:  1.  because  it  is  the  home  of 
worldly  princedom  and  titanic  arrogance  (Gen. 
X.  8;  xi.  1-4) ;  2.  because  Babylon  destroyed  the 
centre  of  the  theocracy,  Jerusalem,  the  temple 
and  the  theocratic  kingdom,  and  first  assumed  to 
be  the  single  supreme  power  of  the  globe. 

3.  "  When  God  has  used  a  superstitious, 
wicked  and  tyrannical  nation  long  enough  as 
His  rod,  He  breaks  it  in  pieces  and  finally  throws 
it  into  the  fire.  For  even  those  whom  He  for- 
merly used  as  His  chosen  anointed  instruments 
He  then  regards  as  but  the  dust  in  the  streets  or 
as  chaff  before  the  wind."  Cramer. 

4.  "No  monarch  is  too  rich,  too  wicked,  too 
strong  for  God  the  Lord.  And  He  can  soon 
enlist  and  engage  soldiers  whom  He  can  use 
against  His  declared  enemies."  Cramer. 

5.  "  Israel  was  founded  on  everlasting  founda- 
tions, even  God's  word  and  promise.  The  sins 
of  the  people  brought  about  that  it  was  laid  low 
in  the  dust,  but  not  without  hope  of  a  better  re- 
surrection. Babylon,  on  the  other  hand,  must 
perish  forever,  for  in  it  is  the  empire  of  OtII 
come  to  its  highest  bloom.  Jeremiah  owns  the 
nothingness  of  all  worldly  kingdoms,  since  they 
are  all  under  this  national  order  to  serve  only 
for  a  time.  We  are  to  be  subject  to  them  and 
seek  their  welfare  for  the  sake  of  the  souls  of 
men,  whom  God  is  educating  therein  ;  a  Christian 
however  cannot  be  enthusiastic  for  them  after 
the  manner  of  the  ancient  heathen  nor  of  ancient 
Israel,  for  liere  we  have  no  abiding  city,  our  citi- 
zenship is  in  heaven.  The  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  no  sanctuaries  for  us  and  we  suppli- 
cate their  continuance  only  with  the  daily  bread 
of  the  fourth  petition.  Jeremiah  applies  many 
words  and  figures  to  Babylon  which  he  has  al- 
ready used  in  the  judgments  on  other  nations, 
thus  to  intimate  that  in  Babylon  all  the  heathen- 
ism of  tlie  world  culminates,  and  that  here  also 
must  be  the  greatest  anguish.  What,  however, 
is  here  declared  of  Babylon  must  be  fulfilled 
again  on  all  earthly  powers  in  so  far  as,  treading 
in  its  footprints,  they  take  flesh  for  their  arm 
and  regard  the  material  of  this  world  as  power, 
whether    they   be    called    states    or   churches." 

DiEDRICH. 

6.  On  1.  2.  In  putting  into  the  mouth  of  Israel, 
returning  from  Babylon,  the  call  to  an  everlast- 
ing covenant  with  Jehovah,  the  prophet  causes 
them  1.  to  confess  that  they  have  forgotten  the 
first  covenant;  2.  he  shows  us  that  the  time  of 
the  new  covenant  begins  with  the  redemption 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity.  He  was  far, 
however,  from  supposing  that  this  redemption 
would  be  only  a  weak  beginning,  that  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Saviour  would  be  deferred  for 
eenturies,  that  Israel  would  sink  still  deeper  as 

28 


an  external  TzoAireia,  and  that  finally  the  Israel 
of  the  new  covenant  would  itself  appear  as  a 
[iva-Tjpinv,  elg  b  ETTii^v/xoiiacv  ayyeXoc  ivapaKVTpai  (1 
Pet.  i.  9-12). 

7.  From  what  Jeremiah  has  already  said  in 
xxxi.  31-34  of  the  new  covenant  we  see  that  its 
nature  and  its  difference  from  the  old  is  not  un- 
known to  him.  Yet  he  knows  the  new  covenant 
only  in  general.  He  knows  that  it  will  be  deeply 
spiritual  and  eternal,  but  how  and  whr/  it  will  be 
so  is  still  to  him  part  of  the  /nvar/'/piov. 

8.  On  1.  6.  Jeremiah  here  points  back  to  ch. 
xxiii.  Priests,  kings  and  prophets,  who  should 
discharge  the  ofBce  of  shepherds,  prove  to  be 
wolves.  Yea,  they  are  the  worst  of  wolves,  who 
go  about  in  ofiBcial  clothing.  There  is  th.-refore 
no  more  dangerous  doctrine  than  that  of  an  in- 
fallible office.  Jer.  xiv.  14;  Matt.  vii.  15;  xxiii. 
2-12. 

9.  On  1.  7.  It  is  the  worst  condition  into  which 
a  church  of  God  can  come,  when  the  enemies 
who  desolate  it  can  maintain  that  they  are  in  the 
right  in  doing  so.  It  is,  however,  a  just  nemesis 
when  those  who  will  not  hear  the  regular  mes- 
sengers of  God  must  be  told  by  the  extraordi- 
nary messengers  of  God  what  they  should  have 
done.     Comp.  xl.  2,  3. 

10.  On  1.  8.  "Babylon  is  opened,  and  it  must 
be  abandoned  not  clung  to,  for  the  captivity  is  a 
temporary  chastisement,  not  the  divine  arrange- 
ment for  the  children  of  God.  God's  people 
must  in  the  general  redemption  go  like  rams  be- 
fore the  herd  of  the  nations,  that  these  may  also 
attach  themselves  to  Israel,  as  this  was  fulfilled 
at  the  time  of  Christ  in  the  first  churches  and 
the  apostles,  who  now  draw  the  whole  heathen 
world  after  them  to  eternal  life.  Here  the  pro- 
phet recognizes  the  new  humanity,  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  ruins  of  the  old,  in  which  also 
ancient  Israel  leads  the  way ;  thus  all,  who  fol- 
low it,  become  Israel."  DiEDRICH. — "The  hea- 
then felt  somewhat  of  the  divine  punishment 
when  they  overcame  so  easily  the  usually  so 
strongly  protected  nation.  But  Jeremiah  sliows 
them  still  how  they  deceived  themselves  in  think- 
ing that  God  had  wholly  rejected  His  people,  for  of 
the  eternal  covenant  of  grace  they  certainly  un- 
derstood nothing."  Heim  and  Hoffmann  on  the 
Major  Prophets. 

11.  On  1.  18.  "The  great  powers  of  the  world 
form  indeed  the  history  of  the  world,  but  they 
have  no  future.  Israel,  however,  always  returns 
home  to  the  dear  and  glorious  land.  The  Jews 
might  as  a  token  of  this  return  under  Cyrus; 
the  case  is  however  this,  that  the  true  Holy  One 
in  Israel,  Christ,  guides  us  back  to  Paradise, 
when  we  flee  to  His  hand  from  the  Babylon  of 
this  world  and  let  it  be  crucified  for  us."    Died- 

RICH. 

12.  On  1.  23.  "Although  the  Chaldeans  were 
called  of  God  for  the  purpose  of  making  war  on 
the  Jewish  nation  on  account  of  their  multitu- 
dinous sins,  yet  they  are  punished  because  they 
did  it  not  as  God  with  a  pure  intention,  namely, 
to  punish  tlie  wrong  in  them  and  keep  them  for 
reformation ;  for  they  were  themselves  greater 
sinners  than  the  Jews  and  continued  with  im- 
penitence in  their  sins.  Therefore  they  could 
not  go  scot-free  and  remain  unpunished.  More- 
over, they  acted  too  roughly  and  dealt  with  ths 


434 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


Jews  more  harshly  than  God  had  commanded, 
for  which  He  therefore  fairly  punished  them. 
As  God  the  Lord  Himself  says  (Isa.  xlvii.  6) : 
When  I  was  angry  with  My  people  I  gave  them 
into  thine  hands;  but  thou  shewedst  them  no 
mercy.  Therefore  it  is  not  enough  that  God's 
will  be  accomplished,  but  there  must  be  the  good 
intention  in  it,  which  God  had,  otiierwise  such  a 
work  may  be  a  sin  and  call  down  the  divine 
puaishment  upon  it."    Wurtemb.  Suiiim.. 

13.  Oa  1.  31-34.  "God  calls  Babylon  Thou 
Pride,  for  pride  was  their  inward  force  and  im- 
pulse in  all  their  actions.  But  worldly  pride 
makes  a  Babylon  and  brings  on  a  Babylon's  fate. 
.  .  .  Pride  must  fall,  for  it  is  in  itself  a  lie  against 
God,  and  all  its  might  must  perish  in  the  fire ; 
thus  will  the  humble  and  meek  remain  in  pos- 
session of  the  earth :  this  has  a  wide  applica- 
tion through  all  times,  even  to  eternity."    Died- 

EICH. 

14.  On  ver.  33.  "Israel  is  indeed  weak  and 
must  suffer  in  a  time  of  tyranny ;  it  cannot  help 
itself,  nor  needs  it  to  do  so,  for  its  Redeemer  is 
strong.  His  name  The  Lord  Zebaoth — and  He  is 
now,  having  assumed  our  flesh,  among  us  and 
conducts  our  cause  so  that  the  world  trembles." 

DiEDRICH. 

15.  On  1.  45.  "  An  emblem  of  the  destruction 
of  anti-christian  Babylon,  which  was  also  the 
true  hammer  of  the  whole  world.  This  has  God 
also  broken  and  must  and  will  do  it  still  more. 
And  this  will  the  shepherd-boys  do,  as  is  said 
here  in  ver.  45  (according  to  Luther's  transla- 
tion), that  is,  all  true  teachers  and  preachers." 
Cramer. 

16.  On  ch.  li.  "  The  doctrines  accord  in  all 
points  with  the  previous  chapter.  And  the  pro- 
puet  Jeremiah  both  in  this  and  the  previous 
chapter  does  nothing  else  but  make  out  for  the 
Babylonians  their  final  discharge  and  passport, 
because  they  behaved  so  valiantly  and  well  against 
tiie  people  of  Judah,  that  they  might  know  they 
would  not  go  unrecompensed.  For  payment  is 
according  to  service.  And  had  they  done  better 
it  would  have  gone  better  with  them.  It  is  well 
that  when  tyrants  succeed  in  their  evil  under- 
takings they  should  not  suppose  they  are  God's 
dearest  children  and  lean  on  His  bosom,  since 
they  will  yet  receive  the  recompense  on  their 
crown,  whatever  they  have  earned."  Cramer. 

17.  ["Though  in  the  hand  of  Babylon  is  a 
golden  cup;  she  chooses  such  a  cup,  in  order  that 
men's  eyes  may  be  dazzled  with  the  glitter  of  the 
gold,  and  may  not  inquire  what  it  contains. 
But  mark  well,  in  the  golden  cup  of  Babylon  is 
the  poison  of  idolatry,  the  poison  of  false  doc- 
trines, which  destroy  the  souls  of  men.  I  have 
often  seen  such  a  golden  cup,  in  fair  speeches  of 
seductive  eloquence  :  and  when  I  have  examined 
the  venomous  ingredients  of  the  golden  chalice, 
I  have  recognized  the  cup  of  Babylon."  Origbn 
in  VVoRDswoHTH. — S.  R.  A.] 

"  The  scat  and  throne  of  Anti-christ  is  ex- 
pro^sly  named  Babylon,  namely,  the  city  of 
Rome,  built  on  the  seven  hills  (Rev.  xvii.  9). 
Just  as  Babylon  brought  so  many  lands  and 
kingdoms  under  its  sway  and  ruled  them  with 
great  pomp  and  pride  (the  golden  cup,  which 
made  all  the  world  drunk,  was  Babylon  in  the 
hand    of  the    Lord   (li.  7j,  aud   all    the    heathen 


drank  of  the  wine  and  became  mad) — so  has  th« 
spiritual  Babylon  a  cup  in  its  hand,  full  of  th» 
abomination  and  uncleanness  of  its  whoredom, 
of  which  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  all  who 
dwell  on  the  earth  have  been  made  drunk.  As 
it  is  said  of  Babylon  that  she  dwells  by  great 
waters  and  has  great  treasures,  so  writes  .John  of 
the  Romish  Babylon,  that  it  is  clothed  in  silk  and 
purple  and  scarlet  and  adorned  with  gold,  pre- 
cious stones  and  pearls  (Rev.  xviii.  12).  Of 
Babylon  it  is  said  that  the  slain  in  Israel  were 
smitten  by  her  ;  so  also  the  spiritual  Babylon  is 
become  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  (Rev. 
xvii.  6).  Just,  however,  as  the  Chaldean  Baby- 
lon is  a  type  of  the  spiritual  in  its  pride  and  des- 
potism, so  also  is  it  a  type  of  the  destruction 
which  will  come  upon  it.  Many  wished  to  heal 
Babylon  but  she  would  not  be  he.aled  ;  so  many 
endeavor  to  support  the  ruinous  anti-christian 
Babylon,  but  all  in  vain.  For  as  Babylon  was 
at  last  so  destroyed  as  to  be  a  heap  of  stones  and 
abode  of  dragons,  so  will  it  be  with  anti-christian 
Babylon.  Of  this  it  is  written  in  Rev.  xiv.  8  : 
She  is  fallen,  fallen,  that  great  city,  for  she  has 
made  all  nations  drink  of  the  wine  of  her  forni- 
cation. And  again,  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen, 
and  is  become  the  habitation  of  devils  and  a 
hold  of  all  foul  and  hateful  birds  (Rev.  xviii.  2). 
As  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon  were  admonished 
to  flee  from  her,  that  every  man  might  deliver  his 
soul  (li.  6) — and  again.  My  people,  go  ye  out 
from  the  midst  of  her  and  deliver  every  man  his 
soul,  etc.  (li.  45) — so  the  Holy  Spirit  admonishes 
Christians  almost  in  the  same  words  to  go  out 
from  the  spiritual  Babylon,  that  they  be  not  pol- 
luted by  her  sins  and  at  the  same  time  share  in 
her  punishment.  For  thus  it  is  written  in  Rev. 
xviii.  4,  I  heard,  says  John,  a  voice  from  heaven 
saying.  Go  ye  out  of  her.  My  people,  that  ye  be 
not  partakers  of  her  sins  and  that  ye  receive  not 
of  her  plagues,  for  her  sins  reach  unto  heaven 
and  God  remembers  her  iniquities."  Wurtemb. 
Summarien. 

18.  On  li.  5.  "A  monarch  can  sooner  make  an 
end  of  half  a  continent  than  draw  a  nail  from  a 
hut  which  the  Lord  protects. — And  if  it  is  true 
that  Kaiser  Rudolph,  when  he  revoked  the  tole- 
ration of  the  Picards  and  the  same  day  lost  one 
of  his  principal  forts,  said,  '  I  thought'  it  would 
be  so,  for  I  grasped  at  God's  sceptre'  (Weis- 
MANNi,  Hist.  Eccl.  Tom.  II.  p.  320) — this  was  a 
sage   remark,  a  supplement  to  the  words  of  the 

wise."    ZlNZENDORF. 

19.  On  li.  9.  "We  heal  Babylon,  but  she 
•will  not  be  healed.  Babylon  is  an  outwardly 
beautiful  but  inwardly  worm-eaten  apple  Hence 
sooner  or  later  the  foulness  must  become  notice- 
able. So  is  it  with  all  whose  heart  and  centre 
is  not  God.  All  is  inwardly  hollow  and  vain. 
When  this  internal  vacuity  begins  to  render  it- 
self externally  palpable,  when  here  and  there  a 
rent  or  foul  spot  becomes  visible,  then  certainly 
come  the  friends  and  admirers  of  the  unholy 
form  and  wouM  improve,  cover  up,  sew  up,  heal. 
But  it  does  not  avail.  When  once  there  is  death 
in  the  body  no  physician  can  effect  a  cure. 

20.  On  li.  17,  19,  20.  "The  children  of  God 
have  three  causes  why  they  may  venture  on  Hm. 
1.  .AH  men  are  fools,  their  treasure  is  it  not;  2. 
The  Lord  is  tlieir  hammer ;   He  breaks  through 


CHAP.   LI.  59-64. 


everything,  and  3,  tliey  are  an  instrument  in  His 
hand,  a  heritage;  in  this  there  is  happiness." 

ZiNZENDORP. 

21.  On  li.  41-44.  "How  was  Sheshach  thus 
won,  the  city  renowned  in  all  the  world  thus 
taken  ?  No  one  would  have  thought  it  possible, 
but  God  does  it.  He  rules  with  wonders  and 
with  wonders  He  makes  His  church  free.  Baby- 
lon is  a  wonder  no  longer  for  its  power,  but  for 
its  weakness.  We  are  to  know  the  world's  weak- 
ness even  where  it  still  appears  strong.  A  sea 
of  hostile  nations  has  covered  Babylon.  Her 
land  is  now  a  desolation.  God  takes  Bel,  the 
principal  idol  of  Babylon,  symbolizing  its  whole 
civil  powers  in  hand,  and  snatches  his  prey  from 
his  teeth.  Our  God  is  stronger  than  all  worldly 
forces,  and  never  leaves  us  to  them."  Diedricu. 

22.  On  li.  58.  "Yea,  so  it  is  with  all  walls  and 
towers,  in  which  God's  word  is  not  the  vital  force, 
even  though  they  be  entitled  churches  and  cathe- 
drals .  .  God's  church  alone  possesses  perma- 
nence through  His  pure  word."  Diedricu. 

23.  On  li.  60-64.  When  we  wish  to  preserve  an 
archive  safely,  we  deposit  it  in  a  record-ofBce 
where  it  is  kept  in  a  dry  place  that  no  moisture 
may  get  to  it.  Seraiah  throws  his  book-roll  into 
the  waters  of  the  Euphrates,  which  must  wash  it 
away,  dissolve  and  destroy  it.  But  this  was  of 
no  account.  The  main  point  was  that  he,  Seraiah, 
as  representative  of  the  holy  nation  had  taken 
solemn  stock  of  the  word  of  God  against  Babylon, 
and  as  it  were  taken  God  at  His  word,  and  re- 
minded Him  of  it.  In  this  manner  the  matter 
was  laid  up  in  the  most  enduring  and  safest 
archive  that  could  be  imagined;  it  was  made  a 
case  of  honor  with  the  omniscient  and  omnipo- 
tent God.  Such  matters  can,  however,  neither 
be  forgotten,  nor  remain  in  dead  silence,  nor  be 
neglected.  They  must  be  brought  to  such  an  end 
as  the  honor  of  God  requires. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  1.  2.  This  text  may  be  used  on  the  feast 
of  the  Reformation,  or  any  other  occasion  with 
reference  to  a  rein  bene  gestam.  The  Triumph  of 
the  Good  Cause,  1.  over  what  enemies  it  is 
gained  ;  2.  to  what  it  should  impel  us  ;  («)  to  the 
avoidance  of  that  over  which  we  new  triumph  ; 
(6)  to  the  grateful  proclamation  of  what  the  Lord 
has  done  for  us,  by  word  and  by  deed. 

2.  On  1.  4-8.  The  deliverance  of  Israel  from 
the  Babylonian  captivity  a  type  of  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  Church.  1.  The  Church  must  hum- 
bly acknowledge  the  captivity  suffered  as  a  just 
judgment  of  God.  2.  She  must  turn  like  Israel 
inwardly  with  an  upright  heart  unto  the  Lord; 
3.  She  must  become  like  Israel  to  all  men  a 
pattern  and  leader  to  freedom. 

3.  On  1.  5.  A  confirmation  sermon.  "What  is 
the  hour  of  confirmation?  1.  An  hour  which 
calls  to  separation;  2.  an  hour  which  leads  to 
new  connections;  3.  an  hour  which  fixes  for- 
ever the  old  covenant  with  the  soul's  friend." 
Florey,  1863. 

4.  On  1.  18-20.  Assyria  and  Babylon  the  types 
of  all  the  spiritual  enemies  of  the  church  as  of 
individual  Christians.  Every  one  has  his  Assyria 
and  his  Babylon.  Sin  is  the  destruction  of  men. 
Forgiveness  of  sins  is  the  condition   of  life,  for 


no 

y  one 


only  where  forgiveness  of  sins  is,  is  there  life 
and  blessedness.  In  Christ  we  find  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  He  destroys  the  handwriting.  He 
washes  us  clean.  He  is  also  the  good  shepherd 
who  leads  our  souls  into  green  pastures,  to  the 
spiritual  Carmel. 

5.  On  1.  31,  32.  Warning  against  pride.  Baby- 
lon was  very  strong  and  powerful,  rich  and 
splendid.  It  seemed  invincible  by  nature  and  by 
art.  Had  it  not  then  a  certain  justification  in 
being  proud,  at  least  towards  men  ?  No;  for 
one  has  to  contend  only  with  men.  Eve 
who  contends  has  the  Lord  either  for  his  friend 
3r  his  enemy.  It  is  the  Lord  from  whom  cometh 
victoi-y  (Prov.  xxi.  31).  He  it  is  who  teacheth 
3ur  hands  to  fight  (Ps.  xviii.  35;  cxliv.  1).  His 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness  (2  Cor.  xii. 
9).  He  can  make  the  lame  (Isa.  xxxiii.  23  ;  Mic. 
iv.  7)  and  mortally  wounded  (.Jer.  xxxvii.  10)  so 
strong  that  they  overmaster  the  sound  (comp. 
ver.  45).  He  can  make  one  man  put  to  flight  a 
thousand  (Deut.  xxxii.  30;  Isa.  xxx.  17).  With 
him  can  one  dash  in  pieces  a  troop  and  leap  over 
a  wall  (Ps.  xviii.  29).  No  one  accordingly  should 
be  proud.  The  word  of  the  Lord,  "  I  am  against 
thee,  thou  proud  one  !"  is  a  terrible  word  which 
no  one  should  conjure  up  against  himself. 

6.  On  1.  33,  34.  The  consolation  of  the  Church 
in  persecution*  1.  It  suffers  violence  and  in- 
justice.    2.  Its  redeemer  is  strong. 

7.  On  li.  5.  God  the  Lord  manifests  such  favor 
to  Israel  as  to  declare  Himself  her  husband  (ii. 
2;  iii.  1).  But  now  that  Israel  and  Judah  are  in 
exile,  it  seems  as  if  they  were  rejected  or 
widowed  women.  This,  however,  is  only  ap- 
pearance. Israel's  husband  does  not  die.  He 
may  well  bring  a  period  of  chastisement,  of  puri- 
fication and  trial  on  His  people,  but  when  this 
period  is  over,  the  Lord  turns  the  handle,  and 
smites  those  through  whom  He  chastised  Israel, 
when  they  had  forgotten  that  they  were  not  to 
satisfy  their  own  desire,  but  only  to  accomplish 
the  Lord's  will  on  Israel. 

8.  On  li.  6.  A  time  may  come  when  it  is  well 
to  separate  one's  self.     For  although  it  is  said  in 
Prov.  xviii.  1 ;  he  who  separateth  himself,  seek- 
eth  that   which  pleaseth   him  and  opposeth  all 
that  is  good — and  therefore  separation,  as  the 
antipodes  of  churchliness,  i  e.,  of  churchly  com- 
munion and  humble  subjection  to  the  law  of  the 
co-operation  of  members  (1  Cor.  xii.  25  sqq.)  is 
to  be  repudiated,  yet  there   may  come  momenta 
in  the  life  of  the  church,  when   it  will  be  a  duty 
to  leave  the  community  and  separate   one's  self. 
Such  a  moment  is  come  when  the  community  has 
become  a  Babylon.     It  should,  however,  be  noted 
that  one  should  not  be  too  ready  with  such  a  de- 
cision.    For  even   the  life  of  the  church   is  sub- 
ject to  many  vacillations.     There  are  periods  of 
decay,  obscurations,  as  it  were,  comparable    to 
eclipses  of  the  stars,  but  to  these,  so  long  as  the 
foundations  only  subsist,  must  always  follow  a 
restoration  and  return  to  the  original  brightness. 
No  one  is  to  consider  the  church  a  Babylon  on 
account  of  such  a  passing  state  of  disease.     It  is 
this  only  when  it  has  withheld  the  objective  di- 
vine foundations,  the  means  of  grace,  the  word 
and  sacrament,  altogether  and  permanently  in 
their  saving  eflScacy.      Then,  when  the  soul  can 
no  longer  find  in  the  church  the  pure  and  divma 


436  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


bread  of  life;  it  is  well  "to  deliver  the  soul  that 
it  perish  not  in  the  iniquity  of  the  church." 
From  this  separation  from  the  church  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  carefully  distinguished  the  separation 
within  the  church,  from  all  that  which  is  opposed 
to  the  healthy  life  of  the  church,  and  is  therefore 


merit,  but  God's  grace  in  Christ) ;  2.  Its  fruit, 
praise  of  that  which  the  Lord  has  wrought  in  us 
{a)  by  words,  (6)  by  works. 

10.  On  U.  50.  This  text  may  be  used  at  the 
sending  out  of  missionaries  or  the  departure  of 
emigrants.     Occasion  may  be  taken  to  speak  1, 


to  be  regarded  as  a  diseased  part  of  the  eccle-  of  the  gracious  help  and  delivei-ance,  which  the 
siastical  body.  Such  separation  is  the  daili/  Lord  has  hitherto  shown  to  the  departing  ;  2, 
duty    of    the   Christian.       He   has    to    perform    they  maybe  admonished    to    remain    united    in 


it  with  respect  to  his  private  life  in  all  the 
manifold  relations,  indicated  to  us  in  Matt,  xviii. 
17  ;  Rom.  xvi.  17  ;  1  Cor.  v.  9  sqq. ;  2  Thess.  iii. 
6;  Tit.  iii.  10;  2  John  10,  11. — Comp.  the  article 
on  Sect.t,  by  Palmbb.  in  Herzog,  R.-Enc,  XXI., 
S.  21.  22. 


their  distant  land  with  their  brethren  at  liome  by 
(a)  remembering  the  Lord,  i.  e.,  ever  remaining 
sincerely  devoted  to  the  Lord  as  the  common 
shield  of  salvation;  (6)  faithfuly  serving  Jerusa- 
lem, i.  e.,  the  common  mother  of  us  all  (Gal.  iv. 
26),  the  church,  with  all  our  powers  in  the  proper 


9.  On  li.  10.  The  righteousness  which  avails  j  place  and  measure,  and  ever  keeping  her  in  our 
before  God.      1.    Its  origin  (not  our  work  orlhearti. 


IV.  Conclusion. 


HI8T0KICAL   APPENDIX,  CONTAINING   A   BRIEF    SURVEY    OF   THE    EVENTS    PROM   THE    BEGINNING   OF 
THE    REIGN    OF    ZEDEKIAH,  TO    THE    DEATH  OF    JEHOIACHIN  (ch.  Iii.). 

^y  the  concluding  ivords  ofW.  04  [Thus  far,  etc.)  the  final  editor  of  the  book  evidently  tvished  to  indicate 
that  the  ivords  of  Jeremiah  cease  with  ch.  li.,  and  that,  therefore,  what  folloics  is  not  from  him,  but 
some  other.  We  are  thus  expressly  warned  by  those  concluding  words  against  the  mistake  of  attri- 
buting chap.  Iii.  to  the  prophet.  Nevertheless  the  chapter  has  been  considered  by  D.  Kimchi,  Abar- 
BANEL  and  many  others,  as  a  work  of  Jeremiah.  Seb.  Schmidt,  e.  g.,  in  opposition  to  the  opinion 
of  Abarbanel,  says  that  the  men  of  the  great  synagogue  took  the  history  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem from  the  Book  of  Kings  and  inserted  it  here,  "  ne  forte  err  emus  in  eo,  quod  supra  scriptum  est." 
And  afterwards  "  Contrarium  potius  statuimus,  scripta  hsec  esM  a  Jeremia  propheta  et  transsumta  in 
librum  Regum,  sicut  in  eum  historia  Hiskise  ex  Jesaja  translata  est,  cum  aliqua  tamen  variatione,  ut 
appareat,  utrumque  scriptorem  habere  quod  sibi proprium  et  a  Spiritu  sancto  inspiratum.^'  All  ortho- 
dox commentators  of  the  older  period  do  not  hoicever  adopt  this  view.  The  strict  Lutheran  Forster,  e.  g., 
tags  in  his  Commentary ,  which  appeared  in  1672,  '■'■Hucusque  fuit  prophetia  Jeremise.  Caput  istudul- 
timum  ab  alio  quodam  viro  pio  et  sancto  EweLaayjiarng  qua.ii  loco  sup eradditum  fuit  vel  hue  transscrip- 
tum  ex  II.  Reg.  c.  25." — Among  the  more  modern  authors  Haevernick  adopts  the  view  that  Jere- 
miah wrote  the  history  of  Jehoiachin  and  Zedekiah  just  as  Isaiah  wrote  that  of  Hezekiah.  He  then, 
as  editor  of  the  Book  of  Kings  allotted  its  natural  place  to  this  description  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  [Einl.  II.,  1, 
S.  172)  while  Jer.  Iii.  was  added  to  these  by  the  collectors  of  the  prophecies.  He  afterwards  (II.  2, 
S.  248)  modifies  this  view,  at  least  declaring  vers.  31-34  to  be  a  subsequently  added  notice,  which,  how- 
ever, passed  naturally  and  probably  at  the  same  time  to  2  Ki.  xxv. — Keil  [Einl.  II.,  Aufi.,  S.  261 ; 
Comm.  iiber  die  proph.  GeschichtsbUcher  des  A.  T,  III.  Bd.,  1865,  S.  378,  9)  is  of  opinion  that  an 
extended  history  of  the  last  times  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  composed  "-perhaps  by  Jeremiah  or  Baruch" 
[in  the  Einl.,  etc.,  it  is  '■'either  by  Jeremiah  or  by  Baruch"),  was  in  existence.  The  two  narratives 
of  Jer.  Iii.  and  2  Ki.  xxv.  were  brief  extracts  from  this.  Most  commentators,  however,  are  of  opin- 
ion that  the  present  passage  belonged  originally  to  the  Book  of  Kings,  and  was  inserted  by  a  later  hand 
with  several  lesser  and  one  great  modification  [the  insertion  of  Jer.  Iii.  28-30,  in  the  place  of  2  Ki. 
xxv.  22-26).  I  also  adopt  this  view  in  substance,  for  the  following  reasons:  1.  The  introduction  of 
the  passage  (Iii.  1,  2)  contains  the  standing  formula  of  the  Book  of  Kings,  with  which  the  succession  of 
a  new  king  is  usually  recorded.  This  introduction  is  thus  undoubtedly  original  in  the  Book  of  Kings. 
For  whoever  composed  it,  and  from  whatever  source  it  may  have  been  drawn,  it  ivas  at  any  rale,  as  it 
now  reads,  loritten  originally  for  the  Book  of  Kings,  and  in  Jer.  Iii.  is  only  a  transposition  from 
thence.  2.  The  rest  also  is  so  composed  that  it  cannot  be  said  there  is  anything  contained  in  it  contrary 
in  form  or  purport  to  the  usual  character  of  the  Books  of  the  Kings.  3.  There  is,  therefore,  a  strong 
presumption  that  the  narrative  also  thus  introduced  urns  originally  written  for  the  Book  of  Kings,  to 
which  it  is  essential  and  indispensable,  and  which,  without  it,  would  be  so  much  mutilated,  while  the 
Book  of  Jeremiah  receives  in  it  a  conclusion  however  useful,  yet  essentially  foreign.  4.  The  transfer- 
ence from  the  Book  of  Kings  is  made  purposely  and  with  consideration.  This  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  the  brief  section,  "vers.  28-30,  was  inserted  instead  of  the  narrative  concerning  the  fate  i/  the  Jews 
remaining  in  the  country,  which  is  only  a  brief  extract  from  Jeremiah,  chh.  xxxix.-xliii.,  and  therefore 
in  the  Book  of  Jeremiah  would  have  been  an  unnecessary  repetition.  5.  As  to  the  form  cf  the  text  the 
relation  is  as  follows :  [a)  in  vers.  1-6,  Jer.  Iii.   has  some  traces  of  an  older  form  of  the  text,  not 


CHAP.  LII.  1-11.  437 


yet  purified  from  roughnesses.  Comp.  '^2^1'\DT\~'\^  milTI,  ver.  3,  with  2  Ki.  xxiv.  20.  Liketeise 
the  older  for „i  .  /^IDOJ  ver.  4,  with  2  Ki.  xxv.  1.  On  the  other  hand  'Jnj|2  ib.  betrays  the  hand 
of  an  emendaior,  (6)  In  vers.  6-11,  the  text  of  Jer.  lii.  is  in  general,  especially  as  regards  com- 
pleteness and  correctness  much  better  ;  ver.  6  contains  the  indispensable  statement  of  the  month,  which 
is  strangely  laticing  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  3  ;  so  also  Jer.  lii.  7  contains  the  verbs  indispensable  to  the  sense, 
M  1J<V'Mn'p3''.  Ver.  10  b  contains  the  statement  concerning  princes  of  Judah,  ver.  11a  similar  one 
concerning  the  imprisonment  of  Zedekiah,  which  are  both  wanting  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  The  text  of  2  Ki. 
xxv.  thus  appears  here  to  be  more  than  contracted  (comp.  also  ir\j<,  2  Ki.  xxv.  5  with  ^r\''p'\'!i~nii 
Jer.  lii.  8,  whereby  the  harshness  occasioned  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  1  by  a  change  of  subjects  is  removed).  The 
absence  of  those  essential  parts  of  speech  in  vers.  3,  4,  can  be  the  result  only  of  the  transformations 
which  ihe  text  has  suffered.  Thus  also  the  other  wants  of  the  text  mag  be  explained,  and  there  in  no 
necessity  for  assuming  the  common  use  of  a  third  source,  (c).  From  vers.  12-23  the  Hook  of  Kings 
shows  in  vers.  8-17  a  text  variously  emended  and  purged  from  real  or  apparent  offences.     In  ver.  8 

Nebuchadnezzar,  ib.  13^;  for  noj;,  and  oStT/n;  for  '■'B,  in  ver.  9  '7nj-r\''3-^3  for  the  more  difficult 
Vnjn.  In  ver.  10  the  superfluous  li)  is  absent  before  Pib'^T};  in  ver.  11  for  the  same  reason  is 
wanting  D^^n  Hw'TOI ;  the  rare  word  flONH  is  altered  into  the  more  current  jionn,  in  ver.  12  we 
read  r\7T/or  Hw^,  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere  ;  ib.  the  name  Nehuzaradan  seemed  superfluous  ; 

ib.  D'3J  Chethibh  for  W2y' ,  not  occurring  elsewhere;  in  ver.  14  nipniO,  and  likcivise  in  ver.  15 
D''3p  and  Pi'T'p,  because  otherwise  these  names  would  be  mentioned  twice,  also  in  ver.  15  the  two 
neighboring  loords  to  the  two  last  mentioned  have  disappeared  ;  in  ver.  16  with  perfect  justice  the  state- 
ment concerning  the  twelve  oxen  is  absent;  ib.  iveflnd  the  easier  nt^nj  7 ;  in  ver.  17  the  apparently 
superfluous  Dn^fS^m  is  wanting  in  the  beginning,  then  all  from  12^11,  perhaps  because  these  statements 

were  already  to  be  found  in  1  Ki.  vii.  15,  16  ;  in  ver.  17  HnX  is  wanting  after  n'ypi3r\ ;  ib.  Wl'i^ 

is  an  evident  mistake;  after  ver.  17  that  is  entirely  wanting  tvhich  forms  Jer.  lii.  23,  per- 
haps because  its  main  import  had  been  already  expressed  in  1  Kings  vii.  20.  —  [d).  In  verses 
24-27  again  the  text  of  Jeremiah  lii.  shows  itself  to  have  been  emended,  but  not  happily ;  in  ver. 

24  T\)W^'^  is  only  an  apparent  improvement;  in  ver.  25  DTI  ItyX  is  certainly  plainer ;  ib.  nj^3E/ 

is  doubtful ;  the  absence  of  the  article  before  ^3D  seems  to  proceed  from  ignorance,  (e).  In  the  con- 
cluding section,  vers.  31-34,  again  the  text  of  the  book  of  Kings  betrays  the  hand  of  the  emendator ;  in 
ver.  27  (2  Ki.  xxv.)  HK'Dn  is  obscure,  but  inx  i<X^'2  seemed  evidently  superfluous ;  instead  of  the 
rarer  form  XwJp  stands  the  more  usual  vh2,  Np3  7j^0  is  a  simplification ;  X5K^  in  ver.  29  is  a 
later  Aramaic  form  ;  in  ver.  oO  733  is  wanting  as  superfluous,  for  the  same  reason   also   DV    ^_I^ 

inio. 

From  all  this  it  seems  to  follow  that  Jer.  lii.  is  certainly  a  transposition  of  2  Ki.  xxv.  but  that  in  the  former 
passage  toe  have  a  better  text,  neither  disfigured  by  needless  correction  nor  by  other  injuries.  Whe- 
ther the  author  of  the  book  of  Kings  is  Jeremiah  himself  or  whether  especially  at  the  close  of  his 
history  he  made  use  of  this  prophet's  writings,  I  leave  undecided.  This  much,  however,  is  certain,  that 
this  chapter  neither  stood  originally  in  this  place,  nor  is  it  an  extract  made  by  another  person  from  the 
same  source,  from  which  2  Ki.  xxiv.  18-25,  30  ivas  derived.  Whatever  opinion,  however,  may  be 
held  regarding  the  sources,  Jer.  lii.  was  not  drawn  therefrom  by  another  person,  but  transposed  from 
the  book  of  Kings,  and  yet  has  preserved  the  text  more  pure  than  the  original  passage. 

The  object  of  the  transposition  was  evidently  first  to  furnish  the  reader  of  the  prophecies  ivith  the  necessary 
historical  guidance.  The  obj'ect  may  also  have  been  prominent  to  show  how  completely  and  exactly  the 
threalenings  of  the  prophet  against  the  stiff-necked  people  were  fulfilled. 

1.   The  capture  of  the  city,  together  with  the  circumstances  immediately  previous  and  subsequent  thereto. 

LII.  1-11. 

1  Zedekiah  was  one  and  twenty  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he  reigned 
eleven  years  in  Jerusalem.     And  his  mother's  name  was  Hamutal  the  daughter 

2  of  Jeremiah  of  Libnah.     And  he  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord, 

3  according  to  all  that  Jehoiakim  had  done.  For^  through  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
[For  so]  it  came  to  pass  in  Jerusalem  and  Judah  [that  Jehovah  was  angry]  till  he 
had  cast  them  out  from  his  presence,  that  [And]  Zedekiah  rebelled  against  the  king 

4  of  Babylon.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign,  in  the  tenth  month,* 
in  the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  that  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon  came,  he  and 
all  his  army,  against  Jerusalem,  and  pitche  1  against  it,  and  built  forts  [a  rampart]' 


438  THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


5  against  it  round  about.     So  the  city  was  besieged*  unto  the  eleventh  year  of  king 

6  Zedekiah.  And  in  the  fourth  month,  in  the  ninth  day  of  the  mouth,  the  famine 
was  sore  in  the  city,  so  that  there  was  no  bread  for  the  people  of  the  land  [the 

7  common  people].  Then  the  city  was  broken  up  [through],  and  all  the  men  of  war 
fled,  and  went  forth  out  of  the  city  by  night  by  the  way  of  thd  gate  between  the 
two  walls,  which  w  'S  by  the  king's  garden  ;   (now  the  Chaldeans  were  by  the  city 

8  round  about ;)  and  they  went*  by  the  way  of  [to]  the  plain.  But  the  army  of  the 
Chaldeans  pursued  after  the  king,  and  overtook  Zedekiah  in  the  plains  of  Jericho; 

9  and  all  his  array  was  scattered  from  him.  Then  they  took  the  king,  and  carried 
him  up  unto  the  king  of  Babylon  to  Riblah  in  the  land  of  Haraath  ;  where  he  gave 

10  judgment  upon  him.     And  the  king  of  Babylon  slew  the  sons  of  Zedekiah  before 

11  his  eyes:  he  slew  also  all  the  princes  of  Judah  in  Riblah.  Then  he  put  out  the 
eye^  of  Zedekiah ;  and  the  king  of  Babylon  bound  him  in  chains  [a  double 
chain],  and  carried  him  to  Babylon,  and  put  him  in  prison  till  the  day  of  his 
death. 

TEXTUAL   AND    GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  3. — 13' 7tyn,  if  there  be  no  mistake  in  the  writing,  is  an  abnormal  form  of  the  infinitive.    Comp.  Olsh.,  g  191,  6, 

/;  EWAiD,  §238,  d.    On  the  neuter  meaning  of  the  fern,  verb  nHTI  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §60,  6,  b;  Isaiah  xi.  20;  2  Kings 

t:  |t 
xxiv.  3. 

2  Ver.  4.— The  differences  between  tlie  text  here  and  in  2  Kings  xxv.  1,  2  are  as  follows:    1.  Instead  of  0   HJ^'jl  here 

TT    - 

iT'J/'K'j^n   njK'S  there.    The  latter  mode  of  expression  (anno  noni,  i.  e.,  numeri,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  §  G5,  2,  c)  is  found 

in  Jer.  also  in  xxviii.  1,  Chethibh  ;  xxxii.  1,  Chethibh  ;  xlvi.  2  ;  li.  59.  Besides  also  in  lii.  28  ;  xxix.  30.  2.  2  Kings  has  the 
later  form  in  Ileb.,  Nebuchadnezzar  (comp.  xxi.  2-7  ;  xxiv.  1;  xxxii.  1  ;  xxxv.  11;  xxxix.  11  ;  xliii.  10  ;  xliv.  30  ;  xlvi.  2  ; 
1.  17  with  xxvii.  6,  20;  xxviii.  3;  xxxix.  5  ;  HiTZio  on  xxiv.  1).     3.  Jfl'V  2  Kings,  instead  of  -"UnM,  which  is  required  by 

*  Ver.  4.— The  word  p'T  occurs,  besides  here  and  in  the  parallel  passages,  only  in  Ezek.  iv.  2 ;  xvii.  17  ;  xxi.  27  ;  xxvi. 
8.  It  is  thus  a  later  word.  The  root  pH  does  not  occur  in  Hebrew,  but  is  very  common  in  the  Chaldee,  Syriac  and  Sama- 
ritan, where  it  has  the  meaning,  speculari,  inspicere,  circumspicere,  p'T  is  therefore  specula,  the  watch-tower,  from  which 
the  besieged  city  may  be  watched  and  assailed.    With  this  agrees  well  Isa.  xxiii.  13,  where  the  D'J^n3  of  the  Chaldeans 

are  spoken  of.  It  is  surprising  that  the  word  never  occurs  in  the  plural,  as  we  should  expect,  if  it  designated  only  the  single 
towers.  We  may  therefore  suppose  that  it  signifies  the  whole  line  of  circuravallation,  including  the  towers,  and  is  thus  a 
potiori,  a  collective  designation.  As  the  Chaldeans  were  celebrated  for  their  skill  in  sieges  (comp.  IIerzog,  Real-Enc,  IV., 
S.  391),  the  word  may  have  passed  from  their  language  into  the  Hebrew.  Comp.  Keil  on  2  Ki.  xxv.  1 ;  Haevernick  on  Ezek. 
iv.  2,  S.  49;  GESE.\.,"Tfe:«.,  p.  330. 

*  Ver.  5. — liyo  is  primarily  coarctatio  in  general  and  then  specially  coarctatio  by  means  of  ofestdio, hence  it  assumes  the 

latter  meaning  in  connections  like   11:^0    1'V   (Ps.  xxxi.  22 ;   Ix.  11),  '■D  nj3  (Deut.  xx.  20),  Sv   ''D    jnj  (Ezek.  iv.  2), 

T  ^  TT  -  I -T 

'33  N^3  (2  Kings  xxiv.  10;    xxv.  2),  without  involving  a  complete  suppression  of  the  radical  signification.    Comp.  x.  17; 

xix.  9. 

*  Ver.  7.— Instead  of  uS'l  we  find  in  2  Ki.  the  manifestly  less  correct  form,  !|7'V 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Vers.  1-3.  Zedekiah  .  .  .  king  of  Babylon. 

These  three  verses  are  of  the  same  purport 
with  2  Ki.  xxiv.  18-21),  with  only  two  unes.sential 
difiFerences.     In  the  latter  passage,  ver.  20,  we 

find  m-in'31  for  m^H"),  and  O'Str^n-iy  for 
O'/'j^n-l^',  in  both  cases  an  easier  and  more 
correct  reading,  of  which  it  is  more  natural  to 


effect:  it  came  to  pass  that  Jehovah  was  angered 
— which  may  be  said  of  what  happened  in  Jeru- 
salem, as  well  as  against  it. 

Vers.  4,  5.  And  it  came  to  pass  .  .  .  Zede- 
kiah. These  words  are  found  ahiio.st  exactly 
the  same  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  1,  2,  and  in  an  abridged 
extract  in  xxxix.  1.  Compare  also  Ezek.  xxiv.  1. 
For  the  exposition  of  the  parts  reproduced  in 
ch.  xxxix.,  see  there  the  differences  between  our 
text  and  that  of  the  Book  of  Kings.  Comp.  the 
Textual  Notes. 


suppose  that  it  arose   out   of  the  other,  than  the  '      Vers,  fi,  7.   And  in  the   fourth  month  . 


reverse.  The  present  passage  then  has  the  pre 
sumption  of  originality  in  its  favor.  Comp., 
moreover,  2  Chrou.  xxxvi.  11-13. — For  through 
the  anger,  etc.  The  reason  for  .Jehovah's  anger 
is  puiiislniient,  in  ver.  2,  however,  to  which  the 
for  refers,  it  is  sin,  not  punishment,  which  is 
spoken  of.  Accordingly  the  words  are  not  to  be 
taken  as  causal,  but  as  was  shown  on  xxxii.  31 
(p.  287)  7j^  is  used  here  as  frequently  elsewhere 
for.  7N  or  7,  'Hid  ']X-7^  is  the   statement  of  the 


the  plain.  These  opening  words,  found  also  in 
xxxix.  2,  are  wanting  in  2  Kings,  although  the 
statement  of  the  day  without  that  of  the  month, 
makes  no  sense,  and  also  the  words  and  went 
out  of  the  city,  though  thus  the  sentence  loses 
its  predicate.  Keil  (on  2  Ki.  xxv.  4)  supposes 
that  not  only  the  predicate  has  fallen  out  after  all 
the  men  of  war,  but  also  still  more  before  these 
words,  in  2  Ki.  and  Jer.  Hi.,  namely,  the  words 
found  in  xxxix.  3,  "and  it  came  to  pass,  wlien 
Zedekiah  the  king  of  Judah  saw  them,"  because 


CHAP.  LII.  12-16. 


439 


the  king  (according  to  2  Ki.  xsv.  5  ;  Jer.  lii.  8; 
zxxix.  5)  was  among  the  fugitives,  and  because 
the  words  "and  all  the  men  of  war,"  have  no 
proper  connection  with  the  previous  context  and 
could  not  form  an  adverbial  sentence.  But  if 
Keil  were  right,  the  whole  verse  xxxix.  3  must 
have  dropped  out,  since  them  refers  to  the  per- 
sons mentioned  in  it.  We  have  already  shown  on 
ch.  xxxix.  that  vers.  1,  2,  4-10  are  only  an 
abridged  extract  from  ch.  lii.  and  that  the  words 
quoted  above  are  only  a  connecting  clause  be- 
tween the  original  and  genuine  ver.  3,  and  the 
following  verses  derived  from  ch.  lii.  These 
words  are  therefore  of  hitcr  date  than  ch.  lii., 
and  cannot  have  been  omitted  before  "and  all 
the  men,"  etc.  The  previous  mention  of  the  king 
is  not  necessary,  since  he  is  included ;  the  sen- 
tence moreover  is  not  adverbial,  but  a  narrative 
of  a  by  no  means  unusual  construction  (corap. 
EwALU,  §346,  h). 

Vers.  8-11.  But  the  army  .  .  of  his  death. 
The  Book  of  Kings  reads  "  him  "  instead  of  Ze- 
dekiahi  It  is  plain  that  the  former  could  be 
more  easily  derived  from  the  latter  than  the  re- 
verse.— In  the  land  of  Hamath  is  wanting  in 
2  Ki.  XXV.  6,  while  it  is  found  ib.  ver.  21  (comp. 
2  Ei.  xxiii.  33). — He  gave  judgment.   2  Ki. 


XXV.  6,  has  "they  gave,"  etc.,  on  which  comp. 
rems.  on  xxxix.  5. — The  first  half  of  ver.  10 
agrees  with  xxxix  6,  even  to  the  there  added 
words,  "in  Riblah."  In  2  Ki.  xxv.  7  it  reads, 
"and  they  slew  the  sons,"  etc.,  the  Chaldeans  of 
ver.  5  being  still  the  subject.  The  second  half 
of  ver.  10  is  entirely  wanting  in  2  Kings.  Tiie 
blinding  and  binding  in  chains  of  king  Zedekiah 
is  narrated  in  both  places  in  the  same  way,  but 
in  2  Ki.  the  singulars  put  out  {1.?>;)  and  bound 
him  ('iTlpX'l)  are  the  more  surprising,  as  the 
sentence  is  contained  in  the  plural  carried 
him  (inX'Tlj.  2  Ki.  xxv.  is  entirely  silent  on 
the  confinement  of  Zedekiah  in  Babylon.  Hitziq 
justly  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  rnpDn-r\'3 
is  not  simply  a  prison,  this  being  always  other- 
wise expressed  (comp.,  e.  g.,  ver.  31).  Jeremiah, 
who  is  not  blinded,  is  put  into  prison ;  but  Zede- 
kiah, the  more  guilty,  is  blinded  and  put  into  the 
house  of  correction.  Comp.  Simson  on  Jud. 
xvi.  21.  The  LXX.  also  has  kiq  o'lKtav  fivUbvog. 
Yet  It  appears  that  towards  the  end  his  confine- 
ment was  less  rigorous,  and  that  an  honorable 
interment  was  granted  him  after  his  death,  for 
this  is  the  purport  of  the  promise  made  to  him 
through  Jeremiah  ia  xxxiv.  1-5. 


2.  The  Destruction  of  the  City  and  Deportation  of  the  People. 

LII.  12-16. 

12  Now  in  the  fifth  month,  in  the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  which  was  the  nineteenth 
year  of  Nebuchadrezzar  king  of  Babylon,  came  Nebuzar-adan,  captain  of  the  guard 
[of  the  halberdiers],  who  served  [stood  before]'  the  king  of  Babylon,  into  Jerusalem. 

13  And  burned  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  and  the  king's  house ;  and  all  the 
houses  of  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  houses  of  the  great  men  [every  great  house]  .'^  burned 

14  he  with  fire.     And  all  the  army  of  the  Chaldeans,  that  were  with  the  captain  of 

15  the  guard,  brake  down  all  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  round  about.  Then  Nebuzar- 
adan  captain  of  the  guard  [halberdiers]  carried  away  captive  certain  of  the  poor 
[a  part  of  the  lowest]  of  the  people,  and  the  residue  of  the  people  that  remained  in 
the  city,  and  those  that  fell  away,  that  fell  to  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  the  rest  of 

16  the  multitude  [work-people].'  But  Nebuzar  adan  the  captain  of  the  guard  left 
certain  of  the  poor  [part  of  the  meanest]*  of  the  land  for  vinedressers  and  for 
husbandmen.* 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  12. — For  ^JjJ  /  HDJ^,  of  which  words  the  former  owes  its  punctuation  to  the  erroneous  connection  with 
D jty^l'  (hence  also  r'3J,  2  Kings  reads  H^j;  as  a  correction,  and  O'  without  '3.  He  ought  doubtless  to  read  HDJ^.  Comp. 
XXXV.  19 ;    Jud.  xx.  28. 

2  Ver.  13.— Before  IHJ  the  article  is  wanting  in  2  Ki.  according  to  rule.  Comp.  Naeoelsb.  Gr  ,  g  82,  6.  But  the  con- 
itruct  state  of  iT3  is  surprising  in  both  cases.  Probably  it  read  originally,  as  Hitzig  supposes.  Vnj  n'3-  A  mistaks 
(comp.  the  r\''3  twice  before)  caused  r\'3,  from  which  came  ^'nJlH  JTS-  This  can  be  taken  only  in  the  sense  of  rhetorical 
emphasis,  I'njn  being  collective  for  "the  great"  (2  Ki.  iv.  8;  v.  1).  Then  certainly  the  constr.  state  is  perfectly  normal, 
but  in  2  Ki.  the  tracos  of  an  older  form  of  the  text  are  to  be  recognized.  Before  HOin  ver.  14  is  wanting  in  2  Ki.  the  cer- 
tainly unnecessary  ^3,  before  '■£0-3"^  however  the  grammatically  necessary  flX- 

»  Ver.  15.— Instead  of  |'lOXn-ir\%  2  Ki.  has  j'lom.    The  word  noX  must  have  seemed  obscure  even  to  the  author* 


440 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


of  the  text  of  2  Ki.  xxv.  and  Jer.  xxxix.,  the  one  rendering  it  as  above,  the  other  by  C'^Xt^in   D  VH.     In  Prov.  viii.  38 

•  T  :   •  -        T  T  ' 
pox  and  in  Song  of  Sol.  vii.  1  |0X  certainly  has  the  sense  of  woik-man,  and  accordingly  we  may  take  the  word  here  as  a 

collective  designation  of  the  ty^H  and  TJDO.  whose  deportation  is  spoken  of  in  xxiv.  1  and  xxix.  2.  Thus  Hitzig,  Graf, 
Meier.  Keil,  on  the  other  hand,  appeals  to  xxxix.  9.  But  this  passage,  as  well  as  2  Ki.  xxv.  11,  proves  only  that  to  both  au- 
thors the  word  J10X  appeared  strange.  Whether  they  interpreted  it  correctly  is  another  question.  If  it  should  be  alleged 
that  it  is  a  word  appertaining  only  to  a  higher  style,  we  reply  that  it  would  not  be  an  easy  alteration  from  jIDD. 

*  Ver.  16. — Instead  of  riW^O  2  Ki.  has  ri7T3.    This  also  betrays  the  hand  of  the  corrector,  since  Hlvl  does  not 
occur  elsewhere  either  as  plural  or  singular  (Ewald,  §165,  c).    It  is  the  plural  of  H  vT  (xl.  7  ;  2  Ki.  xxiv.  14 ;  xxv.  12)= 

T    " 

tenuitates,  insignificances. 

*  Ver.  16. — The  name  Nebuzar-adan  appeared  superfluous  to  the  author  of  2  Ki.  xxv.,  having  been  mentioned  in  ver.  12. 

The  word  D^3J'i  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere,  he  altered  into  Q'^J  (from  2!|J,  /odit,  aravit).    Comp.  remarks  on 

■  ;  •  T 

xxxix.  10. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

7ei-s.  12-14.  Now  in  the  fifth  .  .  .  round 
about.  Instead  of  the  tenth  day,  2  Kings  (as 
also  Bar.  i.  2)  mentions  the  seventh,  as  the  same 
text  also  states  three  cubits  instead  of  the  five  ia 
ver.  23,  and  five  men  instead  of  the  seven  in  ver. 
2-5.  Hitzig,  Thenius,  Graf,  Keil  [Blayney, 
Henderson]  rightly  suppose  that  these  differ- 
ences arose  from  the  interchange  of  the  letters 
of  the  older  alphabet  used  as  numerals.  Which 
statements  are  correct  is  not  ascertainable.  The- 
Kius  [comp.  also  Wordsworth]  declares  the 
statement  here  made  to  be  the  correct  one,  be- 
cause the  Jews  afterward  kept  the  ninth  day  as 
a  fast.  But  on  the  other  hand  comp.  Keil  on 
2  Ki.  xxv.  8. 


Vers.  15,  16.    Then    Nebuzar-adan  .... 
husbandmen. — The    poor  of   the  people, 

which  is  wanting  in  2  Ki.,  has  come  here  either 
by  mistake  from  ver.  16,  where  it  also  begins  the 
sentence,  or  it  is  to  express  the  thought  that  the 
poor  people  did  not  all  remain  behind,  but  were 
partly  carried  away.  The  latter  is  probably  the 
correct  view. — Multitude  [work-people].  It 
is  difiicult  to  decide  which  is  the  correct  render- 
ing. Both  suit  the  sense,  for  a  remnant  of  work- 
people might  just  as  well  be  spoken  of  as  a  rem- 
nant of  the  masses  of  the  people  (either  in  anti- 
thesis to  the  warriors  or  the  population  of  the 
city).  I  prefer  to  take  the  word  in  the  sense  in 
which  it  undoubtedly  occurs  in  Prov.  viii.  30 
[then  was  I  as  a  workman  with  him],  and  Song 
of  Sol.  vii.  1. 


3.  The  Carrying  away  of  the  sacred  Vessels. 
LII.  17-23. 

17  Also  the  pillars  of  brass  that  were  in  [belonged  to]^  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  bases,  and  the  brazen  sea  that  was  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  the 

18  Chaldeans  brake,  and  carried  alP  the  brass  of  them  to  Babylon.  The  caldrons 
[pots]  also,  and  the  shovels,  and  the  snuffers,  and  the  bowls,  and  the  spoons,  and 

19  all  the  vessels  of  brass  wherewith  they  ministered,  took  they  away.  And  the  ba- 
sins,' and  the  firepans,*  and  the  bowls,  and  the  caldrons  [pots],  and  the  candle- 
sticks, and  the  spoons,  and  the  cups  f  that  which  was  of  gold  in  gold,  and  that  which 
was  of  silver  in  silver  [which  were  entirely  of  gold  or  silver]^  took  the  captain  of 

20  the  guard  [halberdiers]  away.  The''  two  pillars,  one*  sea,  and  twelve  brazen 
bulls  that  were  under^  the  bases,  which  king  Solomon  had  made  to  [for]  the  house 

21  of  the  Lord  [Jehovah]  ;  the  brass*"  of  all  these  vessels  was  without  weight.  And 
concerning  the  pillars,  the  height"  of  one  pillar  was  eighteen  cubits ;  and  a  fillet  of 
twelve  cubits  did  compass  it ;  and  the  thickness  thereof  was  four  fingers  ;  it  was 

22  hollow. ^^  And  a  chapiter  of  brass  was  upon  it ;  and  the  height  of  one  chapiter  was 
five  cubits,  with  network*'  and  pomegranates  upon  the  chapiter,  round  about,  all 

23  of  brass.  The  second  pillar  also  and  the  pomegranates'*  were  like  unto  these.  And 
there  were  ninety  and  six  pomegranates  on  a  side;  and  all  the  pomegranates  upon 
the  network  were  a  hundred  round  about  [round  about  were  a  hundred]. 


TEXTUAL   AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  17.— Instead  of  JTSS  "^S'X  we  read  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  13  n'3  "^V^-    The  latter—which  were  in  the  house  of  Jeho- 
vah, the  former=which  belonged  to  the  house,  etc. 


CHAP.  LII.  17-23. 


441 


'  Ver.  17. — In  2  Ki.  ~f2  is  wanting  before  Dntynj  as  in  ver.  1-i  before  HIDn- 

3  Ver.  19.— D'iJD  (1  Ki.  vii.  50;  2  Ki.  xii.  14,  r\13D.  2  Sam.  xvii.  28,  r\13p)  from  HD,  basin,  bowl  (Ex.  xii.  22; 
Zechariah  xii.  2)  not  to  be  confounded  with  flQ,  threshhold  (ver.  24).     tlp3  niflp  are  expressly  mentioned  in  2  Kings 

xii.  14. 

*  Ver.  19.— nirinrD  (from  Hnn,  to  hold,  seize,  specially  used  of  bringing  fire,  Isa.  xxx.  14 ;  Prov.  vi.  27)  are  vessels  fot 
:  ~  T  T 

carrying  burning  substances,  whether  coals  (Lev.  xvi.  13)  or  lighted  incense  (Num.  xvi.  17  sqq.). 

5  Ver.  19.— ni'D JD  are  mentioned  besides  only  in  Ex.  xxv.  29 ;  xxxvii.  16 ;  Num.  iv.  7,  and  in  all  these  places  among 

the  utensils  of  the  shew-bread-table  (comp.  rems.  on  ri'l£33,  ver.  18)  and  as  pertaining  to  libation,  (|n3   Ijp.''   1  pH)-    In  Ex. 

xxv.  29  these  vessels  are  expressly  designated  as  to  be  made  of  gold. 

0  Ver.  19.— The   double   position  of  ^PtF  »nd  CIQ3  has  the  sense  of  "  only"  or  "  wholly"  (massive).     Comp.  Naegelsb. 

T  T  I  •.■  •.•  • 

Gr.,  I  22  6.— The  words  D'Spn  flXI  and  niT'Dn  HXI  to  nrpJO  are  wanting  in  2  Kings.     It  is  noteworthy  that  thus 

(a)  the  repetition  of  niTD  and  ^'133,  and  (6)  the  plural  D'iJD,  which  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  sense  of  "  basins  "  are 

avoided;  (c)  that  the  words  following  HTl^D  and  11133  are  also  removed. 

"  Ver.  20. — With  respect  to  the  construction  of  ver.  20  we  are  to  regard  the  Bubstaativea  set  first  absolutely  as  in  the 
accusativo  ;  us  to  tlie  pillars,  etc.,  th.-ir  brass  was  not  to  be  weighed.  The  verse  is  to  express  that  it  was  those  large  pieces 
which  raised  the  weight  of  the  brass  to  sucli  a  degree. 

8  Ver.  20.— Instead  of  in.'^n  the  Keri  would  have   read  (not  in  2  Ki.)  merely  ITIX,  probably  because  both  numbers 

T  •.■   T  T  •.• 

stand  before  and  afterwards  without  the  article.    Grammatically  both  are  possible.     Comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  73,  2  Anm. 

9  Ver.  20 — The  explanation  of  r\T\r\  in  the  sense  of  "  instead  "  is  as  forced  as  the  assumption  that  the  text  originally 

read  ni jb^HI  is  arbitrary. 

10  Ver.  '20.— Instead  of  DPtyn  jS  (the  suffix  by  anticipation,  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  77,  2  ;  Jer.  li.  56  and  on  xlviii.  44) 
we  find  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  16  simply  Hti'nj/- 

"  Ver.  21.- The  Keri  noip,  with  which  the  Chethibh  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  17  and  1  Ki.  vii.  14  accords,  is  unnecessary,  for 

HDIp  may  be  regarded  as  the  accusative  of  measure  (comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  g  70,5'):  eighteen  cubits  was  a  pillar  as  to 

height. 

1'-  Ver.  21. — On  the  construction  comp.  Naegelsb.  Gr.,  ^9~,2  a  and  Anm.  1. 

13  Ver.  22.—T\JTJ  from  "^2^/,  nectere,  pkctere  inus  (comp.  72D   Nali.  i.  10;  Job  viii.  13;  1|3D,  thicket,  Gen.  xxii.  13, 

etc.),  is  optis  reticulatum,  network.    Comp.  1  Ki.  vii.  17  sqq.;  2  Ki.  i.  2;  2  Chron.  iv.  12, 13  ;  Job  xviii.  8. 

1*  Ver.  22.— D'jb'l  at  the  close  of  ver.  22  is  wanting  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  17,  and  we  find  instead  T\D2^r\~l}?.    This  makes 

T  T  :  -  - 

the  impression  that  this  expression  seemed  unsuitable  to  the  author  of  Jer.  lii.  (it  must  denote  together  with  the  network), 

both  on  account  of  the  71?  and  because  the  pomegranates  were  also  named  after  the  network,  and  that,  in  order  besides 

the  general  nbXDI  to  set  forth  a  special  part,  he  chose  in  preference  the  last  mentioned,  the  D'JiDT- 


EXEGETICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

Vers.  17-20.  Also  the  pillars  .  .  .  w^eight. 

Concerning  the  brazen  pillars  of  Solomon's  tem- 
ple comp.  1  Ki.  vii.  15-22;  2  Chron.  iii.  15  sqq.; 
Winer,  E.-W.-B.,  s.  v.  Jachin  und  Boas;  Her- 
ZOG,  R.-Enc.  VI.  S.  366,  7.     [Wordswoeth,  ad 

loc,  and  Smith's  Diet.  s.  v.]. — The  ni'jjp,  bases 
(comp.  1  Ki.  vii.  27  sqq.),  were  pedestals  or 
stands,  four  cubits  long,  four  broad  and  three 
high,  to  serve  as  supports  for  the  ten  basins  re- 
quired in  washing  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifices  (2 
Chron.  iv.  6j.  Comp.  Keil  on  the  Books  of 
Kings. — The  brazen  sea  (comp.  1  Ki.  vii.  23-26; 

1  Chron.  xviii.  8;  2  Chron.  iv.  2-6)  served  for 
the  priests'  washing  (comp.  Exod.  xxx.  18  sqq.). 
Winer,  .ff.-IF.-fi.  s.  v.— Herz.,  .fi.-.E'wc.  IX.  S. 
236  sqq.  [Comp.  Wordsworth  and  Smith's 
Dict.'\. — Of  the  smaller  vessels  are  mentioned 
niTD.  pots  for  carrying  away  the  ashes  from  the 
altar;  D'^^''  shovels  for  removing  the  ashes; 
r>n?3fO,  not  to  be  confounded  with  nilDTO,  a 
vlne-dresser's  knife,  occurring  in  three  places 
only  besides    this:   1   Ki.  vii.  50;  2  Ki.  xii.  14; 

2  Chron.  iv.  22,  and  always  with  mplIO,  of  un- 
certain meaning:  Vulg.,  etc.,  psaUeria ;  Luther, 
etc.,  knife ;  Gesenius,  etc.,  scissors,  lamp-scis- 
sors, at  any  rate  an  instrument  so-called  a  car- 
pendo ;  riip"^ra,  which  is  wanting  in  2  Ki.,  pro- 


bably that  it  might  not  occur  twice,  from  DTI. 

sparsit,  therefore  vas  unde  spargitur,  bowls,  men- 
tioned in  Exod.  xxvii.  3 ;  xxxviii.  3  ;  Num.  iv.  14 
among  the  altar-utensils,  therefore  used  for 
sprinkling  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices,  but  comp. 

also  Am.  vi.  6 ;  D133,  likewise  of  uncertain 
meaning,  LXX.  Kpeaypa,  flesh-fork,  flesh-hook, 
the  moderns — spoons,  pans,  bowls,  on  account 
of  their  resemblance  to  the  bent  hand.  Comp. 
Keil  on  Kings.  In  Exod.  xxv.  29  these  appear 
among  the  utensils  of  the  table  of  shew-bread, 
comp.  Num.  vii.  14,  20,  26,  etc.  Winer,  R.-  W.-B. 
and  Herz.,  Real-Enc.  s.  v.  Schaubrodtisch.  All 
these  vessels  were  of  brass  [Henderson,  cop- 
per]. In  the  following  verse  the  golden  and 
silver  vessels  are  also  enumerated,  which  the 
Chaldeans  carried  away.  Hitzio  has  unjustly 
attacked  ver.  19  as  spurious,  for  it  does  not  in- 
terrupt the  connection,  since  evidently  in  vers. 
18,  19  all  the  smaller  vessels  are  to  be  enume- 
rated, the  larger  ones  having  been  mentioned  in 
ver.  17.  These  latter  could,  of  course,  be  only 
of  brass,  but  the  total  amount  of  the  brass  plun- 
dered was  so  great  that  it  seemed  to  merit  the 
special  emphasis  given  to  it  in  ver.  20.  The 
golden  and  silver  vessels  are  not  there  mentioned, 
because  it  was  only  the  brazen  ones  which  were 
of  such  immense  weight.  The  pots,  sprinkling 
cups  and  spoons  are  mentioned  a  second  time  in 
ver.  19,  simply  because  there  were  such  utensils 
both  of  brass  and  of  gold  and  silver.     Hitzig's 


442 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


opinion  that  all  the  golden  and  silver  vessels  had 
already  been  carried  away  at  Jelioiachin's  de- 
portation, certainly  finds  some  support  in  2  Ki. 
xxiv.  13  ("all  the  vessels  of  gold  ").  From  the 
circumstance,  however,  that  only  golden  vessels 
are  spoken  of,  we  may  conclude  that  the  cream 
only  was  then  removed,  i.  e.  the  most  valuable. 
The  golden  vessels  of  low  value  as  well  as  all 
the  silver  remained  for  the  thorough  evacua- 
tion made  by  Nebuzar-adan. — The  words  and 
twelve  brazen  buUs  -which  w^ere  under 
are  rightly  wanting  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  16.  For  they 
contain  a  double  error:  1.  the  twelve  bulls  were 
not  under  the  bases,  but  under  the  sea,  accord- 
ing to  1  Ki.  vii.  25;  2  Ki.  xvi.  17.  2.  In  2  Ki. 
xvi.  17  it  is  expressly  related  that  Ahaz  had 
already  taken  away  the  twelve  bulls  and  replaced 
them  by  a  substructure  of  stone.  Whither  they 
went  is  not  indeed  stated,  but  no  more  is  it  re- 
corded that  they  were  restored  to  their  original 
position.  I  therefore,  in  opposition  to  Keil 
[Comm.  on  Kings),  agree  with  those  who  regard 
the  words  in  question  as  the  arbitrary  addition 
of  some  one,  whose  mind  was  not  clear  about 
the  "bases,"'  and  who  had  forgotten  the  passage 
in  2  Ki.  xvi.  17.     [Comp.  Wordsworth]. 

Vers.  21-23.  And  the  pillars  ...  a  hun- 
dred. Supplementary  and  more  particular  de- 
scription of  the  pillars. — And  tlxe  pillars  is 
wanting  in  2  Ki.  The  height  is  also  stated  at 
eighteen  cubits  in  1  Ki.  vii.  15.  The  description 
there  given  is  in  general  the  basis  of  this. — And 


a  fillet,  etc.,  to  the  end  of  the  verse,  is  also 
wanting  in  2  Ki. — If  the  pillars  were  twelve 
cubits  in  circumference,  the  diameter  (comp. 
Winer,  R.-W.-B.  s.  v.  Jachin  und  Boas)  was 
about  four  cubits,  which  gives  a  perfectly  cor- 
rect proportion.  The  thickness  of  the  brass  was 
four  fingers.  Thus  the  pillars  were  hollow,  as 
indeed  is  remarked. — A  chapiter.  This  is  the 
capital,  coronamentum  of  the  pillar.  Comp.  1  Ki. 
vii.  IG;  2  Chron.  iv.  12,  13.— Instead  oi  five 
cubits  2  Ki.  xxv.  17  has  tJiree.  The  number  five 
is  the  correct  one  according  to  1  Ki.  vii.  16. — 
Of  one  is  unnecessary,  but  not  incorrect,  since 
of  course  it  is  understood  not  of  a  second  capi- 
tal, but  the  capital  of  the  second  pillar.  It  is 
evidently  based  on  1  Ki.  vii.  16. — The  pome- 
granates were  also  an  ornamentation  on  the  hem 
of  the  priest's  ephod,  or  surplice  (Ex.  xxviii.  33, 
34).  A  figure  of  it  may  be  seen  in  Thenius, 
Comm.  on  Kings,  Ta.f.  III.  Fig.  2  66.— Ver.  23  is 
entirely  wanting  in  2  Kings.  Ninety-six  pome- 
granates on  each  pillar  were  placed  nnn,  t.  e. 

towards  the  wind,  towards  the  four  winds  or 
sides  [Henderson  after  Hitzig,  towards  the 
air,  the  outside  of  the  capitals].  The  expres- 
sion is  found  here  only.  Comp.  Ezek.  xxxvii.  9. 
It  is  clear  that  this  is  the  meaning  from  the 
statement  that  the  entire  number  of  the  pome- 
granates attached  to  the  network  was  a  hundred. 
There  must  then  have  been  also  a  pomegranate 
at  each  corner. 


4.  The  Execution  of  the  Representatives  of  the  People  and  Statement  of  the  Number  of  the  Captives. 

LII.  24-30. 

24  And  the  captain  of  the  guard  [halberdiers]  took  Seraiah  the  chief  priest,  and 

25  Zephaniah  the  second  priest,  and  the  three  keepers  of  the  door :  He  took  also  out 
of  the  city  a  eunuch  [court  officer],  which  had  the  charge  [was^  overseer]  of  the 
men  of  war ;  and  seven  men  of  them  that  were  near  the  king's  person,  which  were 
found  in  the  city;  and  the  principal  scribe^  of  the  host  [the  scribe,  the  prince  of 
the  host],  who  mustered  the  people  of  the  land ;  and  three-score  men  of  the  people 

26  of  the  land,  that  were  found  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  So  Nebuzar-adan  the  cap- 
tain of  the  guard  took  them  and  brought  them  to  the  king  of  Babylon  to  Riblah. 

27  And  the  king  of  Babylon  smote  them,  and  put  them  to  death  in  Riblah  in  the  land 

28  of  Hamath.  Thus  Judah  was  carried  away  captive  out  of  his  own  land.  This  is 
the  people  whom  Nebuchadrezzar  carried  away  captive:  in  the  seventh  year  three 

29  thousand  Jews  and  three  and  twenty  :  In  the  eighteenth  year  of  Nebuchadrezzar 
he  carried  away  captive  from  Jerusalem  eight  hundred  and  thirty  and  two  per- 

30  sons :  In  the  three  and  twentieth  year  of  Nebuchadrezzar  Nebuzar-adan  the 
captain  of  the  guard  carried  away  captive  of  the  Jews  seven  hundred  forty  and 
five  persons :  all  the  persons  were  four  thousand  and  six  hundred. 


TEXTUAL    AND    GRAMMATICAL. 
1  Ver.  29. — In  2  Ki.  xxv.  wo  find  KIH  for  7yT\.    The  former  does  not  necessarily,  as  Hitzio  asserts,  signify  "which  is." 

TT 

Hin  takcH  tin-  place  of  the  copula  generally,  without  reference  to  time.     Comp.  Ewald,  §  297  h. 
*  Ver.  2r).— "i£30  r\X1.     In  2  Ki.  xxt.  TSDH,  which  I  regard  as  the  more  correct  reading. 


CHAP.  LII.  24-30. 


443 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

Vers.  24-27.  And  the  captain  .  .  .  out  of 
his  own  land.  These  verses  differ  from  the 
corresponding  verses  in  2  Ki.  xxv.,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  some  trifling  variations  in  language, 
only  in  the  statement  of  a  number  (seven  in- 
stead of  five  in  ver.  25),  of  which  hereafter.  It 
is  related  that  representatives  of  all  classes  of 
the  people,  priests,  officials  and  simple  citizens 
had  to  suffer  death,  evidently  in  token  that  Ne- 
buchadnezzar held  not  only  the  king  but  the 
people  guilty  of  rebellion.  At  the  head  of  those 
executed  stands  the  high-priest  Seraiah,  who  is 
nowhere  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Jeremiah. 
According  to  1  Chron.  v.  40  he  was  the  son  of 
Azariah  and  grandson  of  Hilkiah  ;  according  to 
Ezr.  vii.  1,  Ezra  was  descended  from  him. — After 
Seraiah  is  mentioned  Zephaniah,  doubtless  the 
same  who  is  mentioned  in  xxi.  1 ;  xxix.  25,  29 ; 
xxxvii.  8  as  priest  simply  and  son  of  Maaseiah. 
Here  he  is  called  the  second  priest,  but  in 
2  Ki.  xxv.  second  priest  only  without  the 
article.  As  according  to  2  Ki.  xxiii.  4  (where  as 
here  three  grades  of  priests  are  enumerated) 
there  were  several  second  priests,  the  reading 
of  the  Book  of  Kings  is  probably  the  correct  one. 
Comp.  Oehler  in  IIerzog,  R.-Etic.  VI.  <S'.  203,  4. 
— The  keepers  of  the  door  [or  threshold]  are 
also  mentioned  in  2  Ki.  xii.  10;  xxii.  4;  xxiii. 
4 ;  Jer.  xxxv.  4.  As  only  three  of  them  are 
mentioned,  we  must  regard  these  as  the  superiors 
of  the  four  thousand  Levitical  D''"lJ?ty  (1  Chron. 

xxiii.  5).  For  further  details  consult  Oehler  in 
Herz.,  R.-Enc.  VIII.  S.  354-6.— In  the  second 
category  of  those  executed  are  mentioned  certain 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  who  held  offices  at 
court,  especially  in  the  war-department.  The 
city  here  seems  to  stand  in  antithesis  both  to  the 
temple  (ver.  24)  and  to  the  country  (ver.  25  b). 
The  one  D'''^D  (court-officer,  but  possibly  at  the 
same  time  eunuch,  comp.  rems.  on  xxix.  2)  was 
not  the  overseer,  but  only  an  overseer,  etc.  He 
was  therefore  one  of  the  generals,  perhaps  com- 
mander of  the  city  garrison. — And  seven  men. 
In  2  Ki.  xxv.  we  rcad^ye  men,  wliether  correctly 
or  incorrectly  cannot  here  be  decided  as  in  vers. 
12  and  22.  The  analogy  of  these  cases  however 
favors  our  text. — That  vyere  near  the  king's 
person,  literally,  "tliat  saw  the  king's  face," 
viz.  in  the  sense  of  a  daily  custom,  is  a  designa- 
tion of  high,  yea,  highest  position  (Esth.  i.  14  ; 
comp.  Matt,  xviii.  10).  These  were  therefore 
officials  of  high  rank,  and  as  it  is  not  said  that 
they  were  endued  with  military  functions,  they 
may  be  regarded  as  representatives  of  the  civil 
authorities. — Scribe,  the  prince  of  the  host. 
Scribe  is  not  a  writer  in  our  sense.  The  title 
belongs  not  only,  as  Graf  supposes,  to  the 
"people  of  the  pen,"  but.  is  given  to  the  highest 
officers  of  State.  Comp.  2  Sam.  viii.  7  ;  xx.  25  ; 
2  Ki.  xii.  11;  1  Chr.  xviii.  16  ;  xxvii.  32.  And 
in  2  Chr.  xxvi.  11  it  is  e.Kpressly  recorded  that 
Uzziah's  army  went  out  "  by  the  hand  of  Jeiel 
the  scribe."  This  Sopher  was  not  the  leader  of 
the  host,  but  chief  of  the  war-departmpnt,  min- 
ister or  secretary  of  war.  Comp.  S.valschuetz, 
Mos.    Recht.   S.    63. — And    threescore   men. 


These  sixty  men  appear  as  the  third  class  of  per- 
sons executed,  and  representatives  of  the  country 
population,  as  is  indicated  by  their  number  and 
the  remark  tliat  they  were  found  in  the  midst 
of  the  city  (2  Kings  xxv.  I'J  "in  the  city"). 
This  remark  would  be  altogether  superfluous,  if 
the  object  was  not  to  set  forth  that  these  men  did 
not  originally  belong  to  the  city. — On  Riblah 
comp.  rems.  on  xxxix.  5. — Tlie  words.  Thus 
Judah  was  carried  aw^ay  captive  out  of  his 
land,  are  found  in  both  texts  and  in  both  places 
are  appropriate.  For  in  Jeremiah  they  form  the 
transition  to  the  numbering  of  the  deported,  and 
in  2  Kings  they  lead  to  the  account  of  what  hap- 
pened in  the  country  after  the  deportation.  Tliey 
therefore  furnish  no  data  for  the  solution  of  the 
question  which  of  the  two  recensions  is  the  ori- 
ginal. Moreover,  there  seems  to  be  an  allusion 
in  them  to  i.  3. 

Vers.  28-30.  This  is  the  people  .  .  .  four 
thousand  and  six  hundred.  This  section  is 
entirely  wanting  in  2  Kings.  It  is  difficult  to 
bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  other  statements 
respecting  the  deportations.  The  differences  are 
as  follows:  1.  This  section  speaks  of  three  de- 
portations, while  according  to  the  other  testimo- 
nies of  the  Old  Testament  there  were  only  two 
(under  Jehoiakim  and  Zedekiah).  2  The  section 
follows  a  divergent  chronology,  stating  that  the 
deportations  took  place  in  the  seventh,  eighteenth 
and  twenty-third  years  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  while 
this  very  chapter  (ver.  12)  and  2  Ki.  xxiv.  12; 
xxv.  8  name  the  eighth  and  nineteenth  years  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  as  the  dates  of  the  deportation, 
but  know  nothing  of  any  in  the  twenty-third 
year  of  this  king.  3.  According  to  this  passage 
three  thousand  and  twenty-three  were  carried 
away  the  first  time,  eight  hundred  and  thirtj'-two 
the  second  time,  seven  hundred  and  forty-five  the 
third  time,  total  four  thousand  six  hundred, 
which  sum  is  expressly  given  at  the  close  of  ver. 
30.  According  to  2  Ki.  xxiv.  14-16,  however, 
eighteen  thousand  souls  were  carried  away  at 
the  first  deportation  alone.  There  are  no  counter- 
statements  with  regard  to  the  other  numbers,  but 
their  smallness  is  surprising ;  of  this  hereafter. 
On  these  points  we  make  the  following  remarks: 
1.  By  the  seventh  year  in  ver.  28,  we  are  cer- 
tainly to  understand  the  seventh  year  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, since  both  the  other  deportations 
are  dated  in  years  of  iliis  monarch.  2.  These 
statements  are  not  necessarily  erroneous,  but  may 
possibly  follow  another  reckoning  of  the  years, 
and  perhaps  the  same  as  Josephus  follows 
(Antiqq.  X.,  8,  5;  C.  Ap.  I.,  21),  though  evi- 
dently only  on  the  basis  of  this  passage.  Comp. 
NiEBUHR,  Ass.  u.  Bab.,  S.  58  sqq.  3.  Ver.  29 
mentioning  the  eighteenth  year  after  ver.  12  has 
stated  the  nineteenth  as  the  date  of  the  same  fact, 
shows  that  we  have  here  another  author.  4. 
The  view  of  Ewald  {Gesch.  d.  V.  hr..  III.,  1  S 
435)  which  Graf  also  adopts,  that  in  ver.  29  we 
are  to  read  n^K?^  i'???^>  that  accordingly  owe  j/«ar 
before  the  last  capture  of  Jerusalem  three  thou- 
sand and  twenty-three  were  carried  captive  from 
the  country  (hence  D'HIH  ),  a/Ver  the  capture  eight 
hundred   and    thirty-two    from  the    city    (hence 

DSK^n'O.  ver.  29),  and  finally  five   years    later 


444 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


from  the  land  already  somewhat  repopulated 
seven  hundred  and  forty-five,  has  much  in  its 
favor,  but  is  yet  not  perfectly  satisfactory.  For 
the  circumstance  that  the  ditference  between  the 
eighth  and  nineteenth,  and  the  seventh  and 
eighteenth  years  of  Nebuchadnezzar  is  the  same, 
does  not  authorize  us  to  supply  a  word  n^.^*'.!'' 
fallen  out  after  J-'^C''.  Then,  too,  the  deportation 
of  the  mass  of  the  people  during  the  war,  at  a  time 
when  the  Egyptian  army  was  to  be  feared  (comp. 
xxxvii.  5),  is  scarcely  probable.  Finally  the  as- 
siirapiion  of  a  deportation  five  years  after  the 
capture  of  the  city  is  pure  hypothesis,  for  which 
there  is  no  positive  testimony.  It  is  also  not  to 
De  supposed  that  five  years  after  the  destruction, 


admitting  the  return  of  a  few  scattered  indi- 
viduals, an  almost  equally  great  number  could 
be  carried  away  as  after  the  destruction  of  the 
capital.  Would  not  these  have  rather  again  be- 
taken themselves  to  flight?  5.  Even  if  we  grant 
that  the  strikingly  small  numbers  of  the  exiles 
are  to  be  judged  from  a  specific  point  of  view, 
and  therefore  do  not  necessarily  imply  an  error, 
any  more  than  the  nuinbjr  of  tie  years  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar's reign,  yet  the  differences  between 
vers.  12  and  28  still  remain,  with  the  exceedingly 
obscure  third  deportation,  as  irremovable  stones 
of  stumbling,  and  I  therefore  agree  with  Niebuhr, 
when  he  says,  "  it  cannot  be  a  subject  of  doubt 
that  vers.  28-30  in  the  fifty -second  chapter  of 
Jeremiah  are  a  gloss." 


5.  77ie  Favorable  turn  in  the  Fate  of  Jehoiachin. 
LII.  31-34. 

31  ^  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  seven  and  thirtieth  year  of  the  captivity  of  Jehoi- 
achin king  of  Judah,  in  the  twelfth  month,  in  the  five  and  twentieth  day  of  the 
month,  that  Evil-merodach  king  of  Babylon,  in  i\\Q  first  year  of  his  reign,  lifted  up 

32  the  head  of  Jehoiachin  king  of  Judah,  and  brought  him  forth  out  of  prisun,  and 
spake  kindly  unto  him,  and  set  his  throne  above  the  throne  of  the  kings  that  were 

33  with  him  in  Babylon,  and  changed^  his  prison-garments :   and  he  did  continually 

34  eat  bread  before  him  all  the  days  of  his  life.  And  for  his  diet,  there  was  a  con- 
tinual diet  given  him  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  every  day  a  portion  [the  day's  re- 
quirements] until  the  day  of  his  death,  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

TEXTUAL    AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

1  Ver.  31.— 2  Kings  xxv.  for  inpSo  lias  obo ;  ini<  Xlf'l  is  wanting;  for  X'Slin  it  reads  xS^,  instead  of  XDIlV 
S;??33  more  simply  XD3  S^'O  ;  fm-thor  X^'J  for'DiJt:'  (ver.  :3:!) ;  for  TOn  V  JijS  tlif  same  words  reversed,  for  ^53  !]_?6 
(ver.  3 1)  merely 'n'73n;  tiie  words  iniO  DV  IJ?  are  entirely  wanting  in  2  Kings.  All  these  alterations  indicate  that  tlie 
author  of  2  Ki.  xxv.  endeavored  to  give  an,  in  his  opinion,  improved  text. 

2  Ver.  33.— niliy  ia  the  Hebrew,  XJI^  (2  Ki.  xxv.)  the  later  Aramaic  form.    Comp.  Olsh.,  §  233,  Anm,.,  and  g  246,  h. 

T-  T  ■ 

Anm. 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

To  this  section  there  is  an  almost  exactly  cor- 
responding one  in  2  Ki.  xxv.  (27-30).  The  dif- 
ferences are  unessential:  instead  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  day,  2  Ki.  xxv.  31  has  the  twenty-seventh 
(comp  ver.  25,  where  the  reverse  is  the  case),  so 
that  one  is  tempted  to  think  that  one  of  the  two 
authors  has  interchanged  these  two  passages ; 
(comp.  also  rems.  on  ver.  12).  For  other  ditfer- 
ences  comp.  the  Textit.\l  Notes. — The  expres- 
sion to  lift  up  the  head,  is  found  also  in  Gen. 
xl.  13  coll.  19  and  20,  and  designates  the  eleva- 
tion of  one  who  is  prostrate.  Comp.  the  expres- 
sion in  another  sense  in  Ex.  xxx.  12;  Num.  i.  2, 
etr. ;  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  3. — In  the  first  year  of  his 
reign.  It  was  evidently  an  act  of  grace,  which 
Evil-merodach  performed  on  the  occasion  of  his 
ascending  the  throne.     May  not  the  influence  of 


Daniel  and  other  highly  esteemed  Jews  at  the 
Babylonian  court  h;ivo  operated  in  favor  of  the 
imprisoned  king  ? — Out  of  prison.  Comp.  rems. 
on  xxxvii.  4. — Above  the  throne.  This  ex- 
pression does  not  mean  that  Jehoiachin  received 
a  seat  on  the  same  level,  but  surpassing  the  others 
in  height,  but  that  his  seat  stood  higher  up  than 
the  others,  i.  e.,  that  he  could  sit  nearer  to  the 
king.  Whether  the  others  were  princes  constant- 
ly or  transiently  present,  may  be  left  undecided. 
Perhaps  both. — His  diet,  nn.'^X  (comp.  xl.  5), 
evidently  comprehends  all  thaUi-'lioiachin  needed 
for  himself  and  household,  besides  the  food  which 
he  had  at  the  royal  table.  The  accumulation  of 
expressions,  indicating  that  Jehoiachin  continued 
without  interruption  to  the  end  of  his  life  to  en- 
joy roj'al  honors,  shows  that  this  fact  gave  great 
satisfaction  to  the  author. — On  the  chronological 
relations,  comp.  Niebuhr,  Ass.  u.  Babel.,  S.  87 
sqq. ;  Duncker,    Gesch.  d.  Allertk,  I.,  S.  8G4,  6. 


CHAP.  LII.  31-34. 


445 


— The  ascension  of  the  throne  by  Evil-merodach 
occurred  in  the  year  B.  C,  561.  It  is  not  abso- 
lutely impossible  that  Jeremiah  was  still  alive  at 
this  time.  Supposing  that  he  began  his  ministry 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  would  be  then  about 
eighty-six.  Comp.  the  dates  in  xxiii.  3,  and  lii. 
31.  It  is  also  not  impossible  that  he  received  in 
Egypt  the  news  of  Jehoiachin  s  exaltation.  But 
this  notice  includes  not  only  the  liberation  of 
the  ex-king,  but  his  death  (vers.  33,  34).  Thus 
vanishes  all  probability  of  Jeremiah's  being  its 
author,  as  well  as  from  the  consideration  that 
the  notice,  if  proceeding  from  Jeremiah,  must 
have  been  found  in  another  place,  and  not  at  the 
close  of  this  supplement,  evidently  compiled  by  a 
later  hand. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  "  Docemur  hoc  capite,  quod  comminationet 
divinse  non  sint  de  pelvi  fulgura,  quodque  Deus  pro 
misericordia  sua  infinita  calamitales  a  se  immissas 
mitigare  plerumque  soleat,  si  seria  interveniat  poeni- 
tentia."   Forster. 

2.  On  vers.  1-3.  "From  this  we  see  why  God 
sometimes  places  ungodly  rulers  over  a  country, 
who  cast  it  to  destruction.  It  is  done  on  account 
of  the  rulers'  and  the  people's  sins,  that  they 
may  draw  down  the  well  merited  punishment,  as 
Sirach  says.  On  account  of  violence,  injustice 
and  avarice,  a  kingdom  passes  from  one  nation 
to  another  (x.  8).  So  also  says  king  Solomon. 
Because  of  the  sins  of  a  nation  occur  many  changes 
of  rulers,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  people  who  are 
intelligent  and  reasonable,  the  State  is  prolonged 
(Prov.  xxviii.  2)."    Wurlemb.  Summarien. 

3.  On  ver.  4.  "  God  allows  many  slight  and 
mild  punishments  to  come  as  warnings,  till  at 
last  comes  the  finishing  stroke.  This  is  a  wit- 
ness to  the  divine  long-suffering  (Rom.  ii.  4)." 
Cramer. 

4.  On  ver.  6.  "The  fact  that  in  this  siege  com- 
passionate women  had  to  kill  and  eat  their  own 
children  (Lam.  iv.  10)  is  a  reminder  that  by 
bodily  hunger  God  would  punish;  1.  satiation 
and  disgust  towards  His  holy  word  and  soul-food; 

2.  the  terrible  offering  up  of  children  to  Moloch; 

3.  the  loose  discipline  of  children."  Cramer. 

5  On  ver.  7.  "No  fortress  can  protect  the  un- 
godly, even  tuough  they  nad  their  nest  in  the 
clouds."  Cramer. 

6.  On  ver.  8.  "An  example  of  faithless,  per- 
jured men  of  war.  But  as  Zedekiah  broke  his 
oath  to  the  king  at  Babylon,  he  was  paid  back  in 
the  same  coin."  Cra.mkr.  "His  people  forsook 
the  poor  king  Zedekiah  on  his  flight  and  he  was 
captured,  from  which  we  see  that  great  men  can- 
not depend  on  their  body-guard;  these  flee  in 
time  of  need,  and  leave  their  masters  in  the  lurch. 
The  surest  and  best  protection  is  when  we  have 
the  holy  angels  for  our  guard  .  .  .  This  angelic 
protection  is,  however,  to  be  obtained  and  pre- 
served by  faith  and  godliness,  but  is  lost  by  un- 
belief and  ungodly  conduct."    Wurteinb.  Summ. 

7.  On  vers.  9-11.  The  punishment  of  perjury. 
"CTZii  moriPtnur,  quod  fides  hosti,  etiam  barbaro, 
qualis  hodie  Turca,  a  Chrislianis  data,  mimine 
violanda.''    FoRSTER. 

8.  Ou  ver.  9.  sqq.  "God  had  shown  Zedekiah 
by  Jeremiah  a  way  in  which  he  could  escape  the 


calamity.  But  because  he  forsook  the  Lord  and 
would  not  follow  it,  the  others  were  only  leaky 
cisterns  (Jer.  ii.  13).  For  woe  to  the  rebellious 
who  take  counsel  without  the  Lord  (Isa.  xxx.  1). 
This  is  useful  for  an  instance  against  the  holy  by 
works,  who  reject  God's  way  of  escaping  the 
Devil;  when  they  devise  other  ways  for  them- 
selves they  are  caught  by  the  Chaldeans  of  hell." 
Cramer. 

9.  On  ver.  12  sqq.  "Holy  places,  external 
ceremonies  and  opus  operatum  do  not  avail  for 
hypocrites  ...  If  God  punished  His  own  institu- 
tion so  severely,  how  shall  human  institutions  re- 
main unpunished?"  Cramer. 

10.  On  ver.  12.  "  Quale  fatum,  ne  et  nostris 
obtimjat  templis  . .  .  caveamus,  ne  profanemus  templa 
ulterius  turn  externa  vel  materialia,  turn  interna  vel 
spiritualia  in  cordibus  nostris,  de  quibus  1  Cor.  iii. 
16  sqq.;  vi.  19  sqq."  Forster. 

11.  On  ver.  15.  "  It  is  another  work  of  mercy 
that  some  of  Judah  were  preserved.  For  God's 
grace  is  always  to  be  found  in  His  punishments." 
Cramer. 

12.  On  ver.  15.  "  He  who  will  not  serve  God 
and  his  neighbor  at  home  and  in  quiet,  must 
learn  to  do  it  in  a  strange  land  in  affliction  and 
distress."  Cramer. 

13  On  ver.  24  sqq.  "As  teachers  are  often  to 
blame  for  their  behaviour  that  sin  gets  the  upper 
hand  in  a  community,  it  is  exceedingly  just  when 
God  brings  such  for  an  example  into  great  puni- 
tive judgment  (1  Sam.  ii.  27-34)."  Stahke. 

14.  On  ver.  24.  "The  priests  are  cauglit  and 
slain ;  1.  bscause  they  could  not  believe  the  truth 
for  themselves ;  2.  because  they  led  others  astray; 
3.  because  they  appealed  to  the  temple  of  the 
Lord;  4.  because  they  persecuted  the  true  pro 
phets  ;  5.  because  they  troubled  the  whole  church 
of  God.  But  he  who  troubleth  shall  bear  his  judg- 
ment, whosoever  he  be  (Gal.  v.  10)."  Cramer. 

15.  On  ver.  31  sqq.  ^' Sa?ie  omnino  verisimile- 
videtur  j'udicio  Philippi  Melanchthonis  in  Chron.  part, 
I  fol.  33  Evilmerudachum  amplexum  esse  doctrinam 
Danielis  de  Vera  Deo,  quam  et  pater  publico  edicto 
professus  est,  eamque  ob  ca  us  am  dementia  m  exercuisse 
erga  regem  Jechoniam.''  Forster.  —  '■'■  N arrant 
Hebrmi  hujusmodi  fabulam :  Evilmerodnch,  qui  pat  re- 
sua  Nabuchodanosor  vioenle  per  sepltiu  annos  inter 
bestias,  ante  regnaverai,  postquam  ille  restitutus 
in  regno  est,  usque  ad  mortem  patris  cum  Joakiia 
rege  Judse  in  vinculis  fuit ;  quo  mortuo,  quum  rursus 
in  regnum  succederet,  et  non  susciperetur  a  principi- 
bus,  qui  metuebant,  ne  viveret  qui  dicebatur  extincius. 
ut  fidciii  patris  mortui  faceret,  aperuit  scpulcrum  et 
cadaver  ejus  unco  et  funibus  traxit."  .Jerome  on 
Jer.  xiv.  18.  19.  Josephvs  speaks  of  it  as  follows: 
"  'AfSiAauapuc^nxoc;  evi^vc  rbu  "Ie;);c.u'(ar  tuv  (^ea/uijv 
atftciQ  Ev  Tolc  avayKaLordroir  tpiAotQ  elxe  ...  '0  yap 
ivarfjp  avTov  rf/v  TriaTiu  ovk  kcpvTia^s  rtj  'Ifjtwia, 
napaS'h'Tt  /heto  yvvaiKibv  Kal  tekvuv  koI  rijg  avyye- 
veiac  b'Ar/g  SKovaiug  kavTov  vnep  rfjQ  Trarplrfof,  wf  hv 
fi-^  KaraoKaipeLT]  Tnjcp'&Eiau  rr)  TvoAiopKta."  (Anf.qq., 
X.  11,  21.) 

16.  On  ver.  31  sqq.  "Ceterum  potest  hoc  exem- 
plo,  quod  Jechonias  rex  digmtati  ■•mx  in  exilio  Baby- 
lonico  restitutus,  refutari  exceptio  Judxorum  contra 
vaticinium  Jacohi  (Gen.  xlix.  10)  de  Messia  jam- 
dudiim  exhibito.  postquam  per  Romanos  sceptrum  de 
Judii  ablatum  id  quod  tekutjplov  Messim  Jamjon 
r.ascUuri  ess::  aeouii."  Forster. 


446 


THE  PROPHET  JEREMIAH. 


17.  On  ver.  31  sqq.  "No  one  should  despair 
in  misfortune,  for  the  right  hand  of  the  Highest 
can  change  all  (Ps.  Ixxvii.  10)  and  Christ  rules 
even  in  the  midst  of  His  enemies  (Ps  ex.  2).  For 
His  are  the  praise,  the  glory  and  the  power  from 
everlasting  to  f^verlastiug.  Amen."  Cbamek. 

HOMILETIOAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

1.  On  vers.  1-11.  The  truth  of  the  word  "What  a 
man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap,"  exhibited  in 
the  example  of  the  Jewish  State  under  Zedekiah. 

1.  The  seed  (ver.  2) ;  2.  The  crop  (a)  the  siege, 
(6)  the  famine,  (c)  the  capture  of  the  city  and 
flight  of  the  king,  (d)  the  punishment  of  the  king 
and  his  princes,  (e)  the  fate  of  the  people  (ver.  3). 

2.  On  vers.  12-20.  The  rejection  of  Judah  ap- 
pears at  first  sight  a  contradiction.  For  Jerusa- 
lem is  the  holy  city  (Matt.  iv.  5;  Neh.  xi.  1,  18), 
the  city  of  God  (Ps.  xlvi.  5;  xlviii.  2,  9;  Ixxviii. 
3) ;  the  temple  is  the  house  of  Jehovah  (Jer.  vii. 

2,  etc.);  God's  service  rests  on  divine  authority 
(Ex.  chh.  xxv.-xxvii.,  xxx.,  xxxi).  But  God  can- 
not contradict  Himself.  We  have,  therefore,  to 
show  "the  unity  of  the  divine  thoughts  in  the 
choice  and  rejection  of  Jerusalem."  1.  The  re- 
jection was  a  conditional  one  (vii.  3  sqq).  Hence 
notwithstanding  the  election  the  rejection  in- 
volved nothing  contradictory,  but  was  a  neces- 
sary tousequence  of  the  unfulfilled  ooadition. — 


2.  The  election  remains  (a)  objectively  notwith- 
standing the  rejection ;  it  is  (6)  subjectively 
brought  to  its  realization  by  the  rejection,  the 
latter  as  a  means  of  discipline  operating  to  pro 
duce  the  disposition,  from  which  alone  the  fulfil 
ment  of  this  condition  can  proceed.  Comp.  rems. 
on  xxxii.  41,  p.  288. 

3.  On  vers.  24-27.  "That  great  lords  some- 
times make  an  example  of  gross  miscreants,  pro- 
motes righteousness,  only  it  must  not  be  done  on 
the  innocent,  or  with  such  severity  that  there  is 
no  proportion  between  the  crime  and  its  punish- 
ment (Josh.  vii.  25)."  Starke. 

4.  On  vers.  31-34.  The  deliverance  of  Je- 
hoiachin.  1.  It  shows  us  that  the  Lord  can  help 
{a)  out  of  great  distress  (grievous  imprisonment 
of  thirty-seven  years),  (b)  in  a  glorious  manner. 
2.  It  admonishes  us  (a)  to  steadfast  patience,  (b) 
to  believing  hope,  Ps.  xiii.  ["It  was  a  prelude 
and  pledge  of  the  liberation  and  exaltation  of  the 
Jewish  Nation,  when  it  had  been  humbled  and 
purified  by  the  discipline  of  suffering;  and  of  its 
return  to  its  own  land ;  and  a  joyful  pre-an- 
nouncement  of  that  far  more  glorious  future 
restoration  which  the  prophets  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  the  Apostles  in  the  New  foretell — of 
Israel  to  God  in  Christ;  to  whom,  with  the 
Father  and  Holy  Ghost,  be  ascribed  all  honor, 
glory,  dominion,  adoration  and  praise,  now  and 
foreyer.    Amen."    Wordsworth. — S.  R.  A.]. 


A' .>'■<.  it.:': 


Date  Due 


I 


